Barrera comes off bench, triples vs. Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tres Barrera began his evening on the bench. By night’s end, he had crossed several items off his Major League bucket list.

Barrera logged his first extra-base hit -- a triple at that -- first RBI, first run scored and first multihit game in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park. On an evening filled with mistakes, Barrera’s night of firsts provided a much-needed silver lining.

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“He played really well,” said manager Dave Martinez. “It’s not an easy job to be a backup catcher and, all of a sudden, the catcher gets hurt. You’ve got to get ready. He did a good job of preparing himself.”

Barrera wasn’t slated in Friday’s starting lineup, but had to come in after Yan Gomes exited with a left oblique injury. Gomes grimaced after striking out in the second inning, caught one warmup pitch prior to the bottom of the frame, then was removed from the game.

Washington’s backup helped turn the mood in the fourth inning, launching a middle-middle sinker from José Álvarez to the left-center-field gap. Off the bat, it looked as if Barrera would have his first career home run. Instead, the ball bounced off the base of the wall. Center fielder Steven Duggar played the carom poorly and the ball rolled right by him, allowing Barrera to hustle his way to third without a throw, his first professional triple since 2017 with Low-A Hagerstown.

“He definitely did a great job,” said starting pitcher Paolo Espino. “He came in, he got that two-RBI [triple] to put us back in the game.”

Barrera may have to assume starting catching responsibilities for the remainder of the series with Gomes having sustained an injury and Alex Avila already on the injured list. Martinez said that the team had Yadiel Hernández, an outfielder, filled in as the team’s emergency catcher and he took some practice catches during the game just in case.

Gomes’ injury was just one part of what ended up being a disappointing night for Washington.

Along with Gomes going down, the Nationals had to dig into their bullpen for a second consecutive evening as Espino only lasted 3 2/3 innings. Sam Clay, who allowed Thursday’s game-winning hit, and Wander Suero ended up on back-to-back duty.

Then, there was the baserunning of Gerado Parra, who was thrown out at the plate twice.

Parra’s night actually started pretty well, ripping an RBI double in the fourth inning to tie the ballgame up at 3.

Espino immediately followed up Parra’s double with a single right up the middle. Due to Espino being, well, a pitcher, the outfield was playing in. Despite that, Parra rounded third and headed for home. Martinez said third-base coach Bob Henley had made the decision to send Parra home.

Duggar had already shown off his arm strength earlier in the inning when he fired a bullet toward third base and tried to throw out Juan Soto tagging from second to third, but shortstop Brandon Crawford curiously cut the ball off. This time, however, there would be no cutoff. Duggar’s throw was on the money and Parra was out by 20 feet.

Three innings later, Parra was, again, thrown out at the plate by 20 feet, this time due to a decision on his own accord. With runners on second and third, Trea Turner hit a grounder to Crawford. Parra broke for home. Crawford, who was playing a couple steps in due to Turner’s speed, didn’t hesitate and fired home, nailing Parra at the plate.

The decision ended up being a two-run swing as in the bottom of the frame, Wilmer Flores hit a solo home run, further extending San Francisco’s lead.

Even after those two baserunning blunders, Parra had an opportunity to play the hero, coming to the plate in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded. Parra, who was briefly a Giant, had already slugged a grand slam against his old squad back in 2019. With one swing, Parra could tie the game or give Washington the lead.

Parra grounded into the inning-ending double play, sending San Francisco’s packed Friday crowd into a frenzy.

“Forget everything,” Parra said. “Tomorrow’s a new day.”