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Associated Press Stephen Strasburg faces Matt Cain tonight at AT&T Park. |
Strasburg is coming off a very impressive outing in San Diego, one in which he was allowed to go eight innings for the first time in his professional career. I wouldn't be surprised if Davey Johnson shows the same confidence in his young right-hander tonight, understanding the significance of this game.
Obviously, the Nationals will need to provide some run support for Strasburg, and they face a mighty tough challenge in that respect, with Matt Cain on the hill for the Giants. Cain hasn't been himself so far this season, but it's hard to believe he won't figure things out before long, perhaps as soon as tonight.
As you know, I'm not on the road trip. But CSNwashington.com's Steve Roney actually happens to be in San Francisco at the moment and he was kind enough to offer to help out at AT&T Park tonight. So be sure to check back later for coverage from him. Enjoy the game...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: AT&T Park
Gametime: 10:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 183
Weather: Clear, 55 degrees, Wind 18 mph out to RF
NATIONALS (23-22)
CF Denard Span
RF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
LF Roger Bernadina
C Kurt Suzuki
RHP Stephen Strasburg
GIANTS (25-20)
CF Angel Pagan
2B Marco Scutaro
3B Pablo Sandoval
C Buster Posey
RF Hunter Pence
1B Brandon Belt
LF Gregor Blanco
SS Brandon Crawford
RHP Matt Cain
UMPIRES
HP Bruce Dreckman
1B Gary Darling (cc)
2B Paul Emmel
3B Jerry Meals
334 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 334 Newer› Newest»Matt Cain is basically Jordan Zimmermann in a Giant's uniform. Another long night? A pitcher's duel? Or a slug fest? I hope the bottom had been hit and it's all up from here!
Chase Utley hurt.Maybe we can avoid him this weekend.
Davey must've been reading. Harper is batting 2nd today.
Tonight's lineup at SFG: Span CF, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Bernadina LF, Suzuki C, Strasburg P
The Braves are sort of handing it to the Nats on silver plate, and our guys are missing the hand-off and spilling it all over the floor!
If the Bravos can win without their fabled bull pen, we really are in trouble.
David Proctor said...
Davey must've been reading. Harper is batting 2nd today.
Tonight's lineup at SFG: Span CF, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Bernadina LF, Suzuki C, Strasburg P
bowdenball from last thread:
In Werth's absence, why not just move everyone up a spot- Harper to 2, Zim to 3, LaRoche to 4, Desmond to 5?
Guess Harper won't be beating Kaline's record for consecutive games in the 3-hole as a 20 year old...
Harper used yesterday to get accustomed to swing the bat again. Today he's going to rake.
Pitch shutout baseball, Stras.
GYFNG!!!
Okay, guys. How's about you try to pull out a curly w for our own sjm, who I believe will be in the ballpark tonight? kthxbai.
Go, SS! Go, NATS!!
Wonk, or maybe Bowdenball is Davey. Nah. :-)
Davey must've been reading. Harper is batting 2nd today.
Well that's a surprise. Of course, Espi is batting 6th, so he's not blindly taking our advice apparently.
The best thing about tonight other than Stras pitching to get us back on track? It's the last 10 pm start of the regular season!
and Tyler Moore last seen kayaking west from McCovey's Cove
Thanks, 222. That makes me very happy. (Yawn.)
The best thing about tonight other than Stras pitching to get us back on track? It's the last 10 pm start of the regular season!
It's the last 10 pm start of the regular season!
Yay!!!!
When is tomorrow's game?
I hate going to bed before the first pitch.
3:30 pm, Swami.
"last 10 pm start of the regular season!"
Faaaaaaaaaaaaaantastic!
On another note, I may have found the Kilgore piece in question for the NIDO Glossary item entitled, "Why can't Espi just bat right handed?"
