Jeter Downs had just five plate appearances in the majors this season, across multiple stints with the Nationals, and he had no hits when he stepped to the plate for the second time in a ninth-inning rally against the Oakland A’s in Washington, D.C.
Downs, 25, came on as a defensive sub for shortstop CJ Abrams in the eighth, and started it all off with a six-pitch, leadoff walk from Athletics’ reliever Trevor May, then, one out later, the floodgates opened, with three straight singles, the third an RBI hit by Stone Garrett, a sac fly by Ildemaro Vargas, a passed ball, a base-loading walk, a pitching change, to Kirby Snead, an RBI walk, two-run ROE, and, finally, walk-off single by Downs, whose first hit in the majors this year won it for the home team, capping off a six-run rally which erased a five-run deficit.