Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Game 23: Diamondbacks at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Bryce Harper makes his debut at Nationals Park this evening.
The scene at Nationals Park tonight won't rival Stephen Strasburg's debut on June 8, 2010. In all likelihood, nothing ever will. But the scene for Bryce Harper's first home game -- especially the crowd reaction to his first plate appearance -- should be something special nonetheless.

This is only the third time Harper has ever been to Washington. He came here after signing in Aug. 2010. He came here for the team's FanFest in March 2011. Now he's here for a bit longer, maybe for the long-term. "It's awesome," he said of his first impressions of D.C. "I don't think you could play in a better city. Everything happens here every single day. It's just going to be a great place to play."

There is, of course, an important game to be played tonight. The Nationals are mired in their first four-game losing streak of the season, and they're about to open a tough homestand against the Diamondbacks and Phillies. They can only hope their bats show up tonight against Arizona right-hander Trevor Cahill, and that Jordan Zimmermann is rewarded with some run support.

Plenty of updates to come, so please check back...

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 185
Weather: Partly cloudy, 81 degrees, Wind 8 mph out to RF
NATIONALS (14-8)
SS Ian Desmond
3B Steve Lombardozzi
CF Rick Ankiel
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
2B Danny Espinosa
LF Bryce Harper
C Wilson Ramos
RHP Jordan Zimmermann

DIAMONDBACKS (12-11)
CF Gerardo Parra
2B Aaron Hill
RF Justin Upton
LF Jason Kubel
C Miguel Montero
1B Paul Goldschmidt
3B Cody Ransom
SS John McDonald
RHP Trevor Cahill

UMPIRES
HP Jeff Nelson, 1B Bill Welke, 2B Tim Tschida (cc), 3B Chris Guccione

6:30 p.m. -- In non-Harper news: Here's the update on Ryan Zimmerman (who took groundballs today) and Brad Lidge (who will miss one month following surgery to repair a sports hernia).

6:36 p.m. -- Now, the pregame Bryce buzz ... As he did at Dodger Stadium over the weekend, and really as he does everywhere he plays, the kid put on a serious display of power during batting practice. He launched several balls into the second deck down the right-field line and in right-center. He also sent a couple of balls way up into the Red Porch area in left-center. Honestly, I've seen very few RIGHT-handed hitters put balls into that area, let alone a left-handed hitter like Harper. ... As for Harper's impromptu softball game on the National Mall yesterday: "I was just walking around a little bit, checking out all the stuff. I hadn't seen the Lincoln Memorial before, so I wanted to go over over there and check that out. I was just walking through, and they asked me if I'd take a few hacks. I was like, 'Nah, I don't know about that.' They were like, 'C'mon.' So I said no problem. I just hung out a little bit and talked to the fans."

6:37 p.m. -- As for the question of how long Harper will remain in the big leagues, Davey Johnson had this response: "I don't look that far down the road. He belongs here right now. He fits. He gives us a little more left-handed presence in the lineup, which we've been looking for. How things progress each day, in this game things can change. The only things that I've been thinking about really is how long I hit him seventh. If he keeps having quality at-bats, I might move [others] down. Even when he hits a groundball to shortstop, he dang near beat the ball out. That's just old-school. He's 100 percent committed to everything he's got."

7:06 p.m. -- We're underway with a strike from Jordan Zimmermann to Gerardo Parra. Nice ovation for Bryce Harper as he took his position in left field, especially from the fans out in the bleachers. He pointed at them to say hello and thanks.

7:11 p.m. -- A real quick, 1-2-3 top of the first for Zimmermann, ending with a nice strikeout of Justin Upton looking at a breaking ball.

7:18 p.m. -- Four Nationals batters made Trevor Cahill throw nine total pitches in the bottom of the first. That's not very many. Ian Desmond once again hacked at the game's first pitch ... and grounded out to third. Desmond has now put the first pitch into play 19 times in 99 plate appearances this season, easily the most for any count. Scoreless after one.

7:27 p.m. -- Nice job by Zimmermann to escape a jam in the top of the second. He had runners on the corners with one out but struck out Cody Ransom on an 87 mph slider, then got John McDonald to lineout to right to end the inning. Two scoreless innings for Zimmermann, though he's already thrown 33 pitches.

