MLB

Washington Nationals at Houston Astros

· Major League Baseball
Washington Nationals
26-40, 14-19 Away
Final
4 - 5
Houston Astros
39-29, 20-14 Home

Nats' manager Martinez uses photo evidence to demand baseline rule fix

Martinez printed out a photo of Meyers running on the grass inside the first-base line after hitting a grounder and brought it to his postgame press conference.

“There it is right there,” Martinez said. “Take a look at it. Is that on the line? I don’t think so. I’m over this play. Seriously. They need to fix the rule. If this is what the umpire sees that he’s running down the line, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of it. Fix it. We lost the game, and he had nothing to say about it because he can’t make the right call. Brutal.”

Martinez was ejected from Game 6 of the 2019 World Series in Houston for arguing after the Nationals' Trea Turner was called out on a similar play.

MLB rules state that “when running the last half of the way to first base while the ball is being fielded in the vicinity of first, a baserunner must stay within the three-foot runner’s lane to the right of the foul line unless they are avoiding a player fielding a batted ball.”

Kyle Tucker led off the inning with a single off Hunter Harvey (2-3), and Jose Abreu followed with an infield single. Yainer Diaz struck out before Corey Julks walked to load the bases to set up Meyers’ grounder to short.

C.J. Abrams threw home to get the second out, but Ruiz’s throw to first went off Meyers’ helmet and allowed Abreu to score.

The Nationals argued the final play with the umpires, and Martinez said he was not given an explanation except that home plate umpire Jeremy Riggs saw Meyers run down the line.

“I think they were disputing whether he was in the baseline or not,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “That’s always a questionable call. Nobody really has the vantage point very good except really the home plate umpire, and he said it was nothing.”

Meyers said he ran up the line and collided with first baseman Michael Chavis’ glove, adding that he was touching the base.

“I think that kind of sent the ball elsewhere,” Meyers said. “I’m not really sure, but I know we scored, and we won. That’s good.”

Washington rallied for three runs in the ninth off Houston closer Ryan Pressly (1-2). Joey Meneses reached on an error by Alex Bregman to start the inning and scored on an RBI double by Corey Dickerson.

After Ruiz grounded out, Ildemaro Vargas grounded to the pitcher, but Pressly threw wide to home, allowing Dickerson to score. Dominic Smith tied it at 4 with an RBI triple, but Pressly recovered to get two groundouts to end the inning and keep it tied.

“What was going through my mind was we had to get out of there with at least a tie because we had some horses coming up in the ninth,” Baker said. “We gave them three runs in the ninth, and they gave us one run in the bottom of the ninth.”

Abreu hit a two-run double in the first, and Abreu and Diaz hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fourth to make it 4-0. Abreu finished with three hits and is 5 for 7 in the two games against Washington.

Framber Valdez allowed one run on five hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.27. Valdez has allowed one run or fewer in four of his last five starts.

The Nationals got a run back in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Abrams, scoring Smith, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

Josiah Gray allowed four runs on six hits with five strikeouts in seven innings. It was second time in the last three games Gray has surrendered four runs.

Washington has lost eight of its last nine games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: SS Jeremy Peña was out of the lineup for a third straight game with an unspecified illness. Baker said Pena would be in the lineup Thursday. … RHP Lance McCullers Jr. will miss the remainder of the season after having right forearm surgery Tuesday to repair his flexor tendon and remove a bone spur, Astros General Manager Dana Brown announced. … DH Yordan Alvarez could miss at least four weeks with a right oblique strain, Brown said. … OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) is pain-free and looking good, Brown said, adding that Brantley is running, throwing and hitting. Brantley will continue to be given more to do, but a timeline on his return is still uncertain, Brown said. … RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder) is throwing off flat ground over 100 feet, with an expected return date around or after the All Star break, Brown said.

UP NEXT

Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore (3-5, 4.04 ERA) will start Thursday against RHP Cristian Javier (7-1, 3.13) in the finale of the three-game series.

How can I watch Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros?
  • TV Channel: Nationals at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Astros: 72.7%
Nationals: 27.3%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Meyers grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Tucker out at home, J. Abreu scored on throwing error by catcher Ruiz.
9th Inning Julks walked, J. Abreu to second.
9th Inning Tucker stole third.
9th Inning Diaz struck out swinging.
9th Inning J. Abreu reached on infield single to shortstop, Tucker to second.
9th Inning Tucker singled to center.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
15 Ground Balls 11
8 Strikeouts 7
3 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
7 Hits 8
0 Stolen Bases 2
0 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
4 Runs 5
0 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
36 At Bats 33
0 Home Runs 2
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
13 Runners Left On Base 8
1 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 2
13 Fly Balls 15
0 Caught Stealing 0
123 Pitches 130
0 Games Started 0
2 Pinch At Bats 0
1 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
11 Total Bases 16
36 Plate Appearances 35
0.0 Projected Home Runs 324.0
3 Extra Base Hits 4
1.8 Runs Created 4.7
.194 Batting Average .242
.500 Pinch Hit Average .000
.306 Slugging Percentage .485
.111 Secondary Average .333
.194 On Base Percentage .286
.500 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .771
1.2 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.7
1.7 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 4.9
27.5 Batter Rating 38.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 16.5
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.42 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.71
.111 Isolated Power .242
0.00 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.14
.000 Walks Per Plate Appearance .029
-.083 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .091
7.0 Runs Produced 9.0
0.8 Runs Ratio 0.8
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.3
74.8 MLB Rating 85.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Minute Maid Park

Location: Houston, Texas
Attendance: 39,796 | Capacity:

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6
Full Standings