BOSTON — Fenway Park’s Green Monster is one of the most iconic quirks in all of sports. Standing 37 feet tall and 231 feet long, it’s 310 feet from home plate at its shortest point and has made and broken careers in Boston.
During a Nationals-Red Sox matinee game on Wednesday, not one, but two Nationals hitters conquered the mighty monster, helping to avoid a sweep in Beantown.
Ian Desmond led off the third inning and wasted no time, drilling a Wade Miley offering into the AAA billboard erected above the Green Mile in left field:
(Photo by MLB.com)
“And there it goes,” Nationals play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter marveled. “See. You. Later. Ian Desmond bombing one way over the Green Monster, off the advertising sign at the top of the seats up there. His first of the year and the Nats are back on top.”
F.P. Santangelo added: “In the old days, that’s out of Fenway. That sign kept it in the park, but that ball was hit out on the street.”
The blast touched off a rally by the Nationals, who stormed back from six runs in the third. A single by Jayson Werth, paired with walks to Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman loaded the bases for Wilson Ramos. A double by Ramos cleared the bases and brought in Anthony Varvaro from the bullpen.
The Nationals would score twice more in the inning off hits by Dan Uggla and Michael Taylor.
But the Red Sox would claw their way back into the game, drawing as close as 5-8 going into the top of the seventh. Zimmerman tallied the first out of the inning on a tapper back to the mound, while Ramos got on base again.
Tyler Moore was hitless in 10 at bats going into today’s game and collected his first on a fifth inning single. Stepping to the plate in the seventh, Moore saw four four-seam fastballs before unloading this blast over the Green Monster:
“And Tyler Moore, high in the air to deep left-center, and he has homered,” Carpenter said on the MASN call. “Over the Green Monster! Tyler Moore, his first of the year, 19th of his career and into the teeth of a stiff wind, he makes it 10-5.
“That is a strong man’s fly ball right there.”
The show of power ended the Red Sox threat, as the Nationals cruised to victory. Not a bad way for to Nationals to get back on track at the end of the season’s first road trip.
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