7:37 p.m. -- So much for something magical in Harper's first career at-bat at Nationals Park. He struck out taking a mighty hack at an 81-mph changeup. Cahill offered up plenty of offspeed stuff to the kid, only one 88-mph fastball (which Harper was way out in front of). The crowd still gave him a standing ovation both as he walked to the plate and as he walked back to the dugout. Pretty cool. Meanwhile, Cahill also struck out Danny Espinosa and Wilson Ramos, stranding Jayson Werth (who walked and advanced on a balk) on second base. 0-0 through two here.

7:56 p.m. -- Zimmermann and Cahill are both just cruising along here. Cahill has retired six in a row (four by swinging strikeout). Zimmermann, meanwhile, has set down eight in a row. We go to the bottom of the fourth in a scoreless game.

8:06 p.m. -- Not much happening at the plate so far tonight. (I know, you're really surprised.) Cahill, by the way, entered tonight with 11 swinging strikeouts in his first four starts. He struck out five Nats in a span of seven batters, all of them swinging. 0-0 heading to the fifth.

8:15 p.m. -- We know Harper's got a great arm, but not quite great enough to attempt to gun down Paul Goldschmidt at the plate on John McDonald's RBI single to left in the top of the fifth. Harper did, however, nearly peg McDonald straying too far off first base. If Adam LaRoche had held his position, they probably would've nailed him. Instead, the D'backs score an unearned run (via Desmond's low throw on a tough grounder to the hole) and take a 1-0 lead.

8:22 p.m. -- Real solid contact from Harper in his second at-bat of the night. He smoked a grounder up the middle to lead off the bottom of the fifth for what looked like a sure single. Unfortunately, McDonald was positioned perfectly, so it turned into a routine 6-3 groundout. So for the fifth time in seven games, the Nationals are scoreless into the sixth inning.

8:32 p.m. -- Hoo-boy, Miguel Montero's RBI double in the sixth gives the D'backs a 2-0 lead. Which against this Nats lineup might well be insurmountable.

8:39 p.m. -- Can't ask for a much better opportunity to get off the schneid than this: Back-to-back singles by Desmond and Lombardozzi to open the bottom of the sixth. Except the Nats found a way to waste it. Ankiel grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, and then LaRoche grounds into a 4-3 out to end the inning. It's still 2-0, and the Nats haven't scored in their last 16 innings.

8:47 p.m. -- Tonight's official paid attendance: 22,675.

8:56 p.m. -- Well, it's now 4-0 as Zimmermann gets the hook with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh. In came Ryan Mattheus trying to pitch out of that mess, but he wound up plunking Aaron Hill in the back to force in a run. The second run scored on Upton's sac fly to left ... which was THISCLOSE to being an out after Harper fired a 300-foot strike to the plate. Just a missile, and it even had the crowd giving him a standing ovation. Seriously, we need to get Harper and Ankiel into a throw-off. Put a 2-foot target at the plate, start them each at 300 feet and keep backing them up until someone misses.

9:11 p.m. -- The D'backs nearly tacked on some more in the eighth, but Mattheus did a nice job to get out of a bases-loaded jam. It remains 4-0, and the Nats (who haven't scored since Ramos' RBI single in the ninth inning Saturday night in L.A.) are down to their final six outs.

9:20 p.m. -- How do you like that? The Nationals have scored a run. Yes, they've scored a run. Roger Bernadina doubles off the bench in the bottom of the eighth, then scores on Desmond's single up the middle. It's 4-1 now.

9:26 p.m. -- And nothing else happening in that potential rally. We go to the ninth as Ryan Perry enters to make his Nationals debut.

9:37 p.m. -- Another brilliant outfield throw, this time by Ankiel, but the D'backs still score another run. It's 5-1 as we head to the bottom of the ninth. It'll be LaRoche, Werth and Espinosa due up, with Harper hoping somebody gets on base to give him another shot.

9:44 p.m. -- It's over. Final score: Diamondbacks 5, Nationals 1 as Harper is left standing in the on-deck circle. The Nats have now lost five in a row, though if the score in Atlanta holds up, they'll still incredibly be alone in first place for another day.

