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US Presswire photo Jordan Zimmermann had two hits to go along with six strong innings on the mound. |
Hitting lowlight: Rough night for Rick Ankiel. And he only played four innings. In that span, however, the veteran outfielder popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt, struck out in the bottom of the ninth and then struck out in the bottom of the 10th. With the bases loaded. After getting ahead in the count 3-0. Perhaps it was best that Davey Johnson double-switched Ankiel out of the game after that.
Pitching highlight: For five innings, Zimmermann looked as sharp as he's ever been in his career. The right-hander was efficient, mixed in mid-90s fastballs with an assortment of breaking balls and stayed ahead in the count all night. He's only reached the eighth inning once before as a professional, and it looked like he might get there in this one. But a couple of mistakes in the sixth -- the home-run pitches to Jordany Valdespin and David Wright -- ultimately cost Zimmermann a chance to go deep into the game. In the end, he had to settle for merely a run-of-the-mill quality start. Which, as it turned out, wasn't good enough.
Key stat: When he crossed the plate on his sixth-inning homer, Wright became the Mets' all-time leader with 736 runs scored. The previous franchise record holder? Jose Reyes.
Up next: The series continues Wednesday night when Edwin Jackson faces rookie right-hander Jeremy Hefner. First pitch at Nationals Park is at 7:05 p.m.
55 comments:
WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!
And that is you stay up late
For a MicheleS WOOOOO HOOOOOO
And thank you Mark for staying up with us.
Just getting out of the game. How ctazy was that!
I repeat:
(a) Mets have no D and no bullpen
(b) Nats CAN'T hit! Except, well, some Nats can.
(c) Davey a great manager. Wow.
Boy, did Davey out-manage Collins. I give you Morse/Desi/Zim/Harper. But the key was the bullpen management. In the end, they had that guy who couldn't throw strikes, we had Det.
For all the moaning about lack of situational hitting . . . let's be aware that the Nats hit .350, 7-for-20 with RISP. (Which ought to be another "key stat" of the game)
(It's often the failures (ahem, Ankiel), or the game winner -- if there is one -- that we seem to remember the most)
Can I get another WOOO HOOO!
The Beast cracks two doubles, The Kid comes through and the boys win a wild one.
The Nats are now 8-7 in this brutal 32-game stretch against the beasts of the NL and AL East. Tomorrow night we reach the turn. Way to hang tough, boys!
I agree, NatsLady.
But the key was the bullpen management
The best part of the bullpen management was that, if needed, the one guy left -- Detwiler -- was capable of going 4 strong innings if we needed. No way Ramirez could have done that. I kept thinking: if we can just keep it a tie, eventually we'll win, because Det would outlast the Mets' guy.
Lack of run support and critical, untimely mistakes have plagued Zimmermann since his return last season. He reminds me so much of Javier Vazquez, a guy who always carried the hard-luck label with him and was never able to become a 'Big game' pitcher despite his talents.
Happy the team won, and nice to see Morse and Desmond with some clutch hitting. But, seriously, when is Espinosa ever going to show up with a plan?
Hey, little Gio==> don't you want to be part of this team???? Sign, already, sign!!!
NatsLady: "In the end, they had the guy who couldn't throw strikes, we had Det."
The difference is Johnson had no one else left in the pen, whereas Collins elected to stay with Ramirez even though Rauch was still available.
Apparently Rauch didn't make the trip - he's either sick or banged up.
Rauch wasn't available. He was in NYC having his elbow checked.
Was there a Metro train available for those who stayed to the end?
rogieshan.... Didn't I hear Carp/FP say Rauch was back in NYC with some kind of ailment?
Sheesh. 3 people beat me to the Rauch thing while I was still typing.....
A lot of people owe some cokes, I see ;-)
Thanks for the clarification, folks. Missed the Rauch injury. I guess Collins was working with a shortened pen and was down to the last man. Cheers.
At some point I would like to see Davey let Jordan stay in a game and work it out. The hook is too quick and there is not enough offense on the board for him EVER. Giving up 2 runs in six innings is just not terrible. Solo home runs are pesky but should not be the deal breakers. He was ahead when he left and this time the usually good bullpen guys slipped up. The lead changed hands so many times my head was spinning. Ankiel and LaRoche are definitely the lowlights for me. Zim and Morse both hitting have me excited and hopeful. And what the heck is up with our pitchers hitting? Even Det drew a walk - it was super ugly , but what can you say? Kind of ironic that Detweiler got demoted to the bullpen and ended up with a win. Is it really only early June - my nerves are shot already.
