It was not necessarily an easy play. The ball came screaming off Luke Williams’ bat at 104.4 mph. But José Tena’s reaction said it all.
The Nationals’ rookie third baseman couldn’t react quickly enough and was left in a defensive position as the ball skipped toward him. It rattled off his glove, and though he picked it up right away, he had to rush his throw across the diamond and ultimately pulled first baseman Joey Gallo off the bag.
“I should’ve made the play,” Tena said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I should’ve caught it and made the play.”
Tena’s error wound up prolonging the top of the third Tuesday night, with MacKenzie Gore unable to pitch his way out of the inning before allowing four runs to score. The Braves went on to rout the Nats, 12-0, and Tena found himself once again confronting questions about his shaky play in the field.
This was the eighth error charged to Tena in only 24 games since the Nationals called him up last month. The 23-year-old admittedly is still learning third base on the fly after spending the majority of his time in the Guardians system at shortstop, but his struggles nonetheless have been costly and have at times overshadowed his strong offensive performance.