Danny Espinosa knew there was a pretty good chance he’d come off the bench in the late innings of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Chicago Cubs. He just didn’t know it’d be like this.
With Michael A. Taylor moving to centerfield after Denard Span was removed due to back spasms and other options unavailable, Nationals manager Matt Williams needed a left fielder to start the eighth inning in a pinch. Enter Espinosa, the career middle infielder who, aside from shagging a few flyballs in warmups, had never made an appearance in the outfield in an actual game.