Ian Desmond's replay
Ian Desmond stood on third base, helmet in his right hand and hands on his hips. By the backstop to his left, two umpires listened to the black headsets stretched over their ears. The players in the Washington Nationals dugout murmured to each other. They all waited to find out if Desmond had hit a home run and given the Nationals the lead, or if he would stay on third base. It took 3 minutes, 42 seconds.
Joe West, one of the umpires, pulled off his headset and twirled his right index finger. Desmond slapped his helmet back on jogged home. The blast that skipped off the top of the fence, off a white railing and back into the field had pushed the Nationals ahead in the seventh, the decisive run in their sweep-sealing, 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
In their fifth straight win, the Nationals erased an early three-run deficit behind Doug Fister, who never buckled as he labored through seven innings without his best form. Jayson Werth sparked the comeback - and continued his surge - with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Rafael Soriano stranded men on the corners in the ninth for his 20th save, pumping 94-mph fastballs as he lowered his ERA to 1.06.
Even considering Desmond's go-ahead home run, no at-bat meant more, or carried more drama, than Tyler Clippard's confrontation with Troy Tulowizki in the eighth inning.
After the Nationals moved ahead, Manager Matt Williams removed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman - his excellent, diving play earlier in the evening notwithstanding - to make a defensive upgrade. Anthony Rendon moved to third, and Danny Espinosa entered at second. In his first chance to protect a lead in a closer game since Bryce Harper's return, Williams yanked Zimmerman.
More customarily, he put Clippard on the mound. With two outs, Justin Morneau rolled a single into right field, and any chance at a clean escape had been averted. To the plate walked Tulowitzki, arguably the best player in the National League.
And Clippard owned the matchup. Tulowitzki fouled back a fastball at his chin, then took a generous strike two on the outside corner. He fouled away another fastball, and then Clippard unleashed a splitter from hell. Moving at 85 miles per hour, the pitch hurtled to the plate until it nosedived into the dirt. Tulowitzki corkscrewed in the batter's box as he swung and missed.
Desmond's 15th homer, a blast to right-center field, had put the Nationals in position to tab the back of their bullpen. Fister had allowed it to happen. He refused to change his style even as his sinker lacked bite and curveballs hung. He allowed seven hits and several more hard-hit outs, but he did not walk any Rockies, and he leaned on defense to close with five scoreless innings.
At the start, nothing went right. The Nationals delayed first pitch because their forecast called for rain, but when none arrived they had only wasted 25 minutes.
Michael McKenry blasted a three-run homer in the second. In three innings, Fister allowed the homer and six fly outs to the outfield. That's usually more than an entire start for him.
Rendon smoked a grounder up the middle, and then the Rockies' middle infield performed ballet. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu snared the ball with a running backhand and used his glove to flip the ball to shortstop Tulowitzki. He snatched the ball with his bare hand, spun and rifled a bullet to Morneau, beating Rendon by one stride. As he walked back to his position, Tulowitzki craned his neck to watch the replay on the video board, and who could blame him?
Werth singled and Adam LaRoche flied to the warning track to end the first, and Colorado's defense stifled another potential rally in the second. Zimmerman led with a walk and then Harper smashed a one-hopper straight into Morneau's mitt. He completed a 3-6 double play. Desmond roped a line out to right field.
To recap: The Nationals waited out a 25-minute rain delay with no rain; a pitcher who never yields fly balls gave up a three-run homer to a backup catcher; and two singles, a walk and four other hard-hit balls yielded zero runners past first base.
Rendon drilled a single to center field to start the fourth and stole second. Up came Werth. On Tuesday night, Werth hammered a foul ball into the upper deck in left, and something suddenly felt right in his swing. He cracked two doubles and drew two walks Tuesday. In his second at-bat Wednesday, Werth launched Tyler Matzek's 3-1, 93-mph fastball into the first row of red seats.
Werth's seventh homer - and first since June 11 - ended a 78-plate appearance drought and pulled the Nationals to within a run. With two outs, Harper blooped a double into left field, naturally losing his helmet somewhere around the batter's box. He scampered to third on a wild pitch.
Harper can impact games in ways other players cannot, and his brash base running helped score a run. He danced far off third base as Matzek faced Desmond, forcing Matzek to peak over his shoulder and third baseman Ryan Wheeler to account for him. With Wheeler playing a step closer to third, Desmond poked a single through the hole on the left side of the infield, past Wheeler's dive. Harper trotted home to tie it at 3.
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