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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER The Nats seek win No. 81 this afternoon at Nationals Park. |
Jordan Zimmermann will be the man on the mound seeking that 81st team victory and his 10th individual win. He'll be up against a potent foe in Kyle Lohse, who enters with a 14-2 record a 2.64 ERA.
A friendly reminder that this game (which was originally scheduled for 7:05 p.m.) will start at 4:05 p.m. because it was picked up by Fox. That broadcast will be available to the majority of the country. You can see the map here.
Updates to come...
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Fox
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 185
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 92 degrees, Wind 11 mph LF to RF
NATIONALS (80-51)
RF Jayson Werth
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
LF Michael Morse
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
C Kurt Suzuki
RHP Jordan Zimmermann
CARDINALS (71-61)
CF Jon Jay
1B Matt Carpenter
LF Matt Holliday
RF Allen Craig
C Yadier Molina
3B David Freese
2B Skip Schumaker
SS Daniel Descalso
RHP Kyle Lohse
UMPIRES
HP Wally Bell
1B Mike Winters (cc)
2B Mark Wegner
3B Mike Muchlinski
4:06 p.m. -- And we're underway with a ball outside from Jordan Zimmermann to Jon Jay. 91 degrees at gametime on Sept. 1.
4:18 p.m. -- Whoa, how about that? The Nats threw out a basestealer! Kurt Suzuki with a perfect throw to second base to nail Jon Jay. Zimmermann then took care of business by striking out Matt Holliday looking at an inside fastball and then getting Allen Craig to ground into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
4:36 p.m. -- Sweet Fancy Moses, the Nats did it again to the Cardinals in the bottom of the first. They just scored four runs on four hits, getting a hustle double from Bryce Harper, RBI singles from Adam LaRoche and Suzuki ... and a major assist from Holliday, who committed just about the worst error you'll ever see in the big leagues. With two outs and two on, Holliday tracked down Ian Desmond's deep fly ball to left, camped under it ... and completely dropped it. An unreal, two-run error prolonged the inning and helped the Nats open up a 4-0 lead. They've played 19 innings in this series so far, and the Nats lead 22-1. Mercy.
4:50 p.m. -- And Zimmermann immediately gives two of the runs back on a 78 mph meatball to David Freese, who finds the Red Porch to cut the lead to 4-2. Zimmermann hasn't exactly looked sharp here in the early going. He's already allowed four hits through two innings.
5:01 p.m. -- It's been a while since Adam LaRoche got to experience the feeling of crushing a ball over the fence. So there had to be something of a sense of relief when he tagged Lohse's second-inning pitch into the second deck above the right-field bullpen for his 24th homer of the season. The Nats go back up by four runs, 6-2.
5:10 p.m. -- And once again Zimmermann gives two runs right back, serving up a bomb to Holliday way back into the Red Porch. Just like that, it's 6-4 in the third.
5:40 p.m. -- Well, this game hasn't gone at all according to script. Zimmermann just got yanked with two outs in the fourth, having given all the runs back to the Cardinals and more, the biggest blow a three-run double off the right-field wall by Matt Carpenter. Craig Stammen and allowed one inherited runner to score, so Zimmermann's final line includes eight earned runs on eight hits, a walk, two hit batters and two home runs. It would be one thing if this was a blip on the radar, but this is actually becoming a trend for Zimmermann. Over his first 21 starts this season, he owned a 2.28 ERA. Over his last six starts, his ERA is 6.16. That's not the direction the Nationals want to see their presumed playoff ace headed. They now trail 8-6 in the fourth inning.
5:59 p.m. -- Things have settled down considerably here as Lohse finds his groove and Stammen stops the bleeding. It's been a long, uncomfortable afternoon at the ballpark (feels like the humidity is 200 percent) and we're only now going to the sixth inning after two hours of baseball. Still 8-6 Cardinals.
6:30 p.m. -- Wow, that was a crazy play there in the bottom of the sixth to put the Nats ahead again, 9-8, huh? First, we have to mention Espinosa's leadoff homer, cutting the lead to 8-7, his 15th blast of the season. Then after Harper drew a two-out walk off lefty Mark Rzepczysnki, Zimmerman smoked an RBI single to right off Fernando Salas. Werth scored to the tie the game, then Zim appeared to purposely get caught in a rundown between first and second bases. That allowed Harper to come all the way around to score and topple Yadier Molina. The crowd went nuts as the rookie gave the Nats a 9-8 lead in a wild ballgame that is now headed to the seventh inning.
