WASHINGTON -- Matt Williams has taken a lot of heat recently for pushing all the wrong buttons. On Friday night, he pushed all the right ones.
The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 in 10 innings, scoring the winning runs on a walk-off, pinch-hit, three-run homer by rookie Michael A. Taylor. The victory -- which gave Washington just its second three-game winning streak since the All-Star break -- combined with an equally dramatic walk-off loss by the New York Mets, pulled the Nats to within five games of the National League East lead. It’s the closest Washington’s been to the top of the division in nearly two weeks. For that, they owe their manager plenty of thanks.
Williams, the second-year skipper who as a rookie won NL Manager of the Year after guiding his club to the senior circuit’s best record, has taken tons of flack this season, especially recently. On Monday in St. Louis, neither setup man Drew Storen nor closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched in an 8-5 loss that saw the Nationals blow a two-run seventh-inning lead. The following day, the Nats blew a two-run eighth-inning lead, then lost the game in the ninth when, with the game tied, Williams opted to use reliever Casey Janssen, who had thrown 26 pitches and been torched for four runs a night earlier, instead of Papelbon. Janssen gave up a walk-off, three-run homer to Brandon Moss.
On Friday in D.C., though, Williams had the Midas touch. In the fifth inning, when fill-in starter Tanner Roark loaded the bases with one out and the game tied 1-1, Williams summoned Matt Thornton from the bullpen. Even though the veteran lefty hadn’t entered a game prior to the sixth inning all season, the move paid off as Thornton got A.J. Pierzynski to pop out, then retired Adonis Garcia on a grounder to second to end the threat.
Next, Williams tapped southpaw Felipe Rivero, who made his manager look good by tossing two perfect innings to keep the game tied. Then, Williams followed with Storen. Even though the former closer allowed two hits and a run to give Atlanta the lead, it was the right decision. If for no other reason than if Williams didn’t use Storen and the Nats had gone on to lose, the entire District of Columbia would’ve undoubtedly been calling for his bald head on a silver platter.
Despite a history of using his closer primarily in textbook save situations, Williams called on Papelbon with the Nationals trailing 2-1 in the ninth. Not only that, but he made a double switch -- inserting reserve Matt den Dekker into left field -- that would allow Papelbon to stay in the game for a second inning in the even it went to extras. And that's exactly what happened.
But wait, it gets better.
The only reason the game went to extras is because with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, den Dekker -- who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse last week and was only in the game because of the double switch -- stroked a two-out RBI single, scoring Trea Turner to tie it up. And the only reason Turner, who pinch ran after a Yunel Escobar leadoff double, was on third was because of Williams’ gutsy call to have Ian Desmond lay down a sacrifice bunt -- with two strikes.
But on a night when Williams could do no wrong, he saved his best move for last. After Papelbon retired the side in order in the top of the 10th -- just like the Nats' skipper drew it up -- Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit back-to-back singles. That’s when Williams reached deep into his bag o’ tricks and fished out an all-timer.
With the pitcher’s spot due up, he sent rookie Taylor to the plate to pinch hit. The same Taylor who sat out the past two games with a bum knee that’s been barking ever since he banged into the center-field wall chasing a fly ball last week. The same Taylor who was not in the starting lineup Friday but told reporters before the game he was ready to go if needed. The same Taylor who was just 3 for his past 21 with runners in scoring position.
All Taylor did was demolish a 1-0 slider from Matt Marksberry, sending it high over the left-center wall, much to the delight of a thin but throaty crowd of 23,000-plus. The moonshot, Taylor’s 14th homer on the season, gave the Nats a huge September win and put the finishing touches on Williams' wizardry.
“Lots of decisions that had to be made tonight,” said Papelbon, who picked up his first win as a National by pitching two innings for the first time since the trade, and just the second time all season. “Most of the decisions [Williams] made, they pulled through.”
The one decision Papelbon didn’t approve of -- or at least pretended not to approve of? When Williams had den Dekker pinch hit for him in the 10th.
“I was yelling at him to get me up there,” joked the Nats' closer, “to let me hit."
Just then, as Papelbon stood there ad-libbing in front of his locker with a throng of reporters hanging on his every word, the players in the Washington clubhouse, many of whom had been glued to the Mets-Marlins game on TV, erupted when Miami’s Martin Prado laced a game-winning 11th-inning double. The commotion was so boisterous it momentarily interrupted Papelbon’s interview. When the clapping and hollering finally died down, Papelbon continued, tongue still firmly in cheek.
“So, yeah," he said, trying to regain his train of thought. "I was talking about me raking.”
Then he got serious.
“I don’t think it made this game any bigger,” he said when asked if the loss by the Mets -- who visit D.C. for a three-game series starting Monday -- makes the Nationals' win that much more important. “It makes the rest of the season bigger.”