If so, what do I win? I'm so excited! (Well, not that excited. You can just buy me a virtual drink, I guess. Whoever you are. :-))
That is great news! My mornings do not get off to a good start when I open my eyes and reach for my phone with a feeling of dread. This morning it was tough to take without caffeine- but there was no way to put if off, just rip off the bandage. Makes me cranky. If the game is over at night I can recover before I sleep. Pathetic. My co- workers have been avoiding eye contact . They just know.
Jeffwx -- do you mean he's carrying the kayak into PacBell Park? Because thst's what's west from McCovey Cove. (East would take him across to the Oakland Coliseum or whatever it's called.)
Swami, at least you didn't need to respond to a (perfectly nice) email from your Giants fan friend after you read the unhappy game results email, as I did. ;-)
And Tyler would never get past ballpark security with a kayak.
Section 222 said...
It's the last 10 pm start of the regular season!
May 21, 2013 7:27 PM
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Haren got T-shirts of McCatty's Playgirl shot made today. "UNTUCK" on back. "Utter joy," Clippard said. "This is the best day of my life."
Now, *that's* funny. :-)
Man...David, please tell me you're serious...that would be amazing!
Absolutely true. I asked on twitter for a picture of said shirt.
Amanda responded: "MASN is filming a segment for tomorrow's pregame show w Gio wearing it."
Amazing. That is HILARIOUS!
I find it hard to believe it's a coincidence that picture both showed up here AND Haren made it into a shirt today.
That is AWESOME--who needs Silver Elvis wigs when ya got Dan Haren making tee shirts!!!!!!
Eric, that picture is all over the internet. I saw it several place besides here. It's on NBC Hardball Talk, for example.
Who knows? This might be just the thing to loosen everyone up. Wish this was a home game so we could get a look!
Bruce Bochy asked Davey Johnson to join his All Star Game staff. Sounds like Davey is gonna do it. Bochy also had some input on the Nats poor start:
"“That goes with winning, particularly when you have a really good, nice season like you did last year, and same with us,” the manager said. “When you don’t win a few games, questions are being asked, eyebrows raised, [people] going what’s going on. We just came off a horrible road trip, 1-5, our pitching got hammered pretty good and that’s our strength. There’s some panic going on, but you do have to remind yourself, there’s a lot of baseball left. I remember last year, going into your place and Pittsburgh, going 1-5, it didn’t go well. But it’s all about being resilient. That’s what good clubs are.”
Actually, IIRC, the park is north of McCovey Cove. West would be inland toward South of Market ("South of The Slot" for us old SF hands); he could paddle southwest into Mission Bay.
And wasn't the record for number of games in the 3-hole, not necessarily consecutive?
Number 2 advice taken
McCatty playgirl shot used
Morse good humor replacement established
Someone's liiiiiiiiiiiistening...
;)
"And wasn't the record for number of games in the 3-hole, not necessarily consecutive?"
I got to wondering that after posting, but children and dinner interfered with research...will check into it closer to game time is no one else has.
I heard an interview earlier in the season with Haren and he was very funny. Some of these guys just do better when they are more themselves. Clip and Store used to do hilarious videos from their apartment. Too bland and serious now. Makes them wound too tight.
OK, here's the article about Kaline's record.
It's a little vague, saying he batted third the whole season, but never says anything about consecutive games/starts. It does say no one else under 21 has batted 3rd more than 100 times in a season.
Who knows. It comes second to the team winning, but it would be cool for him to be able to put that feather in his cap if this doesn't rule it out.
Davey said he ran into Ryan Mattheus at the hotel today before Mattheus left for DC to see specialist. "I had a few choice words for him."
Davey is clearly pissed at Mattheus. You could see it in his press conference yesterday. He pretty much called Mattheus out and he never does that.
Harrisburg is only in the 6th inning, but Rick Hague already has two hits.
That means he has seven straight multi-hit games. He has 15 hits in his last 25 at bats.
Dude's on fire.
It's funny...when I was in 9th grade I broke my hand the weekend before baseball tryouts. I was pissed at my sister and cousin, kind of punched at the air as I wheeled to go in my room, only to discover my door was closed more than I thought.
