The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-12)

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU D5

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

While there was no way of
knowing Juan Soto would hit the
first of back-to-back-to-back
home runs Saturday at Nationals
Park — teaming with Nelson Cruz
and Josh Bell — there were clear
indications he was seeing pitches
in a way only Juan Soto can.
Go back to the first inning of
the Washington Nationals’ 8-6
win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Facing lefty Eric Lauer, Soto fell
behind 0-2; fouled off two pitch-
es; then took a slider just off the
plate, a fastball just off the plate,
a curve just off the plate; then
fouled away another slider before
drawing a walk. Throughout the
nine-pitch battle, Soto smiled
and nodded, his chin almost
touching his chest. He shuffled a
bit, kicking dirt around the fresh-
ly lined batter’s box.
Really, he looked like himself,
a welcome sign for the Nationals
(23-38). If they hand the Brewers
(33-28) their ninth consecutive
loss Sunday, they will have their
first sweep of the season. Wash-
ington has scored 19 runs in the
first two games of the series.
“He’s definitely seeing the ball
a lot better,” Manager Dave Mar-
tinez said before focusing on
Soto’s first-inning walk: “That
was a good at-bat. That lefty
today, he’s got good stuff. And
when [Soto] worked those nine
pitches like that, I thought, ‘Yeah,
he’s seeing the ball really well.’ ”
Soto entered Saturday with an
uncharacteristic .226 batting av-
erage, .368 on-base percentage
and .447 slugging percentage. His
chase rate of 21.6 percent, the
fifth lowest in the majors, was
more than six points higher than
where he finished last season.
The chases and weak grounders
— and the .125 average with
runners in scoring position —
have often made Soto seem like a
shell of a 23-year-old superstar.
So maybe, just maybe, recent
games mark a course correction.

Soto has four homers, a double

and six walks in Washington’s

past eight contests. With the

bases loaded in the third Satur-

day, he walked against Lauer

before Cruz scorched a two-run,

113-mph double to left. And with

Lane Thomas on first in the fifth,

Soto got a high fastball from

Lauer and crushed it 406 feet to

right-center. Cruz, the next bat-

ter, hammered a low cutter

416 feet in the same direction.

Then Bell lined a 3-1 curve

376 feet to left, a fitting tribute to

the bobblehead giveaway depict-

ing him as the Incredible Hulk.

That totaled 1,198 feet of home

runs in the span of eight pitches.

Lauer, who entered with a

2.38 ERA, was tagged with eight

runs on seven hits. Both were

season highs.

“When you see the line drives

low and hard the other way with

runners in scoring position,

that’s who I’ve seen the last four

years he’s been in the show,” Bell

said of Soto. “So it’s definitely fun

to watch, and I know there’s a lot

more coming.”

This was the fifth time the

Nationals have hit three straight

homers since coming to D.C. in

2005. The latest accounted for
      Soto’s 13th of the season, Cruz’s
      seventh and Bell’s seventh. Cruz
      and Bell homered Friday, too,

while Soto brought in runs with

a single and a fielder’s choice.

Martinez felt Soto was on the

edge of breaking out, though he

has filled the year with such

predictions.

This time he might be right.

“It was just a different vibe

today,” Soto said. “I felt way

better at the plate and even in the

outfield and everything.”

What does that vibe feel like in

the box?

“It feels like a lot is coming,” he

answered, grinning and echoing

Bell. “A lot is coming soon. There

are a lot of good at-bats coming

in.”

Here’s what else to know about

the Nationals’ victory:

Mixed bag for Corbin

How did Patrick Corbin’s start

play out? Rough at the beginning

and end. Sharp in the middle.

Corbin was greeted by a leadoff

homer for Christian Yelich in the

top of the first. From there, he

retired 14 of the next 19 batters he

faced. Those Brewers reached on

two singles, two walks and an

error for shortstop Luis García,

allowing Corbin to hold them to

one run while the Nationals’ bats

clicked. But after entering the

seventh at 88 pitches, Corbin was

crushed by a double for Victor

Caratini, a double for Lorenzo

Cain and a two-run homer for

ninth hitter Mark Mathias, the

first of his career.

Corbin recorded one more out

and was pulled for Erasmo

Ramírez, who induced a double

play before yielding back-to-back

singles. Kyle Finnegan then came

in to quiet the noise. He and

Tanner Rainey combined for the

final seven outs. The gap was

halved when Luis Urías took

Rainey deep for a two-out, two-

run homer in the ninth.

Espino gets the nod

Right-hander Paolo Espino will

start for the Nationals on Sunday.

The options were Espino or rookie

Evan Lee, and Martinez has sug-

gested both will stay stretched out

ahead of a doubleheader against

the Philadelphia Phillies on Fri-

day. But Espino, 35, gets the nod

in the Nationals’ sixth and final

matchup with the Brewers.

Espino has 2.03 ERA in 26^2 / 3 in-

nings, all in relief. He has not,

however, pitched when the mar-

gin is less than three runs (with

Washington either winning or

losing). The Nationals are 5-15

when he has appeared, showing

how much of his work has come

in a true mop-up role.

