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| Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER |
His team having won three straight at home against the Mets, Davey Johnson is sticking with the same lineup tonight against Anibal Sanchez. There is, of course, one twist: Since we're in an American League park, the DH is in effect. So tonight it'll be Chad Tracy, batting ninth behind all the other regulars.
Updates to come, please check back...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Comerica Park
Gametime: 7:08 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 179
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, Wind 5 mph in from LF
NATIONALS (52-54)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
CF Denard Span
C Wilson Ramos
DH Chad Tracy
(RHP Stephen Strasburg)
TIGERS (59-45)
CF Austin Jackson
RF Torii Hunter
3B Miguel Cabrera
1B Prince Fielder
DH Victor Martinez
SS Jhonny Peralta
LF Andy Dirks
C Alex Avila
2B Ramon Santiago
(RHP Anibal Sanchez)
UMPIRES
HP Larry Vanover
1B Brian Gorman (cc)
2B Manny Gonzalez
3B Tony Randazzo
7:08 p.m. — And we're underway with a strike from Anibal Sanchez to Bryce Harper. A gorgeous, 73-degree evening in late July. Can't complain about that.
7:19 p.m. — And the Nats jump right on the board, thanks to a leadoff triple from Harper. Actually, Harper came within a couple of inches of a home run, striking the top of the wall down in the right-field corner, the ball caroming way back toward center field. He raced around, helmet-less, and cruised into third base, putting the Nats in business early. Ryan Zimmerman then delivered an RBI single up the middle, putting the Nats up 1-0 as Stephen Strasburg takes the mound.
7:30 p.m. — Strasburg got himself into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the first, though he's certainly not the first pitcher to put Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder on base back-to-back. Truth be told, he was probably fortunate to hold Cabrera to a sharp single up the middle on a 2-0 fastball right down Broadway. But after that hit and a walk to Fielder, Strasburg got Victor Martinez to line out to center, ending the inning and preserving the Nats' 1-0 lead after one.
7:39 p.m. — It took Strasburg only seven pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the second. Good stuff there, including a strikeout of Jhonny Peralta. Still 1-0 heading to the third.
8:12 p.m. — Four innings in the books now, but the game is tied 1-1. The Tigers strung together a couple of two-outs hits off Strasburg in the bottom of the fourth, with Andy Dirks' double just inside the third-base line bringing home Fielder with Detroit' first run of the night. The Tigers actually wanted another, but the ball was touched by a fan, so Peralta was forced to go back to third base. Strasburg then escaped the jam by getting Alex Avila to fly out. So it's 1-1 as we move to the fifth.
8:26 p.m. — Strasburg cruises through the fifth. He's thrown only 59 pitches (40 strikes), as efficient as you'll ever see him. Looks like the Tigers are trying to be aggressive against him, and it's not necessarily working. Still 1-1 moving to the sixth.
8:36 p.m. — Meanwhile, the Nats haven't been able to make another dent into Sanchez since the top of the first. They got a couple of men on base in the sixth, with an Adam LaRoche, one-out double and an Ian Desmond, two-out walk. But Denard Span grounded out to end the inning, so this remains a 1-1 pitchers' duel, with no margin for error for Strasburg.
8:52 p.m. — So much for that pitchers' duel. Strasburg put himself in a real pickle in the bottom of the sixth and couldn't get out if it. Fielder laced a one-out single, Martinez followed with a double and then Peralta drew a walk to load the bases. Strasburg came up big-time to strike out Dirks on a 3-2 curveball, but he couldn't finish. Avila crushed a 2-1 fastball down and in, sending the ball flying to the right-field bleachers. Grand slam, and incredibly the first homer Strasburg has ever given up with more than one man on base. Just like that, the Nats trail 5-1 after six.
9:02 p.m. — A spectacular play by Zimmerman to rob Cabrera of extra bases and end the seventh inning, but it's not going to mean much if the Nats don't do something at the plate, and soon. They're down to their final six outs, though they've knocked Sanchez from the game. It'll be Jose Veras (just acquired from Houston) in from the bullpen for the eighth, the Nats still down by 4.
9:13 p.m. — And a 1-2-3 eighth against Veras. So now the Nats are down to their last three outs. Not looking good.
9:31 p.m. — It's over. Nats lose 5-1. The 3-game winning streak ends. And with the Braves up big late against the Rockies, the Nats are on the verge of falling 10 games back in the NL East.
