Robinson finds hole in infield to tear up Braves' hearts

ATLANTA - Consistent at-bats are hard to come by when you're Clint Robinson. And it's only going to get harder when Ryan Zimmerman returns from the disabled list Saturday, leaving Robinson to pick up an occasional start at first base and then hope to make the most of his pinch-hitting opportunities.

Nights like this, though, remind the Nationals (and perhaps Robinson himself) why he's so valuable to this team. Stick him in the batter's box in a big spot late in a tie game, and the odds are good he'll at least produce a quality at-bat.

Or even better, drive in the winning run like he did tonight with his ninth-inning single to left that propelled the Nationals to a 7-6 victory over the Braves.

"As a bench guy, your opportunities are limited," Robinson said. "To justify your spot on the team, you have to come up in big situations sometimes and instill confidence with the manager that you can get it done when your number's called. It definitely helps my confidence having a good game today."

Afforded a chance to start at first base and get five at-bats, Robinson certainly made the most of it. He reached base four times. He scored two runs. And he drove in the most important run of them all, helping the Nationals bounce back from a blown five-run lead and still escape Turner Field with a victory.

The hit came with two outs in the top of the ninth, two men on base in front of him. Atlanta reliever Jim Johnson came at him with a first-pitch fastball, and Robinson - one of the most reliably consistent first-pitch swingers in baseball - went right after it. He sent the ball careening through the left side of the infield, bringing Pedro Severino home from second and then clapping his hands in celebration after he rounded first.

"Hit the heater," Robinson said of his approach versus Johnson. "He did the same thing last night. He wants to get ahead so he can get to the good breaking ball. I didn't want to do that. So be aggressive, try to get a pitch to hit and do something with it."

This is how Robinson makes his living, and though the overall numbers this season - a .235 batting average and .304 on-base percentage in 78 games - don't knock your socks off, the timeliness of his hits does impress the Nationals. He has 24 RBIs in only 149 at-bats, which extrapolated out over a full season's worth of at-bats as an everyday player would work out to roughly 97.

"He's put together some great at-bats," teammate Jayson Werth said. "He's done a great job for us when he has been out there. It's not an easy job being a bench player, especially on a team where you have guys that play a lot of games. But he's done a great job for us."

Now, consider that Robinson delivered tonight under less-than-ideal conditions. No, he wasn't sick. Nor was he injured. But after sliding across the plate in the top of the sixth, he tore a sizeable hole in the upper back left area of his pants.

Concerned he never had enough time to run back up to the clubhouse to change them before his spot in the lineup would come up again, or before he'd be needed in the field, Robinson wound up playing the final four innings of the game with a draft wafted up through his upper left leg.

When did he know the hole was there?

"When the lady behind the on-deck circle told me I had nice Spanx," he said.

Better to be so busy playing in a game that you don't have time to change your pants than to be sitting around on the bench all night wondering if you'll get an opportunity at all.