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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER Gio Gonzalez seeks win No. 20 tonight at Turner Field. |
ESPN gets a good one tonight, with the Braves trying to sweep the series and pull within 5 1/2 games of the NL East lead. The Nationals, of course, came to town knowing they just needed to win once to keep the lead at a comfortable 7 1/2 games, so now the pressure's on them to salvage tonight's finale.
Davey Johnson will send his de facto ace to the mound in Gio Gonzalez, seeking to become the first 20-game winner in the majors this season and boost his increasing Cy Young Award hopes. He'll be opposed by fellow left-hander Mike Minor, who owns a 4.42 ERA for the season but hasn't given up a run in his last 12 2/3 innings.
Plenty of updates to come live from Turner Field...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Turner Field
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN
Radio: WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WJFK (106.7 FM), WTEM (980 AM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 89
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 83 degrees, Wind 4 mph out to LF
NATIONALS (89-56)
RF Jayson Werth
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
LF Tyler Moore
C Kurt Suzuki
LHP Gio Gonzalez
BRAVES (83-63)
CF Michael Bourn
LF Reed Johnson
RF Jason Heyward
3B Chipper Jones
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Dan Uggla
C David Ross
SS Andrelton Simmons
LHP Mike Minor
UMPIRES
HP Marvin Hudson
1B Tim Timmons
2B Fieldin Culbreth (cc)
3B Marty Foster
8:07 p.m. -- And we're underway as Jayson Werth breaks form and hacks at the first pitch of the game, flying out to left.
8:12 p.m. -- A pretty quick top of the first for Mike Minor. He allowed a two-out single to Ryan Zimmerman, who stroked a line drive to right field, but got Adam LaRoche to fly out to end the inning. Onto the bottom of the first.
8:26 p.m. -- Gio Gonzalez didn't give up a run in the bottom of the first, but the Braves sure made him work: 21 total pitches, including 10 during a long at-bat by Reed Johnson (ending in a flyout). Chipper Jones, meanwhile, got a standing ovation when he stepped to the plate for the first time tonight. The last time I remember any player getting this kind of love every time he moved was Cal Ripken during his final weeks with the Orioles in 2001. Remarkable.
8:33 p.m. -- On the bright side, Danny Espinosa managed to put the ball in play in the top of the second. He popped up to first base. Thus ended his streak of eight consecutive strikeouts in this series.
8:37 p.m. -- More good news: Because the Cardinals-Dodgers game ended in anything other than a tie -- St. Louis won in 12 innings -- the Nats' magic number to clinch a playoff berth is now down to 3.
8:50 p.m. -- Two scoreless innings for Gio, but he's already up to 50 pitches as the Braves keep fouling off whatever he throws up there. 0-0 as we move to the third.
9:19 p.m. -- And after 83 pitches, Gio Gonzalez has finally completed the third inning. Boy, are the Braves working him or what. He went to a three-ball count on eight of the first 14 batters he faced, and finally was scored upon twice in the bottom of the third, with Chipper Jones working the count full before lacing an RBI single to left-center. Freddie Freeman then worked the count full himself and lofted a sac fly to left, making it 2-0 as we move to the fourth.
9:28 p.m. -- Oof, just when it looked like the Nats might have something cooking in the top of the fourth, with two on and one out, Espinosa grounded into a 6-4-3 double play on the first pitch he saw to end the inning. The two hitting strategies tonight could not be more disparate. The Braves' strategy against Gio: Make him work. The Nats' strategy against Minor: Try to pounce on him early. Which one seems to be working so far? Still 2-0 Atlanta moving to the bottom of the fourth.
9:49 p.m. -- What a recovery by Gio. After throwing 83 pitches through the first three innings, he needed only 20 to get through the next two. You have to assume that'll be it for him, and this won't go down as a quality start by any stretch of the imagination. But it was a pretty gutty effort from the left-hander, who winds up allowing two runs on three hits and keeping his team in this game. Still 2-0 as we go to the sixth.
