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OK, so maybe this Nationals victory wasn’t as smooth and convincing as it appeared it might be when the home team busted out with seven early runs against the Reds tonight.
This team, though, hasn’t won nearly enough games this summer to get picky about how they win. Any win is a good win right now, and tonight’s 10-8 slugfest on South Capitol Street should be considered as beautiful as any crisply played ballgame.
Thanks to an early seven-run explosion keyed by the resurgent James Wood and Josh Bell, then some much-needed tack-on offense in the middle innings and a surprisingly effective bullpen performance after Jake Irvin endured through his shortest start in two seasons, the Nationals won a series opener for the first time since June 26 in Anaheim, long before Miguel Cairo replaced Davey Martinez as manager.
It, of course, still included a harrowing top of the ninth from Kyle Finnegan, the slumping closer who allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach, two of them scoring, before finishing it off with the tying run standing at the plate.
Early offense once again made a big difference. The Nats improved to 20-9 this season when they score in the first inning. They’re 20-51 when they don’t.
