Nationals

Nationals Set Franchise-Record, Beat Mets 25-4 in First Game after Standing Pat at Trade Deadline

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General manager Mike Rizzo proclaimed he believed in his Washington Nationals as they face the final two months of the season. That’s why he essentially stood pat and did not have a fire sale of players despite being out 5.5 games out of first place. With the first game after the trade deadline and the numerous reports of uncertainty behind them, the Nationals unloaded on the New York Mets with a club-record of 25 runs.

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Washington piled up 26 hits and eight walks. Daniel Murphy hit two home runs against his former team leading the way with six RBIs. Anthony Rendon knocked in four in his first game back from paternity leave. Ryan Zimmerman became the franchise’s all-time hits leader and drove in three. Bryce Harper shook off the uncertainty of being made available in trade talks to go 2-for-4 with a walk at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring thrice.

The Nats got off to a great start with Harper driving Trea Turner with an RBI-double in the first, leading to the Nats to score seven runs on Mets starter Steven Matz, chasing him after just two-thirds of an inning. The seven runs was the most of any NL team this season in the first inning.

The Mets used seven pitchers and had to go with shortstop Jose Reyes on the mound in the eighth. He gave up six runs, two walks and two RBIs.

With talks of a messy clubhouse and veteran players questioning the leadership of first-year manager Dave Martinez, the Nationals were all over place with their mindset of handling the trade deadline. Harper was made available and ownership pressured Rizzo to sell. Ultimately, Rizzo decided against it, keeping Harper and only trading reliever Brandon Kintzler. Rizzo’s decision was rewarded with Tuesday’s output.

Despite scoring the most runs in an MLB game since 2007, the Nationals did not gain any ground in the NL East standings as the Phillies topped the Red Sox.

This counts as just one win, moving them to 53-53 on the season and it’s no indication of what shall happen in the remaining 56 games, but this one is in the record books and one that will be looked back on for quite some time.

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