91 comments:

natsfan1a said...

Let's go, bats, er, NATS!! :-)

MicheleS said...

you know it is a good day when the only thing you are worried about is what to wear to the Park!

Go Bryce! Go Tyler! Go Jordan! Go Bats!

GYFNG

Tcostant said...

Let move Harper up to 6th in the batting order.

Anonymous said...

Go Bryce get those D Backs

Section 222 said...

Darn, I was hoping to see the lineup in this post. Eager to see what Davey decides on Ankiel vs. Moore against a tough RHP.

So this is from Kilgore's post earlier today:
"Harper was driving by the Mall, spotted the game and asked to jump out and play."

Anyone seen a definitive story on whether this was actually spontaneous? And if so, maybe one of the intrepid beat reporters can ask Davey/Rizzo/Boras how they feel about that....

Exposremains said...

ankiel batting 3rd, really? he's the big run producer. I don't get these lineups.

LoveDaNats said...

Just now bought a ticket on a whim and am heading to the park. Beautiful night and I can't miss it. Wearing my Harper shirt!!!! Any one in sec 123? Hubby is out of town and I'm going stag!

Tcostant said...

To bad I have to pick up the kids tonight or I might have meet you in 123.

Another_Sam said...

Tcostant - I'm with you on Harper hitting 6th. That was my thought as I scanned the lineup.

Marty said...

I like the lineup order for this evening. At least it moves things around a bit.

Section 222 said...

Glad to see Werth back in the lineup. If ankiel goes 0-fer and Moore gets a hit tomorrow night, I wonder who starts Thursday.

peric said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
peric said...

OR ... righty, lefty, lefty, lefty, righty, lefty, lefty, righty, righty (Zimmermann can hit).

Section 222 said...

I think this lineup (if we go by what Davey has said) is Morse's position in the lineup.

Huh? You think Morse will hit 3rd when he returns? And where does Zim hit?

A DC Wonk said...

From Kigore:

"Ryan Zimmerman went on to shallow right field to play catch with trainer Lee Kuntz, his first baseball activity since landing on the disabled list with an inflamed joint in his right shoulder."

Mickey Vernon said...

I say let the Kid bat 3rd.

Theophilus T. S. said...

Missed my guess on Moore. Cahill seems like a guy who ought to be hittable. Not as good as his A's nos. suggest, because of the freaky ballpark.
Then, of course, our guys can't hit their way out of a paper bag. If they lose this one, it definitely falls under the heading, "Missed Opportunity."

Les_in_NC said...

I agree with you Mickey.

MicheleS said...

LoveDa
Stag as well! In section 130 wearing my Werth jersey

Steady Eddie said...

Hmmm, Jeff Nelson as HP ump. Didn't he tend to have a rather, ummm, varied strike zone in one of the Nats' games earlier this year? Or am I confusing him with one of the other devotees of creative umpiring we've seen lately?

peric said...

Huh? You think Morse will hit 3rd when he returns? And where does Zim hit?

Good catch. Morse looks like he is going to bat behind LaRoche at this point pushing Werth down ... but we'll see when Morse gets back ...

peric said...

I think this lineup (if we go by what Davey has said) is Zim's position in the lineup. Ankiel is in for Zimmerman offensively. That changes when Zimmerman comes back and Bryce likely moves to CF at that point.

SonnyG10 said...

Let's get a new winning streak started tonight!
GYFNG!!!

Unknown said...

Bad subway problems this weekend for fans planning on using Metro to get to the ballpark. This not only impacts the Nats but the Caps too. Nats and Caps play at approximately the same time on Saturday. I believe a segment of the Green Line is shutting down this weekend and delays are projected for the yellow and red lines due to repair work.

Unknown said...

Espinosa should bat ninth!

baseballswami said...

I don't care who hits in whatever order - they are major league baseball players and every opposing pitcher should not look like cy young. HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT!!! GYFNG!!!!

peric said...

