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Nationals' Trea Turner hits first MLB HR in Nats' loss in Turner Field

"For 135 pounds soaking wet, he hit that ball a long way," Ian Desmond told reporters after Washington Nationals' rookie Trea Turner hit his first MLB home run tonight, taking Atlanta Braves' righty Matt Wisler deep for a solo blast.

By Patrick Reddington
Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

Ian Desmond marveled at Washington Nationals' prospect Trea Turner's speed after the 22-year-old infielder, who was drafted as a shortstop but was playing second, showed off his legs in Nationals Park earlier this season, telling reporters after an impressive and range-y play on a pop-up to the right side, "I know from experience when you play short your whole life and you go to second and you have to catch that fly ball down the right field line, everything spins opposite.

"I know that play is a lot harder than he made it look and he ran a heck of a long way, so that was good and the next one was good too, but the play he spun in the hole on the grounder, he looked great, he's got it. I can't wait for him to get his first hit and I want to watch him run. He's a fast little whippersnapper."

Turner got his first hit out of the way in a 15-1 Nationals' win over the Braves in D.C. back on September 3rd, then collected his first "real hit" -- meaning not an infield single he beat out like he did for his first -- on a line drive single in a September 18th game against the Marlins in Miami, but tonight in Atlanta, Georgia's Turner Field, Turner got hold of a 92 mph first-pitch fastball from Matt Wisler and hit a towering fly to left field for his first major league home run, showing off his "power" and scoring the only run of the night for the Nats in a 2-1 loss to their NL East rivals.

Turner's teammates marveled at his power after the game:

An odd note on Taylor's first HR?:

"Timing is there, of course, because he's getting more opportunities to play," Matt Williams told reporters when asked about Turner's blast after the game.

"And he'll get more as we go along the rest of the season but showed some power tonight, first major league homer, and it's a big yard and it's damp, so you really have to hit the ball to hit it over the fence and he caught that one good. Base hit back through the middle in the first, so he's staying on the ball. He's doing well."

Through 28 major league plate appearances, Turner, after going 2 for 4 tonight with a walk, homer and single, has a .292/.393/.458 line after he put up a combined .322/.370/.458 line in 116 games and 500 PAs in the minors with the Padres and Nationals this season.

Not a bad year for the 2014 1st Round pick. Is anyone ever going to trade with Nats' GM Mike Rizzo again?

[ed. note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is running a $1,000,000 fantasy football league for week 1. It's $5 to enter and first place wins $100,000. Click here to join."]

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