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USA Today Sports Images Gio Gonzalez allowed two runs to earn his first win since May 5. |
Hitting highlight: How rare was the Nationals' five-run explosion in the bottom of the third? Well, it was only the third time all season they scored that many runs in one inning. And it featured another true rarity: a three-run homer. LaRoche's blast to left-center was only the seventh three-run shot hit by the Nationals this season (plus Ian Desmond's grand slam last week in Philly). It was a much-needed outburst for a Nats lineup that went into this game without Zimmerman (who got the night off to rest his barking right shoulder) and had a gimpy Werth in right field. Werth, who came out of Sunday's game early with a pulled groin, did reach base four times, an impressive feat. On the bases and in the field, though, he still didn't look 100 percent.
Pitching highlight: Gonzalez has pitched better than this over the last six weeks, but he certainly hadn't gotten this kind of run support. So a few hiccups tonight were no big deal for the lefty, who was thrilled to get six runs from his teammates to provide some cushion. Gonzalez did dominate early, getting some big strikeouts on both his curveball and changeup. He carried a shutout into the sixth, but then faded quick. Four straight Diamondbacks recorded hits, and suddenly Tyler Clippard was warming in the bullpen. Davey Johnson let Gio pitch his way out of that jam, and at 91 pitches, you figured maybe his night was over. But Davey then let Gonzalez hit for himself and re-take the mound for the seventh. That experiment only lasted two batters, with Capt. Hook finally making an appearance and summoning for Drew Storen. No worries, Gio still pitched well enough to earn the win, incredibly his first since May 5 despite a 2.25 ERA in nine starts since then.
Key stat: Twenty-four of Anthony Rendon's 32 hits in the big leagues have been to center or right fields.
Up next: The series continues at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday when Jordan Zimmermann seeks his league-leading 11th win against lefty Wade Miley.
151 comments:
Soriano must not believe in 1-2-3 innings.
Whew.... Man, my heart can't take wins like this.... But totally glad for the win!!!
Can't wait for Harp to get back....
Way to kick the series off, on a good note... Happy for Gio to get a well deserved win too!
Cahill was the worst of the trio we will face. Doesn't get easier.
Wow, Werth talks like he's already the manager of this team. "I'd like to see Gio go deeper in the game...." I'm telling you---!
Werth "I'd like to see Gio go deeper in the game"
I wonder NL, if they are saying the same thing about Gio being the worst of who they face...
But I was sitting here thinking, wow Werth... Look at you... But I also was hoping ago could have completed the 7th, but alas the BP did its job and we got the win....
Gio is definitely the worst they're going to face---and that's saying something.
I could be wrong, I believe that Maalox is produce by the Soriano family.
LOL, MrsB, that could be! Gio did OK, though. I wish Davey wouldn't have left him in for the 7th, but that's Davey. He's done it a thousand times. Every reliever gave up a run--so glad we had seven on our side. :)
I know, I had the same reaction about Werth saying that. I didn't think it was kosher for a ballplayer to say that about one of their own.
Colorado is getting plastered by Boston. We softened 'em up for the Red Sox--you're welcome. Atlanta got a run, it's 4-3.
I know, I had the same reaction about Werth saying that. I didn't think it was kosher for a ballplayer to say that about one of their own.
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Did he volunteer it or was he responding honestly to a question?
WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO! Thank God!
Nationals home scorer really bites. Span deserved a hit on that play in the 8th. Rendon did not deserve an error on the hard hit grounder. Maybe a new scorer is needed. This guy apparently never played the game.
Gio #EatFace
Davey says he'll have zimm tomorrow...is Tracy DFA when Harper returns
Hopefully we will give Jordan some runs tomorrow... The D-bags are a hitting team... 14 hits... Gio was awesome for the most part but, wow, can that team hit....
JaneB, I'm not 100% certain--who could be?--but I wouldn't be surprised if that's our player manager. When? Probably depends on his ability to stay on the playing field full-time. If he can't, I don't see him sitting idly on the bench.
Man, looking back now. Two key plays in this game:
The bonus run because of the error on Span's grounder
and
Span throwing the runner out at home.
That's the margin of victory right there. You could say Span won the game for us in a sense even though he didn't have a great offensive night.
I doubt it Jeff... I think Marerro goes back down...
Wonder if we see Moore in LF and Shark in RF tomorrow... Jayson looked gimpy in the OF today....
Doubt Werth is out of the lineup after he goes 2/2 with a double, RBI and 2 walks. He wasn't running well, but he was doing well enough if his legs are gimpy. Maybe play him in LF?
