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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER The Nats try to complete a four-game sweep of the Cubs tonight. |
Livan Hernandez (who has been excellent his last two starts) takes the ball for the Nats. He'll face Matt Garza, who was a potential trade target of the Nationals over the winter and has been OK (but not great) for Chicago.
Couple of changes to the Nats' lineup tonight. Laynce Nix takes a seat, perhaps to rest his sore Achilles' tendon, so Roger Bernadina slides to left field and Rick Ankiel starts in center. Ivan Rodriguez is behind the plate, giving Wilson Ramos the night off.
In other roster news: The Nationals have officially secured optional waivers on Collin Balester. He's reported to Class AAA Syracuse, and he's back on the 40-man roster.
Updates to come...
CUBS at NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 187
Weather: Partly cloudy, 90 degrees, Wind 8 mph out to LF
STARTING LINEUPS5:05 p.m. -- Lineup change for the Nats: Ivan Rodriguez has been scratched with a bad back. Wilson Ramos will start behind the plate. Pudge didn't appear too pleased when informed during batting practice he was being scratched. Stormed down the dugout steps and back to the clubhouse. I would think he was trying to lobby hard to stay in the lineup.
NATIONALS (45-43)
LF Roger Bernadina
2B Danny Espinosa
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Michael Morse
RF Jayson Werth
CF Rick Ankiel
CIvan RodriguezWilson Ramos
SS Ian Desmond
P Livan Hernandez
CUBS (35-53)
RF Kosuke Fukudome
SS Starlin Castro
3B Aramis Ramirez
1B Carlos Pena
C Geovany Soto
CF Marlon Byrd
LF Alfonso Soriano
2B Darwin Barney
P Matt Garza
5:58 p.m. -- A more specific explanation on Pudge: He's got a tweak in his right oblique. According to a Nats spokesman, the scratching was precautionary and he's available to pinch-hit tonight if needed. We'll see.
6:30 p.m. -- Michael Morse finished fourth out of five in the NL All-Star Final Vote. Shane Victorino won. But could Morse, or maybe even Danny Espinosa squeeze their way onto the All-Star roster? Read my post on the homepage.
7:07 p.m. -- And we're underway with Livan Hernandez facing Kosuke Fukudome. Ninety-one steamy degrees at gametime.
7:17 p.m. -- Not the prettiest top of the first for Livo, but he got the job done. After allowing a leadoff single to Fukudome and then plunking Aramis Ramirez on an errant, 66-mph curveball, but struck out both Carlos Pena and Geovany Soto, both looking at mid-80s "fastballs." Livo is the master.
7:31 p.m. -- Ugh, two on with one out for the Nats in the bottom of the first, and they can't score either. Michael Morse swung through an 86 mph slider from Matt Garza. Jayson Werth then watched another 86 mph slider cross the heart of the plate for another called third strikes. He's now 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in this series. Scoreless after one.
7:45 p.m. -- Nothin' doin' for either team in the second. Wilson Ramos and Ian Desmond each struck out in the bottom of the inning, giving Garza four K's through two.
7:51 p.m. -- A quick top of the third for Livo, including a nice play by Morse at first base. He had to range to his right to snag Fukudome's bouncer, then make an off-balance throw that perfectly led Livo to the bag to record the out. Still scoreless.
8:36 p.m. -- So, I left the press box for an inning to visit some friends who are in the stands tonight. Did I miss anything? Just kidding, I saw the Nats' 7-run bottom of the third from the seats. Man, what a rally (actually, it's the team's biggest one-inning output of the season). Eight batters came to the plate and all reached safely against Garza, leading to his early departure. Big hits all around, with RBI from Espinosa, Morse, Werth (yes, even Werth), Ramos and Bernadina. The Nats take a 7-0 lead, and Davey Johnson may finally get his wish and enjoy a game that doesn't involve his team carrying a 1-run lead into the ninth.
