Outfielder Michael Taylor sent his Nationals home happy on Tuesday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game against the Astros. Taylor had replaced Bryce Harper in right field and was 0-for-1 heading into his at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the score tied 3-3, against lefty Ashur Tolliver.
Taylor swung at Tolliver’s 0-1 offering which happened to be right over the heart of the plate. Taylor absolutely crushed the pitch down the left field line for a walk-off solo home run.
[mlbvideo id="1227767983" width="600" height="336" /]
Tuesday marked the opening of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the new spring training home of the Nationals and Astros.
Last season, Taylor’s third in the majors, the 25-year-old posted lackluster stats, batting .231/.278/.376 in 237 plate appearances. The Nationals were reported yesterday to be interested in free agent center fielder Angel Pagan. If the club were to acquire Pagan, that would push Taylor back in to Triple-A to start the 2017 regular season.