6:44 p.m. -- Mercy, what a catch by Jon Jay to end the seventh inning. He had turn straight around to make a leaping, over-the-shoulder grab of Espinosa's drive to deep center. Even some Nationals fans stood up to applaud that Web Gem. Still 9-8 as we go to the eighth, with Sean Burnett entering from the pen.
7:02 p.m. -- Bad news: Burnett issued a leadoff walk, and wouldn't you know that guy would come around to score the tying run. Good news: Drew Storen was just asked to record the biggest out of his season (runners on second and third, two outs, Matt Holliday at the plate) and he responded by striking out the MVP candidate on three pitches, all sliders. Huge out to keep this a 9-9 game heading to the bottom of the eighth.
7:10 p.m. -- Nothin' happenin' in the bottom of the eighth. So it's onto the ninth, and Storen will return to continue pitching in a tie game. And in a surprising twist, Eury Perez is making his MLB debut in center field, with Harper shifting to right field and Werth out of the game. Wonder if Jayson's legs are tiring or something.
7:14 p.m. -- Meanwhile, the Braves just lost again. The lead is momentarily up to 7 games, and the magic number is down to 24 for the NL East title.
7:26 p.m. -- You had a feeling one of these days the Nats' inability to stop the running game was going to cost them a game. That day may be today. With one out and a man on first, Storen just let Allen Craig swipe second base without a throw. It was inexplicably ruled defensive indifference by the official scorer, but I can assure you the Nats were not indifferent to giving up that base. Sure enough, moments later David Freese singled to left, scoring Craig and putting the Cardinals up 10-9. Now the Nats are down to their final three outs.
7:29 p.m. -- The official scorer has seen the error of his ways and has correctly changed the call to a stolen base.
7:35 p.m. -- That's your ballgame. A very frustrating 10-9 loss for the Nationals, who saw their bullpen give up the tying and winning runs in the eighth and ninth innings. With the Braves' loss to Philly, the lead in the NL East remains 6 1/2 games, with the magic number down to 24.
156 comments:
Go, JZ! Go, NATS BATS!!
(Is there an over/under on the number of SS shutdown blather episodes during the broadcast? No? How about booing of Ken R. episodes? Eh, whatever. Let 'em blather. :-))
GO Jordan!!!!! Thankfully no McCarver or Mitch Williams on the broadcast!!!
GYFNG!!!! Keep the line moving boys!
Thanks for the map, Mark. My mom and family are gathered in Minneapolis and will be able to watch. I wonder if Fox and ESPN regret all those RedSox-Yankees games...
michele s I hope its not Billy Ripken. He is a hater who bleeds black and orange. I dont like that guy.
As NatsLady has expressed, Mark, much thanks for the map!
I'm in the picture!
Be a neat regular feature.
This is one heckuva matchup today. Kyle Lohse has been the Cards' ace this year. 174 IP already, and a WHIP of 1.08, better than any of our starters. His ERA of 2.64 is 6th best in the majors, and better than any of our starters.... except Jordan Zimmermann who is 4th at 2.63.
The thing is that JZ's last two starts have been lackluster, and with this start he will have pitched more innings than last year. Soon we're going to see whether he has what it takes to be our ace in the stretch run and the playoffs, or has run out of gas.
Hate to say it, but I'm ok if Lohse cools our bats and we lose this game. We'll still have a chance to win the series behind Stras tomorrow. What I really want to see is 6 plus quality innings from JZ. That more than anything else will be an indicator how how far this team can go in the playoffs.
Thanks for the map; Oregon gets the Seattle game, but MLB.tv nonetheless blocks the Nats' game here. Oh well. Time to go hiking, then watch the game on replay (without knowing the score, I hope). GYFNG!
Never cared about the O's but as the substantial underdog, it's fun to see them creep up on the Yankees. Also Showalter seems like a decent manager doing a lot with the scraps...
Section 222 it is never OK to lose, particularly to a guy named Kyle Loss!
