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Associated Press photo Bryce Harper coasts into third base with his first career triple. |
Hitting highlight: It seems like we write this every other night, but it bears repeating yet again: Where would the Nationals be right now without Adam LaRoche? The veteran first baseman delivered yet again, homering in the bottom of the sixth and then lacing a three-run double in the bottom of the seventh to break the game open. The 1,000th hit of LaRoche's career earned a standing ovation from the crowd of 25,942 and gave him 29 RBI for the season. That's tied with Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez for third in the National League.
Pitching highlight: The Nationals knew they were getting a good, young hurler in Gio Gonzalez, but not even GM Mike Rizzo could have expected the left-hander to be the best strikeout pitcher in baseball. With 10 Ks in seven innings against the Pirates, Gonzalez raised his season total to 60, one better than the Yankees' CC Sabathia for the major-league lead. If there was one thing to nitpick about Gio's start, though, it was the two walks he issued to light-hitting Yamaico Navarro and Rod Barajas. Both Pittsburgh batters came around to score after drawing their free passes, a good lesson for Gonzalez in the importance of keeping the ball in the strike zone.
Key stat: The only qualifying shortstop in the National League with a higher slugging percentage than Ian Desmond's .447 mark is the Cardinals' Rafael Furcal.
Up next: Jordan Zimmermann looks to even his record at 3-3 when he faces Pirates right-hander James McDonald in the finale of this abbreviated, two-game series. First pitch on Thursday is at 7:05 p.m.
49 comments:
WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!
Yay Henry!
Yes. Well done, Henry!
PFB, Henry! Atta boy, Adam! WTG, NATS!!
Who told FP about the Kool-Aid? :-)
1A.. see previous thread. Sent FP a tweet about Ripken and the koolaid
You did it, henry Good Job! laRoche: Who'da thunk it you be a force this year.
Geo is now leading Majors in K's. yeah, buddy.
LOL at Morse!
Ha!
The only qualifying shortstop in the National League with a higher slugging percentage than Ian Desmond's .447 mark is the Cardinals' Rafael Furcal.
That cracks me up! How many folks here were so daggone absolutely sure that he'd never learn to hit? ("He's been a pro for six years, he's proved that he'll never get it" yadda yadda yadda).
No, he's not the ideal leadoff man -- but it's what we've got now, and at least he's in the top 7 in hits in the NL, and is second on the team in RBI's.
Way to go, Ian.
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Tangent: cute story -- for whatever reason, my 17 yo daughter, after being taken to enough games at Nats park (tangent: where things like the wave and the Presidents race, and all the things that us fans hate, helped keep her from getting bored), suddenly, about a week ago, became addicted to following the team. (She and I were 5 minutes late, somewhere tonight, because we both had to see Bryce bat one more time).
Unfortunately, she'd never seen "good Henry" -- and is convinced that's he's the worst pitcher in the world. So, it was good for her to finally see "good Henry."
Morse gives Nady the Shaving Cream pie while doing his MASN interview!! very funny
MicheleS said...
WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!
Yay Henry!
May 16, 2012 9:51 PM
hokiepokster92 said...
Yes. Well done, Henry!
May 16, 2012 9:54 PM
natsfan1a said...
PFB, Henry! Atta boy, Adam! WTG, NATS!!
Who told FP about the Kool-Aid? :-)
May 16, 2012 9:56 PM
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What are you drinking in your Maalox?
Its so wierd that we are all excited about a closer with a 3 run lead getting a Save against 3 of the worst batters in the Majors. You have Barajas that you can't throw inside heat to, Barmes in a deep slump and Harrison who you have to get reaching.
Their batting averages sit at .188 .155 .222 The Nats have pitchers with higher batting averages.
Nice win. Everyone just looked sharper today than yesterday.
Henry looked great. Once he found his breaking ball, it was over for the Pirates. I loved that FPsaid "If there was only a way to get Henry to face himself, he'd know how hard it is to hit 100Mph pitches."
