Fox energizes Nationals Park during dramatic debut

Lucius Fox found out around 11:30 p.m. Saturday he’d be in the Nationals’ starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Mets. The 24-year-old shortstop would be making his major league debut.

And thus began a long night and long morning of thoughts racing through Fox’s mind.

“I probably played the game in my head three times last night and this morning,” he said. “Waking up at 6 a.m., thinking I’m late to the field. Then 7 a.m., thinking I’m late. I was going through different situations. But I just trust that my work and my preparation, that I would be prepared for any task that came to me today. I was really excited. Kind of butterflies. But just happy we got the win.”

The Nationals got the 4-2 win, thanks in large part to Fox’s eighth-inning safety squeeze. His perfectly placed bunt down the first base line brought Dee Strange-Gordon home from third with the tying run, ultimately setting the stage for Nelson Cruz’s go-ahead, two-run single later in the inning.

It was a scintillating way for Fox to endear himself to Nationals Park, which erupted as he raced down the line while Strange-Gordon slid across the plate.

“I couldn’t control myself,” he said. “I was so excited to see the crowd involved, and to get our first win, it was special. I definitely felt the energy from the crowd. It was an amazing time. It was a dream come true.”

Fox’s journey to Sunday’s lineup was a long and winding one. A native of the Bahamas, he originally signed with the Giants as an international free agent in 2015. He would get traded to the Rays, then the Royals, then claimed by the Orioles and finally claimed off waivers by the Nationals in November.

He made an impression this spring, but was optioned to Triple-A Rochester late in camp, only to immediately be summoned back to West Palm Beach, Fla., after utility infielder Ehire Adrianza strained his quadriceps. Thus did Fox make the opening day roster.

He didn’t appear in any of the Nationals’ first three games, though, relegated to an observer on the bench. Until manager Davey Martinez informed him he’d be starting Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve been waiting on this moment so long and talking to my friends who debuted before,” Fox said. “I was envisioning in my head probably almost anything. Anything that could happen on a baseball field, I already ran through it. Just happy to actually go out there and feel it for myself. I heard from different people that had experiences. But your own experience, you don’t know how you feel unless you get up there. So I was happy that I was calm and I took it one step at a time. I was focused on one area and wasn’t thinking too much and just played the game.”

Fox didn’t have time to think too much. His first defensive chance at shortstop came early, on a rocket of a grounder by Pete Alonso to lead off the top of the second. Fox ranged to his left, dove to catch the ball, got up to one knee and fired it to Josh Bell for the out as the crowd roared with approval.

Was that the kind of first big league play he imagined making?

“No, actually I thought the first one was going to be a routine ground ball,” he said. “I was happy that I was able to get to it. I felt the energy from the crowd on that one. After that, I was like: OK, same game. A lot more eyes on you, but the same game. It’s baseball, at the end of the day.”

With the game on the line six innings later, Martinez could’ve opted to pinch-hit for Fox. Instead, he let the kid bat for himself. He fouled off a first-pitch slider from Mets reliever Trevor Williams, after which he got the bunt sign from third base coach Gary DiSarcina.

“I told him: ‘I’ll give you a crack at one, and then look at the signs,’ ” Martinez said. “And he did a perfect job. With Dee running the bases, it was perfect.”

Fox could’ve been credited with his first major league hit, but the official scorer instead ruled it a sacrifice bunt and a fielder’s choice. He had to settle for merely his first major league RBI.

“When it’s late in the ballgame and you need a run, we’re not swinging the bats how we want to or how we know we’re capable of, being able to execute small ball will definitely energize a team,” he said. “And that will turn things around and get the bats going. A lot of times, we think we need to hit the home run or a big double. But small ball is the key to that. And just feeling the energy and excitement, I could feel the game switch once we were able to execute that inning.”

“It's amazing what a little bunt can do for your team,” Martinez said. “They got jacked up, so it was awesome.”