Never, not even ever!
Not even 1X time. No more lasses this season, none, zero, zippo!!
GoooooooooooNats!!!!!
NJ, who's their ace is an interesting question. I just called Lohse their ace based on his performance this year, but Wainwright is the guy with the track record (a 3.12 career ERA vs. Lohse's 4.46.) Of course, last night the Nats raised Wainwright's ERA this year from 3.63 to 3.90, further making Lohse's case I guess. We'll see what happens today.
Kind of recalls our discussion awhile back of who you'd pick for a must win game -- JZ or Stras. Wonder how the Cards' fans would answer that question this year. Chris Carpenter probably. Too bad for them that he's on the DL.
JZ or Stras? I would go with Gio and his mom in the stands! I'd go with EJax if it was against the Cards! :)
Hahaha Doc. Well put. We're constantly playing out scenarios like "if the Nats play .500 baseball from here on in..." How about, "if the Nats don't lose any more games, they'll finish 111-51, and they'll win their division and likely have the 1st seed in the playoffs.
If only....
Gotta love the weather forecasts. When I looked at 10 am, the chance of rain at 4 o'clock was 19%. Now the chance of rain in the 4 pm. hour is 59%.
Tuesday they said there was NO chance of rain on Saturday--which I never believed. Humid and 90's for three days in a row? It's gonna rain.)
I'm still going with JZ. I prefer his bulldog approach to Gio's emotion. But a few more 5 inning outings and I may change my mind.
Without Showalter the Orioles would be dead last. Have to admit that when Dan Duquette the frugal GM started dumpster dipping in far east as he did for Boston, (and with a big-time FAIL), I thought that team wasn't going anywhere fast. But he did manage to find a treasure hunting carefully through it all when he picked up Chen. A far better CM Wang for a lot less. Plus there's some treasure in Jason Hammel, and then he picked up Joe Saunders and now Randy Wolf. The loss of Reimold could have been crippling but Nate McLouth picked up the slack and its still a pretty decent outfield with Jones and Markakis to round it out.
They aren't getting much offense from their infield outside of shortstop JJ Hardy and to some extent Chris Davis so they decided if Johnson could do it so could Showalter so they brought up Mated. They are rumored to be considering bringing up Bundy to add a fifth starter down the stretch. Tillman is their only real prospect that has succeeded as a pitcher in their rotation.
Lots of pieces and parts that Duquette found and Showalter found ways to make the ones he needed fit.
Got to hand it to them they've stuck around a lot longer than many would have ever believed ... but they are definitely a one and done outside of that outfield and perhaps Tilman and Bundy. This year was about not letting the Nats just take over the area and make the Orioles look like like a bunch of shlubs ... and perhaps (as some have intimated) make the team attractive to a potential buyer as the MLB did in 2005 with a certain team.
NL -- that's why predicting rain delays any more than a few hours in advance is usually a fool's errand. I feel very lucky that I can get to the park in under 30 minutes if it does start raining right before a game and I want to wait it out at home. I realize not everyone has that luxury.
"brought up Mated" - brought up Machado. I HATE spell checkers!
I'll be OK Section 222,once I take my meds.
I have the Nats Fever, common to former Expo fans.
Thanks for your understanding.
Goooooooooooooooooo Nats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you guys are having fun with Werth's success. Nice being on the right side!
NJ and Ghost -- Only one commenter here continued to argue that Werth should sit on the pine after he returned.
Unintelligent criticisms to say the least and as per usual.
1. Werth is ***NOT*** batting fifth. Has ever been effective batting fifth fo the Nats? NO period. End of story.
2. Werth's poor attitude about batting lead-off last season, not to mention his abhorrence playing CF are well known and documented.
Well where do you put him them? Batting 7th?
Fortunately, for our side, its Davey Johnson's watch not Giggleman's.
Yes, I agree he is the perfect lead-off. Far better than Bourn. Why? Because he is still a dangerous hitter power wise even if that production is down and his OBP is better than Bourn's. No, he's not going to make the pitcher go crazy like Morgan but then look at the many mistakes made by base stealers? They've got Harper batting second to scare the bejeesus out of pitchers now. Much better solution IMO.