Looks like Boz agrees ... let's just drop the "We have to something today!" silliness and continue to develop the young hitters now the pitching is settled for the most part ... IMO Ankiel steals at bats from younger hitters. As does Werth ... his advanced stats are actually worse than last year's right now but of course everyone uses batting average a stat that was invented before the veritable science was invented. So, of course its flawed!

Boz said:

DON'T DO A DAMN THING.

Patience, patience. Everything that MATTERS __multi-year__ is going great or at least OK. The problems are temporary, a matter of a couple of months at most w Storen and Morse.


People, this team's ceiling is VERY high and they know it. Doesn't mean they get there. Two or three awful injuries, career collapses to the wrong players and that changes. But, for now, you have to keep lookoing for answers to long-term issues. Can Tyler Moore be a surprise semi-late bloomer? With Morse out, maybe he gets enough ABs, for awhile, to give good data. You NEVER klnow about hitters until you see MLB pitchers work them over.

Get used to 3-2. And even 1-0. The Giants won the World Series in '10 with a season full of them. You have to learn how to play those type games.

But, in time, you hope some 7-2 wins get thrown in.


YES people get with the program its all about player development not trading for decrepit bats.

sm13 said...

I noticed a reference to last year's fanfest. Gee, I remember those....

Tim White said...

Harper (and Strasburg!) put on a good show in BP. Happy to be here.

JD said...

Peric,

I agree almost 100%. Unfortunately it's hard to bench a player you signed a year ago (foolishly) for $125 mil. but playing Ankiel over Morse makes no sense to me.

Coincidentally; in an earlier post you classified Desmond and Espinosa as still being in a developmental stage which isn't unreasonable except you would expect to see some progress (especially with Desmond who has been a pro for 7 or 8 years) in his basic approach to hitting. At what point do you say: 'they are who we thought they were'?

JD said...

I meant playing Ankiel over Moore.

Section 222 said...

Morse looks like he is going to bat behind LaRoche at this point pushing Werth down ... but we'll see when Morse gets back ...

You're right, we'll see. My guess is that Morse gets his old cleanup spot back and LaRoche pushes Werth down in the lineup, which is a good thing. Or maybe Davey gives up the idea of Espi hitting second and Werth goes there, with Espi batting 7th, behind Harper. But then again, Davey could go Zim, LaRoche, Morse, Harper. If LaRoche is still hitting and Harper is doing well, that's a pretty imposing R, L, R, L combo in the middle of the order.

Candide said...

Got here too late for Nats BP. Waiting for nephew to show up - he owes me lots of beer.

MicheleS said...

Got my Gio shirt! Has anyone heard when the main team store is going to open?

LoveDaNats said...

Just wandered over to sec 130 and had the pleasure of meeting MicheleS. It's nice to put a face to a name. Ok, Bryce. Do something amazing tonight .

Will said...

Heads up to everyone from out of town, the game is free to watch for non-subscribers on MLB.tv

Eugene in Oregon said...

NatsJack,

I think everyone in the DC area must be at the game.

Faraz Shaikh said...

I think it had more to do with the fact that Kubel was the runner.

mick said...

oh well, Bryce is one of the boys now, lol

LoveDaNats said...

Wandered over to sec 130 and had the pleasure of meeting MicheleS. It's nice to put a face to a name. Ok, Bryce. Do something amazing tonight.

Theophilus T. S. said...

Actually, Eugene, it's a really crummy crowd.

mick said...

nice catch big boy

Eugene in Oregon said...

Theo - Yeah, I see that now.

Anyone - I keep hearing that Mr. Zimmermann was chosen with one of the two picks we got for Mr. Soriano. Who did the Nats get with the other?

Faraz Shaikh said...

josh smoker

TimDz said...

I think the folks that manufacture Viagra are missing a great marketing opportunity here...

They could sponsor the Nats offense ...

Eugene in Oregon said...

FS - Thanks.

Thought the fourth inning 'rally caps' from the bullpen was a pointed, telling statement.

Natman said...

Thanks to Will for the heads up. Nice to be able to watch the game in Toronto.

nwells2 said...

I know Davey Johnson doesn't like to bunt, but if you're down by two runs in the bottom of the sixth with runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, you bunt them over even if it is the three hole hitter (rick ankiel)

Natman said...

