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US Presswire photo Edwin Jackson was knocked out in the second inning of a blowout loss. |
Hitting lowlight: It's tough find much motivation when you step to the plate trailing by eight runs, so it's hard to find too much fault with the Nationals' hitting approach in this one. They did get a couple of nice at-bats in the top of the first out of Bryce Harper (who doubled) and Adam LaRoche (who battled through a 10-pitch encounter with Adam Wainwright to poke an RBI single). That was the 95th run Harper has scored this season, so he needs five more in the season's final five games to become only the second teenager ever to score 100 runs.
Pitching lowlight: In his defense, Jackson wasn't helped by his defense in the first inning, with Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman bobbling the ball. And he allowed a couple of soft singles. But that doesn't overshadow everything else the right-hander did wrong. He walked four batters. Uncorked two wild pitches. Threw only 25 of 56 pitches for strikes. Faced 15 batters and retired only three of them (one a 380-foot bomb to the warning track, another a double play hit by the pitcher). Thus continued Jackson's difficult September. He's now got a 7.92 ERA in five starts this month. His season ERA jumped from 3.77 to 4.13 in this outing alone. That's not easy to do this late in the year. The way things are trending, you certainly have to think Ross Detwiler will be Davey Johnson's No. 3 starter in the postseason, with Jackson bumped to the fourth slot.
Key stat: With his first-inning RBI single, LaRoche now has 99 for the season. That's one shy of his career high, set in 2010 with the Diamondbacks.
Up next: It's the moment you've been waiting 79 years to experience: Washington's baseball club has a chance to clinch a title tomorrow night. Jordan Zimmermann will face Kyle Lohse at 7:15 p.m. EDT, hoping to earn his 13th win, and hoping the Mets can beat the Braves again and secure the NL East crown for the Nationals.
56 comments:
stinky game tonight.. may be the worst played game of the season, 1 out of 157 aint bad at all
Nats really lack intensity after second inning. Losing bad no intensity though more bothersome.
31 players played.
7 would get a ++ tonight Harper LaRoche Brown and Bernadina Gorzalanny Garcia and Dukes.
Other 14 would get neautal or negative.
Mark says "In his defense, Jackson wasn't helped by his defense in the first inning, with Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman bobbling the ball"
true, but when you walk batters, their is NO defense. just a really bad outing by Ejac. I hope on Wed, which is the season finale he shows he can pitch in post season
We have had about 10 bad games. that is not to bad.
If you're going to have a klunker, glad its on a night when the Braves lose also.
when does Dickey pitch??
Don't recall the last time I was happy following a Nationals' loss thanks to Tim Hudson giving up that 3-2 bomb to Mr. Duda.
The two teams have a combined 10 games remaining. If eight of them go against Washington (Nats' loss or Braves' win) we win the division.
All is good.
Farid @ Idaho
Dickey pitches Tuesday
Get the bad ball game out of the way and still drop the magic number to 2. That makes this loss a lot easier to take.
I don't know about bumping Edwin down to fourth starter. Maybe he should be bumped to fifth. Gonzalez stunk also, but the rest of our relievers did well.
Manassas Nats' Fan thank you.... bummer so not verse Braves
Duda "Star of the Game"
Ghost Of Steve M. said...
Duda "Star of the Game"
best post of the night, lol
Correct 2 with 5 to go is almost safe.
Now if Nats win tomorrow Dodger losetonight and tomorrow.
Braves wins tomorrow.
then on Sunday Nats win and Dodgers lose. Both Nats and Cards would clinch on Sunday.
They could have a line like after a Stanley Cup series and all celebrate.
If I am reading the standings correctly... Braves/Nats have clinched home field for WC. Cards magic # is 1 game for WC
Reds and Nats are now tied for best rec
Dickey pitched yesterday no way he was going to pitch to Braves
Manassas Nats' Fan
I am confused with standings?
Cards magic number is 3 over Dodger. Dodgers winning now.
ah I see now, thanks Manassas Nats' Fan
help with AL.... the only way O's miss is if they lose 5 in a row and Angels win all 5?
very exciting!!!
Cant believe how far David Wright has fallen. Braves walked batter in front of him to load the bases and Wright goes first ball swinging into a GIDP.
Cards 85-72 Dodgers 81-75. Dodgers can still win 87. With three wins Cards eliminates Dodgers
AL WC race is crazy!!!
Manassas Nats' Fan thank you
Ghost Of Steve M. for real??
Two weeks ago, I still saw Wright as Mets best player
Phoolies officially eliminated. Hope they keep losing.
Ghost Of Steve M.
If Mets want to give Wright away.... we will take him, lol
The way things are trending, you certainly have to think Ross Detwiler will be Davey Johnson's No. 3 starter in the postseason, with Jackson bumped to the fourth slot.
Lannan to the #4 slot. Give Jackson a lovely parting gift.
Mick, 0-4 and his BA down to .306
Feel Wood I think you are probably spot on... the only way that changes is if Ejac pitches well in season finale
assuming he pitches in that game
Ghost Of Steve M. wow, I wonder if Wright is just frustrated and wants season to end?
Orioles 90-67 A's 89-68 (if they win) Angels 87-70 Rays 86-71.
Angels need to win 3 more than O's to tie them.
A's need to win 1 more.
Rays need to win 4 more to tie them.
Rayd host O's lsst 3 if Rsys sweep O's could lose out.
Angels at Mariners. to end Rangers at Oakland.
O's magic number is 3
Mick, he did the same last year. The team leader can't quit on his team.
Manassas Nats' Fan thank you for AL, really appreciate it!!
Ghost Of Steve M. I hear you and agree. however, it appears to me that the owner has quit on the team a while back, I am not excusing Wright, but the morale of the Mets has to be very low. Tonights win for them showed a lot of pride
Looking for other positives to take out of this stinker...
BAPIP Gods were totally against us tonight. Bouncers to Zim and Desi were potential DP balls that were hit weirdly and hard to handle, no particular credit to the hitters; and Werth once, ALR twice hit balls that would have gone out in slightly warmer weather, Morse a scorching liner that a few feet to Kozma's left is a double in the gap.
Not complaining at all -- that's how they roll sometimes in baseball -- just hoping we got a lot of the bad BAPIP karma out of the way in the same game as EJax's meltdown.
We've been giving JZimm pretty good run support lately...
Mick, nothing worse than the Pirates. It is a monumental collapse. Now they can't even get to a winning season.
Ghost Of Steve M. AGREED on Pirates, actually very sad for them
speaking of very sad, I know there are many Terp fans in here, tragic story about Earl Badu... a walk on from the Terps 2002 championship basketball team, he apparently committed suicide today... just very sad.
I went to Camden with some Red Sox clad buddies. I wore Nats gear and saw quite a few Nats caps.
I followed the bloodbath on my cell and decided the Legion of Doom in the game thread was in full out rage.
After the Braves loss and gaining 1 on the Magic #, not a bad night.
I caught the post-game on MASN and Ray Knight analyzed Edwin's start.
I guess Edwin will get one more start to convince Davey he deserves a spot on the post-season roster.
Gonat, Davey won't make a knee-jerk reaction but EJax has been the #5. ERA blows up to 4.13
Mick AL central cannot get a wild card skot though a tie is easily possible
mick and Ghost, Mets' good performance wasn't just tonight. They've now won 7 of their last 8, and Wright has been hitting pretty well throughout that streak.
As have Tejada, Murphy, Davis, and Hairston (not all every night, but they did score 6 runs in each of the past four games (against the Bucs) and 14 in three games vs. the Fish. Counts as an explosion for the Mets since the ASB.
Gives some hope they might conceivably pick off tomorrow's game with all that momentum and Minor on the bump. Not so Sunday, with Medlen vs. a MiLB callup. (Though there's always the reverse jinx and You Can't Predict Baseball.)
Ghost Of Steve M. September 28, 2012 9:17 PM
Games like this will really skew the stats. It may have also sealed EJax fate for the postseason with Lannan pitching much better
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May have like you said. Davey will wait but I have also thought that if the Nats play the Braves that it will be Gio, JZim, Det and Lannan anyway.
EJax pitched lights out against the Reds so I don't think you have to keep the same rotation for each series.
One at a time.
David Wright by month:
April .389
May .347
June .340
July .255
Aug .272
Sept .255
Wright in July still had a .333 OBP, this month .293
Steady, Medlen may give it up. When a team has nothing to lose, even the Marlins 2nd baseman (Onion's bro) hit 2 homers off of him but I would agree that Saturday would be a good day for the Young to beat Minor.
I know it's September and only a small sample size, but has Zach Duke maybe found his true calling as a reliever out of the bullpen? Would Davey Johnson consider going with the hot hand and include him in the postseason roster over the likes of T. Gorzelanny, M. Gonzales and J. Lannan?
For those that thought 4 days ago the Barves would go 9-0, think again!
EJax pitched lights out against the Reds
That was four or five months ago. The statute of limitations has passed on that.
rogieshan, many Managers go with xfactor players like Christian Garcia and Lannan. No clue what Davey will do.
Feel Wood said...
That was four or five months ago. The statute of limitations has passed on that.
September 29, 2012 12:10 AM
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Was just trying to keep it positive on a horrible day for Edwin. Davey could have helped him and grabbed him early. He was throwing BP. A shame to see a guy suffer like that.
While Edwin was abysmal today, no one should overrate nice guy John Lannan as a result.
At 4.23, John has the worst ERA among the Nationals' starters.
Yes, he is 4-0. Yes, he won a huge game against Atlanta when the Nats were reeling. But John also has the highest run support among Nationals' starters and Jackson has the lowest.
Here are the numbers, according to ESPN's advanced pitching stats:
Jackson: 3.83
Detwiler: 4.12
Strasburg: 4.39
Zimmermann: 4.87
Gio Gonzalez: 5.38
Lannan: 5.60
We shouldn't get carried away by Edwin stinking up the joint, or by John's winning streak.
As Denny Green said in his famous tirade: "They are who we thought they were."
Yeah, that was ugly. Hope that it was an anomaly. Was relieved to hear that the Mets won. And the Marlins (buh-bye, Phillies).
And the paragraph below is. so. sweet. And me with an early birthday dinner on tap for tonight. Hope they're okay with taking me to a sports bar. Yeah, that's the ticket. :-)
It's the moment you've been waiting 79 years to experience: Washington's baseball club has a chance to clinch a title tomorrow night.
Now that I've had my coffee, I will phrase that more precisely: I was relieved to hear that the Mets won, and happy to hear that the Marlins won (buh-bye, Phillies). :-)
Don't know whether this has been mentioned, but hat tip to Gorzelanny (who hadn't been called on much of late), Garcia, and Duke for their scoreless innings last night.
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