Honestly, Werth is just about perfect at lead-off as long as he maintains the right attitude. Werth accepting and really, embracing lead-off makes him "Werth" every dime if he can continue playing at or close to this level at lead-off for another 1 -3 years.
And as for WestCoast EastCoast. Like many here I do get busy ... and right now I am getting busier ... its not easy to be the target of opportunity for many of the less than knowledgeable types.
My maroon has not been touched sinceTuesday. I like it that way.
And that's about as close to a "I was wrong" as we'll ever get from peric. Congrats. And thanks peric. Now maybe the silly poking will stop.
Maloox
For those in the area, Fox 5 is doing a half-hour Nats show before the Fox telecast kicks off at 3:30pm. So far, they've done a clip job on some of the best plays this year and an interview with Harper.
He says as he keeps on poking.
MLB Gameday on SF Giants using Xavier Nady's photo in a red curly W cap. He drilled a 3-RBI double in 1st inning today.
Really? The Justin Bieber of baseball?
No rain here no NOVA. Was overcast early but that's gone.
Who is in the booth on Fox? Say it ain't so.
He says as he keeps on poking.
Then, no complaints when I use prose to do the equivalent of multiple body slams right? ~smiles~
Boy was that a lame interview of Harper. Pathetic.
All I can say is Mr. Lannan had better come here and pitch with an urgency that comes from having his black eyebrows and locks on fire because it won't be local yocal Nats fans critiquing Johnny Lannen it will be the National media comparing and contrasting him with Stras. Talk about pressure John LannEN doesn't know what it means ... until now.
Lannan pitched his way back on my good side with his two appearances this year. For now. LOL
Zuk! Way to go.
Boo. Fox sports pre game.
Looks like the ump is giving JZ a generous strike zone, and he seems to have very good stuff. I'm encouraged. Now to score first again.
Way to hustle, Kid!
Harper's hustle responsible for another run. Awesome.
Verducci: "Love the effort there from Harper."
Yup. Welcome to our world Tom.
Thanks Matt Holliday.
My Gosh, it's happening again!
We apply relentless pressure and the Cardinals melt down.
Jordan gets a big cushion, we bat around and Loshe uses a bushel of pitches. (He mixes metaphors, too.)
Now Suzuki makes them pay!
GYFNG!
Now this is the big inning for JZ if he holds them the chances of winning goes up exponentially
much more concerned about Jzim than stras shutdown.
The pitch before home run was a strike and ump did not call it. Ump squeezing Ryan. He does look like he's laboring a bit.
I see the Cards didn't quit. Who said the zone was big. I didn't think it was and looked like Freeze K before homer
Sorry. Ump squeezing Jordan. Oooooops
We need to hold in the 3rd. Momentum changing a bit. Phil's winning.
Zim 52 pitches to 9 batter. 5.7 per batter. That is weak.
Yes gonna need the bullpen big today
Laaaaaaaaaaroooocheeeeeeeeeeeeee
Good job, Ryan. We need to keep driving up Loshe's pitch count, too.
ADAM ANSWERS!
Well, so much for the Cardinals' ace! Sheesh. These Nats' bats are on fire. Is there anything prettier than Adam LaRoche's swing when he connects like that?
LaRache matches Freese
"Adam LaRoche plays this game like he just woke up from a nap.". Love the commentary from the Fox booth.
One upside of watching the Nats on Fox -- no WB Mason or Luna guy commercials.
I think it was Verducci who just described Adam LaRoche playing as if he just woke up from a nap. "No hurry, no worry." Even in the midst of LaRoche's offensive downturn, I have to admire that quality in him--he's never panicking.
Carp and FP announce circles around these guys!!!
Aaaaaaaaaanndddd here's come the Strasburg shutdown talk. MUTE.
If there's anyone I'd like to hear opine about the Strasburg Shutdown it's Verducci. He's actually an intelligent guy who has studied the effect of innings limits on pitchers.
Uh-oh! JZ, say it ain't so. Looks like we're going to need every run today.
The curse of Deirks Bentley.
what is wrong with JZ today? does he not like team scoring runs for him?
Who But WB Mason?
A Nats player said they should have started him in May?? Really?
Ken Rosenthal is a boob.
Rosenthal is on now, telling lies. "They never considered stretching out his starts." And is immediately contradicted by the announcers.
