Bryce Harper missed a total 57 games when the 21-year-old Washington Nationals' outfielder suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb in April. Harper underwent surgery to repair the damage, returned to the lineup at the end of June and has begun to come around at the plate recently, with Nats' skipper Matt Williams repeatedly saying he sees signs that the 2010 no.1 overall pick is about to take off offensively.
So there were a few moments of concern last night after the Nats' left fielder made a diving catch to rob Billy Hamilton of a potential extra base hit in the sixth inning of the series opener in Cincinnati.
Harper took a minute getting up after making the play and appeared uncomfortable enough that Williams and trainer Lee Kuntz took a walk out to left to check on him.
"He was fiddling with his wrist a little bit," Williams explained after the game, "so we decided to go out there. As soon as we stepped out he waved us off. He dove and felt a little bit of -- I guess in football terms it would be a 'stinger,' certainly would scare him, it scared us. But he's fine. No issues."
The catch by Harper was just one of several strong defensive plays made behind Tanner Roark and the Nationals' relievers last night in the first game of three with the Reds to be played this weekend.
While the Nationals surely miss Ryan Zimmerman's bat with the 29-year-old 3B/1B/LF down with a hamstring injury Williams described as a "pretty significant" strain, they improve defensively at third with Anthony Rendon taking over in Zimmerman's absence.
The 2011 Nationals' 1st Round pick out of Rice was described by Nats' GM Mike Rizzo as a "Gold Glove-caliber" defender at third when he was drafted with the sixth overall pick that June, and Rendon, when given the opportunity to man the hot corner, has supported Rizzo's assessment with some exemplary glove work.
Rendon was at it again last night, diving for a sharp grounder off Zack Cozart's bat to get Roark out of trouble in the seventh and jumping all over a bunt attempt by speedy Reds' outfielder Billy Hamilton with Tyler Clippard on the mound in the eighth.
"Anthony made a nice play on the bunt," Williams said after the game. "It's difficult when you have that kind of speed. [Hamilton] laid down a pretty good bunt. Anthony made a nice play. Bryce's play. It's good. They're competing, they're playing hard and they know if they play good defense, we've got a chance to win. So, we're doing good."
Williams went on to say that the Nationals' defense as a whole has been solid after they got off to an error-filled rough start to the season.
"It's important," he said. "We've talked about if from day one of Spring Training."
"If you can pitch and you can play defense then you have a chance every day. Offense will kind of go up and down sometimes, but consistency within the pitching staff and the defense gives you a chance."
Speaking of pitching ... [ed. note - "Smooth segue."]
Tanner Roark told reporters recently that he changed his slider grip, adopting Jordan Zimmermann's slider grip over the last few starts:
Tanner Roark said he switched his slider to Jordan Zimmermann's grip about 3-4 starts ago. Gives him more velocity & has worked so far #Nats
— Chase Hughes (@chasehughesCSN) July 20, 2014
The Nationals' 27-year-old, second-year big leaguer talked about his success with the pitch after last night's win over the Reds in Great American Ballpark.
"It feels good," Roark told reporters. "I feel comfortable throwing it any count. And it feels good coming out of my hand. I just have to remind myself to not try to make it move. Because when I try to make it move it backs up a little bit. So just try to throw it just like my fastball."
• We talked about Roark, Rendon, Harper, trade rumors and more on Nats Nightly last night w/ guest Joe Drugan of The Nats Blog (aka @TheNatsBlogJoe) on Twitter: