• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Baltimore Sports Today

Baltimore Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Johns Hopkins
    • Morgan State
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland

Washington Nationals drop opener with San Francisco Giants, 5-3 final in Oracle Park…

July 11, 2021 by Federal Baseball Leave a Comment

MLB: Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

They battled back from a 3-0 deficit to tie it up, but the Nationals dropped the first of three with the Giants, 5-3.

After falling behind 3-0 early, the Washington Nationals rallied to tie things up at 3-3 in the top of the fourth tonight in San Francisco, CA’s Oracle Park, but solo home runs in the fifth and seventh put the Giants back on top in the series opener of the final “first-half” matchup.

Darin Ruf and Wilmer Flores hit the second and third home runs of the game for the home team after Ruf drove in the Giants’ first run with an RBI single in the first, and Curt Casali’s two-run home run in the second made it a three-run lead. Final Score: 5-3 Giants.

Espino vs the Giants: Paolo Espino tossed 3 1⁄3 innings in relief of an injured Max Scherzer in the nation’s capital in June, when the Giants were visiting Nationals Park, allowing three hits, and one earned run, on a solo home run, in a 56-pitch appearance.

Last time out on the mound before tonight, he started against the Los Angeles Dodgers and went 4 1⁄3 innings in which he gave up three hits, three walks, and three earned runs in a 5-3 loss in which he received no decision.

That outing came after he’d tossed five scoreless against the New York Mets.

In four starts and 18 2⁄3 innings pitched this season, Espino, 34, had a 2.41 ERA, four walks, 10 Ks, and a .242/.278/.379 line against (vs a 2.53 ERA, 3 walks, 18 Ks, and a .175/.205/.300 line against in 15 games and 21 1⁄3 IP in relief) before tonight.

Going up against the Giants again, Espino lost an eight-pitch battle with leadoff man Mike Yastrzemski, walking the first batter in the bottom of the first, but he got two before Darin Ruf singled to right to drive the leadoff walk in and make it a 1-0 game after one in Oracle Park.

Donovan Solano singled in the first at bat of the Giants’ second, and catcher Curt Casali hit an 0-2 fastball out to left in the next at bat to make it a 3-0 game in the home team’s favor.

Man, he REALLY hit that pic.twitter.com/YPbhMDUjtm

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 10, 2021

It was a 3-3 game when Espino returned to the mound in the fourth, and retired the first two batters he faced, but back-to-back singles by Casali and pinch hitter Thairo Estrada brought an end to his outing…

Paolo Espino’s Line: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 73 P, 51 S, 3/3 GO/FO.

Webb vs the Nationals: Logan Webb, 24, and a 2014 4th Round draft pick by the Giants, took the mound tonight with a 3.94 ERA, 17 walks, 53 Ks, and .253/.330/.368 line against over 48 IP as a starter in the majors this season, coming off three straight wins in which he posted a 1.06 ERA, three walks, 21 Ks, and a .164/.227/.230 line against in 17 IP over that stretch.

Those wins were back in late May, however.

Webb came off a rehab stint for a right shoulder strain to make tonight’s start, after just one two-inning appearance for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, so he wasn’t expected to be around long.

Webb worked around an error in a scoreless, 18-pitch first, a leadoff single in a 17-pitch top of the second, and retired the side in order in a 10-pitch third that ended his outing.

Castreak: Starlin Castro started the night with an 11-game hit streak going, over which the 31-year-old infielder was 17 for 38 (.447 AVG) with four doubles, one home run, 11 RBIs, five walks, and eight runs scored, and multi-hit efforts in six of those 11 games. Once again, he wasted no time extended his streak, singling to center the first time up against the Giants’ starter, Logan Webb. Would he have another multi-hit game? Mais bien sûr. A single in the seventh made it multi-hit games in 7 of 12 on the streak.

Bullpen Action: Jose Álvarez took over for the Giants in the top of the fourth, with the home team in Oracle Park up, 3-0, and gave up a single by Juan Soto before walking Josh Bell. A fly to center by Starlin Castro moved Soto over to third, and Tres Barrera, who took over for Yan Gomes after the catcher tweaked something on a swing in his first at bat, tripled off the center field wall to drive in two runs, 3-2.

✅ 1st career XBH
✅ 1st career 3B
✅ 1st career RBI
✅ 2nd career RBI
✅ 1st career run scored@TresBarrera13 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/DCK7KEjqZZ

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 10, 2021

John Brebbia took over on the mound for the Giants, and got the second out of the fourth without Barrera scoring from third base, but a two-out RBI double to center by Gerardo Parra tied it up, 3-3. Parra tried to score on a Paolo Espino single to center in the next at bat, and it wasn’t even close. Out at home, 3-3 in the 4th.