8:43 p.m. -- Meanwhile, in Harrisburg tonight, Chien-Ming Wang put forth another strong rehab effort. Five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, with two strikeouts and no walks. Only needed 43 pitches, and he topped out at 92 mph. So his totals over three rehab starts now: 12 ip, 7 h, 2 er, 2 bb, 7 k. I think it's probably safe to say now we're going to see this guy in D.C. by the end of the month. Pretty remarkable when you think how little progress he had made over the course of 1 1/2 seasons.
9:09 p.m. -- Oh dear, so much for that laugher Davey was hoping for. The Cubs have scored six -- yes, SIX -- runs in the top of the sixth, capped by Blake DeWitt's three-run homer off the right-field foul pole. Complete meltdown by Livo, who is now out of the game before he could record enough outs to earn a quality start. Just like that, it's 8-6, and Davey is going to have to coax 10 big outs from his bullpen.
9:23 p.m. -- Wow, what a catch by Bernadina. He had to go way to his left and back a ways to make an all-out, diving, backhand grab of Starlin Castro's line drive. Really impressive effort there to save a double in the top of the seventh.
9:29 p.m. -- And we are tied. Unbelievable. Sean Burnett enters to face Carlos Pena and serves up a two-run homer on his first pitch. It's 8-8 in the top of the seventh. Unbelievable.
9:45 p.m. -- So, let's see. The Nationals scored seven runs on eight hits during the third inning alone. In the other six innings played tonight, they've totaled one run on three hits. Really is remarkable how many times this season they've put together one good offensive inning and then been totally shut down after that. Still 8-8 heading to the eighth, with Henry Rodriguez on the mound now. Remember, Drew Storen is almost certainly not available tonight after appearing in five of the last six days.
9:57 p.m. -- Aramis Ramirez with the two-out, line-drive single just past Espinosa's leaping attempt, and the Cubs have come all the way back from an 8-0 deficit to take a 9-8 lead in the eighth. Just staggering.
10:13 p.m. -- Michael Morse to the rescue. Smokes a first-pitch fastball from Sean Marshall back up the middle for a huge, two-out RBI single, bringing Bernadina home. It's tied again, 9-9, as we go to the ninth. Rodriguez back out there for his second inning of work.
10:23 p.m. -- And now the Cubs come right back and re-take a 10-9 lead in the ninth. Darwin Barney with a two-out, RBI double just inside the right-field line, scoring Tony Campana. That's two runs scored off Henry Rodriguez in the last two innings (not to mention 10 runs scored by the Cubs in the last four innings).
10:26 p.m. -- For those asking, Drew Storen is almost certainly not available tonight. But Tyler Clippard should be. He didn't pitch last night.
10:27 p.m. -- Well, here we go. Last chance for the Nats. They trail by a run heading to the bottom of the ninth. Carlos Marmol will face Ankiel, Ramos and Desmond. If anyone gets on, Davey Johnson will have his pick of pinch-hitters.
10:39 p.m. -- That'll do it. The Nats threatened in the bottom of the ninth, getting Ankiel to third base with one out. But Matt Stairs (pinch-hitting for Desmond) popped out to third. And after Laynce Nix walked, Bernadina lined out to right field to end it. A game they once led 8-0 ends as a 10-9 loss. That's about as bad as it gets.
217 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 217 of 217 Newer› Newest»CBinDC, do you hold something against Davey? I think you are being too harsh on the guy. Yes, he is mainly responsible for the loss. But none of our pitchers were spot on to begin with. Yes, he managed this possible win to a loss with having Stairs up. But after his first walk-off hit, even I thought maybe he has turned the corner and deserves few more chances. I just hope Davey knows what he is doing.
@the guy who suggested we get rid of Livo, his ERA before that sixth inning was 3.73 (league average I think) and still is a respectable 4.01. Not sure what is wrong with Burnett. Our bullpen is being used too often so ASG can not come sooner.