Never pitched or otherwise played organized ball again. Far less tragic in the scheme of things, but it's strangely familiar reading about Mattheus. Hope his outcome is far different than mine!
damn, was nervous there for a minute...am sure glad espi is in the 6th hole this evening...say it with me: reverse psychology, reverse psychology...now he will get at least 2 hits...we will win this one thanks to danny...ok now do something else superstitious until game time...geeeezzzz...what i am resorting now nowadays...who else has a ritual?
Looks like Zimmerman was right:
Ryan Zimmerman's error from 9th inning Friday has been overturned. Chris Denorfia was given a hit, both runs in inning charged to Soriano.
Put Werth back in lead-off with Harper batting 2nd and they might fix what they broke.
If Werth hits leadoff and Harper 2nd, where the hell does Span hit? He's a prototypical top of the order guy.
In his return from TJ surgery, Sammy Solis gave up three hits and a walk in a 2 inning stint for Potomac, but allowed no earned runs.
Welcome back, Sammy.
Yeah I really like the opening day lineup. I think it needs a few weeks of consistent play before we write it off.
Harrisburg is only in the 6th inning, but Rick Hague already has two hits.
That means he has seven straight multi-hit games. He has 15 hits in his last 25 at bats.
Dude's on fire.
A third round pick I believe. They've got a few possibilities for second base and UTL other than what you see on the 25-man. Third base is a different story and Zim needs to move soon. There's Matt Skole but he won't be back until next season and I'm not sure you want him at third base.
From MLBTR
"Non-existent" was the word one American League executive used to describe the relief pitching market, writes WEEI's Rob Bradford. Here in May, the market looks short on sellers with quality relief pieces.
Eric.. that McCatty Picture has now burned my Retina's. WaPo has a link to other pics and let's just say, EWWW..(well besides George Brett)
Drew, good news on the Baby Nats!!!
Oh and GYFNG! I want a win tonight!
Nats gotta win the next two or I win my Bens Xhili bowl bet. Of course I sure hope I lose . Go Nats let's try to get a run or two tonight.
You just never know what will happen in a baseball game. I think we have very quickly forgotten that good things can happen, things are streaky. This evening has seemed very long. No live baseball except the evil empire and O's on two channels- blech. Regular show finales are done. My routines are important to me, you know. I am out of my fan rhythm. Come home, Nats!!
Davey Johnson is going to be on Bruce Bochy's staff for the All-Star Game. Accepted his invite. Looking forward to it, he said.
Rendon has 28 walks in 31 games.
Can't wait until he's hitting second in the Nats' order.
Drew.. If Danny doesn't start hitting.... Rendon will be up soon
I am starting to see the handwriting on the wall. And it says- Rendon.
just finished watching little ceasar...
I don't know the geography of SF...I never left my heart or any other organ there.
Just wondering where's Tyler and thought maybe he was tooling around the cove waitin to get a hold of one
Just heard Desi say this is not a game for the mentally weak. Was he talking about us?
Rendon turns 23 on June 6.
At this rate he might be on the move (somewhere) by his birthday.
If Werth hits leadoff and Harper 2nd, where the hell does Span hit? He's a prototypical top of the order guy. May 21, 2013 8:44 PM
Never question the logic of the great and all powerful wizard of nats town...He sees the future
and his name is Danny Rosebaum
Tonight a big win. Harper batting secpnd just like 2012
I am ecstatic just to see Harper IN the lineup- anywhere at all, instead of puking in a trash can, running into a wall or riding the pine. Bubble wrap the guy!!
I left my sinuses in Arizona,
I sent my liver to Pe-ruu,
Left my intestines and kidneys with my uncle in Sidney,
But I'm sendin' my heart to youuuuuuu...
Just wondering where's Tyler and thought maybe he was tooling around the cove waitin to get a hold of one
It would be the closest he's come to a home run ball in quite some time unfortunately.
good stuff, sofa dude!
yeah, sect 222, guess that's another reason Davey suspended the great infielders in the outfield experiment
Ok Stra, your team needs you to step up. Go to frickin work.
Thank George Carlin, jeffwx.
Hey, she's interviewing Nicky on MASN pregame. Looks good.
And speaking of thanks,
HEY STEVE! Thanks in advance for the in-game updates.
Gah, don't like Bryce bunting. But it gets a RISP early.
The sac bunt works!
Love ya Bryce, but that made no sense at all.
Way to go Zim!
Way to go Desi!
Has Espi changed his batting stance?
nope
but he should if he wants to bat cleanup
Good first inning. Tell me again how espi's lack of offense doesn't hurt us? At least we got some solid wood on Cain.
stras you need a lock own inning.
espi 3 swings witout a chance to hit on as far from the ball his bat was.
Imagine he could go 1 for 6 and raise his average.
I thought number 2 batters job is to advance lead off runner.
Has the function changed?
Ok, so let me get this straight FP. The Nats have been horrendous at the plate, one of the worst hitting teams in MLB. So Davey's thinking is that he'll go with his best defensive team, including the embarrassingly bad Espi who can barely get the bat on the ball in order to hopefully squeeze out a few one run victories until the bats wake up.
Ok, gotcha. Who could argue with that strategy?
two
Espi is awful.
Percentage of balls swung at OUTSIDE the zone:
2011 37%
2012 40%
2013 42%
Sandoval can flat out hit.
geeze how can that guy even run
MNF, he's got the third highest SLG in the NL. We just got the leadoff man on in the first inning. And you want to give up an out? He's in a hitter's count. If he gets on base, Zim's double drives in two.
The neighborhood play is a bunch of BS. I can't wait for a camera/sensor system to take over from lazy umpires and get rid of that garbage.
The old neighborhood play.
Our pfielders just out of position last night. Tonight one for 2 in being in position.
Espinosa's foot touched the bag as he was throwing to first. At the very end.
Lots of pitches.
Well we're gonna see Strasburg deal with some adversity early today.
Looked like it touch after ball was released when i ran it back ib slowmotion.
Ge dropped tipped 3rd strike followed by tons of pitches most balls.
Strasburg is all over the mound. He looks like Stu Miller at Candlestick.
Whew!
Now stras is ready.
Good job Stephen.
O....KKKKKKK
had it all the way
Pheeeeeeeew
30 pitches... Ouch.
How is he that fat and that good?
Who knows but he' a World Series MVP for a reason. He can hit.
My goodness another single just in the whole.
Hole
Giants BABIP must be extremely high. That explains all the high batting averages. These aren't hard hit balls.
Team BABIPs. Giants are 4th in MLB, 1st in NL. .311
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2013&month=0&season1=2013&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=12,d
Giants having no trouble seeing SS tonight
Suzuki threw someone out?!
throwing some one out? You kidding?
Not sure he was out but I'll take it
I love span in CF, but if bryce is out there the runner is out
Maybe. Bryce's arm strength was never an issue, but he could throw wildly from time to time.
that was definitely an out and great play by Suzuki and Espi
There's a reason Bryce wasn't swinging away in his first AB -- still seems to be physically constrained from letting loose, which he hasn't done since before the Wall in LA. All he's done when he makes contact is hit weak grounders to second and short. And didn't run hard on his last groundout. Still hurting.
Harper starting to shoe eck fect.
Swinging at a first pitch slider heading for his feet.
Let sliders go.
That's ridiculous MNF. He's hurt. He's not suddenly a different hitter than he was two weeks ago.
C'mon Stras throw strikes make them earn it
Oy... Stras...
Good job Stras.
Injuries wouldnt make you suddenly swing at sliders would it?
Seems if your hurt only swing at fastballs to do otherwise is rediculous.
What is really rediculous is I was being sacastic, you though I meant it.
"All he's done when he makes contact is hit weak grounders to second and short. And didn't run hard on his last groundout. Still hurting."
