Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Game 21: Cardinals at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
The Nationals try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals today.
Davey Johnson said last night he planned to make some lineup changes for today's series finale against the Cardinals. So what are those changes? Well, Tyler Moore is at first base instead of Adam LaRoche, and Jhonatan Solano is catching instead of Kurt Suzuki.

Not exactly a major shakeup, but Johnson said that had more to do with today's matchup, with Jaime Garcia on the mound for St. Louis. He didn't want to bench Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon and deny them a chance to bat against a left-hander. LaRoche and Suzuki will likely be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Reds.

Stephen Strasburg gets the start, looking to snap his string of losses at three. The Nationals would love to get a quality, and long outing out of their ace, who has been plagued by high pitch counts more than he would prefer.

It's a beautiful afternoon for baseball. If you're stuck in the office, never fear. I've got plenty of updates right here...

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 184
Weather: Sunny, 71 degrees, Wind 14 mph out to LF
NATIONALS (10-10)
CF Denard Span
RF Jayson Werth
LF Bryce Harper
1B Tyler Moore
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
3B Anthony Rendon
C Jhonatan Solano
RHP Stephen Strasburg

CARDINALS (12-8)
3B Matt Carpenter
1B Allen Craig
LF Matt Holliday
RF Carlos Beltran
C Yadier Molina
2B Daniel Descalso
CF Shane Robinson
SS Pete Kozma
LHP Jaime Garcia

UMPIRES
HP Jim Joyce (cc)
1B Jeff Nelson
2B Jim Wolf
3B Cory Blaser

1:08 p.m. — We are underway on a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon in the District. Stephen Strasburg starts off Matt Carpenter with a 93 mph fastball for ball one.

1:21 p.m. — That did not go well. The Cardinals roughed up Strasburg for three runs in the top of the first. It wasn't entirely his fault; he gave up a couple of duck-snorts and also was victimized by Anthony Rendon's second error in four games. But Strasburg also fell behind nearly every hitter, seemed to be overthrowing his fastball and labored considerably during a long top of the first. It's 3-0 St. Louis as Jaime Garcia takes the mound.

1:28 p.m. — And Garcia retires the side on 11 pitches, forcing Strasburg back to the mound very quickly. This one isn't exactly off to a rousing start from the Nats' perspective.

1:36 p.m. — The top of the second was better for Strasburg, though still not a work of art. He again fell behind hitters, then gave up a two-out double to Matt Carpenter. Thankfully, Carpenter's over-aggressiveness on the bases helped the Nats. He rounded second too far, and thanks to a heads-up play by Tyler Moore (who trailed him from first base), the Nats were able to tag him out on a 9-6-3 double play and end the top of the second.

1:47 p.m. — Ian Desmond is trying WAY too hard to make something happen offensively ... but he got away with it in the bottom of the second. Desmond beat out a bunt, then stole second even though he was picked off by a mile. Anthony Rendon, meanwhile, struck out to end the inning, stranding Desmond on third. Rendon is now 1-for-12 with five strikeouts to begin his big-league career. Still 3-0 Cards after two.

1:53 p.m. — A much-needed 1-2-3 third inning for Strasburg. He's at 52 pitches through three.

1:58 p.m. — Only one hit for the Nats through three, but in their defense, they've legitimately hit a bunch of balls hard so far today. They just seem to keep hitting them right at someone. Daniel Descalso robbed Jhonatan Solano of his first hit of the season. And Jaime Garcia showed cat-like reflexes to rob Denard Span of a single up the middle. Still 3-0 after three.

2:05 p.m. — Strasburg getting much better as this game progresses. He's retired six in a row and needed only 11 pitches to retire the side in the fourth. He's actually getting ahead of hitters, which makes a load of difference. Sixty-three total pitches through four.

2:21 p.m. — Nine in a row retired by Strasburg, who has righted his ship quite nicely. As for that Nats lineup ... oy. Still 3-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth.

2:29 p.m. — If you've lost track — and I don't blame you if you have — the Nats have now scored two total runs over their last 33 offensive innings. Now, I'm no baseball expert, but it seems it would be kind of tough to win ballgames like that.

