Lane Thomas went 0-for-3 with a sac fly RBI and grounded out to third base with a 94 mph first-pitch sinker from low and low in his second of three games against Chicago on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. I went in. white socks Right-hander Jose Ureña hits the leadoff triple with no outs on first base in the first inning, and CJ Abrams stands on third base.
Thomas K’d Swing (with three pitches) He took the lead in the bottom of the 4th inning, and in the bottom of the 6th inning, with one out and 3rd base, he took the first pitch slider from Ureña and hit a sac fly over the middle of the at-bat, with one out and 3rd base, then grounded out to second base, (1st and 2nd place), with two outs in the seventh inning, reliever Brian Shaw hit a first-pitch cutter out of the zone.
A poor ground ball to third base in the first inning left him 9-for-32 (.281/.268/.375) with a runner on third base and two outs or fewer for the season.
The year after Tuesday’s game, Thomas was 37-for-145 (.255/.303/.435) with runners in scoring position, but his tendency to swing at the first pitch in that at-bat caught the attention of managers. .
Before Wednesday’s series finale against the White Sox, Davey Martinez was asked about Thomas’ at-bats with a runner on third base and two outs or less this season and his at-bats with the bases loaded. What stood out in that at-bat?
“It’s pitch selection,” Martinez said. “He’s got to have a better plan with the players on the bases.
“As you may have noticed, he swings at the first pitch almost every time he has a player on base. So he has to figure out what he wants to do.
Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images
“And that’s okay. Look, you’ve got to hit comfortably behind the count against the guys on base, you’ve got to hit with two strikes, you’ve got to have a plan. , you have to push the ball out. I always say to my players, “When you put a player on third base, where don’t you want him to hit the ball?” Third base, right? So if you’re an infield back and you hit the ball to shortstop, second base, you’re going to run in. Yesterday, he received a ball up the middle and hit it right to third base. “Six” knows [Assistant Hitting Coach Pat Roessler] I talk to him a lot and he helps me out a lot, like, “What were you thinking there?” And he said he was trying to get in front of the two-seamer. Well, what you should be thinking about is, “Raise the ball.” Because I know he’s going to throw a two-seamer. He can kind of hit the ball out of the bat and into the middle of the field. ”
“So that’s the next part of his learning process because realistically he’s having a great year on both fronts.
“Defensively and offensively, he can get better. He’s got a lot of RBIs — he should be at least close to 90, if not 100 RBIs by now. It’s something he has to learn how to hit, but he’s definitely getting better. As everyone can see, he’s getting better and I’m proud of the way he’s working. .”
On Wednesday afternoon, with Abrams at second base and the bases loaded and no outs, starter Michael Kopech hit an 0-1 slider to Thomas (After Thomas hits his first pitch at bat.), although he was caught trying to steal a second time (as part of double steel) in his next at-bat.
Thomas gave up a walk to reliever Jesse Scholtens in the second inning, and with two outs and bases loaded in the third inning, he stepped up and spit on the outside corner’s first pitch fastball, taking the lead and delivering a knee-high ball to the inside corner, 1-0. I hit a curve. It was a 425-foot grand slam to the left field seats, his 26th HR of the year, and the Nationals took an 8-1 lead and ultimately won 13-3.
Thomas was 1-for-13 (.077/.077/.077) with the bases loaded on the season, but he didn’t know he was 1-for-13 with the bases loaded on the season until he completed his second career grand slam. stepped up to connect for a slam…or even after the match, until someone mentioned that fact.
“No, I didn’t know that. I mean, you let me know,” Thomas told reporters who highlighted the statistic after the final game of the series.
Apparently some of the credits are Six, Darnell Coles hitting coach — Thomas’ wife?
“I’ll say it right now,” Martinez said after the win. Bam. So I trust her a lot. ”
“I got in the car last night and I was in a bad mood,” Thomas explained. “And she was like, ‘Come on, stop swinging at those pitches!'” It was a little surprising that that came out of her mouth. So I thought she couldn’t tolerate him yelling at her after the game.”
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Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Thomas acknowledged that he had gotten quick outs at key points in recent games and talked about the need to resolve issues at the plate.
“My turn at bat was a little early and I let a ball in that I shouldn’t have,” he said.
why?
“It’s just—the end of the year,” Thomas said.
“I’m a little bit complacent, but there are still a lot of games left, so we need to solidify that and try to win the last 10 or nine games or whatever games we have left. there is.”
