Taylor's latest highlight-reel play: inside-the-park grand slam

Michael A. Taylor remembered what happened two years ago tonight, Sept. 8, 2015, when he singled to center field with the bases loaded against the Mets and watched Yoenis Cespedes let the ball get past him for what officially was ruled a single and three-base error.

Taylor did not remember what happened 2 1/2 weeks later, Sept. 25, 2015, when he couldn't make a diving catch of Aaron Altherr's sinking liner with the bases loaded and had to chase down the ball and watch the Phillies outfielder pull off an inside-the-park grand slam.

Informed, then, that the Altherr play was the most recent inside-the-park slam in the major leagues until tonight, Taylor responded with his typically understated wit.

"Oh really?" he said. "Feels better to be on this side of it."

Yes, it does.

It was Taylor's highlight-reel moment at the plate and on the bases tonight that highlighted the Nationals' wild, 11-10 victory over the Phillies, a victory that brought their magic number down to three and created the possibility of a clinch as soon as Sunday afternoon.

And it was the moment that everyone in the home clubhouse was still buzzing about afterward.

"I saw the stats on the board," shortstop Trea Turner said. "I guess there's only been six in the last 18-20 years? That's pretty crazy. Just glad it was on our side."

Added manager Dusty Baker: "I don't know if I've ever seen an inside-the-park grand slam."

They are indeed rare. This was the first in club history, only the second in franchise history. Props to anyone who remembers Bombo Rivera doing it for the Expos on June 26, 1976 against the Pirates.

Everyone in the crowd of 29,837 at Nationals Park will remember this one. As will Taylor, who has turned into a human highlight reel this week, having robbed a home run Thursday night and added a perfect throw the plate tonight for his eighth outfield assist of the season.

The grand slam, though, was the most memorable moment of the game. When he lined Jake Thompson's pitch to center field with the bases loaded and one out in the third, Taylor didn't yet know how it would all play out. But once he saw Odubel Herrera take a step in and then struggle to recover in time, the thought immediately came to mind.

"Soon as it went over his head," Taylor said, "I was thinking four right there."

Not everyone in the Nationals dugout anticipated the same thing right away, even with Bob Henley and his always-waving right arm coaching in the third base box.

"I was wondering if they were going to hold him at third," said Max Scherzer, who was due up two batters later. "And Bobby ... of course he's going to send him. I'm like: 'Oh man, keep it going, Mikey! Keep this train going!'"

Taylor made the 360-foot trip around the bases in 15.04 seconds, managing not to catch up to Matt Wieters, Ryan Zimmerman or Daniel Murphy in front of him. He slid in safely as the ball got away from catcher Jorge Alfaro, then crawled back to touch the plate just to be sure before returning to the dugout to a roar from the crowd that continued until he took a curtain call.

Oh, Taylor also went 4-for-5 in the game, tripling in what proved to be the insurance run that preserved the win in the bottom of the eighth. Add all those heroics to his defensive gems, and this has turned into a remarkable season for a guy who wasn't supposed to play every day but finally seized his latest opportunity when Adam Eaton tore his ACL in late April.

"This is what we want him to do," Baker said. "We're not really surprised, because the ability's there."

Said Scherzer: "He's impacting the game both defensively and offensively. And on the bases. He's taking bases. He's playing outstanding, Gold Glove center field defense for us. Robbing home runs, making diving catches. He's doing everything he can to help us win ballgames."