As he stood on the mound with one out in the bottom of the ninth Friday night in Minnesota, the potential tying run in scoring position and the potential winning run on base, Kyle Finnegan could’ve panicked about the jam he had just put himself and the Nationals in. Instead, he considered the best-case scenario that could play out if he could just do his job and trust his teammates behind him to do the rest.
“I execute this pitch here, he’s going to hit it on the ground and we’re going to turn a double play and win,” Finnegan recalled thinking to himself in that moment. “To see it play out, and to be able to trust your defense that they’re going to make a play, it’s everything.”
Sure enough, Finnegan’s first pitch was a 94 mph sinker on the inside corner, jamming José Miranda, who hit a sharp grounder to third. Jeimer Candelario scooped it up and threw to second baseman Luis García, who made the quick turn and fired to Dominic Smith at first base for the game-ending, 5-4-3 double play.
The Nationals couldn’t have drawn it up any better. And these days that’s exactly how they’re drawing it up, because their infield defense has become a legitimate strength after causing so many headaches last season.
The Nats have turned 25 double plays through their first 21 games. Only the Cardinals, who have played one more game, have turned more among all major league clubs.
“It’s made our pitching a lot better, that’s for sure,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We’ve got to catch the ball. We’ve got to make the plays. We are turning some double plays, and that’s a testament to our pitchers putting the ball on the ground a lot, too. All around, they’re doing a great job. They’re pitching to contact, they’re throwing strikes and our defense is playing well.”
The additions of Candelario and Smith at the corners has been a boon. So has the emergence of shortstop CJ Abrams. But the biggest improvement might well be at second base, where García has excelled.
After a disastrous attempt to make him a shortstop last season – he finished with a staggering minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved in only 59 games – the Nationals shifted García back to the other side of the diamond. They figured he’d be a serviceable second baseman. He’s proving to be much more than that.
As of Monday, García rated as the fourth-best second baseman in the majors by FanGraphs’ metrics. He has yet to be charged with an error.
“I think the last couple seasons, it was more going back and forth between shortstop and second base,” the 22-year-old said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “This year, I’m more comfortable because I know I’m at second base. And like I’ve said from the beginning, I’ve stayed focused.”
Focus has been a recurring buzzword for several members of the Nationals roster early this season, and that has especially been true for García. The knock on him previously was that his mind tended to wander and he had trouble keeping himself fully engaged on every pitch.
So, what changed? Well, Major League Baseball instituted the pitch clock this season. All of a sudden, players in the field don’t have time to let their minds wander.
“I think, generally, it does help make a difference,” García said. “Because everything’s so quick, it flows so quickly that you stay focused the whole time and just worry about the next pitch and not have other things to think about. Just be ready and be able to make the play.”
There is more to it than that, and García deserves credit for the work he has put in to make himself a better and more consistent defensive player.
“We talk a lot about agility with him,” Martinez said. “He took it to heart this winter. He worked a lot on footwork. He’s still doing it. I know he’s on an agility program right now. But he’s gotten so much better over there. His first step has been a lot better. … That’s a testament to how hard he’s worked to get better.”
And when it all comes together with a double play turned at a critical moment in a ballgame like it did in the ninth inning Friday night? It’s a thing of beauty for the Nationals, who entered the season believing they’d be a much improved defensive team and are now seeing it come to fruition.
“It’s very, very exciting,” García said. “As soon as that ground ball was hit to Candy, I knew right then we were winning the game. It was done.”