2:36 p.m. — Considering how that first inning went for him, pretty amazing to think that Strasburg is through the sixth on 87 pitches. He's due to lead off, though, with the Nats down 3-0. Interesting call for Davey ... but he'll let Stephen hit for himself. I suppose you could argue he's still a bigger threat at the plate than the guys currently on the bench.

2:56 p.m. — Well, at least they're on the board at last. Strasburg led off the sixth with a base hit up the middle (naturally). Span followed with his own single to center. Then Werth and Harper advanced everyone a base with groundballs. That brought Strasburg home and kept the rally alive. Moore drew a walk, knocking Garcia out of the game. But Desmond struck out on a 3-2 breaking ball outside from reliever Joe Kelly, then nearly threw his bat all the way to the dugout in frustration. So it's 3-1 St. Louis as we move to the seventh.

3:05 p.m. — A 1-2-3 seventh for Strasburg, who certainly did his job today after the ragged first inning. His final line will read: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 110 pitches.

3:19 p.m. — A great chance for the Nats in the bottom of the seventh, with runners on the corners and one out. Steve Lombardozzi came up to pinch-hit and worked the count to 3-0, then 3-2. And then ... disaster. Lombardozzi struck out. Worse, Solano was running on the pitch and was thrown out trying to steal second, a killer double play to end the inning. You know, Davey has been saying he worries his guys are trying too hard to do something to snap out of the slump. Having the catcher run on a 3-2 pitch with one out might just be a sign of the manager trying to do too much. Still 3-1 after seven.

3:37 p.m. — And the Cardinals tack on an insurance run in the eighth off Drew Storen, who was victimized by some soft singles but also didn't help himself with poor execution on a rundown play. Instead of running Jon Jay all the way back to third base, he allowed Jay to prolong the play and allowed two runners to take an extra base. That ultimately allowed a run to score on a high chopper to short. So it's now 4-1, with the Nats down to their final six outs.

3:48 p.m. — The good news: Werth homered in the eighth. The bad news: Nobody was on base at the time, so the deficit remained two runs. Even worse: After Harper walked, Davey sent up Adam LaRoche to pinch-hit for Moore. LaRoche struck out on three pitches, making him 0 for his last 11 with eight strikeouts, including five in a row. Even more worse: Desmond then struck out on three pitches, ending the inning. It remains 4-2 and the Nats are down to their last three outs.

3:57 p.m. — Onto the bottom of the ninth. Espinosa, Rendon and Solano against Edward Mujica, down two runs. Tough challenge.

4:03 p.m. — It's over. 4-2 loss. They've lose four in a row, nine of 12. And they're under .500 for the first time since the final day of the 2011 season.

237 comments:

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Jane Elizabeth said...

Risk-aversion to another double play, I guess....

EmDash said...

Davey seems to be pressing and trying to do too much, too.

Jane Elizabeth said...

Storen gets in trouble every time when it matters.

Jane Elizabeth said...

You can't let the runners advance!

EmDash said...

Oh man, *Boswell* is identifying a Davey managerial decision as questionable? You know it's pretty bad, then. I don't remember a single time he's treated Davey as anything less than infallible.

Jane Elizabeth said...

Game Over.

Jane Elizabeth said...

Espinosa blew this game with a very bad vibe on the second pitch.

Jane Elizabeth said...

Does Storen have anything left?

EmDash said...

Season's not over, but man is this one hell of a rough patch.

baseballswami said...

Why is this happening? But last year, the team always came on strong late and you always thought they could come back. This year- no fight in them at all. Even in losing seasons they did not fold like this. Can we just get one game where the other team collapses? We can take a gift at this point. This is so depressing. Argggggh.

Jane Elizabeth said...

The radio guy says Storen had bad luck in giving up 1 run on 3 hits. I actually think he was quite fortunate.

Tcostant said...

Another run given up by Storen, at this point I rather see Hrod in Storen's spots...

Theophilus T. S. said...

How many options does Storen have left?

And, how about we make Strasburg a relief pitcher, bring him in in the fourth inning of each turn through the rotation. He usually doesn't show up until then, and can't go more than six (rarely seven) anyway, so nothing lost.