Martinez told reporters Satur-

day that Espino could go up to

five innings. Espino made

19 starts in 2021 but has not

recorded more than nine outs

this year.

Soto looks like his old self as Nats win second straight

NICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Juan Soto hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and third base coach Gary DiSarcina approved.

NATIONALS 8,

BREWERS 6

NATIONALS ON DECK

vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Today1:35 MASN2

vs. Atlanta Braves

Tomorrow 7:05 MASN

Tuesday7:05 MASN

Wednesday7:05 MASN

vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Thursday7:05 MASN

Friday1:05

7:05

MASN

Saturday4:35 MASN

June 19 12:05 Peacock

Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM)

Nationals 8, Brewers 6

BREWERS AB RHBIBBSOAVG

Yelich lf .......................... 513101 .242

Adames ss...................... 500001 .192

McCutchen dh................ 411010 .233

Renfroe rf....................... 501001 .252

Urías 3b-2b..................... 311221 .221

Tellez 1b......................... 500001 .251

Caratini c........................ 312010 .244

Cain cf............................. 411100 .168

Mathias 2b..................... 311200 .222

Peterson ph-3b............... 101000 .224

TOTALS 38 611645 —

NATIONALS AB RHBIBBSOAVG

Thomas lf ....................... 220020 .242

Hernández 2b................. 412002 .267

Soto rf ............................ 221320 .228

Cruz dh........................... 412300 .266

Bell 1b............................ 211210 .305

Franco 3b........................ 400000 .264

Adams c.......................... 400001 .212

García ss......................... 413000 .359

Robles cf......................... 400000 .232

TOTALS 30 89853 —

MILWAUKEE........... 100 000 302 —6 11 1

WASHINGTON........ 004 040 00X—891

E: Urías (6), García (3). LOB: Milwaukee 9, Washington

4. 2B: Caratini (3), Cain (5), Cruz (8). HR: Yelich (6), off
   Corbin; Mathias (1), off Corbin; Urías (6), off Rainey;
   Soto (13), off Lauer; Cruz (7), off Lauer; Bell (7), off
   Lauer. RBI: Yelich (22), Cain (8), Mathias 2 (2), Urías 2
   (13), Soto 3 (28), Cruz 3 (35), Bell 2 (36). SB: Mathias
   (1). CS: García (1). SF: Bell.
   BREWERS IP HRER BB SONPERA
   Lauer ........................... 578842993 .36
   Strzelecki..................... 110000133 .00
   Milner.......................... 110010142 .59
   Williams...................... 1000019 2.74
   NATIONALS IP HRERBBSONPERA
   Corbin .......................... 674422103 6.65
   Ramírez......................^2 / 3 200007 3.28
   Finnegan................... 11 / 3 10011213 .47
   Rainey.......................... 112212193 .38
   WP: Corbin (3-8); LP: Lauer (5-2). Inherited runners-
   scored: Ramírez 1-0, Finnegan 2-0. T: 3:02. A: 25,265
   (41,339).
   HOW THEY SCORED
   BREWERS FIRST
   Christian Yelich homers. Willy Adames grounds out.
   Andrew McCutchen grounds out. Hunter Renfroe
   grounds out.
   Brewers 1, Nationals 0
   NATIONALS THIRD
   Luis Garcia singles. Victor Robles pops out. Lane Thom-
   as walks. Luis Garcia to second. Cesar Hernandez sin-
   gles. Lane Thomas to second. Luis Garcia to third. Juan
   Soto walks, Cesar Hernandez to second, Lane Thomas
   to third, Luis Garcia scores. Nelson Cruz doubles, Juan
   Soto to third, Cesar Hernandez scores, Lane Thomas
   scores. Josh Bell out on a sacrifice fly, Juan Soto
   scores. Maikel Franco grounds out.
   Nationals 4, Brewers 1
   NATIONALS FIFTH
   Lane Thomas walks. Cesar Hernandez called out on
   strikes. Juan Soto homers, Lane Thomas scores. Nelson
   Cruz homers. Josh Bell homers. Maikel Franco grounds
   out. Riley Adams pops out.
   Nationals 8, Brewers 1
   BREWERS SEVENTH
   Victor Caratini doubles. Lorenzo Cain doubles, Victor
   Caratini scores. Mark Mathias homers, Lorenzo Cain
   scores. Christian Yelich singles. Willy Adames grounds
   out. Christian Yelich out at second. Andrew McCutchen
   singles. Hunter Renfroe singles. Andrew McCutchen to
   second. Luis Urias walks. Hunter Renfroe to second.
   Andrew McCutchen to third. Rowdy Tellez lines out.
   Nationals 8, Brewers 4
   BREWERS NINTH
   Willy Adames strikes out swinging. Andrew McCutchen
   walks. Hunter Renfroe flies out. Luis Urias homers, An-
   drew McCutchen scores. Rowdy Tellez strikes out
   swinging.
   Nationals 8, Brewers 6

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