Riley Adams picked a great time to hit his first home run in the majors. The Nationals trailed 2-1 with a runner on third in the ninth. All the rookie catcher needed to do was deliver a single to tie and extend the game with two outs.
Instead, Adams delivered so much more, launching the go-ahead home run somewhere into upper deck of stands off Atlanta Braves closer Will Smith.
Between the launch of the hit and the euphoria of Adams’ first big league homer, it was hard to see where the ball landed from the naked eye. Even MLB’s Statscast lost sight of where the ball landed.
Adams had his first homer of his career and ultimately the Nationals got a much-needed win. Eventually, Statscast was able to track down the ball. The 41-degree launch angle created the biggest mystery of where the ball went.
The homer was also Adams’ first hit since being traded from Toronto to the Nationals for closer Brad Hand.
Adams had not registered a hit in his first seven at-bats in a Nationals uniform. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Washington.
