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| Photo by USA Today |
The Royals have lost five straight games heading into the series, but remain seven games out of the AL Wild Card. This series could, in fact, be the last between the Nats and a team with something to fight for until the second half of September. At 64-62, Kansas City is the only team currently with a winning record the Nats play until they host Atlanta beginning Sept. 16.
Gio Gonzalez (7-6. 3.38) takes the mound for Washington with seven starts against the Royals under his belt. He used to battle them as an American League pitcher and hasn't had a great history. Through 36 1/3 total innings vs. the Royals he holds a 6.44 ERA, 20 walks and seven homers allowed.
Fellow lefty Bruce Chen (5-1, 2.20) will pitch for Kansas City and make his 13th start against the Nationals. Through 12 outings he is 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA with eight home runs given up in 38 1/3 innings. Chen last faced Washington on June 21 in 2010 and went six innings with two runs surrendered.
Denard Span, in particular, has had great success off Chen in his career. Through 21 plate appearances, Span is batting .313 with four walks and two RBI.
Enjoy the game...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN 2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 185
Weather: Mostly sunny, 88 degrees, Wind 10 mph in from LF
NATIONALS (63-64)
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Bryce Harper
DH Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
C Wilson Ramos
1B Adam LaRoche
LF Tyler Moore
2B Anthony Rendon
LHP Gio Gonzalez
ROYALS (64-62)
LF Alex Gordon
1B Eric Hosmer
C Salvador Perez
DH Billy Butler
RF Justin Maxwell
CF Emilio Bonifacio
SS Alcides Escobar
2B Chris Getz
3B Jamey Carroll
LHP Bruce Chen
UMPIRES
TBA
327 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 327 Newer› Newest»DeJesus batting 7th tonight.
For who? :-)
Poor guy must have nightmares about showing up in the wrong uniform.
I hope Gio has his wits about him tonight. He has lost two buddies in the last 24 hours so he may be sad. I hear the Royals are having difficulty scoring with risp. 0-0 , 16 innings?
Jim Bowden tweeted that the Nats got a LHP prospect. We will see if he is right.
swami, lets hope we're not their cure this series.
Well, Sonny, we sure have been the cure for some struggling pitchers.
We need to keep building our minor leagues so we can always deal from a position of strength. Our minor league players have been useful to the major league club, but we keep running a little thin in certain positions. I'll be glad when we build our system as good as the Rays have.
Struggling pitchers--yeah, such as Freddy Garcia. How we lost to him I'll never know. He's going to Atlanta for "cash considerations."
And if you have lots of good minor league pitching you can use it to buy good players in trades.
Marc Topkin (TB Times) reporting on his tweeter than the Nats got a list of about 5 players they could choose from. Better than the $49.99 MLB voucher they gave to the Cubs!
Topkin's Tweeter
Yawn, that's another DVR game for me given the start time. Here's hoping for a happy game results email tomorrow. Go, GIO!! Go, NATS!!
Tyler Moore to DH tonight?? Makes sense, since fielding is not his forte. Since Span has had success against Chen, let's assume he stays in the lineup. Maybe Moore at 1B for ALR then?
Moore @ 1B w/ Hairston at DH, that is...
In case you have not been watching closely, Tyler Moore plays first base very well. No, not the outfield, not trained. No not veteran gold glove like ALR, but quite well. I think the whole idea of him being weak defensively stems from him being stuck in the outfield. Have you been watching him play first? Nice stretch, picks it nicely.
I think Werth should DH. Save some wear and tear on the battered body while still hitting. Hairston does ok in the OF.
I disagree that Moore plays 1B nicely. He has no range at all and he's less than stellar picking it. I mean, he's okay there. You can put him there. But he's not good.
Nationals PR @NationalsPR 41s
Davey's Lineup, Fri @ KCR/G128: Span cf, Zimmerman 3b, Harper rf, Werth DH, Desmond ss, Ramos c, LaRoche 1b, Moore lf, Rendon 2b. GioG lhp.
Seems like a decent lineup, although I'm not thrilled about Moore in LF.