Gio is a class act in the post game. Props to everyone else on the team.
The girl asked Werth about his night, and he deferred to LaRoche having the "big hit." Then he said the bullpen came in and nailed it down. The girl asked him what he thought of Gio, and that's when he said he wished Gio could have gone deeper in the game, but the bullpen came in and did their job. Then he said Gio did fine.
Redsox can hit...5.05 R/G is tops in the majors and .270 BA at sea level.
I give Span credit for two hits and an excellent defensive play. Harper still had a higher defensive war and should be in center but there is no reason why Span can't learn to play left or right, which are trickier from park to park.
Sori is the iceman.
And that girl is a fine young lady, Nats Lady
#Eat Face #EatPapaJohns
I'm sorry, I don't remember her name. I usually cut the TV off for the post-game stuff.
Pheeeeeeeeeeeeew!
I hope that's the low water mark for Rendon in the field. Poor guy looked devastated. Really glad it never got tied up or worse.
Phenomenal night on offense and on D for the most part. I find it hard to be too annoyed with the BP; the Dbacks were hitting well all night and it was only a matter of time before they strung some together. Still... Wow... I was REALLY pulling for Gio. Really glad we pulled this one out.
Julie Alexandria. First sae her in the rounds of 64 and 32 of March madnesd
Well, I had reservations about Rendon's call-up because of the D, but he is certainly making up for it with his offense, and offense is what we need right now.
Nationals home scorer really bites. Span deserved a hit on that play in the 8th. Rendon did not deserve an error on the hard hit grounder. Maybe a new scorer is needed. This guy apparently never played the game.
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I disagree with you on both calls. I'm pulling for Span, but no way that was a hit. IMHO, Rendon's error was a routine out. E-4 all the way.
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MrsB loves the Nats said...
I doubt it Jeff... I think Marerro goes back down...
Wonder if we see Moore in LF and Shark in RF tomorrow... Jayson looked gimpy in the OF today....
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Bite your tongue, Mrs. b!
Once again, great start to a series. Now step on their throats.
No more moral victories, just real victories.
William O. Douglas Loeffler said...
Nationals home scorer really bites. Span deserved a hit on that play in the 8th. Rendon did not deserve an error on the hard hit grounder. Maybe a new scorer is needed. This guy apparently never played the game.
WODL, respectfully disagree on both. I went back & looked at both...hard ground ball to Rendon but should have had it no problem...Span's hit to 1b, good toss to the pitcher has him easy.
"Rendon did not deserve an error on the hard hit grounder."
I disagree on that... But if a replay is available I would be curious to see it again. As I recall, he was basically squared up on it, though.
Brilliant comments from last thread:
Secret wasian man said...
Chad Tracy???? Geesh Davey just throw in the white flag already.
ExposedinDC said...
Nice to see Davey in "we got plenty of time" why panic mode.
Rabbit34 said...
Putrid lineup. This game is definitely going to the dogs.
Yo. Dude. Bark, bark, man.
Stupid Royals who can't even get Heyward out. Oh, wait, we can't either.....
Span deserved a hit on that play in the 8th
I dunno. Span was pulling up, and would have been out by at least a step had the pitcher caught it.
My issue with Rendon's play was that I thought he was little lackadaisical getting to the ball after he booted it. I don't think he expected the runner to be sent and then when he got to it, it was too late for a play. I'd have to rewatch it to see, but that was my initial impression. Does anyone agree/disagree?
Agreed that Span reached on an error in the 8th, too. Fast-paced play, but nothing extraordinary, at least for the MLB.
Let''s go out early and let me hit you guys a few scorching grounders that bounce off pebbles up towards your neck. Then I will hit a ball all the way in rightfield over near the stands where you have to run 100 yards just to get there and then give you an error for every one in the air you get to but fail to catch.
The guy is an ass.
NatsLady,I'm not a big fan of WAR, but does Span's ROE and run scored on the error get taken into account when accumulating stats regarding WAR?
But, errors are another phony stat anyway, like saves, so I expect the home scorer to not be unbiased to the home team since such statistics are garbage to begin with.
Does Rendon hit even better in front of Harper, if that is possible
Lol JoeS... I hope I'm wrong too...
I'm cracking up laughing at NL calling Julie - that girl... Lol...
Does Harper hit even better with more runners on base in front of him
WODL at 1049...what???
Why is that funny ?
I'm definitely psyched to see Rendon and Harper hitting back to back.