Forgot to look for a New Post. The Nats didn't give up. A signature win on the season.
JZ was tired. Not sure why, since it was a cool evening. Maybe being on base. I don't disagree with Davey pulling him.
And I forgot to look at the other teams in the division! Best case scenario for us. Miami lost to the Braves, Phils lost to the Dodgers. Wooooo Hooooo -- to quote a famous NI poster. In first by a full game. This is going to be a daily battle.....
Scott -- no, last train left Navy Yard at 11:20 so we had to leave as Flores was IW'd and got the Harp walk off on Gameday about 5 seconds before the last train left. Now I'm on the last train to Clarksville, er, Glenmont, waiting to get around the stupid single tracking.
NatsLady said...
Morse/Desi/Zim/Harper.
June 05, 2012 11:28 PM
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Please put a "s" for pluralization for both Zim as RZim and JZim who were both clutch tonight. Jordan Zimmermann with the huge double was 2-2 and scored a run and now batting .300
NatsLady said...
JZ was tired. Not sure why, since it was a cool evening. Maybe being on base. I don't disagree with Davey pulling him.
June 06, 2012 12:03 AM
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JZim had more in the tank but with 3 straight lefties coming up in the 7th, it was a no brainer with a fresh bullpen.
Just saw the walk-off hit on video on MLB Network on the Klondike Hit of the Day and Rottino with the worst fake catch act in trying to convince the ump he caught it.
Rottino should have some self-respect. You lost. Go back to your hotel.
Swami -- don't forget Desi, he was clutch and with his Gold Glove-worthy defense, he having his breakout season at last. That's huge.
Gonat--yeah. Too bad we have to go into interleague stupid-baseball with our pitchers hitting so well.
Great game! Ballsy draft! ... glad to see Mikey breaking out ... they're going to need him!
I don't often watch post-game stuff -- I usually turn it off right after the last out -- but I've seen a few. Akra really does scurry away when a guy's about to get doused, doesn't she?
right now the Nats have the 2nd best winning % in all of baseball.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8014861
Kruk's take on the game.
Just got home!! What a night, what a game.
Can't believe how bad the Mets defense was. Besides the 3 errors there were two other botched plays where they got a fielders choice but should have had double plays.
So many ups and downs. 3-0 count to Ankiel had us all ready to leave and boom, he goes down.
Hairston jacks one and we get all depressed and then boom, boom Morse and Desmond come through.
I would love to see Espinosa take a seat for a few days and let Lombardozzi handle 2nd. He did get a big hit back in the early part of the game as well as a stolen base, but after that it was K city.
Metro was fine after the game, I just wish all trains went to Greenbelt instead of Mt. Vernon. Had to wait for 2 trains but heard all about the Celtics from the Metro Police. They were also happy we won.
Oh, one more thing, I am sure it was commented on but the one play by Desmond when the ball took a strange hop and he had to field & throw with his bare hand in one motion. That is why you go to games.
Go Nats!! (I am 2 for 2 since getting back from Europe) Woooooo Hooooo (copyright Michelle 2012)
Many people were worried Zim is hurting, what about LaRoche. He can't buy a hit and just isn't getting the bat around. Is it time to get him some days off and I say DAYS in plural.
With Morse back, he can play some 1st base. The 0-6 by LaRoche tonight and missing on balls he should be driving tells me he isn't right.
Just got back and all I can say is I'm glad we won. This game was the definition of wining ugly.
I do have one question, in the top of the 10th inning Scott Hairston makes it to 3rd with one out and David Wright is at bat why did Davey have Henry pitch to him and not walk Wright to set up the double play? I know Duda is a lefty but Wright is hitting .364 and it would seem that he had a good chance to put the ball in play.
Henry uncorked the WP so it ended up that it did not matter but I'd have to think the percentages are to set up the double play. Any thoughts?
Gonat:
Cut Vinny some slack...he's a great guy. Been in the minors forever, just trying to do anything he can. If Bryce tried it, we'd be giddy over it.
sjm308
That was a real nice bare handed play by Desmond. I don't have any complaints about his defense this year.
He also had 2 clutch hits and did not strike out once.
Watching Elvin, I thought, "OMG! They have their own wild pitcher." We have lost that game so many times, in all those error-prone ways, in the past.