No small ball for Davey.

Drew said...

This offense is pathetic.

Let Tyler Moore hit third till Zim returns. He couldn't do any worse.

nwells2 said...

Let Tyler Moore hit third and play third with Lombo at second. I've absolutely had enough of danny espinosa's PATHETIC at bats.

blovy8 said...

a three run lead qualifies as a blow out against this lineup

Will said...

Been looking forward to coming to DC for Sunday's game all year. This game makes me want to sell the tickets.

Joe Seamhead said...

Damn the ump.he was out. Great throw Kid!

sm13 said...

The umpires are gonna owe us a lot of calls in August and September. Great throw by Bryce, nice play by Wilson, just bad umpiring.

mick said...

I guess its better to have a team meltdown in May than it is in July. I won;t get nasty, but let me just ask this... are you all OK with what your seeing? Other than Harper who is fun to watch, this is depressing and the lack of effort hitting is beyond frustrating. I don't get why LaRouche has swung so weakly at the first pitch his last 2 times up? Eckstein has to go, if anything for PR purposes. His employment with the Nats has no logic to it at all

mick said...

actually, tie goes to ten runner and I thought it was a tie

mick said...

the runner

Eugene in Oregon said...

Carpenter: "And what a night [INSERT OPPOSING PITCHER'S NAME} is having, shutting down the Nats..."

mick said...

btw, game is over at 4-0

MicheleS said...

The crowd is desperate to cheer ANYTHING! They aren't even making Cahill work. Sigh. No offense

Holden Baroque said...

There is no such thing as a tie.

peric said...

Let Tyler Moore hit third till Zim returns. He couldn't do any worse.

Nine year olds have invaded the blog ... Tyler Moore at third base? Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha that's rich. Damned fool of a nine year old!

mick said...

Eugene in OR, that is exactly what all these defenders of this lack of hitting keeps posting in here. I guess EVERY team we play has 3 CY winners.
Based on that, this must mean our pitching staff is not as good, lol

mick said...

Sect 3, a tie is in the eye of the umpire, lol

Scott from Burke said...

beast mode? panic mode

jeeves said...

It is really ridiculous to believe that the pathetic offense will not affect the starting pitching. When the starters go out there game after game knowing they can't give up more than a run, the pressure has to mount.

peric said...

(especially with Desmond who has been a pro for 7 or 8 years) in his basic approach to hitting. At what point do you say: 'they are who we thought they were'?

Both players are extremely athletic especially Espinosa. How many times di did they trot out JMax the CF of the future? In this case instead of the YoYo philosophy of Bowden between the majors and any part of the minors you have a real plan doing real player development.

The rule of thumb is about 1000 at bats for these athletes. You let 'em play until they play themselves out of the job (that hasn't happened yet. [ITS barely May?!!! THE NATS ARE developing new prospects!!! ] Or someone (see Rendon, Anthony) totally beats them out of the job.

And Werth has to be considered a potential bench player if he doesn't improve his bRAA which is not on par with what he was doing at the end of last year. Right now he looks like a Nady not an 18 million Werth.

mick said...

overall, I did say a montha go that if you are 500 on road and play 600 at home that will get you in post season. The Nats were 3-4 on the road trip, not quite 500. Hopefully, they get this ugly game over and 2 out of 3 against AZ

Exposremains said...

i was afraid that when they start playing good teams their weaknesses would show. Its difficult to watch. Harper is the only thing interesting.

NatsNut said...

Mick: LaRoche's name doesn't have a "U". You talk about him alot so I thought I'd mention it.

Will said...

I said when HRod blew the save in LA we were in for a ten game losing streak. Now I wonder if that was charitable.

blovy8 said...

I'd almost forgotten what the Nats scoring a run looked like...

Exposremains said...

I'm really excited that I could see Ankiel bat 4 times and I might get to only see Harper 3 times

D'Gourds said...

I am so sick of hearing what a great game the other team's pitcher is having. It's getting to the point that the Nats are so bad offensively that even mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young. Espinosa has been just awful. My goodness, everybody but LaRoache has been awful. It's just so painful and frustrsating to watch. What a waste of great pitching. Even the Mets of the early 70's scored enough to get their pitchers enough to win. This is getting ridiculous. Okay, that's my rant. Sorry.