10:03 p.m. -- The Nats get on the board at last. Harper leads off the top of the sixth with a double to deep left-center. It looked like he really wanted to go for three but was forced to hold at second after the ball bounced over the fence. No worries because Desmond roped a two-out, two-strike base hit to center to bring home the Nats' first run of the night. Ian did then get picked off first base to end the inning, but it's now a 2-1 Braves lead as Gio retakes the mound for the bottom of the sixth sitting on 103 pitches and with a steady rain now falling.
10:19 p.m. -- That may have been a bad idea to let Gio come back for the sixth. He immediately walked Chipper, then served up a towering, 390-foot double to Freeman. With the right-handed Uggla due-up, Dave Johnson decided to bring out the hook right then and summon Craig Stammen to try to pitch out of the mess. Which he somehow did. Despite falling behind 3-0 to Uggla, Stammen induced a pop-up for the first out. He then struck out Ross and got Simmons to ground out. So remarkably it's still 2-1 Atlanta as we go to the seventh and the grounds crew comes out to clean up the infield and mound as the rain intensifies.
10:50 p.m. -- The bullpen walked the tightrope again in the bottom of the seventh and paid the price for it. After Stammen issued a walk and Zimmerman was charged with an error on a chopper to third, Sean Burnett entered in a big spot: runners on the corners, 1 out, Heyward at the plate. He got a sharp grounder to first, at which point LaRoche had to make a decision. He ultimately chose to step on first and try to nab Bourn at the plate, but his throw was a bit wide and Suzuki couldn't make the tag. Should LaRoche have tried a 3-6-3 double play instead? I'm not so sure they could've turned it. That play loomed even larger shortly after when Burnett plunked Freeman and then served up a two-run single to Uggla. All of a sudden, it's 5-1 Atlanta and the Nats are six outs from being swept in this series.
10:57 p.m. -- Three outs from getting swept now.
11:04 p.m. -- OK, last chance for the Nats. They trail by four in the ninth. It'll be Zimmerman, LaRoche and Desmond against Chad Durbin.
11:12 p.m. -- That'll do it. The Nats fall 5-1 and get swept in the series. What was an 8 1/2-game lead when they arrived in town has turned into a 5 1/2-game lead as they leave town.
244 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 244 of 244 Newer› Newest»The ball to LaRoche seemed taylor made for 3-6-3 doyble play.
Uggla. Can't stand that guy.
God darnit -- I hate to be right!!
Burnett allowed three runs to score.
Nats management froze: no one up -- allowing Burnett to face the righty, Uggla.
That camera shot of the Nats 'brain trust' was classic: three grown men in a state of Hyper Panic. Great. Trickle down panic.
NatsFanJim, I don't think so. Espi has never hit for average, never had a strikeout percentage less then 20% (at ANY level) qhile his power numbers stay flat; if anything, his numbers are getting worse. Shows me he isn't learning a thing. Unless its his vision there isn't an easy fix. Perhaps have him abandon the left side and see what happens; either that or we accept him just like he is. For me that isn't good enough.
Nats getting what they deserve tonight. You give a good team free baserunners and they eat your lunch. Hopefully the team is paying attention.
And since his return from the rest Burnett isn't fooling anyone.
Just too much negativity. Good night NIs. See you during the Dodgers series.
I cannot believe the bullpen was idle while Burnett was in there.
I cant believe Derosa is still in the big leagues.
I cant believe Davey and his staff froze or forgot to look ahead when Uggla came up.
If I'm Rizzo, I'm down in Davey's office yelling at him again -- Davey is getting too damn old.
Last 11 appearnce for Burnett 24 runners. Time to shut him down
SC I agree with you. Thats why I put Espi very high on my Dumbest Nats List.
He is not making enough progress for my liking. I think he's stupid and can't learn.
But he has skills and a good teacher might get through to him. But accept for that, I agree with you totally. How can't I? His stats prove it out.
What really ticks me off is we are pathetic on ESPN and Fox
Oh Sean. I love, you've gotten us far. If you're hurt, don't play. Oy.
Nats Fan Jim:
Have you noticed that pretty much every other regular commenter is gone for the night? It take a special combination of insipid and obnoxious to clear a room. You, sir, have a rare talent.
