Photos Show José Tena as Back-to-Back Walk-Off Winner

With CJ Abrams dealing with back spasms and Nasim Nunez cramping up in his legs, general manager Mike Rizzo had to make a roster change. This led to the call-up of Jose Tena, who was recently acquired as part of the Lane Thomas trade with the Cleveland Guardians less than two weeks ago.

Given Tena’s ability to play shortstop, he was the right choice, even though Andres Chaparro had been performing impressively for Triple-A Rochester, the same team from which Tena was called up. Chaparro was acquired just before the trade deadline in exchange for Dylan Floro. As it turned out, Nunez’s issue was just cramps, and Abrams remained out of the lineup with back spasms. Consequently, Tena took on third base duties while Nunez played shortstop.

For the third consecutive game, the Washington Nationals found themselves in extra innings, with an opportunity for back-to-back walk-off wins. The hero on Friday night was Alex Call with a walk-off hit. On Saturday night, the climax came with contributions from Derek Law, who kept the Angels scoreless in the 9th and 10th innings, and Tena, who stepped up to bat under the confidence of his manager, Dave Martinez.

Interestingly, Tena seemed unfamiliar with his new manager’s name, indicating the brief time he had spent with his teammates. Even Derek Law admitted that he had not met Tena until the walk-off celebration.

Tena, 23, a native of the Dominican Republic, had a brief MLB history of just 21 games before the previous night. He ended his tenure with Cleveland with a .200 batting average and a .520 OPS. Being part of the Thomas trade along with Rafael Ramirez Jr. and LHP Alex Clemmey, Tena didn’t seem to factor into Cleveland’s future plans.

As fans were watching Clemmey make his home debut in Single-A Fredericksburg, Tena was shining on the big league stage. Although Clemmey had an impressive home debut, Tena took the spotlight that night. Sol Tucker covered the game where Clemmey performed admirably.

As things stand, Rizzo might have secured a steal in the Thomas trade, but only time will tell. Guardians fans are already noticing the contributions of Clemmey and Tena, while Thomas remains in a slump with Cleveland.

Baseball often sees new heroes emerge, and Tena is now the Nationals’ latest hero. Opportunities in baseball can be fleeting, and Cleveland’s decision to move on from Tena underscores this reality.

While Tena’s hit was officially a walk-off single, it was a few feet away from being a home run. The fastball he connected with had an exit velocity of 102.2 mph and traveled 384 feet, narrowly missing his first MLB home run by mere feet, as it ricocheted off the wall in front of the visitor’s bullpen.

Tena ended the night with two RBI hits, forever carving his name into Nationals’ history with his debut walk-off hit. That’s quite an introduction to his new team.

Source: TalkNats