This is by far Jordan's worst start of the year, the good thing is that the bullpen is rested after pitching just one inning the last 2 games.
C'mon, Jordan.
I like the tempo and the aggressiveness, but you can't throw it down Broadway to Matt Holliday.
He's got to have a shutdown inning.
Back to work against Loshe...
I always confuse Rosenthal with Jim Gray, from that Pete Rose interview.
JZ doesn't apparently like pitching on days we hit well.
Rosenthal IS SO a boob. Exhibit A is the Stras nonsense. Exhibit B is stupid bowtie
At least this game should put to rest the "JZ never gets any run support" complaints.
Phillies still beating the Braves, 2-0. I'm starting to wonder if the Phils aren't as likely to go 22-8 the rest of the way as the Braves are to go at least 12-18.
NJ, you must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. Nothing but negative comments about JZ. What's up with that? We're still winning this game still, right?
as I thought, JZ has his worst numbers against Cardinals. In 3 previous starts, his ERA stands at 8+. so I guess this is kinda expected. Still those previous 3 times, Cards had a guy name Pujols so you might have been expecting something different this time out.
if he can pitch two shutout innings, I will take it and sit him.
Finally someone decides to pitch. Unfortunately it was Lohse not Zim
Get the bullpen ready fast. Zim has nothing
Rosenthal IS SO a boob. Exhibit A is the Stras nonsense. Exhibit B is stupid bowtie.
He's giving bow ties a bad name. Bow ties are cool.
Jordan not looking good here. Is anyone up in the BP? Not showing it on TV.
Phillies still beating the Braves, 2-0. I'm starting to wonder if the Phils aren't as likely to go 22-8 the rest of the way as the Braves are to go at least 12-18.
Sounds like what I've been thinking since the last series with them but now with the Phils making the Braves look like the 'Stros? The Phils look like one of the top 3 teams in the NL right now. Its kind of scary (at least to me) to think of them miraculously making the wildcard ... and I'd bet on them to win the first round and then the Nats facing them in the playoffs?
It could happen.
OMG finally a Doctor Who fan on the board. awesome!
I wonder how Cards fare against JZ type pitchers. I wish there is a way we could find this information somewhere.
Xavier Nady had a 3-run double in his first game with the Giants.
Come on Jordan! Bear down!
What an not so smart move hitting number 8 batter with a 1-2 count. then hits a second one
After praising Lohse bunting ability for 5 minutes, he ends up popping it up.
And on the very next pitch, Zimm hits another one. He needs to hold them scoreless here.
And .... the meatball sandwich. Dang.
Where the heck is Gorzelanny?
Looks like Zim has nothing today ... 7-6 Cardinals. Gorzelanny must be up by now?
Why the help is he still pitching. giving a way runs hitting 2 guys etc. of course Davey leaving him out there makes me madder. his job to see this and stop it.
Wait a minute, Stammen is throwing? I guess Davey isn't going R-L today. Or is Gorzo not available today?
God, that is terrible,
He gets six runs, then hits two batters. Awful start.
JZ's body language looked terrible before the bunt. The HBP, the double. Stammen is warming, according to the announcers.
Gorzy hasn't pitched in a week. Either he's "not available" or Davey doesn't trust him.
I hope he's not hurt.
just make sure JZ does not start again against Cards in STL.
Its too bad the Nats don't have a couple of slots on the 40-man methinks they might be able use Jeff Mandel this September. I guess the one they have is going to Christian Garcia ... but you never know ...
JZ has been as bad in the last month as he was great in July. Not encouraging...
He looks really bad, flushed. Maybe he has the flu or something, like was going around a couple of weeks ago.
8 - 6 there goes Zimmermann's ERA.
Well Big Cat and I were texting and said if leadoff man got on we would pull him right then. that is 6 more batters allowed by Davey then us and 3 additional runs. With a rested bullpen no decide. Of course Stammen comes in and throws gas on the fire. Thanks Craig.
Two RH hitters coming up (Craig and Molina), no way he goes to a lefty.
Gorzo will likely be in soon enough Natslady. Remember, they've had two close-to-complete and complete games recently and Johnson has reportedly decided to push the starters deeper into games.
Maybe they are shutting wrong pitcher down.