Kaching!! Werth DH. But Tyler in left is no bueno. David-- think you are just spoiled by Adam. Our previous first basemen include Morse and Dunn. First basemen usually play there for a reason-- coming up they did not have the range for the rest of the infield, or the speed for the outfield. Kind of the DH position for the NL. But I have seen Tyler make some fine plays over there. He is better there than he is given credit for.
Ole Boy, Harper in RF! I hope the curse doesn't catch him again. He hasn't been in RF for ages. That's where he has gotten hurt twice. I hope things don't happen in threes'.
Oh, Bryce is just sooooooo much more mature now.
DP
U R wrong about tymo at first . His range is better than alr and he's made a bunch of stellar plays. His bat is hot.
Re: other thread.
- trade alr
- trade span
Need hi avg n power in both those positions.
As I thought, Werth at DH.
Former Nats on the Royals-- JMax and Bonifacio? I know absolutely nothing about this team. I am not a fan of the AL, and they are not shoved down our throats like some of the AL teams are. In the dark.
Alex Gordon is their best player. We need to watch out for him. Hosmer has been hot lately. Butler is hit or miss.
The Royals have a great hitting (mediocre glove) infield prospect in Johnny Giavotella. But his development has been jerked around by management. They told him that 2nd base was his on July 1 for the rest of the year. Then demoted him on July 18. They should trade him. He needs to start somewhere.
Wait, air has range? Ohhh, a-"l"-r. Never mind...
U R wrong about tymo at first . His range is better than alr and he's made a bunch of stellar plays. His bat is hot.
Jamey Carroll?? As in THE Jamey Carroll? He is still playing?
Dang, I cannot type this evening. (I know, Cat on Keyboard is not a valid excuse.)
Yup. I seem to recall a semi-recent post about former Nats who were still in baseball and he was one of the more successful. I said they'd never make me cry again after he was sold to the Rockies. Then they got rid of DeJesus. :'(
Awwwww. I guess you haven't seen the picture on twitter if Suzuki in that horrible green and gold uniform. #22 I still miss Adam Dunn- at the plate. Not so much on defense. And as a person.
Me? I'm not on Tweeter, but I am aware of the Suzuki transaction.
GM Mike Rizzo said the #Nats will get one of two 22 year old Minor League pitchers for OF David DeJesus. An announcement will be made after the Minor League season is over. #Nationals #MLB
So Rizzo turned 4 days of David DeJesus into a young pitching prospect. Not too bad, even if it's not a great prospect.
There was a pic of him in uniform. Even though he was only with us for a year, it was an eventful year and that picture looks odd. Probably looks normal to A's fans.
Adam Kilgore @AdamKilgoreWP now
Rizzo says the Nats "most definitely" would be interested in signing DeJesus as a free agent this winter
I still think he'd be a good bench bat. I'd bring him back.
I think I go down,
to old Kansas Stew
I'm gonna bring back my second cousin,
that little Johnny Cocheroo
playing KC...why not a little Muddy Waters
lol
Does it appear to you that Chad Tracy is the new invisible man on the bench, having inherited that role from Roger Bernadina?
Bring me champagne when I'm thirsty, reefer when I want to get high
its Friday ha ha ha
Bring me champagne when I'm thirsty, reefer when I want to get high
its Friday ha ha ha
Adam Kilgore @AdamKilgoreWP 43s
Davey says Soriano, Clippard and Stammen are down tonight. If there's a save chance, Storen will be the closer.
I hope Gio can go deep...
So Soriano, Clippard, and Stammen are not available tonight. That is the hangover from extra inning games and the bullpen being short one pitcher. Not a good situation.
David- your echo, present and accounted for.
LOL Swami. It's uncanny.
"this series could, in fact, be the last between the Nats and a team with something to fight for until the second half of September".
So, if you look at Mark's quote...it is the clear that the Nats have a chance to perhaps be within 5 games or less of a Wild Card going into the middle of the month. I think, given the expectations at the beginning of the season that this is more than possible.
What is troubling is that the Nats just can't get above 500, the question is why???
