Nats switch hitter Danny Espinosa hasn’t had much luck batting from the left side of the plate this season. At 17-for-97 (.175 batting average) against right-handed pitching entering Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Espinosa was looking for something — anything — to get him going. A rookie can only rely on his defense for so long.
After a weekend of extra work in the batting cage, including a session following Friday’s 11-inning loss to the Marlins, Espinosa thought he’d worked out a kink with his left-handed swing. The timing of his stride was off, forcing his bat to take a longer path to the ball. The Pirates could see that, too. That’s why they brought in right-handed reliever Jose Ascanio to face Espinosa in the seventh inning of a tie game. And that’s also what made his two-run homer so satisfying. There’s no guarantee that Espinosa is over his troubles. It takes more than one hit to erase that kind of slump. But it’s a start.
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