Taylor on allowing inside the park grand slam: "I thought I had a chance on it"

Nationals center fielder Michael A. Taylor tried to make a play on a line drive in front of him off the bat of the Phillies' Aaron Altherr with the bases loaded in top of the third. The ball went under his glove and rolled towards the center field wall. All four runs scored on the inside-the-park grand slam. The Phillies had a three-run lead. They went on to win the game 8-2. Manager Matt Williams commented on whether Taylor could have played the ball differently. "Yeah, but he thinks he's got a chance to catch it," Williams said. "Once he goes for it then there's no turning back at that point. The ball didn't stay up for him. He got jammed a little bit so he made a play for it and missed it. "(H)indsight's 20/20 of course," Williams continued. "So if Mikey had it to do over again, he'd probably play it on a hop and settle for one, maybe two and get that ball back in. But he's aggressive. He wants to make a play. He dove for it and missed it." Taylor confirmed the ball hit off the bottom of his glove. He felt he had a shot to catch the liner as he approached the ball. "Sometimes it's a tough call right there," Taylor said. "Right there, I felt like I had a good beat on the ball. I thought I had a chance on it. I know in that situation you better catch the ball, and I wouldn't have gone for it if I didn't think I could. It's still a bad play once I miss it, so, it's a tough play." Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (13-9) lasted five innings and allowed six runs in what might have been his final start at Nationals Park while pitching for the Nationals. He felt Taylor had a chance to make the catch. "I'm expecting him to make a spectacular play," Zimmermann said. "It gets past him, goes to the wall and that's the way baseball is. I mean, it wasn't an easy play by any stretch. I know he's giving it all. That's just the way it happens." "He tried to make that play," said catcher Wilson Ramos. "He tried to make that play. He did not (catch) the ball, but that's happening in baseball. He's playing hard. He's trying to give his best effort. These little things happen in this game." Taylor said when he turned and saw the ball rolling to the wall, he could think of only one thing. "The team," Taylor said. "That was a big play for us, and I felt like I let down the team and I let down Jordan right there. It's not a good play." In early September, Taylor was the recipient of fortune off an error by Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes in center field with the bases loaded. Four runs scored on the play. Taylor was credited with a run-scoring single while the other three runs were attributed to the Cespedes error. On this night, Altherr was credited with the inside-the-park grand slam, the first of his career, on a very similar play. It was a big play in the game but it certainly wasn't the only reason why the Nationals lost. Taylor has singlehandedly won many games with his bat and his glove this season. He will help win many more in the future. But the Nationals managed only two runs and five hits off of Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (2-3), striking out 10 times. The Mets' magic number is down to one.