The Washington Nationals had an historically awesome first inning

The Nationals blitzed the Diamondbacks in a way we have never seen before

The top of the first inning was a surreal experience for the Washington Nationals. By the time the Nationals made their first out, nine runs had scored and 11 batters had appeared. The Arizona crowd cheered like they had won the game when they finally got that first out.

This was an utterly insane experience. It felt like the Nationals were in another universe. There are so many crazy stats to go through here, and we will touch on them. You can start with the leadoff man CJ Abrams. Somehow, he got hit twice in one inning. That is something I have never seen before. It has only happened 8 times since 1969.

The Nationals nine runs without getting an out are the second most since 1961 and tied for the most in National League history. It was a brutal night for Snakes starter Brandon Pfaadt. He did not record an out, while allowing 8 runs. His ERA went from a respectable 3.90 to rough 5.05. Seeing your ERA jump over a run at this point in the season is rare, but this was a rare night.

Interestingly, the Nationals did this without the long ball. It was just a barrage of hits, with some hit batsman mixed in. The Nats had four singles, five doubles, one walk, and got hit three times. Perhaps my favorite stat of the night was that by the time the Diamondbacks cleanup hitter got his first at bat, Nationals cleanup hitter Luis Garcia Jr. had three AB’s.

It was an utterly dominant inning that won the Nationals the game. However, as they tend to do, the Nats made things interesting. After the 10 run first, they tacked on a run in the second. However, they wouldn’t score the rest of the game.

The D-Backs would chip away in the middle innings with home runs from Josh Naylor and Randal Grichuk. The Grichuk homer made it 11-7 and while the Snakes wouldn’t score again, they threatened. After two straight walks by Cole Henry in the 8th, Randal Grichuk struck again with a single, but James Wood nailed Pavin Smith at the plate with a great throw.

That turned out to be the Snakes last gasp, but if the third base coach held Smith, things could have gotten dicey. The bases would have been loaded with one out and the tying run would have been in the batters box. That is not what you want to see when you score nine runs without getting your first out of the game.

The Nationals are a young, exciting team hitting their stride right now. They never quit and will always battle. However, they do not have that killer instinct right now. They are more than happy to sit on these leads and slowly let teams back into the game. We saw this in Colorado and now we saw it again tonight. They won both games, but they showed that lack of a killer instinct on both occasions.

This is a young team, so with time that will come. Tonight, we saw a veteran team in the Dodgers show what you do when you get up big. They did not play with their food, beating the Yankees 18-2. As the Nats mature, they will learn how to do this.

On the whole this was a great night. The Nationals finished May with a 15-12 record, despite having a seven game losing streak this month. They are now just two games under .500 and are ahead of the Braves in the standings. Now the Nationals need to carry this into June and hopefully they can reach that illusive .500 mark. Last night was a record setting night and that first inning was an unforgettable experience.