And as for the Kool Aid, you just know FP reads NI - all the cool people do. :-)
Missed the info about the Kool Aid tweet. Nice work!
But FP still reads NI. :-)
back in first. good to see HRod get the save.
Gonat. It's the bourbon and do you blame us for getting excited after Henry's last few outings.
Ehay2k.. of course the cool people read NI.
Agreed on the Tweetering, ehay. Nice work, Micheles.
From last thread:
DC Won[k] -- How were you able to come up with those 1-2 percentages? Very cool. Thanks.
Well, I had to compute the percentages myself, from the data at (e.g., Ryan Z): http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=zimmery01&year=2012&t=b
We're excited to see our players and our team have success and a win. Those are all good things.
But since you asked, I'm drinking water. ;-)
MicheleS said...
Gonat. It's the bourbon and do you blame us for getting excited after Henry's last few outings.
Ehay2k.. of course the cool people read NI.
May 16, 2012 10:15 PM
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Like I said "Its wierd we are all excited" because in all honesty that should be the easiest set-up to a save. A 3 run lead and a set-up of 2 batters below Mendoza and the next one 22 points above Mendoza.
Henry was nice and loose as he should be but when are we going to get to a point where we don't have to worry? That was a creampuff save.
Gonat i don't know if we will ever get there with Henry. Sigh
Nice postgame with Davey. Off to bed now. Later, y'all.
These were noted individually, but putting them together sounds nice:
Nady -- 100th career HR
LaRoche - 1000th career hit
Henry didn't even really look that sharp in that save. He was saved by bad hitters going after bad pitches. I believe he got one off-speed in the strike zone. Everything else was outside, and most of that heat was low and away as well.
Against a better team, I'm not sure he walks away easy. And as a corollary, against a better team, I'm not sure Davey sends him out there at all.
But alas, he got his confidence builder, and hopefully it can calm his nerves some as we could definitely use his services moving forward.
I think we're back in first, Braves loss!
Grandstander said...
Henry didn't even really look that sharp in that save. He was saved by bad hitters going after bad pitches. I believe he got one off-speed in the strike zone. Everything else was outside, and most of that heat was low and away as well.
Against a better team, I'm not sure he walks away easy. And as a corollary, against a better team, I'm not sure Davey sends him out there at all.
But alas, he got his confidence builder, and hopefully it can calm his nerves some as we could definitely use his services moving forward.
May 16, 2012 10:32 PM
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Exactly! There are artificial confidence builders like this was facing AAA type hitters. You start thinking your stuff is good and miss your spots and the good hitters will lay off of the balls out of the zone and the great hitters like Votto will pick out the one to drive deep into the outfield seats.
The Pirates didn't go up with a plan. Poor at-bats.
Braves lost but, man, our neighboring AL team is quite the surprise this year. Much as HATE to say it.
baseballswami said...
Braves lost but, man, our neighboring AL team is quite the surprise this year. Much as HATE to say it.
May 16, 2012 10:39 PM
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They have a closer who is perfect in save opportunities and a big offense, 'nuff said.
OK, I will say more, their starting pitching is not great except this Chen kid.
I was wondering if there are still some skeptics about the Gio trade?
Honestly, I'd swear you guys LIKE being miserable. Which you're welcome to do, but, ...
WAAAH- Waaaaaaaaaaaah. : (
Sec3, I am guilty on this one. Just don't see the need in making this game more difficult than it is.
Henry's good/bad thing is worse than what the stats show. He has been very lucky in his last 8 saves to get the back of the other team's batting orders almost every time and its his own ineptitude which gets him back into the heart of the other teams order to lose the save (see Reds, Dodgers)
It isn't like he started with Walker and McCutcheon tonight or last week to start his inning or Votto and Bruce last week, or Kemp and Ethier the week before. He's losing his saves on just not making his pitches.
Henry needs to be Hanrahan'd. I am sure he will do fine somewhere else.
Elwood the Rally Possum sighting!