Sam Clay took over for Paolo Espino with two on and two out in the bottom of the fourth, and hit Mike Yastrzemski to load the bases, before pinch hitter Austin Slater lined out to shortstop. Still 3-3.

Jarlín García worked around a one-out single by Trea Turner for a scoreless top of the fifth.

Clay came back out for the bottom of the fifth and retired two batters, but Darin Ruf got all of a 2-1 sinker and hit a solo shot to center field, 433 feet from home to put the Giants up 4-3 with his ninth home run of the season.

RUF
433ft
107.9mph
29° pic.twitter.com/bakpPxlev7

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 10, 2021

Zack Littell worked around a leadoff walk to Starlin Castro in a 10-pitch frame, getting a slick 6-4-3 DP out of Tres Barrera after the free pass, and striking out Josh Harrison.

HOW?! pic.twitter.com/Wjhyjp6Q3a

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 10, 2021

Curt Casali doubled on a catchable ball to left that Josh Harrison got twisted up on, but Kyle McGowin stranded the only runner to reach base in a scoreless bottom of the sixth.

Gerardo Parra walked to start the Nationals’ seventh, and took third on a single to center by pinch hitter Yadiel Hernández. Alcides Escobar bunted one too hard to a charging Darin Ruf at first for Parra to score in the next at bat, but did move Hernández up. Trea Turner stepped in next, and hit a grounder to short on which Parra tried to score but got thrown out. Juan Soto? Groundout to second. Still 4-3 Giants.

Wander Suero gave up a one-out solo shot to center by Wilmer Flores in the bottom of the seventh, after the Nationals failed to score a run in the top of the inning, 5-3.

Starlin Castro, Tres Barrera, and Josh Harrison hit back-to-back-to-back, one-out singles off Giants’ righty Tyler Rogers in the top of the eighth, but Parra stepped in next and grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP. Still 5-3 Giants.

Ryne Harper tossed a scoreless bottom of the eighth to keep it close.

Jake McGee came on to close it out in the top of the ninth inning, and retired the first two Nationals before Trea Turner singled to get Juan Soto up.

Soto started up 2-0, at which point McGee got a mound visit, but he missed again, 3-0, and walked Soto on the next pitch. Josh Bell stepped up next, and grounded out to end it.

Final Score: 5-3 Giants

Nationals now 42-45

Filed Under: Nationals

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Brett Favre’s Bountygate game jersey is up for auction
  • Jalen Hurts on his best play of the season: “Season’s not over”
  • Tennis star Nick Kyrgios pleads guilty to assaulting former girlfriend
  • Pence to meet with South Carolina law enforcement amid policing reform talks in Congress
  • Dems denounce Republican vote to remove Ilhan Omar from House committee

Categories

  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Morgan State
    • Navy
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland
  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Baltimore
  • Forgotten 5
  • NBC Sports Washington
  • Maryland Sports Blog
  • OurSports Central
  • PressBoxOnline.com
  • The Baltimore Sun
  • The Baltimore Wire
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today
  • Washington Post
  • Washington Times

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Orioles
  • MLB.com - Nationals
  • Baltimore Baseball
  • Birds Watcher
  • Camden Chat
  • District On Deck
  • Federal Baseball
  • Last Word On Baseball - Nationals
  • Last Word On Baseball - Orioles
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Nationals
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Orioles
  • Nationals Arm Race
  • Orioles Hangout

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • WNBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Bullets Forever
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Wiz Of Awes

Football

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Washington Redskins
  • Baltimore Beatdown
  • Baltimore Gridiron Report
  • Ebony Bird
  • Hogs Haven
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Washington Commanders
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Baltimore Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Redskins
  • Our Turf Football - Ravens
  • Our Turf Football - Redskins
  • Pro Football Rumors - Ravens
  • Pro Football Rumors - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Ravens
  • Redskins Gab
  • Ravens Wire
  • Redskins Wire
  • Riggos Rag
  • Total Ravens

Hockey

  • Washington Capitals
  • Elite Prospects
  • Japers Rink
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • Stars And Sticks
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Baltimore Blast
  • Black And Red United
  • Last Word on Soccer - DC United
  • Last Word on Soccer - Spirit
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Big East Coast Bias
  • Busting Brackets
  • Casual Hoya
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Fourth Estate
  • GW Hatchet
  • Saturday Blitz
  • The Diamondback
  • The Hilltop
  • The Hoya
  • Testudo Times
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in