It took an injury to teammate Austin Kearns for it to happen. But Nationals outfielderElijah Dukes now has a golden chance to prove he is an everyday player in the major leagues.
Talent has rarely been the issue for the 23-year-old. Instead, poor behavior — both on and off the field — too often has sabotaged Dukes.
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Following Kearns’ elbow surgery last Friday, Dukes has the opportunity to start in right field for at least the next three weeks. He quickly took advantage, playing a key role in the Nats’ wild 7-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday afternoon.
Battling Guillermo Mota with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Dukes coaxed a walk out of the Brewers relief pitcher. Moments later, he tore around the bases on a pinch-hit single by Dmitri Young. That left Dukes in perfect position to score the game-winning run when Mota bounced a pitch to the backstop with Felipe Lopez at the plate.
“He was trying to overpower me with a fastball and I was trying to over-swing,” Dukes said of the at-bat that started the winning rally. “So I stepped out and prepared myself … to stick with the game plan. I was just patient enough to get a good walk and it went from there.”
The Nats (22-29) avoided what would have been a devastating loss. Up 6-0 after five, the Brewers tagged starter Tim Redding for five runs in the sixth and reliever Saul Rivera was charged with another.
Their lead suddenly gone, only one Nats batter reached base over the next three innings. But relievers Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch kept Milwaukee off the board, too. And that allowed Dukes to take over in the ninth.
“Obviously, I’ve started off [with a lot of strikeouts],” said Dukes, who entered the series batting .067 with 12 strikeouts in 32 at-bats and spent all of April on the disabled list or at AAA Columbus . “But I get a fair amount of walks, too. And when I’m patient at the plate I start getting a lot of home runs and a lot of hits, too. So I know that it’s a sign of things to come.”
