WASHINGTON, DC-Rain forced Robert Hassell III to wait a day. When he finally made his debut on May 22 before 16,907, they all stood when he stepped to the plate in the third inning. Taking in the moment, one he worked for his entire life, he stepped calmly into the batter’s box. He hit a single to right on the first pitch he saw from Atlanta’s AJ Smith-Shawver.
Called up to replace the injured Dylan Crews, who is on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain, Hassell III impacted the entire game. He was 2-for-5 and scored two runs in the Nationals’ (23-27) 10-inning win against Atlanta (24-25), who has a 9-18 away record.
The Nats are on a roll, winning their last five, but are still stuck in fourth place in the NL East. During a sweep in Baltimore, the offense woke up. It has plated 37 runs in the last week.
Smith-Shawver owned Nats hitters in his last start against them a week ago. This game was a different story: his pitches kept finding the big part of the plate. In three innings, he gave up seven runs on eight hits. It was so bad that his manager, Brian Snitker, pulled him while facing a batter.
Trevor Williams didn’t fair much better against Atlanta’s hitters. In the first, he surrendered back-to-back home runs to Matt Olson and Marcel Ozuna. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up five runs on four hits. At one point, in a burst of offense, the Nats took a 5-2 lead, but it evaporated quickly.
This game was not short on action. Keibert Ruiz’s parents were in the crowd, having traveled from Venezuela to see their son play his first professional game. He had two RBI on two hits, and in his first at-bat of the night, hit an RBI double. When he reached second, he waved to his elated mother wearing a smile everyone in the park could see.
“That’s a dream come for me,” Ruiz said about playing in front of his family. “It was a lot of emotion. I feel so grateful for this opportunity.”
The game’s pace quickened in the later innings when both bullpens locked down hitters. Neither team scored in the eighth. In the ninth, the Nats led 7-6. With closer Kyle Finnegan on the mound, Olson doubled to right with pinch runner Luke Williams and Austin Riley on base. Williams scored. But Riley was thrown out at the plate, sending the game to extras.
Atlanta failed to score, giving the Nats a chance in the bottom of the 10th. It is said that when you’re young, the game will find you, so be ready. Hassell III stood at second as the ghost runner. Stealing a base earlier seemed like a warm-up for what would happen next. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Call. Davey Martinez called on Ahmed Rosario to pinch hit against lefty Dylan Lee. When Rosario singled to left, Hassell III bolted home to secure the 8-7 win.
Martinez, in post-game comments, said with a laugh, “I thought he was was great. Hey, look, we know he can play good defense, we know he can run.” He added that “When it comes to hitting, I don’t want him to do to much. Spread the ball all over the field. He had a great first day.”
View the box score and highlights HERE. See the full set of John Canery’s pictures HERE.
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