MLBbro.com’s Malik Wright goes one-on-one with Oakland Athletics Black Knight Josh Harrison.
The all-purpose energizer was traded from the rebuilding Washington Nationals at the end of July and is now an integral part of an Athletics team in serious playoff contention.
The Washington Nationals – powered by MLBbros Josh Bell and Josh Harrison – Beat the New York Yankees 11-4 on Friday night, earning their fourth win in six games.
Bell, the big swinging first baseman Josh Bell got things started for the Nats with a solo blast in the top of the second inning. The 423-foot shot was almost the newest addition to the famed monument park in center field.
With two on, he yoked a fastball over the left field wall that took a one-run lead and grew it to four, as part of a six-run outburst that put the game out of reach.
Harrison walked and scored again in the ninth, finishing the game with a team-high .325 batting average.
The follow through was beautiful. You can’t blame Josh for admiring that work of art.
Even better was the look on the face of Jonathan Loaisiga. He just had to wait for it to land.
Loaisiga must have been confused. He had given up three runs all season, and Harrison gets three of them in one stroke.
More of this baseball. The vibe. The audacity. The unapologetic flex of it all.
Yes, the Yankees had been the story as of late, but Giancarlo Stanton’s hitting streak ended at 12 games, and New York has lost two in a row.
Out of the spotlight, the Nationals have begun to warm up and both Bell and Harrison have been right in the middle of it all.
Bell has been one of the National Leagues’ top power hitters since bursting onto the scene in 2017 with 26 home runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he’s starting to feel more welcome in the nation’s capital.
As the first month of this season came to a close, Bell refound the pop in his bat. Over his last seven games, he’s racked up three extra-base hits, with two of those becoming souvenirs.
Another former Pirate, Harrison is on pace for a career year hitting in the two-hole for Washington. He’s gone without picking up a hit only five times in 2021. Harrison has already matched his 2020 home run output and topped his season totals in hits, runs, and walks.
The Nationals are only two games back of the Philadelphia Phillies. They still have a lot of the elements to contend for the playoffs. With Harrison helping to set the table, Bell is going to have plenty of opportunities to eat.
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