If Tuesday night’s blowout over the Orioles was a rare cakewalk win for the Nationals, this one felt all along like a walk across a lengthy tightrope, with no net visible down below.
Even after scoring three quick runs in the bottom of the first, the Nats found themselves in a tight contest, their bullpen unable to protect a two-run lead, the game ultimately decided in the eighth and ninth innings.
It’s the kind of pressure situation that has haunted this team too often during its rebuild. But all that experience may be starting to pay off. Even after blowing their slim lead tonight, the Nationals still felt like they were going to emerge victorious.
“We’ve hung in there with some really good teams, some teams that are supposed to be postseason teams,” closer Kyle Finnegan said. “We’ve proven to ourselves and to other people we can play with anybody. I think it’s big for the young guys to recognize that if we focus on what we can control, when we look up at the end of the game, we’ll be in it.”
The Nats were more than just in it tonight. They were indeed victorious, securing a 4-3 win over Baltimore thanks to Luis García Jr.’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth and another good-enough top of the ninth from Finnegan, who closed out his ninth save in as many opportunities.