When your up 8-0, the manager just needs to manage the momentum, and stop it really quick if it starts the other way. Number 1 job. I didn't see any urgency to slow the momentum. Granted Quade was just as bad in the third inning. It doesn't take rocket science to understand how momendum works. Slowing down doesn't mean necessarily moving someone one, but Ramos needs to go out and settle down the pitcher. Morse or Zim need to come in. Didn't see much of that.
Did you notice after Ankiel got hit. Pena immediately was at the mound. He understands slowing momendum.
Watched Stairs pop up again. It was a hanging slider. That should have been a piece of cake to drive. What on earth happened there. he simple swung to low.
We could have the combined genius of the best 5 managers in MLB history as our manager, and if we lost, he'd be a horrible manager.
We could have a rock as a manager, and if we won, he'd be headed to the Hall of Fame for his managing exploits.
Dave this looked just like 2008 and 2009, we thought we outgrew that crap.
The combined genius of the best managers in MLB history wouldn't have had Matt Stairs batting in the 9th.
@N. Cognito: We could have the combined genius of the best 5 managers in MLB history as our manager, and if we lost, he'd be a horrible manager. We could have a rock as a manager, and if we won, he'd be headed to the Hall of Fame for his managing exploits."
+1. Comment of the day.
You can defend it all you want, but having Stairs bat over Cora in that situation will remain a stupid move. There's simply no justification.
Burnett will either go on the DL or get Pattersoned by the A-S break. C'mon, Yanks, give us a bag of balls for this guy.
And, again, I say: Stares is harder to get rid of than Athlete's Foot in a sauna.
Where's all the "accountability" everybody was yakking about in ST?
Dave
Worst experience? Not even close.
Worst loss? Statistically, maybe so.
According to fangraphs, the Nats win expectancy was 99.6% after Livo recorded the 2d out of the 6th. But they somehow managed to seize that 4 tenths of 1 percent chance out of the jaws of victory.
That takes some doin'.
Where have I heard that kind of win expectancy before? Oh, right, in the 9th inning against Seattle when the Mariners were at (or above) that number. But we won that one.
Yes, DJ blew it tonight. Yes, it sucks. That's baseball. 162 game season, it happens.
I think some here are missing the point.
If it were possible, your points would be valid if all the right things were done and you still lost the 8-run lead. I don't know if it's possible to do all the right things and lose an 8-run lead though.
The problem is there were some glaring pivot points in this game that could have saved it. You have to line up a lot of wrong things to lose an 8-run lead and nobody stopped those things from happening and a lot of us think it could have been done.
Listen to our brother Dave. He is right about this.
It was a bad loss. But a man died in the Rangers stadium in front of his kid, leaning over the stands after he caught a ball. That is really sad, and keeps things in perspective.
So it was a bad game.
Gosh, I'm sorry to hear about the tragedy in Texas.
FYI: Kilgore reports that Baseball America is out with its midseason list of the game's Top 50 prospects.
Bryce Harper is No. 1 and Brad Peacock has rocketed from obscurity to No. 42!
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/07/midseason-top-50-prospects-list/
Dave, thanks for a touch of sanity. I just got home from the game,which was stunning to lose, but still very entertaining. There's a lot of if's about this game, but one thing I saw from my seats in 311 is it sure looked like Johnson and McCatty were in a heated exchange when Burnett hung that 1st pitch to Pena. Also, things are not looking good with Pudge tonight. He may go on the DL, so are we seeing a Norris in our near future? One last note, I said on an earlier blog that Wang may be a wild card for the Nats after the All Star break and was called out on it by an anon, asking me who he'd replace. J-Zimm will be phased down and Marquis getting traded is almost even money. Wang looked very good tonight by all accounts. I wish him nothing but good luck and truly hope that we have something in him that is close to what he was with the Yankees.
I said Norris...maybe Jesus Flores is more likely to be called up.
The thing that's becoming very clear is that this team has a tough time playing with a lead. Blown saves, close 1-run games. While I love my Nats, they make it very frustrating with their inability to grab the opportunities (and scoring opportunities) when they present themselves. Do they lack the killer instinct?
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