Section 3, there's 3 different types of people in this world. Those that see the glass half full, those that see the glass half empty, and those that question what's in the glass.
Sec3, I am guilty on this one. Just don't see the need in making this game more difficult than it is.
I understand, but that's sort of my point--why not celebrate the victories, without Debbie-Downer-ing all over them while the seats in the park are still warm?
I am a Kool-Aid drinker except when it is so darn obvious. I supported LaRoche, Desi, Bernadina, Werth and most other players that get beat up on here.
The 2 questionable players in my mind are Espi and Henry. It isn't like there isn't depth at those 2 spots. Lombo and Stammen have shown they can do it.
Section 3, there's 3 different types of people in this world. Those that see the glass half full, those that see the glass half empty, and those that question what's in the glass.
Well, then there's the people who poured the drink. There's the dishwashers who cleaned the glass. And the ones who want one of those little umbrellas in the glass, too.
Ade. It's Kool-ADE.
We WON!!!! And nobody went on the DL. That's all that counts!
Boy, the Cubs bullpen is BAD, and Marmol didn't even participate. It was 2-2 in the 8th, and now, after a slam by some pinch hitter I never heard of, it's 9-2.
Did the TV guys not mention that Davey had Mattheus warming up the instant Henry went through the bullpen gate? Did not even wait for him to throw a pitch. That could have been part of the confidence-building plan for Henry, since lately it seemed as if knowing he was pitching without a safety net was contributing to his inability to seal the deal.
Hopefully, they can continue to be this consistent through the end of this month and into the All Star break. That run might be the tale of the tape. They get Morse back and perhaps Storen during that time period, plus Wang. Hopefully, adding will offset the huge subtraction due to injury.
Boy, the Cubs bullpen is BAD, and Marmol didn't even participate. It was 2-2 in the 8th, and now, after a slam by some pinch hitter I never heard of, it's 9-2.
Cubs are starting off like the Nats were 2-3-4 years ago. Rebuilding.
Exposremains asked whether there are still any skeptics about the Gio trade. The day it was announced I said I wouldn't have parted with both Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole.
I'm delighted with Gio's pitching and his personality, but it will take a few years for us to see how this shakes out.
Here's how the five players are doing so far:
Gio Gonzalez is 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA and, as Mark noted, he's leading the majors in strikeouts.
Tom Milone is in Oakland's rotation. He's 5-3 with a 4.09 ERA. Derek Norris is at AAA Sacramento, where he's hitting .293 with a .336 on base percentage. He's slugging .488 and has an .824 OPS.
Peacock also is in Sacramento. He has a 4-1 record, with a 3.66 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 39 innings. At 20, A.J. Cole is struggling at A-level Stockton, where he is 0-6 with a 7.15 ERA and a WHIP of 1.71.
So far, I think there's reason for both clubs to be pleased with the trade.
I recall that, at the time of the trade, some questioned the park effect for Gio's home starts for the A's. fwiw, some splits for Milone:
home: 3-0, .39 ERA, 3G, 23IP, 11H, 2R, 1ER, 0HR, 4BB, 11K, AVG .147, WHIP .65
road: 2-3, 7.16 ERA, 5G, 27.2 IP, 33H, 23R, 22ER, 6HR, 9BB, 18K, AVG .295, 1.52 WHIP
Of course, Gio hadn't given up a run at home until last night, if memory serves. (Love ya, Gio.) ;-)
On another note, I hear you, sec3. And we're upset because one of our players had a confidence boost? ummm...
(speaking to an empty room)
Finding something negative in all matters is a choice; being happy about good things is a priviledge. Don't waste it.
(footsteps echoing out the room ...)
Actually Gio had given up 1 run at home before last night. However going into the game he and Tommy Milone had the two best ERAs at home.
Thanks for the memory save, Manassas. :-)
Gio's only mistake last night came after an apparent blown call by the home plate ump. The pitch was clearly over the inner half but called a ball. Gio, visibly upset, then grooved a thigh-high fast ball that Harrison tattooed.
Hopefully, a learning experience.
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