Just one tip for you, to help you overcome this social disorder: Save up the comments you want to make over 15-20 minutes. Put them all into one comment, then edit it down so we can all skip over it more quickly.
Watching sport is a source of fun. Based on teh anger you show here, I fear for your own health and the safety of those close to you.
I am not too happy after these last 3 games and I see some red flags. Friday night, fine, Ian had a bad throw, I accept that. Yesterday, an arrogant umpire who is so unprofessional, he did not ask the HP umpire for an appeal, Hudson is a jerk period and hope he gets razzed by fans at other ball parks. Tonight, once again Espi is showing me that he may not be a long term term player for the Nats, his bat going silent at a critical part of the season tells me a lot. Two veteran players on each corner lost this game tonight, Zim and LaRoche were very disappointing. Burnett just can not be on the playoff roster period, he has no confidence and he looks afraid. Zim's demeanor is bothering me as well. I hope this is not a pattern going down the stretch. Stammen was brilliant and all Zim and LaRoche had to do to keep this a 2-1 game was to play like veterans
89e5c620-ff94-11e1-839f-000bcdcb2996 Well done! Had closed out Nats Insider but came back and saw your post! Thank you. Good night.
This is unreal. Storen comes in in a 5-1 mop up role? But Davey brought Burnett in in a critical situation??? What the frig is going on here?
Storen has been light out lately -- and never gets to pitch!! Unreal. If Im Rizzo I am spitting bullets -- right at Im Too Old to Manage Johnson.
Trying to figure out whats worse....this weekend in Atlanta or being in the same chat room with professor Jim
Series recap 1 run in games 1 and 3. Harper responsible for both runs. He is the youngster. Anyone else want to help?
Errors in all 3 games resulted in5 unearned runs.
T
No matter how good pitching you win few games that way.
I came into game figuring Gio ciuld help erase the stupidity of Josh Morgan, but all his 3 ball counts assured me that wasn't going to happen.
lets score 4 it is not to late.
troll alert: Nats Lady is a troll -- and she is also 89e5. Well done, Nats Lady. Another Forum Nazi who wants to filter our posts.
I look at it this way; Used correctly Davey can use this series to remind this team, which is just learning how to win, that you have to compete every night, every at bat or you are going to lose to a good team. Maybe the team had too much prosperity too early; maybe this is just a blip; maybe, like right before the St L series when the bats went dormant that this is just the silence before the storm. Any way you look at it we weren't the better team in any game this weekend and got what we deserved. Here is hoping we learn and take the lessons learned into the post season.
I am concerned about Burnett's arm; without him our lefty will be Gonzo and I don't trust him at all.
Why did I look in here, I ask myself.All of this bull from you guys is pretty bad. You do realize that the Nats still lead by 5 1/2 games, have the best record in baseball, but according to you bozos, Davey Johnson is too old to manage. Go back under your rocks. This team has brought more joy to baseball fans in this town than any team in generations. They lose a couple of games and you all pretty much bail on them. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
To Natslady who is still watching. Posting as one person who has curiously never posted before, and then you post to agree with them while you attack a poster is kinda sick.
maybe you should go watch women's tennis. Baseball seems a little out of your league.
OK, OK, everybody back away from the ledge. Put down the sharp instruments. Everything broke the Barves' way this weekend -- Medlin on Friday, that crap call Saturday and tonight's assortment of "Duh-Uggla" moments -- and we're still five and a-half up on these Dixie Doormats.
I think these three will serve as motivation should we have to play them when it really counts in October.
Good September win, Fredi. See you in October, chump.
Not NatsLady. And nobody is censoring you, they're just bored by you. That's why we leave. You add nothing.
Joe, Don't join the Forum Police: Swift and Natslady. Dont insult people and be such a jerk.
Good fans here are just telling it the way it is and not insulting other posters.
You, Natslady and Swift are insulting people who hurl invectives a little too much. You have no manners and no class. If you want a perfect world, go post on the Sesame Street Forum.
I think there is a vast difference in critiquing players and just being downright negative.
I have never been won over by Espi. It's a full season we have to look at players not just a great month of July.
I wrote my analysis of Espi. Just more poor ABs tonight.
