Riley Adams picked a great time to hit his first home run in the majors. The Nationals trailed 2-1 with a runner on third in the ninth. All the rookie catcher needed to do was deliver a single to tie and extend the game with two outs.
Instead, Adams delivered so much more, launching the go-ahead home run somewhere into upper deck of stands off Atlanta Braves closer Will Smith.
RILEY ADAMS UPPER DECK NUKE pic.twitter.com/TgExcQHoqv
— OPT (@OnePursuitTakes) August 8, 2021
Between the launch of the hit and the euphoria of Adams’ first big league homer, it was hard to see where the ball landed from the naked eye. Even MLB’s Statscast lost sight of where the ball landed.
When asked about this, Riley Adams says he knew the ball was gone but didn't actually see where it landed. To be totally honest, from the press box, neither did I. A mystery indeed. https://t.co/g5BhpyIjgb
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) August 8, 2021
We think Riley Adams broke Statcast…
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 8, 2021
…so if there's anyone at @NASA who could tell us how far that moonshot went, we'd greatly appreciate it.@RileyAdams // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/D94tbbS8xh
Adams had his first homer of his career and ultimately the Nationals got a much-needed win. Eventually, Statscast was able to track down the ball. The 41-degree launch angle created the biggest mystery of where the ball went.
That launch angle explains why our press box view was no match for the flight of the ball. At Nationals Park, however, we'd have looked down on the thing. https://t.co/5BGSa6WuMp
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) August 8, 2021
The homer was also Adams’ first hit since being traded from Toronto to the Nationals for closer Brad Hand.
Adams had not registered a hit in his first seven at-bats in a Nationals uniform. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Washington.
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