MLB Rankings: Baseball’s Greatest Hits of Week-25

MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-25

8. Austin Dean, Miami Marlins, 41 percent

Saturday’s game between the Nationals and Marlins in Miami will be remembered for Washington’s spectacular six-run ninth inning outburst that turned a thriller into a 10-4 Washington win. The final margin belies the closeness of the game itself.

In fact, from a statistical standpoint, the most mission-critical hit wasn’t delivered in that ninth inning, and it didn’t come off the bat of a National.

Washington led 4-0 entering the bottom of the eighth inning when Nats manager Dave Martinez decided that Stephen Strasburg’s 109 pitches were enough of a workload. He summoned Fernando Rodney from the notorious Washington bullpen to finish the victory, and hopefully the shutout.

Not so fast. Miguel Rojas greeted Rodney with a double, and one out later Starlin Castro doubled him home. A walk and a single loaded the bases for Dean.

With the tying runs on base, Dean quickly fell behind 1-2. But he shortened up and got enough of Rodney’s next pitch to yank a double into the left-field corner. All three runners raced around the bases to tie the game at 4-4. By itself, Dean’s double shifted the odds of a Marlins win from just 24 percent to 65 percent.

It didn’t work out that way thanks to Washington’s six-run ninth, which kept the visitors in command of the National League wild-card race.