Taylor's dramatic ninth inning carries Nats to walk-off win

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor knows a thing or two about spring training heroics. This is the guy, after all, who maintained a batting average over .500 for most of the spring one year ago only to struggle through a difficult regular season after that.

So forgive the Nationals outfielder for not getting overly excited by his dramatic performance in the ninth inning this afternoon.

"It's nice," the 25-year-old said in his typical low-key manner. "My family was in the stands today. You always want to have a good game when your folks are in town."

A good game? That's putting it mildly.

Taylor stole the show in the final inning of the first game ever played at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The Fort Lauderdale native cut down the potential go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, throwing out the Astros' Mott Hyde at the plate. Then a few minutes later, he launched a walk-off home run over the left field foul pole, catapulting the Nationals to a 4-3 victory that may not have counted for anything but felt satisfying nonetheless.

"That's how you draw it up as a kid and you're playing hero," manager Dusty Baker said. "You throw somebody out and then end it with a homer."

Taylor was greeted by a throng of teammates after circling the bases, plus a roar from the crowd of 5,987 that had been imploring him seconds earlier to end this game with one swing of the bat. He obliged by hammering an 0-1 breaking ball from left-hander Ashur Tolliver down the line and just over the foul pole, with third base umpire Andy Fletcher confirming the result with his fair ball signal.

"It felt pretty good," Taylor said. "And I knew the wind was blowing that way, so I had a little help."

A day that began with pomp and circumstance, including Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred cutting a ceremonial ribbon alongside ownership from both teams that call this new facility home, ended with an exciting finish (by Grapefruit League standards).

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals tied the game on José Lobaton's RBI single. They nearly gave the run back in the top of the ninth when Houston's Jon Kemmer sent a two-out single to right and Hyde came storming around third.

Taylor's throw skipped a couple times and was caught by Jhonatan Solano just to the right of the plate. Thinking Hyde was about to score, Solano dove back to his left and stuck his mitt out, only to discover the runner was still two steps away. So Solano had to twist around the other direction, block Hyde with his right leg and then apply the tag in time.

"When I saw the throw, I just felt that he was closer to me," Solano said. "That was my reaction: Get the ball and try to tag him right away. And when I saw him, I tried to block home plate and do whatever."

"It wasn't pretty," Baker said. "But we got him out."

With a chance now to win the game in the bottom of the ninth - and avoid the always-dreaded extra innings in spring training - Wilmer Difo and Emmanuel Burriss quickly grounded out. That left it up to Taylor, who provided his latest Grapefruit League heroics.

The question now is how he can transfer that March success into April and beyond.

"Had Michael carried that into the season (in 2016), we probably wouldn't have looked for a center fielder coming into this year," Baker said. "Now you've got to work your way back up. Michael's young enough where he could do that and talented enough, as you saw. He's a big-time, two-way player. Last year was kind of a ... you scratch your head as to why. Sometimes it takes you a little longer to get your act together at the big-league level on a consistent basis."

Taylor has said he wants to approach this spring the same way he did a year ago. He just wants to avoid putting pressure on himself early in the season like he did last time around.

"In my mind, I think it's the same game," he said. "Once I got into the season, I wasn't able to transfer that over, because I let a lot of things distract me and worried about things I can't control. This year's a new year. I'm going to come in with a good mindset like I did last year and carry that through the season."