And hit a 431 foot bomb... ;)
"What is really rediculous is I was being sacastic, you though I meant it."
Hard to imagine why...
Pretty systematic article about Espinosa. Lays out the situation and the options.
Danny Espinosa
http://thenationalsreview.com/2013/05/21/whats-going-on-with-espinosa/
Bunt espi
Nice Espi!
Nice bunt by Danny. Might've been safe.
Good job.
I kind of remember Harper hitting one 432 feer while he was hurt. If he cant hit normal then rest.
Roger needs to knock run in. No k
Getting hit with 3 balls not fun.
OK...ATTACK NATS
Hittable pitch swing and miss
Then crappy swing
He didn't go. Wow.
Another pitiful at bat
ugh! tough call for stephen
I give up. No sense being beat at work to watch this.
Gattis just hit a home run in the 9th to tie the game. Wow.
Ugh... Gattis homer to tie, bottom of the 9th two out.
2nd and 3rd, one out, and we can't hit the ball past the pitcher. Sad. If only the No. 6 hitter was good for something other than a sacrifice bunt.
Espi finally has a good at bats and his teammates can't do their tasks.
Going into the game .227 average. That is not very good is it?
Fortunately BJ Upton struck out. Dodgers two blown saves, and now the Twins blown save.
Brave hitters hit late in the hell of a lot better than we doat any time during the game.
I wish Eck would figure what is wrong with each batter and then fix it. IT IS his job.
.227 just seems impossible for a team to hit that low.
Suzuki throws more like himself tgere.
Wish Stras would quit fallibg behind. Costing him way too many pitches.
ok lets follow this up with some offense.
Lets tack on some runs.
Harper swing like the homer in San Diego.
Pretty systematic article about Espinosa. Lays out the situation and the options.
Pretty much how I see it Natslady although there are guys like Zach Walters who might be tried before Rendon. And there is Ricky Hague, as Drew keeps mentioning, finally past his injuries and hitting next to ex-Rice teammate Anthony Rendon. Lefty Wil Rhymes from William and Mary is also a possibility.
All of which would likely come before they bring Rendon up to play the position.
The best part of the article was the concern that Rendon's past injuries might lead to future injuries playing second base. That's the big no-no right now for anything other than small sample size exposure to second base for Rendon.
We swing at a lot of ball. All three swing were probably balls to Span. Last 2 deffinately.
Cain just threw Span to filthy changeups.
two*
I'll tell you Brian Goodwin is missing out on the golden opportunity. If he were hitting like Rendon right now Davey would definitely want to try him.
MNF, it's not that simple. Those balls were strikes for a long time and then the bottom dropped out. You make hitting sound ridiculously easy. Cain is a great pitcher.
In fact Corey Brown ought to be paying close attention.
Is Corey Brown off the DL now?
I'm glad Harper didn't slide there.
In reading Ted Williams book he says the key to hitting identifying pitches.
If you can hitting is not hard. Hitting with authirity might be
Sliders if look like strikes early are never strikes. The key you need to identify it.
"If you can hitting is not hard."
Minor issue... Who can't ID pitches?
Great inning Strasburg.
nice inning Stras. Looks like he is comfortable for the first time tonight
Pegan pulled off long before the ball was there. The pitch might be good but mis identifying it makes pitcher look super.
Adam Kilgore @AdamKilgoreWP 20s
That last routine play from Desmond reminded me: He hasn't made an error in a month after seven in 18 games.
Braves just walked off. Ugh.
Braves win
That was well inside.
All of which would likely come before they bring Rendon up to play the position.
You really think that Zach Walters, Ricky Hague, and Will Rhymes will get a shot at playing 2B, in the majors, for the Washington Nationals, before Rendon will? Really? Sometimes you are almost a parody of yourself.
This is gonna be a big inning for Strasburg. 3,4,5 coming up.
Hold steady Stras.
Is Corey Brown off the DL now?
Brown is off the DL but Erick Komatsu is on the DL again.
Be interesting to see who they remove for Perez ...
