Prey Garcia vs. left-handed pitchers:
Manager Davey Martinez has given Luis Garcia Jr. rest days this season when facing tough left-handers, but late last month he spoke about giving the 24-year-old Garcia Jr. playing time when a left-hander is on the mound, even if he wouldn’t necessarily start him at second base against those opponents.
“When he goes out there and (the left-hander) gets his turn, I’m not going to pinch-hit for him. I’m going to let him bat,” Martinez said, but with Garcia in the midst of a breakout season for the team, he also wants to put him in the best position to succeed if possible.
“…the goal is to try and keep him from getting frustrated because he’s done well against right-handed pitchers,” he said. Before Friday’s game, Garcia Jr. was batting .288/.327/.468 against right-handed pitchers, and all 15 of his home runs this season have come against right-handed pitchers (his batting line against left-handed pitchers this year is .255/.290/.330 in 382 at-bats against right-handed pitchers and 100 against left-handed pitchers).
Garcia Jr., facing Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera at Nationals Park on Friday night, drove in two runs with a runner on second and two outs, then allowed two runs on a mishit by Cabrerra on a grounder to give Washington an early 2-0 lead.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Garcia Jr. came to the mound against left-handed relief pitcher Anthony Veneziano, but when he came up to bat he aimed for a pitch inside to the sweeper, but turned and smashed a 415-foot home run into right field, his first home run off a left-handed pitcher this season.
It was Garcia Jr.’s fourth of 40 major league home runs against left-handed pitchers.
“That was big, a big home run,” Martinez said of the solo homer that helped the Nationals win 4-1.
“He stayed on the ball really well. He got us another point and then we got another point. That was a big moment for us.”
The manager was also excited about scoring a run against a left-handed pitcher.
“Luis can hit, and he has to tell himself, ‘I can hit anybody,'” Martinez said.
“He’s got to keep his foot down and not try too hard, and then he can hit it. He really can.”
“I’ve spoken about him. I’m really proud of him. I’ve been hard on him as everybody knows, but he’s done pretty well so far.”
Garcia Jr. finished the game with a .282 batting average, .320 on-base percentage, .445 slugging percentage, 25 doubles and a career-high 16 home runs.
Hearts Day:
DJ Hurts ended a five-game winless streak in his last outing at PNC Park by going 0-3 with a 3.75 ERA and 3.05 FIP in 24 innings, allowing no hits or runs in five innings.
Hurts said his success was down to his ability to attack the zone and challenge opposing hitters.
“It’s all about playing in the zone,” he said, “so staying in the zone is the big key.”
“When you get in the zone, good things happen.”
Hurts said he was happy with his fastball, changeup and the combination of them. His only criticism was the three walks he issued with two outs.
“It was good. Just cutting down the walk with two outs was enough.”
Hurts pitched five innings on Friday night against the Marlins, walking just one of the 20 batters he faced, striking out five, allowing four hits, one home run and one run in a 4-1 victory for his fourth win of the year (4-7).
He struck out nine batters that night.Three runs each for fastball, changeup, and slider), and threw 15 strikes as a starter (Ten of those were four-seam fastballs.).
“I’m attacking guys. I feel confident in my game in the zone. I’m feeling more confident, more comfortable. I’m feeling good,” Hurts said. Quote from MASN’s Mark ZuckermanHowever, he also said he wasn’t in his best form on Friday.
“His changeup was really good,” Martinez told reporters. “His fastball was really good. He’s been off a little bit at times, but he gets it back on track quickly, but he’s really good at pitching.”
“His fastball is a strikeout pitch and he’s really effective when he’s up to bat.”
This includes:
“That was a great play,” coach Davey Martinez said after the game. “Finding the wall, going up there and catching the ball, that was a big play. Great play.”