Nats' Espinosa ends slump with decisive shot

By Bill Ladson / MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa had a feeling he was going to get out of his hitting slump sooner or later, and he did just that on Wednesday night as the Nationals defeated the Astros, 4-3, at Nationals Park.

On Tuesday, Espinosa called his father, Dan, after the Nats' 8-4 win. The younger Espinosa felt he was swinging the bat a lot better even though he had gone 0-for-4 in the game. He was proven right. Espinosa broke out of a 5-for-50 slump in a big way on Wednesday, going 2-for-4, including a triple and a decisive two-run homer.

"It was a week and a half that I felt comfortable out there," Espinosa said. "I told my dad, "I know I'm right there, I can feel it," Espinosa said.

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Houston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Bourgeois, CF 4 0 2 0 1 0 1 .247
Sanchez, An, SS 4 0 1 2 0 1 3 .275
Keppinger, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .288
Lee, C, LF 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .249
Johnson, C, 3B 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 .323
Wallace, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .208
Michaels, RF 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .250
Castro, Ja, C 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .204
a-Hernandez, A, PH 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .220
Quintero, H, C 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .232
Rodriguez, W, P 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .194
Fulchino, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Abad, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Melancon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Blum, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .262
Totals 33 3 9 3 3 7 17 .248
a-Walked for Castro, Ja in the 7th. b-Singled for Melancon in the 9th.
Washington AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Espinosa, 2B 4 2 2 2 0 1 0 .229
Desmond, SS 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .280
Dunn, A, 1B 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .264
b-Mench, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
Peralta, Jo, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Burnett, S, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Zimmerman, R, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .307
Morse, RF 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 .295
Harris, W, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .185
Rodriguez, I, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .272
Bernadina, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .253
Maxwell, CF 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .143
Marquis, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .100
Slaten, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Clippard, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
a-Gonzalez, Al, PH-1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270
Totals 30 4 8 4 2 7 6 .255
a-Hit a sacrifice bunt for Clippard in the 7th. b-Grounded out for Dunn, A in the 7th.
BATTING
2B: Michaels (10, Marquis).
TB: Bourgeois 2; Sanchez, An; Lee, C; Wallace; Michaels 4; Blum.
RBI: Michaels (26), Sanchez, An 2 (23).
2-out RBI: Michaels.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Sanchez, An 2; Castro, Ja; Keppinger; Lee, C.
GIDP: Johnson, C; Bourgeois.
Team RISP: 3-for-11.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Bourgeois 2 (10, 2nd base off Marquis/Rodriguez, I, 2nd base off Marquis/Rodriguez, I).

BATTING
2B: Zimmerman, R (32, Rodriguez, W).
3B: Espinosa (1, Rodriguez, W).
HR: Morse (12, 4th inning off Rodriguez, W, 0 on, 0 out), Espinosa (5, 7th inning off Fulchino, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Espinosa 7; Desmond 2; Dunn, A; Zimmerman, R 2; Morse 4; Rodriguez, I.
RBI: Desmond (62), Morse (35), Espinosa 2 (13).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, I 2; Zimmerman, R.
S: Gonzalez, Al.
Team RISP: 2-for-4.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
CS: Desmond (5, 2nd base by Rodriguez, W/Castro, Ja).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Maxwell (Lee, C at 1st base).
DP: 3 (Desmond-Espinosa-Dunn, A, Desmond-Espinosa-Gonzalez, Al, Maxwell-Espinosa-Dunn, A).

Houston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Rodriguez, W 6.1 6 3 3 2 6 1 3.67
Fulchino(BS, 1)(L, 2-1) 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 5.60
Abad 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.40
Melancon 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.48
Totals 8.0 8 4 4 2 7 2 4.04
Washington IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Marquis 6.0 7 2 2 1 2 0 7.18
Slaten 0.0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3.35
Clippard(BS, 10)(W, 11-6) 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 2.84
Peralta, Jo(H, 9) 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.00
Burnett, S(S, 3) 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.37
Totals 9.0 9 3 3 3 7 0 4.18
Marquis pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
Slaten pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

HBP: Dunn, A (by Rodriguez, W), Johnson, C (by Marquis).
Pitches-strikes: Rodriguez, W 114-71, Fulchino 5-3, Abad 5-2, Melancon 20-13, Marquis 96-58, Slaten 5-1, Clippard 25-16, Peralta, Jo 14-10, Burnett, S 9-5.
Groundouts-flyouts: Rodriguez, W 8-3, Fulchino 0-1, Abad 1-0, Melancon 2-0, Marquis 8-6, Slaten 0-0, Clippard 0-1, Peralta, Jo 0-1, Burnett, S 2-0.
Batters faced: Rodriguez, W 27, Fulchino 2, Abad 1, Melancon 4, Marquis 25, Slaten 1, Clippard 5, Peralta, Jo 4, Burnett, S 2.
Inherited runners-scored: Fulchino 1-1, Slaten 1-0, Clippard 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Tony Randazzo. 1B: Paul Nauert. 2B: Brian Gorman. 3B: Ted Barrett.
Weather: 90 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 1 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:05.
Att: 12,213