I almost couldn't stay in my skin while Henry was pitching. And I would have rushed right out to the bourbon and maalox stand, had there been one. But the great news, in addition to the Curlie W, is We saw some good gorse hacking, and Desmond has really, really grown up.
When the HECK are they going finally to get a photo of Lombo for the larger than life line up card and photos section posted at the main gates? It's not like it's a mystery that he is on the team. They just had a blank card.
Nats Lady,
How exactly is bringing HRod into the game good bullpen management?
Very simple answer regarding HRod. He's on the roster. Davey is going to use him and try to nurse him into being productive.The wild pitch was a curve that Flores will block more often than not. It was not a horrible Bad Henry performance, but certainly not a good one either. Nor were Burnett or Stammen's performances very good.(I would have walked Wright, also).
Nats win and we all feel good, I know I do... but, if they had lost last night, it would have been a very bad loss and I bet the press would have really questioned Davey on a lot of things starting with why is Eckstein still coaching.
Let's be fair, there are some concerns beyond the fact that Esckstein sucks... On a 3-0 count, why was both Espinoza and Ankiel sooooo bad at the plate, why didn't either Bo Porter or Davey tell them to crowd the freakin plate on a 3-0 bases loaded pitch??? I am still stunned at that even though we won. Of course the other question is why is HRod throwing his breaking pitch which he has no control over in a tie game with a runner at third??
The good and the bad and the ugly:
The Good: This team has a never say die image. Ryan Zimm actually getting big hits. Harper is amazing.
The Bad: HRod. Fake an injury with this cat, so we can DL and remove him from the team for a while.
The Ugly: If you took Metro, you either missed the end of the game or got home another way. The Nationals need to work out a deal with Metro so that they stay open in case a game runs late (like the deal with Verizon Center). Good for the Nationals posting a note on they scoreboard that the last Metro train leaves in 20 minites; but it it be better if they stayed opened. This is the cost of doing business. Worth this out now, can you image if we're in the playoffs (8:20PM start times) and the last train is in the 6th inning. This is a nightmare waiting to happen.
Tcostant... excellent point on Metro. The problem is as long as you have a turd like the current metro chief running this operation, don't expect changes. Why this idiot is in charge of anything is beyond me. The Mayor, DC officials need to get off their no account asses and deal with this. The upside of having a team in DC and where the ball park is right off the metro should be fully utilized. However, your dealing with a DC government that I don't even think Rod Serling could have concocted in a Twilght Zone episode, lol
Joe Seamhead said...Very simple answer regarding HRod. He's on the roster.
Seriously?...lol...Yeah sort of like Riggs using Matt Stairs because he is "on the roster"
Using HRod last night was moronic, as was Detwiler stabbing trying to bunt off a pitcher who could not throw it over the plate.
I have zero confidence in Davey Johnson. His dumb decisions will start to hurt the team as the pennant race continues.
"I have zero confidence in Davey Johnson. His dumb decisions will start to hurt the team as the pennant race continues."
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Klown.
Yah, I'm sure Davey won't be able to sleep at night knowing that a blog commenter has zero confidence in him. ;-)
Overall, if you went back in time 6 months ago and someone told us that the Nats would be 31-22, second best record in NL, without Storen playing a game and Morse playing only the last 4 and Werth out a month, no one would have believed it
here is what has to be resolved:
1) Do you try to package Lannan and Espi to an AL team for a disgruntled stud power hitter?
2) Do you only have espi bat right handed?
3) Does Lombo play full time?
4) Is Hrod only middle relief or cut or traded?
If Rendon can stay healthy in 2013, can one ,ove Zim to 1b, Desmond at ss, Lombo at 2b, Rendon at 3rd, outfield is Morse, Werth and Big Boy. This is assuming LaRoche is not back in 2013?
could be a hell ofa lineup
these are issues 20 plus MLB teams wish they had
natsfan1a said...
Yah, I'm sure Davey won't be able to sleep at night knowing that a blog commenter has zero confidence in him. ;-)
Davey gets plenty of nap time during games.....lol..
UnkyD said...
Klown.
Classic...lol...Touch a nerve?
If you want to defend Davey, have at it. Let's hear it. Your one word response does not exactly cut it. I'd love for you to convince me to change my opinion on Davey.
Well played, Michael. :-)
Davey gets plenty of nap time during games.....lol..
In-game decisions are a minority part of a manager's job. Most of his pay is earned between games. Managers get fired if the team loses; they deserve the credit when it wins. Look at "the back of his baseball card," as a manager. His teams win. This one is winning.
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