Tag: Washington Nationals

Dusty Baker was so proud as his son Darren got a hit on the first pitch he saw in his MLB debut

A proud father moment.

The Nationals won’t look back on Sunday’s game against the Cubs with many fond memories, but a notable exception to that will live on in the Baker household.

Nearly 22 years after a young Darren Baker — the son of then-Giants manager Dusty Baker — was saved from a home-plate collision in the 2002 World Series, the now-25-year-old was back on a big-league diamond to make his own MLB debut.

And really, the moment had to be so cool for Dusty — who was on hand to watch his son.

Darren made his first MLB appearance as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. With the Nationals already down 13 runs, Darren went up there with the mindset to get his pitch and swing. And, well, he didn’t have to wait long at all for that first MLB hit.

On the very first pitch he saw of his MLB career, Darren hit a hard grounder up the middle for a base hit.

In a lopsided game, there wasn’t much to smile about for the Nationals. But that certainly changed with Dusty’s reaction in the stands. That was one proud father.

Fans also loved that moment for the Baker family.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

https://twitter.com/clintonyates/status/1830350706441863494

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Darren Baker, son of Dusty, called up to majors 22 years after his World Series bat boy moment

Want to feel old?

Want to feel old?

Remember when Dusty Baker was manager of the San Francisco Giants and his bat boy son ran onto the field during the 2002 World Series and had to be snatched up mid-play by J.T. Snow?

Yeah, that little kid will be playing in a big league game soon.

The Washington Nationals called up Darren Baker to the majors Sunday as part of their September roster expansion. It’ll be his first major league stint after the Nats first drafted him in 2017 when Dusty was the team’s manager, then again in 2021 after he opted for college.

Where did the time go.

MLB fans had so many jokes after the Nationals’ dreadful base running led to an 8-6-2-3-2-5-4 double play

The Nationals almost ran themselves into a phone number.

While the Nationals certainly aren’t White Sox bad or Marlins bad, nobody is going to confuse them with a good baseball team. For one play, though, they did look like a last-place team with some base running that belonged nowhere near an MLB game.

In the eighth inning of the Nationals’ eventual win against the Yankees on Wednesday, JosĆ© Tena drove a line drive over Aaron Judge’s head and bouncing off the wall. But for whatever reason, Joey Gallo had a terrible read over at second base, which led to a late break on the base path. As he was rounding third, he hesitated and then decided to, uh, run towards home from a complete stop.

That awful idea was only made worse by Juan Yepez deciding to go to third and then retreating to second with Tena inexplicably running back to first from second base. It was mayhem.

Yepez should have stayed at third and let Gallo get tagged out. The Nats would’ve had runners at second and third. Instead, they nearly ran into a phone number for an 8-6-2-3-2-5-4 double play.

No wonder MLB fans had jokes for the abysmal base running. That scorebook must have been something else.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

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Dylan Crews hits his first MLB homer, leads Nationals to series win over the Yankees

Dylan Crews hit his first big-league bomb on Wednesday night as Washington clinched a series win.

After going hitless in the first game of his MLB career, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] has turned up the heat in the past two games. On Tuesday night, he finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Wednesday, he finished the game 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, two RBI and two strikeouts. Those stats helped the Nationals pull off a series win against the New York Yankees.

In his first at-bat of the game, Crews faced a 1-0 count from [autotag]Carlos Rodon[/autotag] and he got a 93 MPH inside fastball and DC did not miss it. He sent it on a ride at 399 feet to left field as it landed in the bullpen.

That wasn’t all for Crews in the game as he faced Rodon once again in the fourth inning and he got the best of him again. Again, he got an inside fastball and again he did not miss. Crews hit this one to left-center and it caromed off of the wall for an RBI double.

That increased the Nats lead to 5-1 and Washington would not look back. The Nats won the game 5-2 and DC looks to be fitting in just fine at the major league level.

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Dylan Crews makes MLB debut with Washington Nationals

Dylan Crews went 0 for 3 in his Major League debut with a strikeout and a walk.

After spending a year in the minor leagues, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] recently was called up to play for the [autotag]Washington Nationals[/autotag]. On Monday night, he made his first start as the Nationals hosted the New York Yankees in DC.

Crews had a relatively quiet night in his debut as he finished the game going 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a walk. That’s the game of baseball for you, even potential superstars go hitless in some games.

Crews had a .270 batting average across two minor-league teams as he made his way from the Nationals Double-A affiliate to the Triple-A affiliate and now to the major leagues.

The Nats are 12 games out of a wildcard spot in the National League so they are pulling out all the stops to try to make one final playoff push before October. Maybe Crews can be the spark that the team needs to take them to the next level. We will be keeping up with Crews as he progresses in the majors.

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Dylan Crews headed to the majors after getting called up from Washington Nationals

The No. 3 prospect in Major League Baseball is headed to the big show.

The No. 3 prospect in Major League Baseball is headed to the big show. Former LSU center fielder [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] has received his call-up to the [autotag]Washington Nationals[/autotag].