You really think that Zach Walters, Ricky Hague, and Will Rhymes will get a shot at playing 2B, in the majors, for the Washington Nationals, before Rendon will? Really? Sometimes you are almost a parody of yourself.
YES I DO. And you aren't listening to what Davey et al are saying if you believe otherwise. Rendon IS GOING to play third base. And I'll be laughing as you upchuck your succotash when he does. Its going to happen. Mark it on your calendar 222.
The Giants misidentify the change up a lot.
Danny has applied for a copyright on "below the Espinosa Line" soon to be used in MLB.
The ChiSox Dunn may have better chance with his own version, now that he's hitting .100!
YES
Well done Stras!
I believe it when i see things. remember loved lannen next thing you know he is Syracuse So who knows what will happen. rendon wasnt coming up, next thing you know he is up.
Oh I don't know. The Shark is around .120 or so right now.
Dunn is about Done. Unfortunately, I fear Adam might not be far behind.
They may need more Riggleman smartball to get through this season.
Bernadina is in a pretty bad place right now too.
next thing you know he is up.
And exclusively at third base ...
Shark 121
Suzuki swings at one way further then one he took. Couldn't possibly hit it, it was that far out.
peric, believe me, if those three guys all start a regular season game at 2B for the Nats ever, I will upchuck my succotash, or something that I actually eat. I'm not sure that Rendon will play 2B, though I think it would be a very good idea to try him there. I won't be surprised if they decide to keep him at 3B and move Zim to 1B -- in 2015. But I am very sure that those three guys are not all going to get a shot at 2B, any more than Matt Antonelli did.
Corey Brown hit a two-run jack tonight.
Need to get through this inning. Fine recovery tonight.
And by the way, I do listen to Davey et al, and I don't think he's ever said a word about Ricky Hague or Will Rhymes being a future Nats 2B. You're living in a dream world if you think those guys will get a chance this year to fill the black hole now occupied by Espi.
I know you're convinced that Rendon is going to play 3B and 3B only. You may be right about that. The problem is that that position is occupied by someone who can hit. 2B is not. So unless they want to keep Rendon in the minors for another year after this one, which would be foolish, they've got to find another position for him.
Wow. Stras!
OK...HOLD FOR STRAS!
Way to go, Denard!
Score here. I can't watch Clip in a 2-1 game.
Come on, Nats! Let's get some insurance runs! Nice hit, Denard!
Nice standup slide by Span. Can he give Zim lessons on how to do that?
Rendon should be third, but that won't happen this year. No idea where to put him. Can Dez play 2nd?
I hope we never see that again FP. For goodness sakes. And now our hottest hitter gets an IBB. Ridiculous.
The only argument for doing that is that he can't hit Lopez. But ALR has trouble with him too.
LaRoche sac bunt...
And Zim is struggling to play third. His bat will move to first base. Its almost a bygone conclusion given his arm issues ...
And please, LaRoche is still batting around .220 something? And still leads the team in K's (not Espinosa). And is going to be 34 next season.
Just for the record peric, your fabulous threesome of 2B prospects is Walters, Hague, and Rhymes. We've got that on videotape. I don't dispute that Kobernus might get a callup, though I don't expect to see him before September.
LaRoche strikeout ...
Our Risp the past month is simply no good.
Great, just great. Give away an out so that ALR can bat against the unhittable lefty. Thanks Davey.
At least he didn't ground into a DP.
"The strike zone has been floating all night."
Couldn't agree more.
ALR nearing 50 K.
OK Desi...
Just for the record peric, your fabulous threesome of 2B prospects is Walters, Hague, and Rhymes. We've got that on videotape.
You're so friggin' full of yourself dude. Hey Mark and Chase why don't you shut this guy down the way you did this weekend huh?
Dude I am repeating what the depth chart says. Rendon isn't on it at second he's behind multiple others. That is the way it is. You'll just have accept it and stop acting like a damned petulant child.
didnt Span get a double against the unhittable lefty?
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