Wilson Ramos Injures Knee In Nationals’ Ugly, 14-4 Loss To Diamondbacks

The Nationals have now clinched the National League East, and are attempting to both stay healthy and maintain home field advantage for their NL Division Series matchup with the Dodgers.

Wilson Ramos Injures Knee In Nationals’ Ugly, 14-4 Loss To Diamondbacks

Nevertheless, Washington lost yet another player in Monday’s brutal 14-4 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos, left the game in the sixth inning with a right knee injury.

Ramos injured the knee after he jumped for a sailing relay throw home from first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and landed awkwardly on his right leg shortly after the game resumed following a 20-minute rain delay. Nationals trainer Paul Lessard tended to the 29-year-old catcher. He walked off slowly with assistance on each side, not putting any weight on his right leg.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker didn’t comment much on the injury, saying only that Ramos “doesn’t look too good tonight,” and adding that the catcher will undergo on Tuesday.

“I feel badly because you know how we all feel about Wilson,” Baker said. “But it’s part of the game. You hate [for] it to happen this late, right before the playoffs, but our next step is try to figure out a way to play without Wilson. I’ve been mixing and matching this year and most of my life. Therefore it’s another obstacle and I just got to try to go back to the drawing board and figure out something.”

Ramos was kidnapped in his native Venezuela in 2011 before injuries riddled his first five full years in the majors, and the catcher dedicated this season, perhaps his best yet, to his grandfather, who died in late April.

Ramos’ injury follows a long list of injuries on Washington’s roster: ace Stephen Strasburg (elbow), MVP candidate Daniel Murphy (buttocks) and reigning MVP Bryce Harper (thumb). Max Scherzer is the only one of the Nationals’ five all-stars not dealing with an injury.

Yasmany Tomas led scoring for the D-backs, driving in five runs on a three-run homer and a two-run double, as Arizona drove Washington right-hander Tanner Roark from the game after four innings.

Jean Segura drove a long solo homer over the right-center-field wall to tie the game at 1 in the top of the fourth, and went back-to-back with Jake Lamb in the eighth off righty Lucas Giolito as part of the D-backs’ five-homer night. Mitch Haniger also homered for Arizona.

“It’s always nice to put up runs like that,” Lamb said. “Every inning for the most part we had good ABs so it was nice.”

Roark was due to hit with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Baker chose to replace him with pinch-hitter Chris Heisey. 

That decision initially backfired, as Arizona righty Archie Bradley struck out Heisey looking, but Brian Goodwin worked a walk after falling behind 0-2 to plate a run and Trea Turner followed with a two-run double– one of his three hits–to cut the D-backs’ lead to 5-4.

Washington’s lead over Los Angeles for home-field advantage in the NLDS fell to one game.

Bradley then walked Jayson Werth to load the bases, although Washington was unable to score again. Randall Delgado struck Anthony Rendon out to escape the jam and begin the D-backs bullpen’s four-man scoreless effort over the final 5 1/3 innings.

Yusmeiro Petit, who relieved Roark in the fifth inning, gave up five runs, four earned, over 1 1/3 innings and Giolito allowed four more, including back-to-back homers over the last two frames.

The two teams will next face off again for the second game of their four-game series at Nationals Park on Tuesday night. Arizona right-hander Matt Koch will make his first Major League start. Koch replaces Zack Greinke, who was been bothered by a stiff shoulder. Righty Max Scherzer (18-7, 2.82 ERA) will take the mound for the Nationals. Scherzer, who was selected in the first round by the D-backs in 2006, is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA against his former team.

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 26: Wilson Ramos #40 of the Washington Nationals lies in pain after slipping on play at the plate in the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on September 26, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)