Tcostant said...

Time to consider sending Storen down and bring up J.C. Romero to give Davey better options.

Unknown said...

Is Davey off his meds or what

Unknown said...

Why, oh why, would Davey pinch-hit ALR for Tyler Moore in that situation? Can anyone explain this?

Unknown said...

a shocker, Moore is 4 for 11 in games he has been in and we go for laroche
Ugh

Unknown said...

And then Desi goes up swinging as hard as he possibly can and misses every single pitch.

Unknown said...

"1 run on 3 hits. I actually think he was quite fortunate."
I would have to agree. 3 hits will usually get you at least one run. The radio guys probably just forget what 3 hits look like

EmDash said...

He's trying to go lefty-right match-up, but. Strange time for it. Anyone remember that Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns takes out Darryl Strawberry for Homer because match-ups? I always think of that when they get too hung up on the hitter's handed-ness.

nats guy said...

Very Bad Bad Bad!!!!!!!!

EmDash said...

If they don't come back...this is one of those losses I'd be pretty unhappy about. Poor hitting is one thing, but shaky defense and boneheaded plays on the bases are hard to deal with. Getting beat happens, but a team shouldn't ever beat itself.

nats guy said...

They are gawd awful right now. I would say they are lucky to be in the same division as Miami but I am no longer sure they could even beat them.

Secret wasian man said...

The bullpen has collapsed in crucial situations. Like when leading. Nobody except Bryce can come up with the clutch hit. I can see a few guys slumping but everybody?? I think what you have here is just old fashioned choking? Any thoughts?

Secret wasian man said...

This lineup put up 2 runs. I say we stick with it. It is an improvement.

Less Platu said...

Just got home -- they just ph'd for Moore, already??? and for ALR??? what happened to the shake up? It was all crap as I stated last night. Still sticking with .150 Espi, I see. Davey is a good club house guy, good for esprit decorps but on field manager, nope, not so good. The Poor nats

Unknown said...

I have lots of thoughts but they cannot be repeated on a family blog

EmDash said...

I tend to think getting into the psychology is pointless - not something we can diagnose without knowing the players. The problem is that they are not playing good baseball, and the solution is that they start playing good baseball.

Less Platu said...

Nats fall to a very pedestrian 10-11. it all could have been avoided were it not for the Over Tinkering by Rizzo over the winter. Rizzo/Davey: Tweedle Dee/Tweedle/Dum

Folks, this is not going to get better; more able to get worse, much worse

Secret wasian man said...

Less platu. Hope you Were not listening on the radio. You wouldn't want to fall asleep driving.

Less Platu said...

haha Well, with Charlie Slowes repeating his stats, one is apt to fall asleep.

What? did I just hear Ray actually state that "Haren has improved this club." Please, Ray, don't pee down my back and tell me its raining.

Secret wasian man said...

Michael Morse. That's it. Once again I was wrong. I said Nats would be under .500 by Friday.

Secret wasian man said...

Less, hahahaha. I have a ????? For the Nats. How long you pee on a toilet seat before you learn to put it up?

EmDash said...

Guys. Morse is also not hitting very well after getting injured. Burnett is injured. Edwin Jackson is not doing very well, with no quality starts as yet. John Lannan got blown up in his last start and is - also - injured. Those guys wouldn't be saviors.

Unknown said...

Stupid LRLR mentality of DJ. Moore was looking good and he puts in ALR. Also kinda dumb starting Solano at first with top of order

Unknown said...

This team is looking bad at almost every level. Even Davey pressing hit & runs and amazingly subbing in ALR for TMo and allowing him to go get his 11th straight out. I expect this to get even worse against the reds. Depressing...

Unknown said...

Somebody needs to call davey out and stop kissing arse. (Media) kutchner was lobbing softballs and acting all star struck with Rizzo interview on 106.7. Davey just is stubborn and slow. He makes terrible decisions. I've watched him since early 90s and I just can't stand him. Still I'm a huge Nats fan, but I reserve the right to dislike the manager and dumb decisions.

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