The outburst marked the primary multihomer recreation of Ruiz’s profession and it made him solely the fifth Nationals catcher to perform the feat. It additionally snapped a six-game shedding streak — together with the primary 5 contests on this seven-game journey.
When the Nationals traded Max Scherzer and Trea Turner final 12 months, they acquired Ruiz in hopes of getting a catcher who may very well be stout defensively and supply a middle-of-the-order bat.
If he’s a defense-first catcher transferring ahead, that will be good worth for the Nationals. Ruiz entered Tuesday’s recreation tied with the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto for the league lead with 18 runners caught stealing and moved forward when he caught Seiya Suzuki making an attempt to swipe second base within the ninth.
But the bonus may very well be Ruiz’s bat, which has been inconsistent in his first full season in Washington. He has chased balls exterior the zone at occasions and entered Tuesday with simply 4 residence runs in 317 at-bats.
In the second inning, Ruiz obtained a sinker in on his arms and turned on the ball, sending it 384 toes down the best discipline line to provide Washington a 1-0 cushion. That lead was short-lived when Paolo Espino allowed a solo shot to Suzuki within the backside of the inning.
So Ruiz stepped up once more within the fourth, this time with two males on. Stroman tried to jam him inside once more — with a cutter as a substitute of a sinker — however Ruiz’s swing beat the ball to the spot.
The ball ricocheted off the bleachers and again onto the sphere, so the umpires didn’t instantly sign a house run, uncertain if the ball went out. Ruiz was sure. He saved rounding the bases and, after the umpires conferred, they dominated it a house run and the Nationals led 4-1.
The Cubs jumped in entrance within the seventh, scoring 4 runs on seven singles. The inning included an out on the plate: Lane Thomas threw out Rafael Ortega on a play that included Ruiz making a pleasant tag.
Meneses then offered the distinction within the eighth, blasting a misplaced curveball from Mark Leiter Jr. 358 toes to left to attain Maikel Franco. Carl Edwards Jr., a former Cub, obtained by the ninth to end the Nationals’ skid.
Is Patrick Corbin nonetheless within the rotation? Yes, and he’s scheduled to begin subsequent Tuesday at residence in opposition to the Cubs. The Nationals are off Thursday, Corbin’s begin day on common relaxation, so Manager Dave Martinez opted to skip his begin so he may get some additional work in bullpen periods with pitching coach Jim Hickey.
Corbin’s struggles are well-documented and have been particularly acute currently. He has did not make it out of the primary inning in two of his previous three outings, and his ERA has soared to 7.02. Martinez mentioned Corbin was clearly pissed off when he spoke with him and Hickey, however the left-hander needed to proceed beginning and end the season robust.
“Regardless of what anyone thinks, he’s going to be one of our starters next year and the year after that,” Martinez mentioned.
Corbin is within the fourth 12 months of a six-year, $140 million contract.
What strikes did the Nationals make earlier than Tuesday’s recreation? They claimed left-handed reliever Jake McGee off waivers from Milwaukee and designated outfielder Donovan Casey for task to clear house on the 40-man roster. Casey was one of many 4 prospects that the Nationals acquired in final 12 months’s deal for Scherzer and Turner; Ruiz and Josiah Gray are within the majors, whereas Gerardo Carrillo is rehabbing with High-A Wilmington.
McGee will meet the staff in Washington on Friday. The transfer provides the Nationals a left-handed arm out of the bullpen, one thing they’ve lacked for a lot of the 12 months. Sean Doolittle crammed that void till he was injured early within the season; Josh Rogers and Evan Lee are additionally southpaws who had been obtainable as lengthy relievers. But Doolittle and Lee are injured. Rogers was designated for task this month.
The transfer to chop Casey is a reminder that not each prospect in commerce deadline offers works out. Casey was known as up April 15 and appeared slated to make his main league debut, however he by no means performed and was optioned out 5 days later. He by no means made it again to the majors as he struggled with Class AAA Rochester, hitting .219 with a .293 on-base share in 67 video games.