Section 3 is also a Forum Nazi. If he doesnt like what you say, you are isolated, attacked, and insulted.
Go find a ladies forum, fella. They might lie the way you like it over there.
Lets see 2 fast balls over heart taken so you have to swing at a change up. Batting approach questionable.
Espi might as well bat if Lombo is going to K.
I expect a lot better exscution on Tuesday.
I hate losing first or last game of a series. I dislike losing second.
My real trouble will start in about 10 minutes. I sleep terrible after a loss. Though one like this is easier to sleep than the previous 2.
Ghost... good point and I agree with you 100% on Espi.... I hope this young man can become consistent, but I suspect he will always be a great defensive player and an inconsistent hitter
I think Natslady is also Section 3: they write the same, think the same, insult the same, and police 'their forum' the same.
You add Zero to this forum. Your'e Pollyanna view of things is embarassing for you.
Do us all a favor: either behave or don't post here. And stop insulting and harassing Nats fans, and being so nasty.
Baseball is a funny game. One night you can look like the 27 Yankees, the next like the 62 Mets. We have won enough series this year to let this one go, lets just not be friendly hosts to the Dodgers and get this train back on the right track.
To all Forum Nazis who appeared briefly tonight with hit and run invective and insults.
Go to the Red Porch and get a beer. Everyone will agree with you there -- and they know about as much about baseball as you do.
And perhaps there is only one Forum Nazi posing as other people -- they seem to pop up curiosly together and at the same time. Right, Natslady?? lol You are a trip.
Ghost I don't think being negative about Espi is being negative about the Nats; I think it is looking at the team and seeing where its weak spots are. I love the Nats and will love them if they win or lose 100; would just be so much more fun if they won 100...
Nats Fan Jim, you are an immature, misogynistic clown that brings nothing of value to the table. NatsLady knows more about baseball in general, and the Nats in particular, then you ever will. Do us all a favor and go back under the rock that you crawled out from.
SC what worries me is that the Nats weaknesses are compounding and are costing them games -- against opponents they are likely to see again.
In pressure baseball, weaknesses are always glaring -- and we have more than a few.
Not hard to see why Rizzo expected the Nats to be good NEXT year, and not this year. He KNows how weak we really are.
Thanks Mick. He's a good kid but this is about the team first and his ego isn't a priority. Like I said in April he needed a tuneup in AAA. This swinging for the fences every at-bat has regressed him. He is 2 for his last 35 now.
Joe: I wont even dignify your rather unhinged remarks.
Where did all the little Forum Nazis come from? The Nats being swept by the Braves has caused what I will call
The Great Unhinging. haha Right Joe?
SCNatsfan, I'm not referring to you. We had a good discussion this morning on Espi.
I'm talking about attacking Espi's IQ. Talk about his swing, his lack of contact, his pitch recognition, not his baseball IQ.
Check out my list of Smart and Stupid Nats. I think you'll enjoy it.
Espi is a stupid person who has learning problems.
I wonder if the best thing for Espi would be to only bat right handed and still play him verse right handed pitchers? It could be as simple as that
NatsFanJim said...
Check out my list of Smart and Stupid Nats. I think you'll enjoy it.
Espi is a stupid person who has learning problems.
I actually think Espi is very smart and I think switch hitting may be his problem
Will Davey be back in 2013?
I wonder what odds Vegas would give you? Might be worth a c-note.
Mick, something has to change. That's the best idea to try.
Mick: Actually, you may very well be right.
I'm concerned that Espi cannot or will not learn to correct the loop and the holes in his lefty swing. It's the same thing every game: he is making no progress. I'm sure he's trying but not smart enough to succeed.
2 for his last 35? This is a problem. Does his approach change? Nope. He must be stupid.
Davey Johnson committed the Manager's Mortal Sin tonight: he froze at the switch.
Davey brings in an ineffective Burnett who implodes again. Does he warm anyone up? Nope.
Storen sits but Burnett pitches? Does that make sense? Up comes Uggla: and we know Davey is obsessed with Righty Lefty matchups. Is a righty warm in the bullpen? Nope. In fact, no one is up in the bullpen.
Davey froze. He is too old to manage. Davey should be retired after this year.
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