Take the boos for Bryce in Atlanta, multiply by ten-- ARod in every park that is not Yankee Stadium.
maybe Haren will be the closer tonight? lol
I am soooo done with A-rod, to hell with him!
Mick- I agree, just happened to see his at bat on TV at the Rays. Deafening and constant. Some guys actually get fired up by that, though.
Hairston needs to be in LF, TyMo at 1B. Scotty hits lefties better than ALR.
Hairston's on a roll with that HR against the Cubbies.
Thanks for the background, swami. Definitely an eventful year, and I'll miss him.
baseballswami said...
There was a pic of him in uniform. Even though he was only with us for a year, it was an eventful year and that picture looks odd. Probably looks normal to A's fans.
August 23, 2013 7:02 PM
Weird that Suzuki is in Baltimore. And Doc, I agree with Tyler at first. He and Lombo are willing to play outfield because they want to increase their value , but they are both better in more natural spots. I don't think either of them hits as well either- probably more stress in the unfamiliar spot.
good to see positive mick is back after that rant after the SS 9th, haha!
wax on wax off, deep breaths, mr. myogi and all that.
New series. Really unfamiliar team. And here we go...
baseballswami, from the last post, I agree about the LH 1st baseman. No claimers!
That was WAY outside.
Oh Denard...why oh why...
Span shouldn't be stealing. He's just plain bad.
Bryce was right about the pitch. But he needs to stop reacting verbally. Umps hold that against players. This guys throws at slow pitch softball speed. Just when they finally adjust, their bats will be too slow tomorrow.,
Saved Chen a lot of pitches on his pitch count.
Gio in the first inning frightens me.
Thanks, Bob, for telling us how bad this hitter is.
Great start to the game.
As I was saying.....
Welp...
Seriously Maxwell.
Almost like Gio can't pitch unless the other team has runs on the board. He is never ready in the first inning. Digs that early hole. And we don't exactly hit soft tossers well.
What were we saying earlier about poor hitting teams getting well when the Nats come to town? This is atrocious.
Gio has to tough this one out, even if he gets beat up. We don't have the bullpen to take him out early.
Alright Gio, lets go. Get those runs back boys!
The usual pattern included errors. These guys are going straight to the seats. No fielding necessary. All on Gio.
He drives me crazy. He knows the bullpen is cooked. He knows the Nats Finally have a chance to get back to .500.
He knows the team desperately needs a quick, clean first inning.
And he coughs up another 30-pitch disaster.
Thanks, FP, for putting numbers to what we all knew was true. First inning nightmares.
Agree. Makes too much sense huh.
Sometimes I think Gio needs legal, MLB sanctioned ADD meds.
Was at the LLWS game today. So following on game day.
Was gio mot ready again?
This is a real bad habit that needs to stop.
Appears Gio has something wrong with his hand. That explains it.
This and left hand hitting and low obp is why we need to replace him
Yep..... Gio. Another egg layed. Maxwell? Jeez. We've hit bottom
This is going to be a long night. We can never hit these junkball pitchers. Gio giving up even 1 run probably would've been too much.
I love Gio and he is really talented. But he is also very high maintenance. No wonder McCatty has cardiac issues.
This is the exact opposite of what we needed tonight.
Gio no cream or lozengers
They gave Desmond an error for that? Seemed like he was pretty far into the hole.
But regardless, it was a play he should've made. Maybe the time off.
3 per inning.
" And LaRoche first pitch swinging"- words I am tired of hearing.
I just cannot figure this team out..that is what pisses me off so much...I get it as far as fatigue with the players and the fact that KC has lost 5 in a row and is due.
BUT...fatigue should have nothing to do with Gio's crap ass effort tonight. This is the stuff that has to change next season...very very frustrating and I know I am speaking for the vast majority of fans.
Gio, I love ya, but get your head out of your ass, please!!
" And LaRoche first pitch swinging"- words I am tired of hearing.
AGREED...he is veteran as well and it is SICKENING!!!
A hit! A hit!!!! From the ninth guy in the lineup.
Do you suppose Gonzalez has cleared waivers?
A run!! A run!!!
Span fan! That is what we signed up for....
paul you spoke too soon
lol
You know , it is still early.
