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‘Nat’ to be denied: Washington Nationals complete largest comeback in team history

Posted at 11:12 PM, Jul 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-05 23:35:58-04

Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals hits grand slam. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – Could it be the swing that swings the Nationals back into contention?

Thursday, trailing 9-0 at home to the Miami Marlins, the worst team in the National League, Washington ripped-off the largest comeback in team history.

Trea Turner’s sixth inning grand slam erased the Nats’ deficit and put the two-time defending National League East division champions ahead 10-9. Washington would plate five more to tally 14 unanswered runs. The Marlins scored three in the top of the eighth and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth before former UVA standout Sean Doolittle slammed the door on a wild 14-12 victory.

Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals celebrates a grand slam. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

The go-ahead grand slam was Turner’s second home run of the night. According to ESPN, Turner’s eight runs batted in are tied for the second-highest RBI total in a single game in Nats history.

Entering the night, the Nationals had lost 17 of their last 22 games and fallen below .500 on the season. At 42-and-43, Washington had a losing record in the month of July for the first time since 2013.

According to SB Nation, Major League Baseball teams had been 0-and-103 when trailing by nine or more runs this season prior to the Nats’ historic comeback.