Dylan Crews was the hero in Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins.
All season, and especially over the past month, there’s been a feeling in the Washington Nationals clubhouse on days Cade Cavalli starts. He has single-handedly picked up the rest of the team at times — during the Nationals’ 3-12 stretch earlier this month, their only wins came in his starts.
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On Saturday, Washington had confidence in Cavalli again. But with two outs in the fourth inning, as he was holding the Miami Marlins hitless, Javier Sanoja’s 93-mph comebacker struck his right calf. He still tossed the ball to Abimelec Ortiz to secure the third out, then hobbled off the field and straight into the tunnel, a trainer and Manager Blake Butera following in rapid succession.
Cavalli was not able to return, his calf tightening up too much. But after the bullpen blew a 4-0 lead, Orlando Ribalta put on a performance in the top of the 10th inning, setting up Dylan Crews to be the hero. The outfielder’s two-out single — the first walk-off hit of his career — gave the Nationals their first walk-off win of the season, 5-4.
“That moment was probably my best moment so far playing with this team,” Crews said.
Cavalli wasn’t at his sharpest Saturday. After striking out the side in the first inning, the right-hander walked the bases loaded in the second. He found his way out of it, striking out Owen Caissie and Joe Mack to end the inning.
Washington gave Cavalli some support in the third, with an assist from the Miami defense. With Daylen Lile on first and José Tena on second, Dylan Crews hit a weak groundball just inside the first base line. Mack, at catcher, tried to underhand it to Kyle Stowers at first, but the throw got past him, bringing in two runs.
The Nationals added another run on an RBI single from Brady House, the one more on a double from Jorbit Vivas that glanced off the glove of left fielder Heriberto Hernández.
That put the Nationals ahead 4-0. They still held that lead as Cavalli hobbled off the field and into the tunnel, where he tried to throw a few pitches before ultimately deciding it was in his best interest not to continue. It was sore after the game and felt kind of like a charley horse, he said. The Nationals will see how he feels Sunday, but they do not expect it to be a long-term issue.
“Not how I wanted it to happen, obviously,” Cavalli said. “Felt really good today. It was awesome seeing our team get that kind of win.”
Erik Tolman, on limited notice, took over for Cavalli in the fifth inning, allowing a single to Mack and nothing more in two innings.
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Tom Cosgrove took over for the seventh inning and set down the first two batters he faced. Then pinch hitter Leo Jiménez singled, and things started to spiral. Cosgrove walked Agustín Ramírez, and Stowers’s two-run double ended Cosgrove’s day. Brad Lord came in, and Hernández took his second pitch deep to tie the game.
The game remained tied until the 10th inning. After Ribalta struck out Jakob Marsee to strand two runners, Marlins reliever Michael Petersen retired CJ Abrams and Ortiz on four pitches before his command wavered. With ghost runner Nasim Nuñez on second base, José Tena and Daylen Lile both drew walks.
As Crews stepped up with the game on the line, he took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. The guys ahead of him were missing underneath the fastball, so he focused on getting on top of it and not pressing. After whiffing on a center-cut slider, he did just that, connecting on a 98.9-mph four-seamer and lining it into shallow right center.
The dugout was already climbing over the railing before Crews even made it to first base, the whole team celebrating the end of its walk-off drought and the milestone for Crews amid a challenging season for the former top prospect.
“We put in the work every single day,” Crews said. “This game is very physically and mentally draining. To have a moment like that and think about all the times we’ve been here super early and working our tail off every day. What a great win that was.”
Cavalli watched from the training room, where he was getting soft tissue work done on his calf. August has been the best month of his career, the right-hander pitching to a 1.75 ERA in six starts, the team winning all but one of those. And while he wasn’t able to contribute as much as he would have hoped Saturday, his teammates still made sure he ended August on the right note.
“I was pumped,” Cavalli said. “I was fired up. Petersen looked really good today and for him to put a bat to the ball was awesome.”
Note: James Wood will begin a rehab assignment with Class AA Harrisburg on Sunday, playing seven innings in left field. It will be his first game action since Aug. 4, when he went on the injured list with a left oblique strain.
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