If Gio has a blister on his hand, that would explain it. A lot of guys miss starts because of that. It's serious for a pitcher. But we don't have anybody else who can step in and start so Gio is probably trying to fight through it.
Play Span shallow and he made them pay.
"a kingdom for a hit"
ha ha ha
A full count!! Progress!
So that's a ball, but the pitch to Bryce was a ball?
a strike, I mean.
Ooooh-- and a walk, too. Is it my birthday?
so much for Haren having to save the game tonight..
Could this guy throw any slower?
If they could get this guy timed....
Worst at bat I have seen from Jayson Werth in a long time.
Bye, DeJesus. We hardly knew ye.
Well it could be worse. Apparently Torii Hunter and Albert Pujols almost got into a brawl last year in the clubhouse:
"Pujols called out [Jered] Weaver for showing up a teammate the night before. Then he turned his attention on Hunter, blaming him for the dugout altercation with [C. J.] Wilson.
What Pujols did not know at the time was that Wilson and Hunter already had made amends, with the pitcher apologizing to the outfielder for overstepping his bounds in the dugout immediately following the game.
“Albert, you’d better get your facts straight,” a seething Hunter told Pujols.
Pujols said something back, and Hunter jumped him for being a bad teammate and pouting all season whenever he failed to get hits in a game, even in games the Angels won … and now he was going to call others out?
“Shut up, Torii,” Pujols snapped.
It was then that Hunter, from across the clubhouse, lost it and charged Pujols. [LaTroy] Hawkins and outfielder Vernon Wells had to restrain him.
The meeting proceeded from there, and when it was over, tempers still heated, Hunter had to be physically held back a second time from going after Pujols, who is described as wanting no part of the fight."
All the former Nats came to party tonight.
David on that note..Scocia is the manager and the question would be...would that happen in DC if he was the manager?
speaking of managers...I hope this Ripken rumor is just ht air...i would think the Lerners and Rizzo are smarter than thato
It's a good question, Mick. A manager should be able to control those things.
I understand the offensive fatigue tonight but not Gio...he needed to at least keep his team close...
Rendon missed the tag, he was going to be out.
Gio at 56 pitches
maybe Gio can 7-8 still to save BP for the rest of series
Gio not good and Jayson with two horrible at bats, Desi with an error., not exactly the elements needed for success.
A zero!!!!!
Royals are a pretty good club too
The gaps are huge and it's early if they get it together. And the Royals do have a better record than we do.
The Royals play in the AL.
Chip, chip, chip.
Zim! Come on bro
More chips
Oh my, I thought Harper had that.
Damn!
HARPER!!!!
spit the hook, Gio....
Wow!
All right! New ballgame!
Jaw. On. Floor.
Remember this inning was made possible by Desmond's great slide preventing a doubleplay on Ramos.
IT'S AN 8-6 GAME!!!
Werth goes waterfall!
Stupid fountain in the outfield is as bad as the stupid aquarium in Miami and the stupid ocean in San Francisco. Somehow the Dodgers and the Yankees have made it for years and years without schlock....
OK, Gio. DON'T GIVE IT BACK!!!
Gio absolutely has to buckle down now. I know the blister is hurting him.
Man, AL ball is so high scoring. I prefer the frustrating lowscoring NL with its exciting players like Willie Mays, Lou Brock, Bob Clemente and Willie Stargell.
Gio is in trouble.
Um, Gio,
T.F.S.
Span!
Roark was really bad the last time he came in with men on base. He needs a groundball in the worst way.
O's/A's 7-7.
you get a second chance and Gio's head stays in his ass...
head case
What happened to Milone, btw? Did the league just figure him out so Oakland demoted him.
all on you Gio
Now, identical scores with the O's leading 8-7....
There you go!
Much, MUCH needed doubleplay Roark. It's a 1-0 game. That's the way you have to think about it. Now add some more runs.
Arizona just lost on a walk-off walk. Heath Bell was Heath Bell and loaded the bases and the next guy came in and walked Utley.
Well...better than a walk-off balk, NL.
That's why Moore isn't a productive right handed batter. The right handed pitchers eat him alive on breaking pitches.