Lets see if the hitters are still interested. If they let Lose control again they lost the Mo
JZimm's last 3 starts
5.0 IP, 4 ER
5.0 IP, 3 ER
3.2 IP, 8 ER
Lanna's last 5 starts
6.1 IP, 2 ER
9.0 IP, 0 ER
9.0 IP, 0 ER
Not saying, but I wonder if at some point, the brain trust is going to get together and decide whether or not JZimm is healthy enough to go into the postseason.
We are now seeing why Rizzo stocked up with starting pitching depth at the beginning of the season. I wonder if we'll get to see the complete list of guys they plan on keeping available for the playoffs?
If I have to worry, I will worry more about his previous 3 starts than today's start.
We need this guy to be himself when SS will be shutdown. We are counting on him to take over SS' role. So yeah, it is a little troublesome to see last four starts he could not finish 6 innings.
The Nats have Ryan Perry, Yuneksy Maya, and Lannan but I would throw in Zach Duke and Jeff Mandel. Mandel, Duke, and Perry have had outstanding years in the minors ... especially Perry and Mandel.
Lannan has come on very strong at the end of the minor league season and finished his last starter there successfully.
Remember, Zimmermann is still pretty new ... this is only his 2nd season back from Tommy Johns and he has never completed 200 innings nor completed an entire major league season as a starter. Still young. He is a possibility for shutdown at around 180-190 innings if this continues.
JZim could have bailed JZim out. But in reality he doesn't deserve to be bailed. hitting hitter 8 with a 1-2 count is May not worthy of bailing someone out
All one has to do is look at all the lefthanded bats in St. Louis's lineup to understand bringing in Gorzelany.
Yes, it is more than a bit disconcerting ... Gorzo is definitely as much if not more of an injury risk as any pitcher they have. He dodged the Tommy John's bullet from 2008-2010 but not by much I wager.
Two hit batters, 1 walk, and 2 home runs in just over 3 innings. That is not good given that Zim is the backup ace. Looks like its EJax and Gio and maybe Detwiler.
Please don't bring back CM Wang. That's as bad as bad Henry.
Phillies go up 4-0 as Cliff Lee draws an 8-pitch bases-loaded walk off Tim Hudson.
The Phillies have the bases loaded with nobody out in the 6th.
All one has to do is look at all the lefthanded bats in St. Louis's lineup to understand bringing in Gorzelany.
Jay, Schumaker, Carpenter, Descalso are LH, but their most dangerous hitters, including three straight after JZ was pulled -- Molina, Holliday, Craig, and Freese are righties. Davey made the right decision to bring in Stammen.
Time for the Nats bats to pick up the pitching.
Phillies 5 Braves 0.
Could Ken Rosenthal be any worse? He gives those duds who do the ESPN Sunday broadcasts a run for the honor of Most Clueless.
Our hitters looked fine through 2 since only Harper bothered to get a hit. in fact almost nothing hit well.
Lose understood how to straighten up.
JZim clueless. On the other hand I don't recall Suzuki or Desl doing any calming down. Poor effort by many
Danny!
Here we go!
Verducci's complaint about Sept. callups makes no sense. Every team is playing under the same rules. It calls for a different kind of managing, but so what? No one is disadvantaged if you know what the other team's roster looks like.
That was a great at bat. After opening up his front shoulder on the first pitch, he adjusted to the tough lefty and drew a walk, moving the runner into scoring position for Zim.
Great AB by Zimm as well, he may have gotten just one RBI, but he was the key for Harper scoring as well.
Harper's walk comes up HUGE and then he motors home on Zim's liner.
The Kid is a force of nature!
I can not wait to see that play tonight. Our radio crew sounded like they were coming out of the booth. Sounded like great heads up all around.
Harper Mr. Hustle.
Matthews time.
Harper hit Molina in the legs with his shins. Hope that catcher's gear didn't hurt him!
Molina looked slow after that.
Aint over til when?
Heh heh
Gyfng!!!
Harper sure waited a long time to slide on that one. Almost like he was thinking of trying to run over the catcher, and then changed is mind. Tremendous play though. I don't think any other player on the Nats heads home on that. Amazing.
