Matt den Dekker has had 29 at-bats as a pinch hitter, enough for the Washington Nationals’ outfielder to know what it takes to get ready at a moment’s notice.
Those moments are usually in the late innings of a game and often when the pitcher is due up in the batting order. On Wednesday, he faced a different type of turnaround.
Center fielder Ben Revere, who was injured in the season opener on Monday, landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. To fill his spot on the roster, the Nationals recalled den Dekker, who was sent to Triple-A Syracuse at the end of spring training, hours before the Nationals’ game against the Atlanta Braves.
He got on an airplane at 5:30 p.m., arrived at Turner Field in the fifth inning and delivered a pinch-hit double in the top of the seventh to give the Nationals a 3-1 lead and a win against the Braves.
“I mean, I’ve been through it the last three years. When I was with the Mets, we were in Vegas so that made it even tougher with red-eye flights and stuff,” den Dekker said. “Luckily for us, we’re on the east coast, a two-hour flight, you get in and it’s not as bad as coming across the country. You try to relax on the flight, get in and go to work. It was great. My bags were there right when I got to to baggage claim. Had a car waiting. It all went smooth by the time I got there in the fifth inning.”
Despite the quick turnaround, den Dekker relied on his same approach, which allowed him to drive Bud Norris’ fastball deep into the right-field gap.
“I feel a lot more comfortable [pinch hitting],” den Dekker said on Thursday, recalling the events of the day before. “Last year, I felt more comfortable,just kind of staying aggressive and getting a good pitch to hit. You don’t want to let a fastball go by early in the count when you might not get another one late in the game, especially against guys that are paid to pitch in late innings.”
After Wednesday, den Dekker is batting .276 in his career as a pinch-hitter. Last season, his first with the Nationals, the 28-year-old had 18 pinch-hit at-bats, the most of his career.
As he adjusted to his new role, he frequently bounced questions off veteran Reed Johnson, who has 290 at-bats as a pinch-hitter and a .272 average. Johnson was released at the end of spring training, but den Dekker still carries those lessons with him.
“It’s a great situation to learn from a guy like that,” den Dekker said. “Just paying attention to the game, he’s always talking baseball, always looking at situations, talking about what a pitcher’s trying to do in certain situations. He’s knowledgeable and knows a lot about the game.”
Den Dekker will be ready to pinch hit if he’s needed again on Friday, but at least this time, he’ll be in the ballpark at the start of the game.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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