4 key moments from Winker's action-packed afternoon
PHILADELPHIA -- Jesse Winker’s grass-stained uniform told the story of his Sunday. He had been all over the place at Citizens Bank Park -- literally on the field and numerically in the box score.
The left fielder was 1-for-4 with a go-ahead home run, two head-turning defensive plays and one he’d like to have back in the Nationals’ 11-5 loss to the Phillies.
“He goes out there and gives you everything he has every time he plays,” said manager Dave Martinez.
Here are four moments that stood out from the veteran outfielder’s action-packed afternoon.
Bottom of second inning: diving catch vs. Alec Bohm
The Phillies' third baseman entered the game batting a team-high .329. He made contact on a sweeper from Trevor Williams and lifted it a Statcast-projected 257 feet to left field.
“I was playing Bohm in the other gap,” Winker said. “He’s hitting the ball all over the place. My last thought was that he was going to hit a ball right there.”
Winker had ground to cover, running 90 feet in the direction of the foul line with a catch probability of 70 percent (tied for his lowest catch probability on a putout this season). He hustled to track down the fly ball with a tumbling diving catch that ended with him lying face up on the ground.
Winker remained down momentarily, regrouping after recording his fastest career sprint speed on a putout: 27.7 feet per second. He surpassed his previous putout sprint speed mark of 27.4 feet per second set on Sept. 13, 2017, as a member of the Reds against the Cardinals.
“Lying there, I just kind of did a quick body scan, like, ‘Am I good? Yeah, I’m good. OK, get up and go play baseball,’” Winker said.
Bottom of fourth inning: crashing catch vs. Brandon Marsh
Williams faced Marsh, who singled in his first at-bat, with one out in the fourth inning. Marsh hit a slider 361 feet to the left-center field wall with an exit velocity of 102 mph. Winker covered 69 feet and elevated to make the grab. He banged his right knee into the wall on the catch, but he remained in the game.
“I’m focused on the ball, for sure. All three of [the plays], you kind of peek just to see where you’re at and then you go,” Winker said. “Marsh hit the ball well. I think on a typical Philly summer day, that ball probably gets out. But I just tried to make a play and just jump and hit the wall and hang on to it.”
Top of fifth inning: go-ahead home run vs. Aaron Nola
After Eddie Rosario hit the Nationals’ first home run since last Sunday to tie the game at 2 in the fourth inning, Winker followed in the fifth with a go-ahead dinger. His fifth homer of the season was hit 406 feet at 107.1 mph to right-center field off a 2-0 sinker.
“I haven’t had much success against Nola in my career,” said Winker, who entered the game batting .158 versus the righty. “He’s gotten me out so many different ways with so many different pitches. I just tried to get a hitter’s count and be on time for a fastball. … He can go in and out, up and down with the best of them, so just try to get a good swing up on a fastball.”
Winker’s exit velocity was tied for his hardest-hit ball since a 107.6 mph single on Aug. 24, 2022 as a member of the Mariners -- which happened to be against the Nats.
Bottom of fifth inning: missed catch on Kody Clemens’ foul ball leads to Phillies runs
The Phillies had evened the score, 3-3, after Williams exited in the fifth. With two outs and runners on the corners, Clemens faced lefty reliever Robert Garcia. Clemens sent a fly ball down the left-field foul line, which looked to be playable for Winker to end the inning.
"Off the bat, it was pretty much in play and then it just kept sailing out over there,” Clemens said. “And then, thankfully, it wasn't caught. It gave me another pitch, and I was happy that he didn't catch it."
The ball evaded Winker, and Clemens hit a go-ahead two-run double into right field on the next pitch. The Nationals did not reclaim the lead after that.
“When lefties hit a ball down the line, they’ll drift toward the line and sometimes they’ll come back. That one hit another gear,” Winker said of the foul. “I guess the wind was blowing. But sometimes it’ll affect the ball, sometimes it won’t. That one seemed to kind of just catch a stream and just took off.”
Of all the action Winker was involved in on Sunday, he said the non-catch will stand out to him the most.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “But I have to make that play.”