LoveDaNats said...

What's wrong with my Nats? :(

Eugene in Oregon said...

Going into the season, we all knew -- or should have known -- that the Nats would be a low-scoring team. And that was even assuming that Mr. Morse and Mr. Zimmerman would be playing every day. At the beginning of the season, the hitters seemed to have a good, smart approach, taking a lot of pitches, running up the opposing starters' pitch counts, and not really forcing it (even when they weren't scoring much). But the hitters seem to be pressing now and have abandoned their early season approach. And, as someone above noted, the pitchers have got to be frustrated (hence the 'rally caps' in the bullpen early in the game).

All of that said, this isn't supposed to be a year to challenge for the division title. I'd love to see the Nats playing meaningful games in September -- perhaps contending for the second wild card spot -- but mainly this is about the continued player development that peric notes. But it is a shame to waste some of these superb pitching performances.

baseballswami said...

I don't usually rag on Eckstein, but there he stands with his notebook - how about some practical advise for , I don't know - maybe how to actually get the bat on the ball? His " approach" just seems very academic when they may need practical. But then I would blame my own grandmother at this point for the Nats hitting woes. Five game losing streak. - Now I appreciate those wins in the bank even more because they keep us afloat for a good while. I hate to see us continually chipping away though.Sinking, sinking.....Oh, Nats - I hope you get a hot streak really soon. How is Zim feeling? Morse?

Anonymous said...

Is it football season yet? Thanks Rizzo for adding to what was already an anemic offense last year. This is not a slump, folks...this is a horrible, horrible offensive team. The worst in the major leagues. Even Ray Knight, who is always positive, doesn't see this turning around. Anybody interested in buying my season tickets???

mick said...

Just from a PR standpoint Eckstein should go. How can Davey be happy with him? If Nats lose tomorrow it is panic time. If they win 2 or 3 against AZ heading into the weekend series with Philly, all is well. If not, then this thing could spiral down hill quickly

mick said...

This was not a fun game to watch and i question the passion of each hitter with the exception of Harper and Lombo

mick said...

Fear and Ignor.... A fair evaluation will be after Zim and Morse come back HEALTHY. If this is happening after they return, then it is clear there are major problems that are fixable in 2013, unfortunately not in 2012

baseballswami said...

I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that if Atlanta loses we could still be in first place in the NL East tonight. That is just insane. That first few weeks of the season was so much fun - this is not. Maybe they have hit bottom? We did score a run tonight - oh, forget it.

mick said...

hey gang Detroit entered tonight 11-11. Tigers picked to win it all, talk about disappointing

UnkyD said...

Well...... I just wish I knew enough to offer an opinion on this teams batting... Too many folks having too much trouble getting on base. I got nothing...

mick said...

well, I'm out, time to grab a few more cold ones, watch Daily Show and then hit the rack! night all

baseballswami said...

Mick - you have a point about the Tigers. Teams that are supposed to be power houses with worse starts than ours and lots of teams with offensive woes plus dl issues. Longoria down today for 6 - 8 wks. Hopefully it's just a bad week and we pick it up tomorrow. Not unrealistic about the missing hitters, just hopeful.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Lets see another game without hitting. 5 in a row. We scatter some hits, but there is little energy it seems to me in the box, ecept a few, and now laRoche is cooling off, so it is not getting better.

Pitchers just aren't good enough to overcome the pathetic hitting.

Eck might not be the problem, nut I am all for cleaning house, I know if the people who worked for me were allowed to do such a poor job I would get canned.

Steve Walker said...

14-9 still best record since team came to DC after 23 games. '05 team was .500 till the white hot June. They need to stay in the hunt - don't think they'll lead with 6 guys on DL - until the big boys -- Storen, Zim, Morse get back.

And, Cards DFA's Komatsu, so, we may have our CF in case BH sent back to AAA!

Holden Baroque said...

OK, I'll have to go back to my "Soul Possession" handle. They are 0-5 without it.

Holden Baroque said...

If this doesn't work, I'll go to the Rally Possum.

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