Nats enjoy another big night at plate but trade Winker to Mets (updated)

ST. LOUIS – When Davey Martinez sent Harold Ramírez to the plate to pinch-hit for Jesse Winker in the top of the sixth tonight, it made perfect baseball sense. The Nationals, who had squandered bases-loaded opportunities each of the previous two innings, had yet another opportunity with the bags full in a tight ballgame. And with Cardinals manager Oli Marmol summoning left-hander Matthew Liberatore from the bullpen, of course Martinez would have the right-handed Ramírez bat for the left-handed Winker.

Ramírez proceeded to deliver the clutch hit the Nats had been seeking all night, sparking a seven-run rally that turned a tight ballgame at Busch Stadium into an eventual 14-3 rout. But it turns out the pinch-hit move by Martinez, though purely strategic in the moment, carried far more significance than anyone realized at the time.

Winker, who turned a minor league contract and a spring training invitation into a .793 OPS and a regular spot batting third for the Nats, was traded to the Mets for pitching prospect Tyler Stuart, the club officially announced Sunday morning.

Winker, who is due to become a free agent at season’s end and looked like the team's most logical candidate to be dealt prior to Tuesday’s major league deadline, wound up getting dealt in-game to a division rival for Stuart, a 24-year-old right-hander who was rated New York's No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The 6-foot-9 starter had a 3.96 ERA, 1.250 WHIP and 90 strikeouts with only 20 walks in 84 innings this season at Double-A Binghamton. He led all qualified full-season starters across the minor leagues last season with a 2.20 ERA split between Single-A and Double-A.

The trade couldn't officially be announced until both clubs received and approved medical info, which didn't happen until Sunday morning. But Winker was informed of the pending deal during the seventh inning Saturday night and spent the rest of the game making travel preparations while also returning to the dugout to enjoy the win with his now-former teammates.

"I'm extremely thankful for everybody here giving me the opportunity to come and play, and play every day," said Winker, who first saw rumblings about the trade when he retreated to the clubhouse after departing the game. "I'm so thankful for (general manager Mike Rizzo) and Davey and everyone. They really took a chance on me, and I feel like I owe them a lot for that."

Martinez, who insists he wasn't yet aware of the trade when he pinch-hit for Winker in the sixth, spoke glowingly about the 30-year-old, who not only became a key part of the lineup but a popular veteran presence in the clubhouse.

"The energy that he brought every day ... just a fun guy," Martinez said. "His preparation, his routine. He came ready to play every day, and it showed. He did really well for us. I wish him luck, until he plays for us."

The Nationals have needed Winker’s bat much of the season. But if they can keep hitting like they have the last two nights, they might survive the loss. Dylan Cease’s no-hitter only 48 hours ago in D.C. feels like ancient history at this point, the Nats having now totaled 24 runs in the first two games of their series in St. Louis.

It wasn’t shaping up to look like this tonight, not with the Nationals squandering a number of opportunities to blow the game open. They did take an early 2-0 lead, but that required a pair of two-out RBI singles, one from Luis García Jr. in the second and one from Winker in the third. These were manufactured runs, not stirring rallies.

The first opportunity for a big inning came in the fourth, with the bases loaded and one out against a fading Kyle Gibson. But Jacob Young (who delivered the game-winning, three-run triple Friday night) hit a similar liner to right field, only to watch the ball sink and ultimately end up in the glove of a sliding Lars Nootbaar. Making matters far worse, James Wood broke from third base on contact, and by the time he retreated to tag up, it was too late to attempt to score.

"He made a really good play, Nootbaar in right," Wood said. "But there, I've just got to be on the bag. Regardless if he catches it or not, I should be jogging to home."

Fortunately, the same situation presented itself in the fifth. Unfortunately, the result was no different. Keibert Ruiz popped up to the catcher, García lined out to left and all three runners again were stranded.

Who could’ve imagined the Nationals would load the bases yet again in the sixth, yet again with only one out? The difference this time? They got the big hit from a pinch-hitter.

Ramírez, who hadn’t appeared in a game in six days but may now become the team’s primary designated hitter, immediately delivered a two-run double down the right-field line, the clutch hit his team desperately sought all night. And that opened the floodgates. Juan Yepez, now getting a chance to face a lefty, singled home two more runs, terrorizing his former team yet again.

"He's really good when he stays on that side of the field," Martinez said of Ramírez. "He got in trouble by trying to pull everything. When he stays there, stays up the middle, he hits the ball really well. It was a great swing and a big moment. It uplifted our team, and all of a sudden, all of our at-bats got better."

Indeed, after Wood ripped a double to center – one of his four hits in the game, each of them featuring an exit velocity exceeding 104 mph – Keibert Ruiz stepped up and did something he had done only twice before in the majors: Homer from the right side of the plate. Ruiz’s three-run blast was only the third of his career off a left-hander.

"It was awesome," Martinez said. "He's another one that's been working really hard. It's hard working with a switch-hitter, because you've got to work both sides. And he's been working really hard on his right-handed swing. Today, he crushed the ball for us and gave us a bigger lead."

All that run support went to Jake Irvin, who gladly took it.

For the second time in three days, the Nationals had to deal with a rain delay. This time, at least, they found out before either starting pitcher began to warm up on the bullpen mound. It took more than two hours before the skies cleared for good and the field could be prepped, turning a scheduled 6:15 p.m. local start into an 8:19 p.m. first pitch more befitting an October contest than one in July.

If Irvin was bothered at all by the delay, he didn’t show it one bit. On the heels of a strong second half debut, the right-hander went right to work and retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced, keeping his pitch count manageable.

And when he did run into a bit of trouble in the fourth, Irvin calmly struck out Nolan Arenado with a curveball before getting Nootbaar to fly out to left to leave two runners stranded.

The right-hander ultimately would surrender a two-run homer to Willson Contreras in the sixth, ending his night at 96 pitches. But with a huge lead on the scoreboard, it meant little in the grander scheme.

"I think getting ahead was huge," Irvin said of his start. "I was trying to keep guys off balance in good counts. And the whole mix was there for the most part."