228 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 228 of 228 Newer› Newest»When you gotta bucke down and win that big AB, the hitter always gets him Shame. I'm goin to bed
Season over
I will make that judgement at the end of hos career.
Rendon is hitting it hard but still right at people.
Good teams don't fall behind by ten games. But as the season has shown, the Nats are not exactly a good team. A lot of NL teams have passed them by. Rizzo and Davey had a terrible winter. It appears that Rizzo may not be the great judge of talent that people thought him to be. Oh well. There's always next year. This year? Atlanta has a far easier schedule left than the Nats. The Nats are already through their cream puff schedule. And they did not do well. A flawed, less than stellar team that is moving backwards. Thanks Rizzo!
You always remember non success. I remember tge successes, and that is much more fun.
Rendon "just BANGED IT" to the shortstop. C'mon Carp, PLEASE.
True, we remember the bad times better...in our DNA
3 for first 5.
Only 2 hits in last 7 innings.
Almazar. Well spoken. And like the masochist I am I will tune in tommor. Fortunately most of it will be on the radio
Sanchez must be 100-0 against the Nats
lot of empty stares in the visitors dugout...biggest problem we have other than our offense...only 54 games to go and we will be 10 games back...#Fme.
gonna have to do better than that to make it to NY, but if you can make it there...
When the night is over, the Nats will be 10 games behind the Braves. Time to sell!
feels like this is the night I gave up on this season
Go Nats
The question is, will fans continue to flock to Nats Park knowing that the team is a big collection of underachieving, uneventful players destined to bring the excitement level of a lobotomy?
Funny how Almazar and his ilk weren't around Sunday. Or Saturday. Or Friday.
Pathetic.
Not every night is a time for comments. Teams who want to improve should address comments, good and bad. I've said some good things about the Nats, but this year, every time I pay attention to them, the seem to be doing badly. It's great that they beat a bad team. Now let's see them beat a good one.
David Proctor said...
Funny how Almazar and his ilk weren't around Sunday. Or Saturday. Or Friday.
Pathetic.
ditto DP, move on Almazar, heard it before.
Well the Nationals did sweep the Tigers earlier this year. I didn't see you around then either.
I don't understand why it is pathetic at all. Why should they show up when the team is winning when so many of the peace and love people claim that it harshes their win buzz? Let Almazar post and stop trying to stifle people like. All of the pollyannas on here seem to think that they own the site.
The most annoying comments on the site are invariably those made by the pollyannas shouting down anyone who doesn't agree with them....
Denard Span did get a hit in the 9th inning. I realize that we are all supposed to come on here whenever Span does something good, so let the record reflect that Span got a hit in the 9th.
You keep,rolling almazar. These people are just as disgusted about this team as the rest of us. But they would rather belly ache about us instead. A lot of us here knew what this team was in May. We were right, they were wrong and they are not man enough to admit it. I wish I had been wrong.
Criticism, when taken the right way, can lead to better things in the future, if you learn from them. The Nats have lost a lot of games this year, and I know I haven't posted after every loss. Too many other things to do. This was a year of great expectations, mostly, if not all unmet. If the casual fan (that's me, I am not a die hard baseball fan, but if you love the game that's great) is derided for expecting a certain level of competitiveness in the team, then there is really not much to beckon the casual fan from becoming a die hard one. And as with most enterprises, the team needs a mix of die hard and casual fans to succeed. So basically, expressing disappointment is a source of great disdain for the die hard fans out there.
WODL, good to see you have returned, have missed your insight, whether I agree or disagree with it, I always read your posts (unless of course you go beyond 2 paragraphs)
We aren't going to win every night although it sure seems we have to.
I learn a lot reading here every day, even though some days I may not post. I am very interested in what many on here know about the minors, the business side of things and sabermetrics, and also the past history of DC baseball.
It's just too bad they're not very good. In the most simplest of terms. I wish they were good, but they're not. The players all keep telling themselves they have a great team (and they should). On the other hand, the Skins also thought they were a good team (when Zorn was coaching). It's entirely conceivable that this was just a dumb luck year, that the players who comprise this collective are collectively much better than what they have shown. It is also possible that they did well last year because other people had off years. We will find out the extent of Rizzo's baseball acumen when we see him act on the failure of this season. Yes, the Nats can rebound next year. It is also possible, that the best has come and gone. We shall see.
Detroit is a broke and broken down city that is waiting to be saved by DC.
41,000 fans on a Tuesday night? That's the definition of pathetic. Nothing better to do in that wasteland.
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