She doesn't look like Marlo Thomas ? I'm a bit sensitive since I have a daughter near Julie's age.
I believe it is, but I'm not 100% certain. His throw is certainly included in his WAR. Usually, the ROE would be subtracted from the person who made the error and added to Span's but if the person doing the evaluation concludes that Span's base-running was "average" then it wouldn't make a difference.
If the person evaluating the base-running concludes that he took an EXTRA base (in other words, he made it into a two-base error) then he would get credit in the base-running component of WAR.
WODL, your examples weren't relevant on either play,in my opinion. I do hate to see an OFer charged with an error when he covers a mile of green and has a ball go off the tip of his glove. I watched the replay again on Anthony's error. It was a play that must be made.
We have to agree to disagree.
Washington's official scorer(s) have not been very sympathetic to our players lately. And as I said, errors is a garbage stat to begin with. Half the time a ball that goes by LaRoche, say, is half the thrower's fault and half LaRoche's fault for not scooping it up, but baseball's rules don't allow for shared errors, which a huge percentage of throwing errors end up being.
It is good WAR is so arbitrary, lest we become too fond of it (borrowed from R.E. Lee at Fredericksburg)
Kimbrel walked the leadoff hitter. None out.
Yeah, Lombo letting balls bounce in front of him in the outfield are plays that must be made but he comes off scot-free by the scorer. The official error rules are garbage as are the save rules, and everyone knows it. Given that the rules are hopeless, a decent scorer does not try to call errors just for the sake of calling errors.
First and 3rd 0 out.
Oh, so now we are going to break out the intellectual quotes? Ok, but only after wins.
1st and 3rd, nobody out in KC against Kimbrell
I don't mind player WAR, but pitcher WAR drives me crazy because a pitcher can give up 10 hits and the 10 hits can become 5 runs, but if he strikes out a bunch of guys and doesn't give up home runs, he gets a good score.
William O. Douglas Loeffler said...
But, errors are another phony stat anyway, like saves, so I expect the home scorer to not be unbiased to the home team since such statistics are garbage to begin with.
just saw this, WODL so maybe I am missing your point but sorry, Rendon deserved an E and Span's "hit" was no such thing ...clear E by the pitcher not catching the ball tossed by the 1B.
not sure how to respond to your post above other than to say errors are not a phony stat & neither are saves...wow!
Whoa Rotals men on corners none out...!
Third battertakes 2 and strikes out swinging.
Great gives yoursel 1 chance against Kimbrel
Come ON, Kansas City--situational hitting!!! Please?
Phil Wood making the point that Nats fans lack perspective that other baseball cities have and he is dead on. The Nats are doing well considering the injuries and strength of schedule. Stay .500 and have two six game winning streaks and you are an 87 game winner, which might do it in the NL Least.
I've never seen Kimbrell's face so red...either really mad, really embarrassed or really intoxicated ?
Royals swing at fast balls over the middle.
Any team can get a player in from 3rd with no outs....
".clear E by the pitcher not catching the ball tossed by the 1B."
Wait, was the error in the missed catch? I would've charged the throw. But, regardless, decent MLB fielding gets Span out.
To err is human, WODL, but to bat over .330 is divine
Steal 2nd and 3rd and a second k.
Best pitch batter watched.
Next Royal strikes out looking. Are you kidding me.
Come on Royals.... Really...
Kimbrel's face is always like that. I always think he's about to explode. Sheesh another strikwout?!
But what about Span's RGIII-like gait that made the Backs hurry. What makes that an error rather than a hit. It is all perceptual.
Unh William... Phil making that point? What... How many times have you seen most of us say 'we are glad we are around 500 especially missing the bats and having the other issues....'
We say this all the time... So idk what P Wood is talking about...
Intentional walk.bases loaded
Wow bases loaded...Kimbrel expecting a ball in play?
People on here every day say that the season is over. Some of it is probably tongue in cheek.
PPPPPop up. P--------oooooooop.
Game over, Braces hold on
Royals and Nats both need to work on what to do with a runner on 3rd and no outs.
Booooooo. George Brett have them hit like you not like that.
I
Hate
First
Pitch
Swinging
But I'm glad to see the Nats aren't the only ones....
Yeah...it seems unusually shiny tonight...maybe he really will explode or get a BS...nope
Royals good for nothing.
The Braves are not a good team. The Nats are shooting to finish 12 games over .500. That should do it in the NL Least.
