Looking back at Adams’ caught stealing to start Nats’ winning streak

The Nationals have put together their first winning streak of the new season by winning their last three games in a row against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. There were plenty of noteworthy plays over the last three days, but let’s take a look back at the one that started it all.

It wasn’t made by the hero you might expect. It wasn’t one of the young starting pitchers nor one of the budding young stars nor one of the savvy veterans brought in over the offseason.

No, this streak-starting play was made by backup catcher Riley Adams on Saturday night.

The Nats were in danger of seeing their two-run lead in the ninth inning completely disappear. Closer Kyle Finnegan issued a leadoff walk and saw the baserunner eventually come all the way around to score and make it a one-run game.

The leadoff runner advanced to second base on a wild pitch, moved to third on a flyout and scored when Finnegan and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe couldn’t connect for a groundout at first.

So after another flyout, the tying run was on first and the go-ahead run was at the plate. And on Finnegan’s first pitch of the at-bat against Geraldo Perdomo, Alek Thomas broke for second base to try to get into scoring position.

Adams caught the high 96.5 mph heater, popped up and threw a dart to shortstop CJ Abrams, who made an impressive catch and quick tag for the 27th out and the Nats’ second win of the season.

“One, he came up firing. Like I said, he made an unbelievable throw,” manager Davey Martinez said on Saturday. “Pop time was good. Throw right on the base. And then the tag that CJ put on, it was really quick, really firm. Both sides of the play were really good.”

Adams’ pop time was 1.87 seconds, a huge improvement from his average of 2.01 seconds last year and his best since he was a rookie with the Blue Jays. His exchange time of 0.67 seconds and 85.3 mph velocity on his throw were both much better than his career averages.

“I think sometimes you can have a tendency to be too fast and it just gets out of control,” Adams said. “And so the idea is just to try to get the ball out as quickly as possible. I trust my arm to get the throw down there. Give a lot of credit there to (catching coach Henry Blanco) and all the work he's been putting in to help me out these last couple of weeks and getting ready.”

Throwing out runners is something that has always been an area in need of improvement for Adams. The backstop only threw out 3-of-34 would-be basestealers last year and entered this season with a caught stealing percentage of 14.4 percent in his career.

So starting this season 1-for-1 is a good sign.

“It's awesome,” Martinez said. “We talked about this with him: ‘Hey, you're a backup catcher. Your job is to catch, put the right fingers down, get a chance, throw somebody out.’ That's his job. If he hits, great. But he was great. … He made an unbelievable throw at the end to finish the game. So even though he didn't swing the bat like he's capable of swinging, he was focused on getting us through that game and he did a great job.”

Adams, Abrams, Finnegan and the Nationals did have to sweat it out after the play, though. Out of desperation, the Diamondbacks challenged the call at second in hopes of keeping the game alive. That effort was to no avail, however, because the call was confirmed by video review.

“I gave a peak in at Davey, and he gave me the signal that ... he's out and let's get out of here,” Adams said. “And then I think we saw the first review and it looked pretty good. But then the review takes a little bit longer and you kind of start to get a little nervous. But just happy that it worked out.”

But with that great exchange, throw and tag, he must have felt good about their chances, right?

“I don't know,” he said with a grin. “You never really feel good about it until you see the umpire make the call. I was just happy it got down there quick and happy that it worked out.”

Adams’ teammates were happy, too, because it officially ended the Nats’ four-game skid. And it was the first time in Nationals history (2005-present) that they won a game on a caught stealing.

“I wanted to get the win,” said Alex Call, who had a good view of the play from right field. “And if we didn't have to see any more pitches and didn't have to have any more balls across the plate, that was fine with me. So great job by Riley getting it done.”

And the Nats were happy for Adams himself, as well, since being the backup catcher is such a difficult job and one he handles well.

“Riley's a great player. He's got a great attitude and he's ready,” Call said. “That was a missile he fired there and we needed it. And so it was great to see him be ready and take care of business.”