Despite the injuries the Washington Nationals are working through this season, they still have a couple of healthy, powerful bats on the roster, belonging to Josh Bell and Ryan Zimmerman.
Friday’s inter-league contest in Baltimore gave manager Davey Martinez a rare opportunity to put both career first-basemen in the same lineup by employing Zimmerman (.278/.341/.475) as the designated hitter.
Although Bell (.248/.308/.464) continued his hot hitting with his 15th home run, the combo was otherwise underwhelming in a 6-1 loss to the Orioles.
The switch-hitting Bell finished 1-for-4, and Zimmerman was 0-for-3, and the two combined for five of the Nats’ 11 strikeouts against five different Baltimore pitchers.