Kimbrel good for something
Royals aiming for a winning season sometime around 2022. Kansas versus Georgia is sort of like blank against blank..... Georgia started out as a penal colony under the British and then things went downhill from there. Kansas had Wilt Chamberlain on their team for 2 years and somehow managed to win 0 National titles and that was pretty much the highlight of their state's history.
ok, you guys made me watch it again...fielded by 1b, pitcher runs to cover and ball thrown behind pitcher but pitcher should have caught it even tho behind him and he steps on bag way before Span so would have been out...now that i see it for the 10th time, E to pitcher - not that difficult a catch.
Would catching it have slowed him down getting to the bag?
Yes, but imagine a really slow but deliberate perfect throw that Span barely beats out. That is scored a hit every time. It is all garbage but why is our official scorer out to make things worse for our guys than they are. Rendon is likely to make enough errors on his on without the guy upstairs sticking it to him every time possible. Ryan Zimmerman doesn't even bother to dive for balls and the scorer mindlessly marks them hits.
Think beyond the box, Mr. scorer, and justify your paycheck.
Kansas is Bleeding, WODL
I've got Georgia on my mind.
Paula Dean to host Conservative Cooking with the Cubs on Fox
Chris Davis has a chance to beat Roger Maris's home run record.
Kansas City has just as many titles as the Braves, lol, although the corrupt politicians in Topeka had to pay off an umpire to get it....
Too late, steroid modified ballplayers already did it in less than 162 games...How many asterisks do they use for MaGuire and Bonds records.
Players should never swing at the first pitch unless it is a strike.
Eric said...
Would catching it have slowed him down getting to the bag?
No.
Heh... just tried to watch it and it skips from Span making contact directly to Lombo scoring.
I did watch the Rendon error again and still think it was scored correctly. It was hot, but he was there pretty easily, and there wasn't any kind of obvious crazy bounce... just dribbled through. Definitely seemed like his standard rush job. The types of errors he makes still leave me thinking he'll get there... Still hope this is the worst timing we'all see for him making one, though.
Of course it would have, but not very much.
Before Atlanta, there was Warren Spahn and Milwaukee, before there was Milwaukee, there was the Boston Braves (and Americans), how many titles do the Braves have since their inception in 1876
Nice 0-2 pitch by KC to Heyward, Next time, that pitcher should just run the ball out to the outfield stands himself.
The Braves won in 1914, 1957 and then in 1995, I think. They lost in 1948 to the Indians, and then a slew of other times in Atlanta.
But the real record still belongs to Hank Aarron, with two AAs, he will always be the first name in Baseball
"How many asterisks do they use for MaGuire and Bonds records."
Not enough if there are still enough letters and numbers to know who and how many.
Also, they lost in 1958 to the Yanks. Their 1957-58 seasons were similar to the Nats' 1924-25 seasons, very close to back to back and just as close to losing both.
Unfortunately no. David Aardsman is first.
Thuhhhhh Yankeess Winnn! Thuhhhhh Yankeees Winnnn!. Corniest call in baseball by John Sterling and I love it every time he does it.
Why do we continue to ignore their Beaneater heritage and their 1892 title against the Spiders.
They won 5 games to ensure that future generations would take Kid Nicols team seriously.
I always approved of the asterisk. I always thought that Maris was a moper for complaining about that. In my mind, he had the 162 game record. It doesn't seem that hard to have two sets of records. Ichiro did not break George Sisler's record for hits in a season in 154 games, so in my mind they both have a separate record.
Baseball keeps records of everything but all of sudden they claim they can't keep pre-60/61 year records separate because .... No one knows exactly.
David Aardsman...how many hrs did he hit ?
UCLA wins CWS.
You got me there Jeff. There is only one pre-1903 team that has my respect and it was the Baltimore Nationals who had the greatest philosopher in the history of sports on their team, Willie Keeler.
Don't know but he broke Hank Aaron's record for alphabetical order....
Maris complained about cheaters going in the official books as beating his record?
WODL, Phil Woods laughed at me, in person, last year when at the very beginning of the season I told him outside the stadium that my predictions made on this blog were that the Phillies wouldn't be a factor, the Nats would win the NL East, and Davey would be the NL Manager of the Year. He said that no way would the national media support Johnson.He also said that there was no way Davey would manage after the 2012 season. Phil is a great historian, but as to current events, and to future events, he is no better than many on this board. BTW, my mantra all year has been, "Relax. we got this. You'll see."
Marquis has turned back into Marquis... Not that worried about the Fillies, even Cholly doesn't believe in them.
So does Ruth still hold the career HR record since he did it all in 154 game seasons ?
