Two games had passed since the Nationals had scored a run. Shut out in consecutive losses to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, they were searching for a spark in the series finale on Thursday afternoon.
One way to get the offense going? Try an inside-the-park homer.
In the third inning of the Nationals 6-5, 10-inning loss, Trea Turner sent a 95.9 mph sinker from starter Zach Eflin a Statcast-projected 402 feet into center field.
“That was just a horribly executed sinker on my part,” Eflin said. “It was a 1-2 count, and that miss has got to be off the plate, and it ended up middle-middle. A professional hitter is going to do that.”
With an exit velocity of 103.1 mph and a 25-degree launch angle, the ball would have been an over-the-fence home run in 17 of the 30 Major League ballparks. Instead, it bounced off the wall and into the outfield after center fielder Roman Quinn made a leaping attempt at the track.
“I hit it good,” Turner said. “[I] felt like I had a chance at a homer, but he ran after it pretty hard, so I felt like he was going to run it down. He’s got a bunch of speed out there. I was just keeping my eyes on the ball, and then once I saw it hit and kick pretty far, I knew I had a shot. ...
“Even around second base, I was still watching the ball and I felt like I had a shot and I was going to go, kind of regardless if [third-base coach] Chip [Hale] sent me or not, and then I saw him waving me, so I just continued through.”
Luis García, who singled to lead off the inning and advanced on a passed ball, scored easily. The speedy Turner sprinted 30.4 feet per second around the bases and slid headfirst into home plate to tie the game at 2.
“Luis told me to stand up, and I was going to slide just in case. Then I felt like as I was sliding, I kind of heard or saw J.T. [Realmuto] catch the ball. So I was thinking in my head, ‘Thanks a lot, Luis [laughs].’ That could have been bad getting thrown out at home plate. Glad I slid, happy to tie the game there.”
Any hard-hit ball from Turner seems to have an opportunity for extra bases. He entered the game ranked third among all players with a 30.0 ft/sec sprint speed (average is 27.0, elite is 30.0-plus).
Turner put together a 16-game hitting streak in August, during which he led all of baseball with a .507 batting average. His eighth home run of the season was part of a 3-for-5, three-RBI outing.