Tena walks off Angels in 10th to cap off Nats debut (updated)

The Nationals have played their fair share of back-and-forth games this week. They saw six lead changes over their last four games, some of which included late-inning dramatics and extra frames.

And so here they were again having to battle through another one in their second matchup against the Angels. But although they saw an early lead change swing in their favor, they couldn’t keep the score of this one from flip-flopping. In the end, the Nats were able to come back for a 5-4 walk-off win in 10 innings in front of 22,183 fans at Nationals Park thanks to a new face.

After Derek Law kept it a 4-4 game with a scoreless top of the ninth while closer Kyle Finnegan was unavailable due to an increased workload over the past two games, the heart of the Nats order couldn’t provide a walk-off hit just yet.

So to extras we went yet again, the Nats’ third straight extra-inning game. Law returned to the mound and pitched a perfect 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third.

Because CJ Abrams was out of the starting lineup with a stiff upper back, he was available to pinch-run for Keibert Ruiz as the automatic runner. José Tena, an infield prospect from the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester before the game, stepped up as the first batter in the bottom of the 10th.

A wild pitch from Roansy Contreras moved Abrams to third. And Tena capped off his Nationals debut with a deep walk-off RBI single to the left-center field wall.

“I'm very proud," Tena said after the game via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "Very proud, especially since I've been working very hard for moments like this. Just keep working.”

His hard work started in the Guardians system before he was one of three players the Nationals received in exchange for Thomas on July 29. In 10 games with Rochester, he hit five of his seven hits for extra bases. Although at first his walk-off hit seemed like it was going to land over the fence, it definitely would have been for extra bases had it not ended the game before he rounded first.

“After watching his videos, he stays on the ball really well," manager Davey Martinez said. "We talked about it earlier. He's got a really nice, short swing. Very handsy, but he stays in his legs really well. I told him he wasn't gonna bunt. I said I want you to drive this run in. Just try to stay in the middle of the field. And he drove it. He's got a nice swing.”

By the time Tena turned to face his new teammates, many of whom he hadn't even met yet after arriving to the clubhouse a little late this afternoon, he was already being mobbed in celebration. He was, however, able to send his new manager a discreet message from the middle of the infield.

“The manager had told me that I was going to win the game for us," Tena said. "And once I realized that the hit was going to be the game-winning one, I turned around and gave him a little wink.”

“I think his teammates know who he is now," the manager said. "Like I said, he's a good kid. Loves to play. He's very handsy when it comes to hitting. So we're gonna get a good look at him and hopefully he comes out tomorrow and does the same thing.”

Hours before Tena introduced himself to his new team in a big way, Patrick Corbin took the mound for his 24th start. And only so much can be said at this point about a Corbin start. Everybody knows the formula by now: Score early and often, and hope the veteran left-hander somehow keeps his team in the game.

Well, part of that formula came to fruition over the first three innings. Corbin surrendered the game’s first run in the second on two singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

But James Wood got the run right back by leading off the bottom frame with the fourth home run of his rookie season. The sport’s top prospect was able to hit yet another one the opposite way, this time on an inside slider that he barely muscled over the wall in front of the visiting bullpen.

“He stays on the ball. He stays on the ball really well," Davey Martinez said of Wood's homer. "He drives the ball the other way really well. So it was a great swing. And then he comes up and hits the ball to right-center field. Puts another good swing on it, so he's having good at-bats. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard.”

The Nats then took a 2-1 lead in the third on a Jacob Young leadoff double, Nasim Nuñez sac bunt and Alex Call RBI single up the middle.

Things went downhill for a moment from there as that lead was short-lived.

Corbin gave up three singles and a flyout to let the Angels tie the game again in the fourth. He then surrendered a leadoff home run to Zach Neto (to the same spot in center field where Wood nearly missed hitting his second longball of the night in the previous frame), a walk and a double to give the Halos a two-run lead and end his night without recording an out in the fifth.

“I was hoping to get through the fifth there," Corbin said. "They had some long at-bats, fouled off some pitches. I thought they laid off some good pitches as well, and then just some balls kind of found some holes. But they made it tough on me through those four innings. I threw a bunch of pitches. I was over 80 after four. So just kind of a little frustrating there. For the bullpen to come in and put up as many zeros as they did was awesome to see."

Indeed, Eduardo Salazar and Tanner Rainey kept it a two-run game as the battle continued. Juan Yepez singled leading off the seventh and Wood drove him in with an RBI double into the right-center gap. Then Tena drove in Wood with a single to left, tying the game at 4-4.

The Nats fought hard to earn those runs off Angels starter Griffin Canning, who entered the night 4-10 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.414 WHIP. The right-hander held the Nats to just the two runs and five hits through his first six innings. But the two runs and three hits in the seventh made his line a little less impressive although he pitched well for most of the night.

And the Nats had a great chance to take a late lead once he left the game. Facing former National Hunter Strickland, Young led off the eighth with a walk, moved to second on Nuñez's sac bunt and stole third. But Call struck out on a check-swing foul tip and Luis García Jr. grounded out to end the inning.

That passed the baton to Law, who had to repeat what Finnegan did in last night's extra-inning win: Pitching multiple innings late in a tied ballgame. And he matched the closer's production with two scoreless frames.

“Honestly, kind of just the pecking order of the bullpen," Law said. "Try and give guys a day off for tomorrow. And obviously it was a leverage situation, so it kind of worked out in that situation. But for me, I kind of take pride in that and giving guys days off … just refreshing the bullpen for tomorrow. That's kind of the mindset. Going multiple innings whenever that may be."

The bullpen's status for tomorrow is up in the air. But that's a problem for the morning with a nationally televised 11:35 a.m. start on Roku. For the next couple of hours, the Nats can savor their second consecutive walk-off victory in extras thanks to their new teammate.

“I always say: They're gonna play hard for 27 outs and maybe more," Davey Martinez said. "The last two days what I really loved is our execution. Getting the bunts down, running the bases well, making defensive plays when we needed to. We're playing well. These last two games I thought we played really well.”