Williams on Span's stellar performance, Fister's strong start in 9-4 win

Doug Fister didn't need much run support tonight. Denard Span helped make sure he had plenty anyway. Span went 5-for-5 tonight with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base, leading the offensive charge against Reds starter Johnny Cueto, who came in leading the majors in ERA among starters. Manager Matt Williams had been asked before the game whether he had given thought to moving Span out of the leadoff spot. Let's all have a laugh about that now. Fister took care of things on the mound, allowing just two runs over seven strong innings, striking out five, walking one and getting a victory in his home debut. Other guys also suited up for the Nationals tonight, of course. But Span and Fister were the stars in the Nats' 9-4 win, evening the series with the Reds and setting up a rubber match tomorrow. Here's Williams after the win: On if Span will be leading off for him tomorrow: "Yeah. I think so. (Laughter) Those are special. Those don't happen very often. So good for him." On if tonight can get Span going: "From talking today with you guys and looking back at last year, he started a really good streak in the second half of last year, so certainly it can get him going. It really doesn't mean much other than tonight, though. He's still gotta prepare and do all the things that he does every day to go out and play. But sure. It's a special night for him." On Span's approach: "He hit two balls the other way, which is good. He did that last night a little bit, too, which I think is the telling thing for him. If he stays on the baseball and he's able to hit the ball to left field and he's seeing it good, he's waiting on the ball, that's kinda the telltale sign that he's seeing it good." On how the Nats had success off Cueto: "All of his great stats coming in were evident tonight. He lost command a little bit late, but he can reach back for 97 mph when he wants to, pitches a 90-to-93 (mph) with all of his pitches for strikes. I think we took advantage of a couple misplays early on and then got to him in the last inning. Just have to stick with it. That's the secret to this game. Because you never know what can happen. But he was as advertised. He's throwing the ball really well." On being aggressive against Cueto: "He pounds the strike zone, so you know he's not generally gonna be all over the place. So you're going to get strikes to hit. You want to pick one. The problem is he throws many different miles per hour and all of his pitches for strikes. So pick a side of the plate and be aggressive to that side of the plate was kind of the plan today." On Fister: "He was good. We pushed him a little bit tonight to get him through his last inning, but he looked good tonight. So nothing lasting from the injury. I think he's well on the way to getting back into the swing of things. He pitched really well." On what makes Fister effective: "He works fast. He changes speeds. He's aggressive within the strike zone, lets his pitches work for him. He's got great angle. He's so tall and the ball kind of just fades out of the strike zone sometimes. But he's aggressive, he's not afraid to throw it in there, which is great." On Span's speed leading to two separate errors: "It's part of his game. Part of his game is getting down a bunt and beating it out and causing a potential mistake and also scoring from first and stealing second and playing a fantastic center field. So like I said earlier today, we're very happy to have him."