The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

LUCIUS Fox ended his drought at the plate and achieved a career milestone with the first hit and first stolen base of his Major League Baseball career.

Fox was a part of an offensive outburst for his Washington Nationals in their 11-5 win over Antoan Richardson and his San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, on Sunday.

Fox got the start in shortstop and finished 2-5 with one run scored, one RBI and one stolen base.

“I got two infield hits, I stole a base, went first to third, scored from third on a dirt ball -- and it was all with the legs,” Fox told MLB.com following the series-clinching win. “That’s special.”

Fox originally signed with the Giants in the International Signing Class of 2015.

“This is where it all started. Signing day, I came to [Oracle Park to] watch the Giants play,” Fox said. “To actually get that first hit in the Giants’ stadium, it’s special. But I kind of had that feeling in my mind that I was going to do something special today.”

Fox made his MLB debut on April 10 with a squeeze bunt and run scored in a win over the Mets but remained hitless with an 0-20 start to his big league career.

The Nationals experienced their own struggles as a team and entered the series against the Giants with eight straight losses.

They won 2-3 games at Oracle Park to bring those offensive struggles to an end.

Fox did not appear in the first two games of the series but got the start at shortstop on Sunday.

In the first inning, Fox hit his milestone single off Alex Cobb. He followed shortly after with his first stolen base in the very next at bat. He singled again in the sixth inning off Yunior Marte and eventually scored a run on a wild pitch.

“From when I hit it, I was gone. When I hit it and saw they were playing me in the shift, I said, ‘There’s no way he was going to get me.’ So I was on full go. Once I touched first and I saw the ball wasn’t there, it was just joy, just pure joy.

“I was jumping up and down,” Fox said. “It was crazy. I smile a lot, but I couldn’t stop smiling in that moment.”

Fox and the Nationals will look to maintain momentum when they travel to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies. The first of a three-game series takes place tonight at 8:40pm local time. Both teams are coming off series wins with the Rockies recently defeating the Reds, and the Nationals beating the Giants.