With Harper out, Taylor slams door on fifth straight series win

Sometimes you just need your teammates to pick you up. That's exactly what Nationals rookie Michael A. Taylor did for Bryce Harper in the ninth inning of today's intense 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Harper, arguably the game's most explosive player right now, blew up in the wrong kind of way on a controversial check-swing strike three call in the seventh. Home plate umpire Rob Drake was having no part of Harper's tempestuous argument and sent the 22-year-old to the showers. It appeared to be a costly mistake in a 5-5 ballgame.

After right-hander Aaron Barrett surrendered the go-ahead run to the Diamondbacks in the eighth, the Nats entered the ninth down one.

Denard Span and Yunel Escobar calmly produced consecutive singles and Jayson Werth drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Normally, the National League home run leader Harper would've been stalking to the plate. Instead, enter the 23-year old Taylor. Facing Diamondbacks closer Addison Reed, Taylor unleashed a violent swing on a 1-0 fastball, sending it soaring deep over the center field wall for a grand slam, the first of his young career.

"It felt pretty good," Taylor said after the game on the field in Arizona. "Normally I try not to smile when I'm running around the bases, but I just couldn't help it right there. It felt good to help my team win."

Taylor was mobbed by his teammates once he crossed the plate and made his way into Nats dugout.

"I think I might have a concussion," Taylor said. "Guys were slugging the helmet, a lot of high fives. It was fun."

Nationals manager Matt Williams was also ejected in the seventh after standing up for Harper. That meant he was left to remain in the clubhouse for the dramatic finish.

"Got a good at-bat from Denard, good at-bat from Yunel, good at-bat from Jayson to give us that opportunity for Mike to get up there," Williams said. "He got a fastball down in the strike zone and did what he had to with it."

The win is the Nats' ninth of the season in come-from-behind fashion. This one may not have been as unlikely as the season-changing historic 13-12 comeback in Atlanta, but it's not a distant second.

"We certainly want to get the lead and keep the lead," Williams said. "That's the plan. But when it doesn't go to plan then we have to jump, crawl, do whatever we can to get back into the game. Whatever it takes we need to do to win."

Werth gave the Nats an early lead in the third with an enormous three-run clout. His second homer of the season is a good sign for the 35-year old veteran who's still regaining strength in his surgically-repaired right shoulder. However, as Williams eluded to, Werth's ninth inning walk was big as well as it enabled Taylor to come to plate to play hero.

"I always like our chances," Werth said to reporters. "We've come from behind a lot since I've been here. I don't ever feel like we're out of it. A couple base hits, worked a walk and it just so happens Mikey Taylor's up there and hits his first career grand slam. It's pretty cool for him and good for us."

Williams objected to reporters' questions after the game on whether the irony of Harper's ejection leading to Taylor's game-winning blast was funny.

'It's not funny," Williams said. "It's not even close to being funny. I think we got fortunate in that one. We allowed them a lot of opportunity, but we were able to get the last swing."

Williams also explained the ejections.

"I'm going out there to protect Bryce," Williams said. "If he gets kicked out of the game, he gets kicked out but nothing further than that.

"He's been real good all season. He's passionate. He's been really good all season about it but today it went over."

The Nats are now winners of five straight series as they head to San Diego for a four-game series beginning Thursday with right-hander Doug Fister on the mound.