And Ty Cobb, the career hits record
And I already predicted that Rendon would break Sislers consecutive games hit record. A record that many say even today will never be broken.
He's just a man and not a freak, Amazing Anthony Rendon.
No, there was a backlash against Ford Frick for being mean to the mediocre Maris and stating the obvious. Maris hit 59 homers in 154 games and that was with the incredible Mickey Mantle hitting behind him. Just imagine if Babe had someone of that caliber hitting behind him....
Ahh Wee Willie Keeler, The hit em where they ain't philosophy has stood the test of time, but why do so few follow such a simple paradigm
Well, Larapin Lou Gehrig was no Wally Pipp, you know
Career records are less impacted by season length. I guess you could argue about off season aging.
Don't forget the part about "keep your eye clear."-- that part was just as good. You are butchering his verse....
Maybe because he went to the upstart league and played for the Yankees (nix Highlanders in Hilltop Park)
Ruth hit 54 homers and 59 homers in separate season before that Gehrig fellow you mention, but I will look him up.
I don't know keep your eye clear. I will look it up. I have no intention to butcher the Great Keeler or his brother little poison, Paul Waner.
Funniest/saddiest thing Babe ever said, paraphrase:
Asked by a reporter why he didn't emulate Gehrig and try to play every game of the season, Ruth responded,
That guys is nuts. Sure it seems good now and you fellows all praise him but when his legs go, they are going to go all at once.....
"why do so few follow such a simple paradigm"
Maybe because no one holds the bat like this anymore ;)
Yeah, but he built the house that he hit in with the friendly LF porch. He also hit a lot of hot dogs. I would have loved to meet Babe Ruth and Rube Waddell.
Babe Ruth had a perfect game as a Yankees pitcher, 5-0. You can look it up.
Gehrig's 23 grand slams are in danger if A-Rod comes back.
Well Eric, the bats were heavier back then and ballplayers were wee-er ;)
Walk A-Rod every single time that he comes up with the bases loaded, just like NL'er's should have walked Bonds every single time.
Wait, that wasn't with the sox ??
A-Rod has what 18
Players are too wimpy to choke up now. It is like Shaq refusing to shoot free throws underhanded, even though Wilt tried it (unsuccessfully, but still).
Puig homers.
A-rod has 23 I think
Great history tonight, thanks all...but it's near midnight and I need to go to bed or my girlfriend will think I might have a girlfriend like Moonlight Graham
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/sports/baseball/rodriguez-matches-gehrig-with-23-grand-slams-in-yanks-win-over-braves.html
Moonlight Graham is my second favorite player after Keeler.
William O. Douglas Loeffler said...
Babe Ruth had a perfect game as a Yankees pitcher, 5-0. You can look it up.
Are you talking about the game where Ruth walked the leadoff batter, then got thrown out for arguing the call? (Actually, he not only argued the call, he threw some punches at the ump, and hit him with at least one).
Enrie Shore then came in in relief, the runner got caught stealing, and then he retired the next 26 batters.
I mistyped. He had a perfect record as a pitcher for the Yankees. You are right to remember the other anecdote from his days in Boston, however.
NatsLady said...
Cahill was the worst of the trio we will face. Doesn't get easier.
David Proctor said...
Gio is definitely the worst they're going to face---and that's saying something.
June 25, 2013 10:25 PM
_______________________________________
David Proctor with the post of the night. I also think Corbin won't do well against the Nats.
Fun game. We hung out too long and got caught in that nasty storm on the way home. Fun game and the untucker made that 9th a maalox inning.
Whoa, I had no idea Moonlight Graham was a real person. Cool little story that somehow illustrates what's so endearing about baseball.
The story of Ty Cobb happening into Shoeless Joe's store is another one. Kinda tugs at the ol' heart strings.
Zach Wheeler gave up 4 earned in 5.1 innings, including a WP, a HBP, 3 walks and a HR. Maybe he's not Matt Harvey II--yet.
Werth said "I wish Gio had gone longer"
Agree.
Gio gives Det major "Cred"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Graham
Yeah I saw that... Sounds like a very stand up guy...
Definitely a nail-biter towards the end, but it was nice to see our baserunners crossing the final frontier.
The cat must have picked up on my nervousness in the 9th, although I wasn't saying anything. He was on the couch sleeping at my side but was restless and squirmy. When the final out was made, he relaxed and curled up into a little sleep ball. Then I'm like "Okay, let's go upstairs to bed." and he's like "D'oh!"
Half-price Papa John's, too. Niiice.
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