Nats, Winker rise together: 'Crazy bat control'
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WASHINGTON -- Jesse Winker wasn’t going to let himself nor his teammates be deterred by a shutout loss on Tuesday. After the Nationals’ three-game winning streak was snapped by the D-backs in the series opener, the veteran left fielder offered motivation for the next matchup.
“We’re a good offense, so it’s really just going to be -- keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Winker said following the loss. “… I think tomorrow is going to be a better day, and we’ll just keep going.”
When the Nationals still found themselves scoreless with two outs in the sixth inning on Wednesday afternoon, Winker fulfilled his projection. He continued his hot streak at the plate by belting a go-ahead home run to lift the Nationals to a 3-1 victory over the D-backs at Nationals Park.
“That’s why you come to the field,” Winker said. “You come to win baseball games and help the team win. You just try to put good swings on balls. I was happy it got up and got out.”
The Nats had been struggling against right-hander Brandon Pfaadt on Wednesday when Winker sent his seventh home run of the season a Statcast-projected 399 feet to center field. Winker brought in Lane Thomas, who had drawn a walk, to put the Nats ahead, 2-1.
“It was just a mistake changeup that he was able to stay on, and he put a good swing on it,” Pfaadt said.
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Winker, who signed a Minor League deal with the Nationals in February, has been providing a spark to a club that has won nine of its past 11 games. After batting .198 in 26 games played in May, Winker this month has a slash line of .380/.483/.460, with a .943 OPS, nine RBIs and one home run.
Manager Dave Martinez noted Winker is staying behind the baseball as of late and being more selective to find his pitches in the zone.
“He loves to play the game, he really does, and he wants everybody to do really well,” Martinez said. “He’s competitive. He wants to win. One thing I know about him, he loves winning. But he understands it’s a long season. … Like he said, he’s going to not worry about yesterday and play hard today. Big home run for us today.”
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Winker provided run support for the Nationals pitching staff, which included five innings (one run, seven strikeouts) from starter Patrick Corbin followed by two scoreless frames from reliever Derek Law.
“He has good at-bats,” Corbin said. “He’s a professional. He’s been around for a long time, hits lefties, hits righties and works walks. Those are guys that can help deep in our lineup. A great swing by him right there to get us on the board and take the lead for good.”
Winker is helping the Nationals win games in June with the determination and focus his teammates observed when he first joined them for camp.
“These guys were playing a game in spring where you had to put the ball in play and situational things,” Law said. “He was just doing it left and right -- flipping it to left, flipping it to right. I’m like, ‘Man, this guy just has crazy bat control.’
“When he steps up to the plate … he knows what he wants to do and he has a plan. … He’s one of those hard workers that’s put in the effort, and it’s fun to see that effort translate to the field.”