Rendon can flat out hit
What the heck happened to Gio tonight... Just said last night that we need him to go at least 7 becuz of the BP usage last series...
Apparently he had a blister on his hand. That will cause some issues.
Nice!
Look what I found!
Nice fielding by Rowark....
oh proctor. there you go with facts again, ruining all the fun for the doomers
Bad luck for Zim there.
How did the Nats fill the DeJesus and Suzuki roster spots.
Xavier Cedeno in the bullpen and Jhonatan Solano to backup Ramos.
That's a big play by Rendon.
Rendon!
Game day doesnt give bad luck info.
Roark is being squeezed like crazy.
MNF, Zim lined out to the CF. Very hard hit ball.
WHEW.
Roark...3 good innings...does he come in for 7th?
Hard to say. I think he does. And then you go Abad for the 8th (we're limited) and Storen for the 9th.
Cubbies put up a six-spot against the Padres in the first inning. EJax bats before he pitches.
Tyler Moore can absolutely NOT strike out. Anything but a strikeout here. I'll even take a doubleplay up the middle. Just DO NOT STRIKE OUT.
There we go T-Mo!
There ya go DP
So glad Tyler was sent down and worked on his issues....
U reversed locked him. What is he 7-12since return?
8-16
Joe Posnanski @JPosnanski
KC blowing a 6-0 lead after a closed door team meeting reminds of the old line: Winners win, Losers meet.
Who are these sluggers?
David Proctor said...
This is going to be a long night. We can never hit these junkball pitchers. Gio giving up even 1 run probably would've been too much.
August 23, 2013 8:38 PM
what did you say?
am happy you were wrong (so far) DP!! & everyone thought you were all positive...ha!
but, this game ain't over yet.
scoreboard wasn't expecting this kid of electricity from the Nats, may just blow up!
Most people who post on here are glad when they are wrong....
That guy has NASTY stuff. 100 mph and that change and split? Yikes.
WODL, no question, love when I am.
Wow, Werth's HR was an absolute bomb in the 4th.
per FP...Werthquake...like it.
It's how we keep sane.
Kinda
Why did Werth watch TWO down the middle?
The first one was 100 and the second one was 84. Pretty hard to pull the trigger.
Wow. That one pitcher for the Royals was only 171 centimeters tall. There is hope yet for short people to make it to the majors.
Good job Roark. Now Abad for the 8th and Storen for the 9th. Abad worries me.
Why can't Roark continue?
They were hitting balls very hard off of him that inning. He got a little bit lucky. Plus, he had already gone like 4 innings. I won't complain if Roark stays in, but he looks tired to me.
JD - I was thinking that too... But we don't have another long innings guy available, right? When does Stammen become available again?
Doesn't matter.we burned Roark for the rest of this series anyway.
6 outs to get, 3 runs to give. Let's get this done.
Guess Roark wants a spot in the rotation... He's out for another inning.
So why can starters pitch 9 innings every five days but relievers can only pitch four innings a week? I don't buy it. I think it is crap.
bring in sorry-ano!
that way he can give up his usual 2 runs but we will still be up 11-9 then replace him with Storen...would rather him give up 2 in the 8th then blow the game in the 9th.
DJ learned his lesson from SS the other night... Glad he pulled Gio when he did...
Roark is tired, he is giving up fly balls. Just don't put anyone on base.
All I ever hear is boohoo, our relievers' arms are tired. These guys actually play, in minutes, only a scant number of minutes per game and per week, but we are always worried that they are tired. I guess it is the same as with modern racehorses who always seem to get retired as soon as they win one leg of the Triple Crown....
Rendy with the glove scoop....
Get off Rendon!
I can't believe Jamey Carroll is still in MLB. Unbelievable. He is following us from AL venue to venue.
All up to, presumably, DROOOOOOOOO now.
Id let Roark continue.
Tremendous job by Roark.
Doesn't matter.we burned Roark for the rest of this series anyway.
****************************
Knocking on wood (or, at least, imitation wood grain) as I write this, I think it's Mr. Roark who has burned the Royals.
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