Irvin dominates early, Nunez delivers late in Nats' extra-inning win
Jake Irvin enjoyed his best start of the season and benefited from two clutch hits by Nasim Nuñez during today's 10-inning victory
CHICAGO – There were a number of contributors to the Nationals’ 6-3, 10-inning win over the White Sox today. But clearly two of them stood out beyond anyone else: Jake Irvin and Nasim Nuñez.
Irvin put the Nats in a position to win with easily his best start of the season, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out nine. And Nuñez made sure that dominant start wouldn’t go to waste with a pair of desperately needed clutch hits, one in the fourth inning and one in the 10th inning to seal the victory.
Let’s begin with Irvin, because in the bigger picture, the right-hander’s performance today might have meant more than anything else.
We’ve seen him have success in spurts so far. Sometimes he’s started games in a groove, only to lose it late. Sometimes he’s been roughed up early only to salvage things later on. This time, he was electric from start to finish, and actually kept getting better as the game progressed.
