Eighth inning? Tie game? Adam Lind time

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth and a man in scoring position, it was a pretty obvious choice which pinch-hitter Nationals manager Dusty Baker would go to.

He went with pinch-hitter Adam Lind.

All Lind has done this season is hit .314 with three homers and 14 RBIs in the eighth inning. In the last three innings of a game this season, Lind was batting .382 with four doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs.

The inning began with a Wilmer Difo base hit. After a perfect sacrifice bunt by Andrew Stevenson back to Marlins reliever Jarlin García, Difo went to second.

Lind stepped in to face the left-handed García.

Why did manager Dusty Baker have so much confidence in his lefty-hitting Lind facing a southpaw? After all, Lind was hitting just .200 this season against left-handers.

"Well, this lefty throws predominantly fastballs," Baker reasoned. "Adam can hit that fastball. So I was down to Adam and (Adrián) Sanchez and (Jose) Lobaton, and you have to go with the best option at the time."

Garcia got ahead of Lind 0-2. Down in the count, García threw Lind a slider for a strike. But Lind's bat got there before the catcher could.

Lind laced a single to right-center field that plated Difo with the go-ahead run.

"Pretty much just grind from the first pitch," Lind said of the at-bat. "Fortunately, he gave me something over the plate. In today's game, it's not really how hard you hit it, but where you hit it and no one was there."

Sean Doolittle worked a scoreless ninth as the Nats held on for a 3-2 series-opening win over the Marlins.

But what is it about pinch-hitting? How do some guys do it so well and others fail? Lind said he never lets the situation get the best of him.

"I try not to overthink it," Lind said. "I don't know, I just go up there and I hit regardless, I want to give it my best effort no matter who's out there, or what situation it is. Just do the best that I can.

"I just try to relax regardless of it's the eight the ninth, or the fifth, depending on the situation. Just relax, not let the situation get in my head and like have to get a hit. I have one at-bat out of the 27 outs, I'm just a small factor in the outcome of the game."

Monday he was a big factor. It was the reason general manager Mike Rizzo jumped at the chance to sign him in the offseason.

His teammate, slugger Bryce Harper, who hit his 150th career homer earlier in the game, marvels at what Lind has been able to do with limited chances.

"He's one of the best professional hitters I've ever seen," Harper said. "Being able to put together the at-bats that he does, the nights he doesn't play in and when he does play. He could probably go to the lake for about a week and a half, and then come back and probably get three knocks for us if he really wanted to. He's just that good of a hitter. Very professional in the clubhouse, outside the clubhouse. We're very lucky to be able to add him this offseason."

"That's the toughest job in baseball," Baker said of the pinch-hitter. "You have to be mentally prepared and strong. Especially in his situation, you get a lot of 'wait, not right now.' You try to put him in a situation where he can drive in some runs. Invariably, sometimes, you end up with him on deck when the game ends. But Difo, him getting on base really created the entire inning."

Lind was asked if he noticed the shift the Marlins put on. What was he looking for?

"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was through," Lind said. "I usually look at the third baseman. I didn't even look today. Sometimes in situations like that you don't know who's going to hit. Before I realized it, it was like 0-2, and I didn't even remember being on deck and then before you know it I was out of the game."

And just like that, the Nats had notched another win thanks to Lind.