Crews was the No. 2 pick in the 2023 MLB draft by the Nationals and he started his professional career in rookie ball in 2023. He has flown through the minors and after spending time with the Harrisburg Senators (Double-A affiliate) and the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A affiliate), he is headed to Washington.

Crews has a .272 average with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 homers, and 68 RBI between the AA and AAA affiliate teams. The Nationals are currently playing the Atlanta Braves in an NL East matchup. Crews will be making his debut on Monday against the New York Yankees.

The Nationals are currently 58-70 and 10.5 games out of a National League Wild Card spot. Hopefully, Crews can be the spark that the Nats need to fight for one of the wild card spots.

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Look: Nationals, former Gators OF reps Jaguars cleats vs. Phillies

Look: Nationals, former Gators OF reps Jaguars cleats vs. Phillies

Nationals outfielder Jacob Young reminded everybody where he is from amid his rise to MLB stardom, sporting Jacksonville Jaguars-themed cleats in Washington’s 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on Friday.

Young is a Jacksonville-area native who played for Ponte Vedra High School before enrolling at the University of Florida and ultimately making it to the big leagues.

He set a program record 30-game hitting streak with the Gators in 2021, which was tied by Kansas City’s 2024 first-round pick, Jac Caglianone, earlier this year.

Washington selected Young in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB draft and promoted him to its major league roster late in the 2023 season, where he has remained for all but two games since.

The Washington Post called Young a “defensive wizard” in an analysis of his play Monday, citing his MLB-leading 18 outs above average and 16 runs prevented this season in his growing case to win the National League’s Gold Glove Award.Ā 

Young has produced a .253 batting average over 517 career plate appearances with the Nationals. He hit the first home run of his major league career in June and is up to two on the season, paired with 26 runs batted in.

Young’s 28 stolen bases this year rank No. 9 in the MLB.

Young should be able to catch the second half of Jacksonville’s Saturday evening preseason matchup with Tampa Bay after Washington faces Philadelphia at 6:05 p.m. ET. The Jaguars and Buccaneers are scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

Former LSU baseball star Dylan Crews discusses his work off the field

Dylan Crews highlighted the “Families Helping Families” organization that he and his family were such a big part of in Baton Rouge.

Nationwide’s Road to the Show series highlights some of the best minor league players in the country and helps fans get acquainted with the players who could be the future of the MLB.

This time, they highlighted former LSU star outfielder [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], who is now in the [autotag]Washington Nationals[/autotag] farm system. Crews currently plays for the Nationals AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. In 44 games with the Red Wings, Crews has a .257 batting average with 10 doubles, three triples, seven homers and 24 RBI.

The next step for Crews would be a call-up to the majors. Nationwide focused on his off-the-field efforts more in their interview. Crews highlighted the “Families Helping Families” organization that he and his family were such a big part of in Baton Rouge.

“For every home erun that I hit, I personally would donate money to that organization, that charity,” Crews said. “For every homerun the team hit, my parents would donate that money to that organization.”

“But it wasn’t really about that, it was about getting those kids and those families all together and making them feel like they were one of us and that they had a friend and that they were welcome at any time.”

Hopefully, we get to see Dylan in the majors sooner rather than later.

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Trey Lipscomb scores run in Nationals’ win at St. Louis

Former Vol Trey Lipscomb scores one run in the Nationals’ win at St. Louis.

Washington defeated St. Louis, 10-8, on Friday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Former Vol Trey Lipscomb started at third base for the Nationals. He went 1-for-4 in the contest and scored one run, while also reaching on-base after a walk.

Lipscomb was selected by Washington in the third-round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft (No. 84 overall).Ā He won the 2022 Southeastern Conference Tournament and regular-season championship with the Vols.

Lipscomb appeared in 66 games in his final season at Tennessee in 2022. He totaled 22 home runs, 84 RBIs, 68 runs, 89 hits, 19 doubles, three triples, 26 walks and four stolen bases.

PHOTOS: Trey Lipscomb through the years

Trey Lipscomb. Tennessee Volunteers versus Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 5, 2022. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Trey Lipscomb not in Nationals’ lineup as Padres record no-hitter

Former Vol Trey Lipscomb not in lineup as San Diego pitches a no-hitter against the Nationals.

San Diego (55-50) defeated Washington (47-56), 3-0, on Thursday at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Dylan Cease (9-8) started for the Padres and pitched a complete-game no-hitter against the Nationals. He recorded nine strikeouts, while allowing three walks. Cease totaled 114 pitches, including 71 strikes.

The Padres have recorded two no-hitters in franchise history.

Former Vol Trey Lipscomb was not in the lineup for the Nationals on Thursday. He was recalled by Washington on July 6.

Lipscomb has recorded a .222 batting average, one home run and 10 RBIs in 51 games during the 2024 season.

Lipscomb was selected by Washington in the third-round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft (No. 84 overall).Ā He won the 2022 Southeastern Conference Tournament and regular-season championship with the Vols.

PHOTOS: Trey Lipscomb through the years

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire