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USA Today Sports Images Ross Detwiler faces Zack Greinke in the series finale at Dodger Stadium. |
Harper's teammates can only hope to have more success at the plate tonight against Zack Greinke than they did last night against Clayton Kershaw. Greinke returns after missing a month with a broken collarbone, suffered during a bench-clearing brawl with the Padres.
Ross Detwiler starts for the Nationals, looking to even his record at .500, not to mention catapult his team into first place. Yep, the Braves already lost today in Arizona, so a win tonight would move the Nats into a tie atop the NL East.
Enjoy the conversation...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 187
Weather: Clear, 64 degrees, Wind 5 mph out to CF
NATIONALS (21-18)
CF Denard Span
LF Steve Lombardozzi
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
C Wilson Ramos
2B Danny Espinosa
RF Roger Bernadina
LHP Ross Detwiler
DODGERS (16-22)
SS Dee Gordon SS
2B Nick Punto
CF Matt Kemp
1B Adrian Gonzalez
C A.J. Ellis
RF Andre Ethier
LF Scott Van Slyke
3B Juan Uribe
RHP Zack Greinke
UMPIRES
HP Alfonso Marquez
1B Chris Conroy
2B Mike DiMuro
3B Ted Barrett
329 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 329 of 329 Newer› Newest»That was a ball.
Bad call
It's kind of hard for me to see the season slipping away when they are a two-run homer away from being in first place.
OK, that was about two baseballs outside. TMo does not need that.
It seems like every time TyMo steps into the batters box he starts out 0-2.
Way outside, but dont leave it in the ump's hand
""Herd activities" ... well, I suppose. I prefer to think of them as rituals, part of the liturgy in the Church of Baseball. Besides, we are herd animals. People who want to be a lone wolf don't know anything about wolves."
Not to get to far afield, but I'm not a fan of rote ritual in general (see: Macarana, religious services). I am all about developing meaningful rituals on the "pack" level though.
Decent at bat from Moore... too bad about the outcome.
i expect to win. someone needs to just step up. Are thre leaders on the tea? If so then lead.
Our best shot is gonna be either now or in the 8th. I don't like our chances against Jansen.
Is it time for Bryce to pinch-hit?
If we're talking about rituals, how about one that generates some hits? Or, better yet, some runs?
Have to believe Jhonatan Solano will be brought up tomorrow.
But Manassas, if he'd swung at a ball and struck out we would have criticized him for that too. He didn't do anything wrong in that at-bat.
They're bringing in a new pitcher to face Lombo. LOL Mattingly.
Two of our three healthy bats are guaranteed an at bat next inning if not this one. Step up Nats!
Do1teach1 I don't know you all that well because I'm not a super consistent poster, but the lawyer jokes are fairly annoying . They're just not that clever and the general snugness is vaguely intolerable. Now I am in fact a law student so perhaps it only seems stale because I hear nerds making the same comments a bunch, but still, on behalf of everyone....we get it. Ur making fun of somebody else picking law as a profession but not showing sophisticated deductive reasoning. Please no more. And with that I ask: what precisely makes Bernadina more worth playing than eury Perez, who's also a speedy and excellent outfielder but has a decent plate approach?
Jansen not closing. Interesting. League has been awful this year.
I'm not a fan of rote ritual in general (see: Macarana, religious services). I am all about developing meaningful rituals on the "pack" level though.
Interesting position, coming from a Deadhead. ; )
I'm curious what would constitute "meaningful" in the context of thousands of people drinking beer and watching a kids' game being played by millionaires.
This is Lombo's chance to step up. third time he came up with a runner on with 2 outs and a hot hitter on deck. First 2 were misserable failures. Time to get seriius
What a lucky throw. Nothing going right.
I like the stealing move. Didn't work out but bravo. Should be stealing more to try to make something happen.
Blergh. (Autocorrect tried to change that to bleach, which also feels appropriate.)
Span's jump was great, nothing else he could do there. The throw just happened to get him on the back.
Unlike last night, I think Davey's call was good. Span had agreat jump. What happened? With that jump the steal should have been a peace of cake. Did he stop for a cup of coffee?
"Interesting position, coming from a Deadhead. ; )
I'm curious what would constitute "meaningful" in the context of thousands of people drinking beer and watching a kids' game being played by millionaires."
Pretty much nothing that extends beyond the people I'm there with...
As for being a deadhead, I always wanted to attend shows in a business suit because everyone else always showed up in essentially the same uniform.
I'm in LA tonight, can't get to the game. :-(
I did get to hear Espi's rally-killing groundout called on the radio. Bottom line - he is pressing, injured, or both. For his own good, as well as that of the team, Espi needs to sit, at least for a couple games. If nothing else, it will give him a chance to rest his shoulder and perhaps for the doctors to do some tests on it. Maybe he can even see Werth's Dr.? If Bryce is back, then Lombo will play 2nd and continue to get AB's, which he needs.
Espi can also go see the eye Dr. to make sure he is not legally blind.
As for being a deadhead, I always wanted to attend shows in a business suit because everyone else always showed up in essentially the same uniform.
and a John Waters pencil moustache. That could work.
With that jump and Span's speed no throw should have beaten him.His slide alittle high helped tgevdefense too.
It was a great throw, and the pitcher was quick to the plate.
"and a John Waters pencil moustache. That could work."
Ha! +1
Hmmm. Clip looks sharp.
And, what happened to Ramos tonight? Please tell me its not his knee!
Anyone else have the annoying problem on iPad of this blog not updating and reverting back to 1-200 comment table rather than the current?
Time for a theme update.
Nice Clip!!!
Didn't appear to be his knee, but it didn't appear to be anything. There wasn't really a noticeable moment where he pulled up lame.
Nice inning by Clip. Get some runs, guys. Make him a winner!
If we're talking about rituals, how about one that generates some hits? Or, better yet, some runs?
That's not belief. That's desperation.
eBay, I'm guessing hammy.
Ehay. Hammy!
Haha, eBay = ehay.
Heart of the order on deck. Step up!
Does nobody have any info on Det or Ramos injuries? I'm watching Scully telecast. FP or Carp got anything? Mark Z? Kilgore? Anybody?
Lombo needs a hit
Ha, I almost made that eBay auto correct mistake too
Omg is that Lombos wife??!!!!!
OK! Nice. Do it Zim. Time to stop rubbing your eyes and get to work.
Bx word on injuries is updates post game.
Woot!!!
That's a huge 1st to 3rd by Perez. Ball in the outfield ties this game. No out.
Finally the Nats get a break!
Now score. perez runs like me.
YES! OK LaRoche.
doublesteal?
Good hustle, Eury.
Finally a little luck. MAN. We earned that one with that broken bat AGon flare first inning. Need a little contact here Adam.
Sofa. R u kidding? Lol
If not u r nuts!!!
Nah.
No idea why but I have a weird feeling that this AB has more importance around it than it should in May...
Dammit
Arggggg. Perez's speed needed only a few more feet.
I have a bad feeling.
Just getting exuberant, and hoping to stay out of the double play if LaRoche doesn't get him in. Which he should have, there, CMON!!
An aggressive rookie, a hot LH hitter up, no outs. Yes, I was kidding. I just wanted to say it first, because, well, then I'd be first!
OK... What's up with the hacks? Swing easy and place it!
I can't watch
That is horrible.
Dann you ALR and Desmond. just make contack Desi on the ground is a run
DP why would u curse the board!!!!
LaRoche's ball was deep enough to send Perez.
That is incredibly deflating. Wow. I don't even know.
1st and 3rd with no outs. That is hard to believe.
Oh, offense.
Swing for the fences. That must be the team mantra. Desi would have done well to ease up a bit on his swing with 2 strikes.
That was depressing.We're toast. Bottom of the order in the 9th. Harper to PH? Doesn't seem promising.
Shameful.
First and third and nobody out on a team that isn't hitting, and the fastest guy on the team on third...and I wait for the bunt.
It never happens.
We have the least imaginative coaching staff in baseball.
This is exactly what's wrong with the nationals... To be an elite club they need to be able to manufacture a run. They are too flukey. Sheesh, love me some Nats but we need to learn how to play the game right fellas...
We need a fly ball by either ALR or Desi neither bother to do a deep enough one.
Syzuki we dont need a fly we need a hit, and he hits the fly.
Go figure.
All Desi needed was contact with JZim running and swings hard through it.
thats approach again. with 2 strikes and you want to make contact you shorte the swing Been that way sincefirst watched ball in 1959. No Desi swings hard anyway. Which is fine only if you make contact.
You can fill in the rest about not nderstanding the need at the time.
Agreed, manager takes another one. Desi can't bunt?
To wake this team up?
And Danny must make a choice.
First and third and nobody out, and I'm waiting for the bunt, from a Nats team that cannot score runs.
The bunt never comes, even though our fastest runner is on third.
The lack of imagination in our coaching staff is staggering.
It's been that way since 1859, MNF.
The phrase last year was "situational hitting."
Mark Z - someone needs to ask Davey about our hitters' approach with two strikes, whether he thinks sometimes it's good to shorten the swing, etc. Maybe it's just philosophy? It has to be something...
This has bad inning written all over it.
The book play is to play for a tie at home, and a lead on the road. Probably what Davey was trying to do, there, with his best hitters coming up.
Well, Drew has pitched us in to a fine pickle.
Just checked: Run expectancy when you have runners at first and third with zero outs = 1.8.
So I guess Storen in all his years in the minors literally never learned how to hold anybody on base. Just do the weird dead leg thing despite the fact that it takes 20 minutes? Is that how it works? This team's really lost it. Not sure how. But whatever it was, they dont have it this year. That's the most negative thing I've ever posted in this space. I've been a believer since the beginning. But tonight was pathetic in almost every respect, Stammen being the exception.
It just happened AGAIN!
Again, going back to Game 5, Storen fails to hold the runner, who steals in the 8th inning with NO THROW.
This is a joke bullpen. I heard a call on 106.7 to Rizzo before Game 5 last year, asking if our relievers would learn how to hold runners. Rizzo said no sweat, we've got that covered.
Then it happened in Game 5.
Now it happens every night, including tonight. Paging Mr. Rizzo?
You know the hitting approach of ALR and Desi made no sense, but again. i am not surprised as their not stressed to do the crect swing.
Storen I dont get him at all. last 5 appearences have drove me crazy. He needs to solve his problem
For those who lost track we are 0 for 7 RISP.
Carl Crawford knows how to situationally hit...
Our relievers have never been good at holding people on base, that's not new.
Sheeeeesh. The inability to grind out a run when you need to, or come through in the clutch is most frustrating. That's the difference between good teams and elite teams. Love my Nats but man... Heartbreaking that we have such great potential, but don't come through when we need to
Anyone want to bet the Nats score one (and just one) run in the 9th?
Like I said earlier, before this annoying couple of innings: they are [now three] runs away from being in first place, and a game out of first if they lose. Hard to call that a lost season.
I think ALR was going for sac fly, just got under it too much...
Crawford understood exactly what do .
Storen las 2 games has been pitiful. Created Cub disaster and made this almost impossible. thanks Drew.
Just for you David Proctor I am pretty sure Eck will say nothing to the guys.
Well Brandon League has sucked. So there's that.
We were in this same exact position last year at the end of the dodger serious... Not a déjà vu I wanna have. We need to get it together and grind out some wins and not make every other teams 1-5 pitchers look like Cy Young winners...
Sec.3 I'm with ya. All isn't lost by any stretch, but that top of the eighth was brutal!
Well to be fair, Kershaw and Greinke are both actually Cy Young winners/contenders. But point well taken.
Just knowing Espi is leading off gives me total confidence.
I just don't understand how night after night people are just showing up and failing. Every night. Storen blows the lead. Next appearance. Loads the bases up and cant keep the game close. Danny. Can't make contact. Bernie. Can't make contact. T Mo. It's just remarkable. Does this coaching staff even give a damn at this point? You have professional. baseball players. Unable to put the ball in play. Every night. Zero sign of improvement. Zero sign of making adjustments. You tell yourself it can't keep going on like this because nobody besides the Mets and Marlins are so anemic, and this team was picked to win the WS. And yet there they are, going up 1-2-3 each inning. It's amazing to watch. Chances Danny fails to make contact here are astronomical.
Wow... Espi hits!
There you go. Reverse lock. Could've used it with people on, but we'll take it.
And the chances that people in here will piss and moan all the way through the playoffs is asymptotically approaching 100%.
Touché Proctor, touché...
DP neutralized... OK...
They can be a game out of first all season long. As long as every team in the NL East keeps losing.
The point is they're not scoring runs when they should and giving them up when they shouldn't.
The blame game is a beautiful thing but I can see ONE change has to be made.
Surgery or beautiful upstate NY.
Simple.
Lol asymptotically. love it.
Yesterday's loss wasn't tough to swallow. This one is.
p.s. there will be no pissing and moaning if we make the playoffs, at least not from me. There will be pissing and moaning when Danny Espinosa gets playing time. Until he doesn't, because he doesn't belong in the major leagues.
I stole that joke from Edward Tufte, BxJaycobb.
Congrat Davey!!
You always late.
Time to retire.
Today Espi got a hit and LaRoche finally went yard again. So there's that.
Note to brace for news about Det and Ramos.
Sounds like Solano on twitter celebrating good fortune. Expect poor Wilson on the DL. DARN. But I actually mean something stronger.
Note = now
Congrat Davey!
You always late!
