Nationals' Luis Garcia: Big homer off bench Friday

Garcia went 1-for-1 with a walk, a three-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's 9-3 win over the Blue Jays.

The 23-year-old began the night on the bench with Yusei Kikuchi toeing the rubber for Toronto, but Garcia got the call to pinch hit for Trey Lipscomb in the seventh inning once the southpaw was out of the game. Garcia delivered, launching the first pitch he saw from Erik Swanson to straightaway center field to put the Nationals in the lead for good. The long ball was his second of the season, and the first pinch-hit blast of his career. Garcia is headed toward a breakout campaign, slashing .300/.344/.456 through 27 contests with five steals, six runs and 14 RBI.