Dusty Baker said he actually felt bad for some fans in the nation’s capital who wouldn’t get to see the stars they may have expected in the lineup this afternoon in the series opener with the Atlanta Braves.
Left out of Washington’s lineup were regulars like Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos.
Baker said he would have given Anthony Rendon the day off too if he had anyone that could play third, but with Stephen Drew still sidelined (inner ear issue) and Wilmer Difo in the minors, he didn’t have any other options.
What was supposed to be a 1:10 PM finale in New York became an 8:08 PM start in Citi Field last night on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and Baker said he didn’t get to sleep till around 4:00 AM once the Nationals got back to D.C.
“Some of my guys are walking around like zombies,” Baker explained before the first game back in Nationals Park. “That’s the reason why.”
“I’m not overlooking the Braves at all,” he added.
“I’m just trying to preserve and take care of my guys. Who I feel sorry for are the fans who came out today to see their favorite players play. But I can’t help it.
“We’ve got to blame the schedule-makers and the tv-makers for that. I’ve got to take care of my team.”
Trea Turner, who’s taken over an everyday role since coming up for good, got the Nats on the board in the third with a two-run home run to left off Braves’ right-hander Ryan Weber in the third, improving to 2 for 2 on the day and 15 for 35 (.429 AVG) with three doubles and three HRs two at bats into his eighth game against the Nationals’ NL East rivals this season.
Chris Heisey, who got the start in left, hit a three-run home run to left on a hanging curve later in the third inning to put the Nationals up 5-1 early in the series opener.
Chris Heisey has now homered in each of his last three starts. (And four of his last six.) pic.twitter.com/tEXI6O9ZLx
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 5, 2016
“That’s his job,” Baker told reporters when asked about Heisey’s success in limited opportunities after the 6-4 win over the Braves.
“He knew that when he signed on for this and he’s been one of the best at it.
“He works on it in BP and I just, I mean when you’re putting this puzzle together, he was one of the pieces of the puzzle that from the right side has some power.”
Turner was 3 for 3 on the day after he drove in a run with an RBI single in the fourth, and he finished the day 3 for 4 with a double, home run and the single.
Baker was asked if he was surprised by what the 23-year-old infielder is doing at the plate.
“How are you surprised at... if he hit .220 last year then I would be surprised, but I don’t know what to be surprised about,” Baker said.
“If you don’t know an entity and what they’re capable of doing, then you just accept what they’re doing and don’t be surprised or don’t try to figure out when it’s going to end, you just accept.
“One of the toughest things in life is acceptance, of anything, and so we’re just accepting whatever he can give us and he’s been a catalyst for us.”
Heisey went 1 for 4 with the three-run blast, his 9th of the season. Jose Lobaton went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, Brian Goodwin was 1 for 4 with a double, and Ben Revere went 1 for 4 with a run scored as well.
“That’s what they’re here for,” Baker said when asked about the contributions from his bench players after the game.
“I’ve always said you can’t win with just your regulars. You’ve got to give those other guys some opportunities to play. We feel very confident, especially for a short period of time that those guys can do the job.
“And I’ve always been taught that the lesser is equal to the greater and the circle is not complete unless you depend on everybody and everybody in that circle, so everybody is important.
“And that was a big day today, to win that game and the guys feel good about themselves.
“The regulars got a day off and hopefully they’ll get a good night’s sleep.
“Harp said it best, sitting next me in the dugout, he goes, ‘Hey, man, I love this team, because we are a team.’ And that’s the kind of attitude that you want to have on the team.”
• We talked about the contributions from the Nationals’ bench bats, the Nats sticking it to the rebuilding Braves and more: