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US Presswire photo John Lannan allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings. |
Hitting highlight: They all came early, and they came before you could blink. Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Kurt Suzuki all homered in a span of seven batters, all of them impressive. But let's spotlight Harper, because he's once again doing things few have ever done before at his age. With 20 homers, he's only four shy of Tony Conigliaro's teenage record. With 93 runs scored, he's only seven shy of Buddy Lewis' teenage record. And with his 17th stolen base, he's now the first teenager in big-league history in the 17-17 club. Three more steals and he'll join the 20-20 club.
Pitching highlight: He may not acknowledge it publicly, but Lannan knows all too well about his past struggles in this ballpark and against this team. So he certainly took the mound tonight knowing the pressure was on to deliver. And he responded in impressive fashion. Obviously it helped to be staked to a 5-0 lead, but Lannan opened his night by inducing three straight groundballs. He walked only one batter over his 5 1/3 innings. And though he was charged with two earned runs, both scored thanks in large part to defensive miscues. Above all else, Lannan did what the Nats needed him to do: Throw strikes, get deep enough into the game and give his team a chance to win. He's now made five big-league starts this season, and has a 4-0 record to show for it.
Key stat: The Nationals are one of only three NL teams with four 20-homer players this season. The others: the Brewers and Cardinals.
Up next: The series concludes at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, when Gio Gonzalez goes after his 21st win of the season against Phillies rookie right-hander Tyler Cloyd.
88 comments:
Magic #4
WOOOOO HOOOOO!.. #4 Keep it up boys, you are in control!
I came off wagon and had 2 spoons of Maloox.
Clippard driving me to Maloox
Harper sets the NL record for home runs by a teenager, hitting more than Mantle, Mays, Ott and Griffey, Jr.. Take the Mr. Trout.
Bourbon and Maalox on the rocks for me, MNF.
Am enjoying the Stros beating the Cards and Oakland ahead of the Rangers. This is fun!!!!
John Lannan 4-0 and wins again in a game where the the Nats were all but desperate for a win. He may be lucky but then again, so are the Baltimore Orioles and I would rather be lucky than just about anything else....
Amen Gonat!
Watching the game on the road, Philthies feed.
One thing of note is that after Werth drove the stake into their heart, half the phans left the ballpark, and even the Philthies announcers started talking about all things other than winning the game - "Get it over with, I want to see Tito.."
Yikes. They also admitted that the Philthies were basically out of it now. Give Werth some credit there - there will be no parade down Broad street (is that the right street?) this year.
Have not read the game thread. Might dare to take a peek tomorrow just to see how people talked about Clippard (he does look hurt) and Espi.
4. Amazing!
I believe Harper is second for teenaged home runs Mr. Justice Douglas. Tony Conigliaro had 24.
Gives Bam Bam a goal, though.
I am not sure why anyone wants the Cards to lose, but it does show that most teams do not, in fact, contrary to what some believe, pack it in at the end of the year....
Harper has the National League record for home runs. Tony C never played a single game in the Senior Circuit.
Play of the night was Espinosa striking out and not hitting into a doubleplay, giving JW a chance to extend the lead.
Who says this team is sleep walking into the playoffs?!
This is playoff baseball is going to be like--except maybe for the drama with Werth there in the 9th inning. That's a Philly special, and it's not going to happen in this post-season--because the Phillies ain't going to the postseason. Ha!
not to quible but he clearly wrote NL leader in homeruns
Sorry, sir, I missed your "NL". Tony C. was, of course in the AL.
Atta way, John-Boy! Atta way, NATS!!
Atta way to show 'em, Jayson.
If Clippard is hurt, then he definitely should not be out there. There is no point to risk his career, especially when he is pitching terribly. Strasburg got shut down when he wasn't hurt and when he was still effective. Good point. Shut Clip down now.
So happy for John. Clip did okay too, he did. Glad Storen is back, sheesh! And the bats are waking up. Just in time. It would be nice for the Braves to, you know, LOSE a game or three. But this game shows we really can win this, without any help from the Fish or the Mets. Or the Pirates.
I wonder if Morse oughtn't to sit out a few games so we have him next month. We could throw Tyler or Lombo in there for a while, and it would be ok.
Go Nats!
Okay, Mark: do you change the count down number or does something happen to it automatically? We are all curious.
Hey, I am just thrilled for Harper. I love that kid. I saw him play in Hagerstown and I wasn't a doubter but I never thought someone could be this effective at such a young age. His Wins Above Replacement Player are excellent.
JT said...
Play of the night was Espinosa striking out and not hitting into a doubleplay, giving JW a chance to extend the lead.
September 26, 2012 10:40 PM
_________________________________
Sad isn't it.
Jane, Mark posted a comment in a previous thread (on his off day, no less) to say that he updates the number manually.
From "You Can't Predict Baseball"
Craig Kimbrel struck out four batters in one inning.
- He has 60.1 innings with 111 strikeouts and 14 walks.
– Danny Espinosa is one of three players to homer off Kimbrel this year.
— I mention that only to point out Espinosa leads the NL in strikeouts by a batter.
JT, you get post of the night at 10:40 p.m.
The only thing Werth could have done better would have been a homer, sort of like Babe Ruth against the Cubs back in the 30's....
Speaking of Bam Bam, isn't that his third multi-HR game? I seem to recall that ties a record. Is that the MLB/AL record? If so, Bryce has another NL record besides the 20 Hr he has now.
If we could just get Morse and Espinosa right. Maybe the Shark and Lombo need more innings....
Obviously, the Shark is a far better runner and fielder than Morse. There is very little drop-off there. My feeling, without checking stats, is that Lombo is at least equal to Espinosa in speed and fielding.
Any thoughts?
Gotta love old boring Lannan. He is a pro's pro. Just goes out and battles. Loved it how he clipped Howard on the elbow and the big guy threw a fit. Screw you Howard.
Even though Clip had a rough inning it was good to see him going after people with the fastball. He was spotting it good, up and in, and made Howard look silly. I think Clip will be ok from here on out. Well....I hope
How about The Kid? Takes that Bastard down the line....er...Bastardo, sorry.
Great win
Not that you need a copy editor Mark, but shouldn't that 2nd last line read "...first teenager ...in the 17-20 club?"
I'm waitin' for him to be the 2nd player on the Nats this season to be in the 20-20 club. Some day soon he'll beat Soriano's 40-40---count on it!
Wow, Ray Knight really subjecting Clippard to analysis, fair and true, but surprisingly frank....
Sorry - misread the box - Bam Bam had only 1 HR.
Whew! Great win!!!
JW awarded game ball to Espy.
Knight says that a closer needs to pound the strike zone and Clippard might be better suited to earlier relief appearances....
Gonat.....yes it is sad. You just know it is just killing Danny inside. He is such a competitor. Has he had his eyes checked? I'm serious
Todd Zolecki @ToddZolecki
That was just a strange scene. Fans on their feet for the entire at-bat. Werth gets the money, the playoffs and the hit. Oh, the humanity. Todd Zolecki @ToddZolecki
Phillies Beat Writer
Clippard did really fight. That was obvious. It is just so painful to watch lately. Whatever is happening with him has nothing to do with heart.
WODL - from my own observations, as well as comments for broadcasters/analysts, I really don't think Lombo is close to Espi defensively in terms of range, speed, or arm strength. Espi just makes plays that Lombo cannot. Lombo is however a much more disciplined hitter, albeit a slap hitter. (Although after some at-bats, I'm sure there are plenty of people inclined to slap Espi. )
Also, in running the bases, Espi looks to be a lot faster.
BigCat...I think Danny needs to back off his swing and protect when he gets 2 strikes. Just seems like his strategy never changes, swing hard. I thought he should have laid a bunt down in the 9th. Phillie pitchers even made that stupid pick off move to see if he would show anything. But...it all worked out, this time anyway.
It might just be luck or positioning but it seems like Lombo makes a fair number of plays that look great, but I haven't checked his range factor. It is hard to see how the Shark is not an upgrade over Morse at this point. How many hit into DP's can we take?
Morse is at 103 for OPS, while Roger is at 105, but Bernadina is far faster and a better fielder.
I am very proud of this team. John Lannan is the Nats unsung hero for 2012. How cool was Werth's at bat!!!!!
Now on a serious note, Ray K sounds critical of Clip, I agree with him. I am not very confident in him right now, that ball hit to RF could have been out of the park easily and a 6-5 game. I am not too sure on Mattheus either.
I felt LaRouche and Morse's last at bats were weak and lacked focus. the Nats need more from Morse as we go into the stretch.
Over all, a big fun win!!
Nationals are 14-4 when Harper goes deep
almost forgot, Danny's at bats were not good
Harper may be DC's version of Michael Jordan.... what a player!!!!
Great Game Tonight!
Tight through 8 innings, sitting there loving watching playoff baseball this late in the season.
In the last week which was hard to stomach, we pushed LA, Mil and now Phily out of the 2nd wildcard slot. So do want St. Louis go into Atlanta and win that one game playoff.
But I would like to give props to Atlanta for causing me a few sleepless nights here lately, they just won't go away.
But great game tonight to John L, Jason, Bryce, Desi, Kurt and Drew! Way to play this time of year!
One more time Gio!
Go Nats!
Lombo is not the equal to Espi in fielding. But I'd be happy to see him get some starts down the stretch.
So Lannan has now won twice in a row in Philly. Can we put the "demons of Citizens Bank Park" thing to rest? He owns that place now!
ehay2
Generally agree, and would add a bit re offense: for all the grief Danny gets for his Ks (and he deserves it), he still manages to get on base at essentially the same pace as Lombo--OBP of .321 vs .322 for Lombo, which is ok but hardly great in either case.
Lombo is a more disciplined hitter and better at making contact, but a lot of it is weak contact that leads to an easy out. Pitchers aren't that afraid to challenge Lombo; Danny, they are, because he has so much more power.
For all his struggles, Danny is at 3.9 fWAR on the season. Lombo is at 1.1, but with 1/3 fewer PAs--so maybe 1.8 fWAR if you adjust.
Danny has adjustments to make, but frankly, even if he didn't, he'd still be the far more valuable player.
Well, we all really wanted to be playing meaningful baseball in September. We got our wish. Fun, huh? I was just thinking how much fun it would be to hang out with Jayson Werth ( not entirely sober, either). Some of our guys seem a little ho-hum, but he seems like he would be hilarious. Quirky dude. I am thrilled for John LannEn. He did his time in the minors and has the dubious distinction of being Strasburg's "replacement". Good for him. The road to a curly W is never easy.
so is Philly mathematically eliminated from post season?
mick, not yet, but WHO CARES!?!!!
Yes, I wanted the Stros to beat the Cards
(1) Rooting for the 2009 Nats, aka the 2012 Astros (and they have to go to the AL, to boot).
(2)Anything that extends the WC race is GOOD. Let St Louis wear themselves out with Milwaukee and LA on their trail.
Lannan became a man this season. Read the Post article on his season in the minors. He basically said that at first he was upset when the Nats sent him down but then he respected them because they didn't make the decision based upon his salary but solely upon Detwiler being deemed better. The Nats ate several million also by bringing Harper up earler. You have to give Rizzo and the Lerners credit for that.
Go back and read the posts during Clippard's inning...Classic Legion of Doom...So Funny....I just can't imagine getting so angry and pessimistic...Hilarious
To be fair, he was really struggling...When his change is that sporadic, he really has to live on the edge....
Mick
No - I think their tragic # is 2. But St L is off tomorrow, so that means the Nats couldn't get the pleasure of eliminating them tomorrow.
I don't follow that about the 2009 Astros, but here is a list of the worst franchises of all time: 1)Washington 2)Houston 3)Milwaukee 4)Texas.
Texas and Washington may leave the list shortly, but Seattle, Texas, Houston and Washington have never won a World Series. Seattle gets a pass because they have the record for most wins in a season. Texas is getting close to leaving the list.
Houston has been good about 3 seasons. Their best seasons they had Nolan Ryan on the mound and still failed. Thinking of Houston and Montreal playing in those gloomy indoor stadiums year after year as expansion franchises and rarely being competitive is pretty sad.
One way that you can tell if a franchise is bad is if they play indoors, on turf, or have changed leagues. MLB would never switch the Reds or Yankees to a different league because it upsets memories and rivalries. Nobody cared when the Brewers and the Astros were slotted to change leagues.
I think the posts about Clippard tonight have been eminently fair, as were Ray Knight's comments on air. Maybe we need a new term, "Legion of Good Feelings" for all the people who come on here all the time criticizing people who actually make points while spouting "Legion of Doom", Legion of Doom", with a crow-like cadence....
Lucky that pitch stayed in the Park...belt high FB down the middle...Yikes!
Ugh..Another free 90 feet and a 3-0 count
I guess that was a pitch around? But the lead run is now at the plate...Gulp
You're right Gonat, Clipp without his good change-up is just a sitting duck out there...
All quotes from the Legion of Doom during Clipp's 8th inning, right?
Actually, all written by the original critic of the LoD, Swift Eagle himself.
How about giving the criticism of other posters a rest. Every one of us is entitled to handle the stress of this pennant race in our own way.
Go Danny work on calming swing down.
in 7 of Clippards last 10 games he gave up an earned run and at least 1 unearned runn.
last 10 games 9.1 IP 19 hits 2 BB 11 earned runs. 11 K. not very good.
One thing I didn't see mentioned (not that it would be an especially prominent thing to raise now) --
can you believe we're now at 94 wins with 7 games to play?????
I think the highest pre-season prediction for Nats wins was Boz with 93 (and that was the high end of his range), and everyone thought he was pickled in Kook-Aid to get there.
And here we are, STILL best record in baseball.
No matter what happens, an unbelievable dream season.
Section 222 hits the pitch right out of the park!
WODL -- where did you get the idea that Washington has never won a World Series?
Wow, what a nail biter. I was so happy when Jayson Werth got that base hit in the ninth inning I said to myself, Jayson, you're really worth that big salary.
Was happy to see Uncle Bryce untie the teen home run count from 19 to 20. He's now solely in second place.
I don't believe Clip is hurt, but there sure is something wrong with him. We need for him to get it back together. I do strongly prefer Storen in the closer role.
I love that Section, btw. Cheap, you don't get wet or hot or sun in your eyes and you can see perfectly. Shhhh!
Current records: Nats 94-61, Braves 90-65. Each has 7 games remaining. Magic/tragic number 4.
Nats Record/Best Record Braves Can Have & Still Lose
7-0 -- 7-0
6-1 --7-0
5-2 -- 7-0
4-3 -- 7-0
3-4 -- 6-1 (7-0 would tie)
2-5 -- 5-2 (6-1 would tie)
1-6 -- 4-3 (5-2 would tie)
0-7 -- 3-4 (4-3 would tie)
Nats can still clinch by playing .500 ball, no matter what the Braves do. Phillies are unlikely to have anything other than pride to play for during the final three games at Nats Park.
Local rumors are that Teddy will win the Presidents Race in the final game of the season.
Well said Sec 222...I just think the stream of conscience negativity is funny...I just don't get mad enough to call for someone's job or say the players are stupid, etc...
But you're right, everyone can say whatever they want
I am talking about the Montreal Expos franchise which came into existence in 1969 and which only made the play-offs in a strike year, and whose only great, great season, came during another strike year. I am well aware of the 1925-26-33 Nationals, who were commonly referred to as the Senators, until changing their name officially to the Senators in 1956 and who now play in Minnesota
Pre-season predictions without any money laid down are worth about what it costs to make them. I can say that I am not surprised at all by what has happened this year, but I didn't put any money down on it.
Phillies elimination from playoff is 2
The Phillies know they have no chance whatsoever. You have to salute them for playing so hard.
Werth had a great night tonight: 2-4 and a walk. Ever since he got moved into the leadoff, it seems like the batting order has some extra spark.
Great game tonight! Here's hoping that it's the start of a nice run to the division title!
Not sure if I agree with NL on the point about extending the season. I want Atlanta to lose the wild card game, and think the Cardinals are the most likely team to do it, so I'm for them except in the series against us.
To help put Bryce Harper's historic season in perspective:
Only two teenagers in major league history have more stolen bases than Harper's 17 -- and both are in the Hall of Fame.
At 19, Ty Cobb stole 23 bases for the 1906 Tigers.
At 19, George Davis stole 22 bases for the 1890 Cleveland Spiders.
Two others stole 17 bases at 19 years old -- Cesar Cedeno for the 1970 Astros, and Ben Conroy, who played his one and only big league season for the 1890 Philadelphia A's.
I honestly don't know if anyone has checked to see if it is even possible if the Phillies win the rest of their games....
They would have to jump over Arizona, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and St. Louis, making up 5.5 games with 7 to go. Not all of those teams can tank at the same time. I have a feeling they actually are already eliminated, but that is just quibbling. The Phillies is dead.
Good point NCNatsie. I really hope the Nats have seen Medlen and Kimbrel for the last time this year.
Cedeno is one guy that Harper does not want to be, although he had a decent career. If you asked anyone in the early 70's, they would have thought that Cedeno and Bobby Bonds would be in the Hall of Fame someday. Both had decent careers but never lived up to the promise.
The Cleveland Spiders are a team that you rarely hear about anymore. Nice reference, Drew.
The Braves have been streaky all year, and they're hot now...Hopefully they've peaked a little early b/c they could be really tough in a 3 of 5 series...With Kimbrel they're basically playing an 8 inning game at this point
JaneB: I update the magic number counter manually. Not difficult at all. Just have it ready to go when the game ends and I click a button.
The only time I might not be able to do it immediately is if the Braves lose while I'm in the Nats clubhouse doing postgame interviews. Might be a little delay in those cases.
WODL -- it's just flat-out accurate to say "Washington has never won the WS" because a DC team did win it.
The accurate way to say it is"the current Nationals franchise has never won the WS.".
I agree that the Nats should recognize the Expos' records etc. so their history doesn't disappear.
But sorry, the current franchise is not the entire history of Washington baseball.
This is NOT nitpicking, it's local pride.
The San Diego Padres could be tough in a best of 5 series, but I get your point. Surprisingly, however, teams with great relievers have not had much of a statistical advantage at all in the post-season.
Why?
There just aren't enough iterations.
That is not what I said, Steady, Eddie. I picked the worst current franchises in baseball history, not the worst towns. Milwaukee went to back to back World Series in 57-58 against the Yankees and won one, so they might leave the list if that is the standard. Washington as a baseball city had won a world series more recently than Chicago when we got the Nats in 2005, my post above referred to the Expos/Nats and that is quite clear.
You are preaching to the choir, Steady Eddie. Eddie Yost, Camilo Pascual, Mickey Vernon, Gabby Street, Clark Griffin, and I think the Senators also had one of the first five guys in the initial Hall of Fame class, although his name escapes me now....
More on Harper's historic season:
Two 19-year-olds are ahead of Bryce's 92 runs scored.
Buddy Lewis scored 100 for the 1936 Senators and George Davis scored 98 for the 1890 Cleveland Spiders.
Only three teenagers in major league history have topped Bryce's 9 triples at 19.
Buddy Lewis had 13 triples at 19 for the 1936 Senators.
Hall of Famer Freddie Lindstrom had 12 triples at 19 for the 1925 Giants.
Sherry Magee had 12 triples at 19 for the 1904 Phillies.
Bryce is tied at 9 with two other 19-year-olds -- the great George Davis of those 1890 Cleveland Spiders, and Jimmie Sheckard of the 1898 Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
We'll understand if that happens, especially if there's a lot of whooping, hollering, and champagne-spraying going on at the time. :-)
Mark Zuckerman said...
JaneB: I update the magic number counter manually. Not difficult at all. Just have it ready to go when the game ends and I click a button.
The only time I might not be able to do it immediately is if the Braves lose while I'm in the Nats clubhouse doing postgame interviews. Might be a little delay in those cases.
September 26, 2012 11:56 PM
Manassas Nats' Fan said...
Phillies elimination from playoff is 2
thanks, so it means a win tonight, Phillies are done, correct?
Cards are off today, I think.
Oh, and seconding on the "well said" for 222.
I don't think anyone should say anything bad about Tyler Clippard. Out of the 90+ wins the Nats have this year, he has played a part in most of them. The season is long and I think his arm is wearing down. I think he has made a major contribution to the success of the Nats this year, but I think he should be shutdown like Stephen Strasburg. Drew Storen can take us the rest of the way.
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