My friend who's at the game just texted me: "A Nats Classic in the making." If we hold on, I have to agree. This team has it going on.
Sure is great we have a very fresh bullpen for this one. Thanks to E-Jax and Gio for some very fine work.
Hope Burnett pitches better than last Wednesday.
I guess it is maloox time.Burnett gets ahead of the batter then refuses to put him away and walks him.
Fox needs to find play by play and color announcers who know something about Nats. Verducci, Rosenthal & whatsizname pathetically know much about Cardinals and it shows.
NOOOO!!
With Beltran and Lance on the bench you CAN'T walk hitters.
The leadoff walk backfires again.
And there it is.
Walks make me crazy.
Lead off walk scores. Burnett is as bad as he was Wednesday. Davey of course allows him just to stay inspire the fact he is pitch terribly.
Zim coming off 2 bad outings given way too much rope. Burnett coming off bad outing given to much rope. coming off a bad outing you should have no rope
Leadoff walk was bad, but Burnett otherwise didn't pitch terribly. He's still a great reliever for us. This is the spot that Clippard would have pitched in last year. Let's see if Storen can step up.
3 pitch K of one of the top hitters in the league. Very very nice!
Manassas Nats Fan: Call Lerners and apply for Rizzo's job. Tired of your inanity here.
Holliday just slammed his helmet. Good thing Buckner not at the plate or he would be tossed
Actually Jim, I think he feels he can manage better than the guy who got us here. We are still in first but our manager can not manage.
Suzuki has taken a beating today. Good idea to PH for him. Of course, the Fox announcers haven't noticed (either that he was beat up, or that he was pinch hit for).
The Nats has hit the ball hard twice but still had nothing to show up, Haper-Zimm-ALR coming up in the ninth.
Kind of a dumb comment by Verducci. Didn't Trout sign for well above slot in 2009? The Nats picked Storen there because he was ready to sign early and sign for slot (or less than slot if I remember correctly.) Verducci made it sound like Rizzo was a dummie for not picking Trout with the 10th overall pick.
Chien Ming Wang finishes his last rehab start:
2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 57 pitches.
Its time to free up that 40-man slot Mike Rizzo. I know you makes moves on the 40-man as often as you cut your hair (per NatioalsProspects.com) but doesn't it seem like you need that slot right now?
And we continue to let runners steal bases without much effort, it could cost the game tonight.
Randy Knorr has his work cut out for him.
Looks like Storen and Burnett like to "give up that 1 run" kind of like Gorzelanny don't you think Natslady?
just got back from MD football game, wow this game is crazy,more runs scored here than Terp football,lol. Listening in car on way back..
concerned about J Zim, frustrated at our bull pen, no logic in this game and clearly, no such thing as a rested bullpen having an advantage. Our bullpen has 2 days off and get it done, oh well
I see braves lost, that is good
The book on the Nats' pitchers appears to be that if they don't look over, just go. Especially if Flores is catching. His arm is not what it used to be.
Good news is that this is easier to fix than a pitcher that can't throw strikes.
wish i did not have to go to Terp game, this game here is exxciting
Suzuki, Flores, Solano, Leon YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK!
This ump is giving alot of borderline 1st pitch strikes, putting the Nats batters in the hole.
I rather Burnett let team down now than in post season, i hope he learns from it
Cards reliever getting our 2,3, and 4 batters easily, he puts on a clinic and I hope Burnett learned from this
Ouch, that one hurts. But we still reduced the magic number so the day was not a total loss. Too bad Davey didn't use Clipp in the 9th. If the game was still tied, Motte wouldn't have pitched (assuming Methany follows that stupid "don't use your closer on the road in a tie game" rule.)
Can't win 'em all. Crazy game, and the Cards showed why they have such a big run differential. They can hit.
Another game tomorrow.
Glad to know I am insane because leadoff walks by relievers drive me crazy. Hit by pitches also drive me crazy as. do steals when the pitcher is totally blind to the runners. Those are all controlable.
Hitting balls right at John Jay happens. Not controllable. I don't go crazy.
We had 5 pitchers. Only 2 did well.
Cards had 6 pitchers 4 did well.
Fixing the holding problem must not be visible as it has gone on all season and has not been fix.
Easiest fix would be cut the number of runners by no free passes.
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