Time to retire. Thank you.
Amanda Comak @acomak 57s
Wilson Ramos re injured his hamstring. Out a while Davey said. Detwiler just a spasm they think. Hope he won't miss start.
A simpler way of looking at it is unless this team cares about this season, this season is lost. If not for JZimm this season might be already.
And Sec3 duly noted. Followed this team since "69.
But this is embarrassing. Fundamentals are lacking everywhere. And decisions are questionable.
Lost two series against two worst team each division.
If there is no self-destruction by their starting pitcher, Nats cannot overcome one or two run deficit no matter who starts for us. Randy, Pedro you name it.
This line-up needs surgery. Bench players hitting avg is below 0.150, avg OBP of whole line-up is worst in baseball, and our great prospect Danny StrikeOut Espinosa is the second worst hitter in All baseball.
We cannot fix all of these offense problem at a time, only thing we can hope is let Davey retire quickly and have a nice day at caribean shore.
Don't waste your 3 hours watching whole game.
Chk it out on gameday and get back to TV when things get fixed.
Phooey!
Well, that was annoying. Not sure the Dodgers are the worst team in the NL West, I think the Padres are. But that eighth inning was a killer, top and bottom. Dodgers were motivated to win this for Greinke. We gotta get moving. Luckily, for right now, the Barves are barfing, and the Fillies lost.
"Let's hope Det's pull, or whatever it is isn't serious."
Davey said in the post game that it was a muscle spasm and that it wasn't serious. Hope he's right. Detwiler has been solid all year, with little run support.
Davey was much more concerned about Ramos. Same hamstring as last time, and he will be out for a while.
Laddie, we can survive with Suzuki. But I hope Werth's hamstring is healed.
You guys have to relax the Nats are only one game back at least your not 11 back like the Angels
Steamer--yep. Every team in the NL East lost today. No panic. Just an annoying game, but not as annoying (to me) as the game when Davey pulled Gio. :)
"Laddie, we can survive with Suzuki. But I hope Werth's hamstring is healed."
I really like Suzuki. He's such a small guy for a catcher that he needs a day off, now and then, to keep from running down. He started to hit, again, after Ramos came back, and his workload was reduced.
Werth should be back soon. He played a few innings in Potomac tonight and had a hit, and an outfield assist.
Last year the Nats had injuries early on to major players , but they usually were able to eke out the wins in low scoring games. Having Werth and Harper back, soon, will change the lineup and give them a psychological boost. Davey needs one.
Davey looked really down in the post-game presser. This season is starting to wear on him. Tomorrow is a great opportunity for Strasburg to come through with a clutch win, put the smile back on his skipper's face, and make everybody happy.
Hey, we're still only 1 game back, and we've got our numero uno going tomorrow night. Strasburg could put us back into a 1st place tie.
Who cares if the braves or phillies lost. This team is completely inept. A real bore fest. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. They absolutely reek of mediocrity. Maybe.
Davey is reaping the what comes from country club spring trainings. He let them do their own thing. He encouraged them to work 90 mins or less a day. That is what 10 year olds practice in little league. He trusted them to get ready and they are not...it is too late now.
Man... This team does not take advantage of opportunities. We should be 2 games up on the braves right now. But our offense continues to let us down over and over again without so much as a whisper of change from Rizzo or Davey. Its really frustrating knowing that this team has basically lost if the other team scores first. It could be one run in the first inning and I'd bet that these guys wouldn't be able to get it back. I'm so tired if the total lack of situational hitting on this club.
0 for 9 RISP
Lombo twice ended innings with base runner (s) on and didn't all RZim to hit. Then the time he leads off he hits and RZim gets a hit.
Espi 3 times the catcher gets a hit and Espi follows with an out (i believe all final outs). Ten the last at bat leads off with a hit.
Both those guys were in position to really help the cause, bu couldn't get hits when it mattered most.
Watched the whole game as I always do, but, took Coach SJM's advice and slept on it before posting as much as I was tempted to after the 8th. I am still frustrated and mad. The injuries had NOTHING to do with 3 so called solid hitters STINING it up with lame hits and KO's. This is so typical of a 500 team that is over rated, one night a the hot hitters cool donw and the 1 for 15 guys hit with of course nobody on base. Reminds me again of the sorry Senators of 1971. ALR, lame pop out and Desomond's KO was simply TERRIBLE. Worst of all is Storen...I forgave him for game 5, but i will tell you, his performances keep reminding me of game five and I am getting done with him, as I said he is has let his team down time and time again, not that t would have mattered in the 9th as the Nats bats are PATHETIC!
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