June 20, 2013

Washington Nationals Game 71 Review: Desmond grand slam powers Nats past Phillies

June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

After a stretch of frustrating road losses, the Washington Nationals  entered Wednesday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies in search of a long-awaited big-time hit to avoid the series sweep and perhaps pump some energy into Washington’s uninspired batting order.

It may have taken eleven innings, but at last, Ian Desmond found it.

After trailing for the better part of nine innings in a pitcher’s duel between Gio Gonzalez and the Phils’ Kyle Kendrick, the Nationals (35-36) stumbled upon their pot of gold against reliever Michael Stutes (L, 2-1) in to snare a 6-2 win in the 11th inning.

The win leaves the Nats seven games behind Atlanta in the N.L. East and drops the Phillies (35-38) a game behind Washington in third place. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Game 67 Review: Tracy ties, Rendon wins game with solo homers

June 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

If someone told you the Washington Nationals had a five-run lead with Jordan Zimmermann on the mound, you would assume –correctly, in this case — the Nats would win the game. It didn’t work out the easy way, though, as Zimmermann was roughed up by the Cleveland Indians and left the game trailing after five innings. But Chad Tracy tied the game in the top of the eighth with a two-out solo home run, then rookie Anthony Rendon won it with his first career homer, a solo shot with two down in the ninth inning.

The 7-6 win allows the Nats to remain 5 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. East, moving their record over .500 again to 34-33.

The Nats jumped on Indians starter Scott Kazmir right off the bat in the first inning. With two outs, Ryan Zimmerman launched his eighth home run of the season to right center, a blast over 400 feet. Jayson Werth (2-for-3, BB) followed Zim’s lead, blasting one in the same direction for his sixth of the year, giving the Nats a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Ian Desmond led off the second inning against Kazmir with a home run of his own, a laser to the left field corner that hit off the rail above the yellow home run line on the top of the tall fence in Progressive Field’s left field corner.

The Nats had a chance to really bust this one wide open in the third, loading the bases with no outs on a lead-off double by Anthony Rendon (3-for-5, two runs, RBI) and back-to-back walks by Zimmerman and Werth. Adam LaRoche smoked a grounder to second baseman Jason Kipnis, who started a 4-6-3 double play. Rendon scored on the play, but Zimmerman got a late break as he had to make sure Kipnis didn’t catch the low liner, and he was almost picked off on the relay from first baseman Nick Swisher over to third base — a potential triple play.

Zimmerman later scored on a wild pitch by Kazmir on what turned out to be ball four to Desmond, to make it 5-0. Desmond was Kazmir’s last batter.

The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the third. Mike Aviles doubled with one out, and Kipnis brought him home one out later with a single through the hole on the left side to make it 5-1. Cleveland cut the score to two in the fourth inning, as back-to-back homers by Carlos Santana and Mark Reynolds made the score 5-3 after four innings.

 Zimmermann had more trouble in the fifth. Mike Aviles reached on a one-out single, then Michael Bourn flied out for the second out and it looked like Zimmermann would breeze. But then, Kipnis singled, moving Aviles up a base. Nick Swisher followed with another single and Aviles scored to make it 5-4. The big blow came when Michael Brantley smashed a double to center, scoring both Kipnis and Swisher.

The Indians had come all the way back from five runs down to take the lead against one of the National League’s best starting pitchers.

The Nats were confused against several Indians relievers after Kazmir (2.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) was lifted. Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen combined for 4 1/3 shut out innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. But in the eighth, Chad Tracy pinch-hit for Chris Marrero against righty Joe Smith with two outs, and got a high fastball he could handle, driving it to center field for his second home run of the season, tying the game at six.

That set the stage for the ninth inning. Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano got Lombardozzi and Denard Span without incident, which brought Anthony Rendon to the plate. On an 0-1 count, Rendon popped up to foul territory done the right field line. But even though RF Michael Brantley or 2B Jason Kipnis could have made the catch, it inexplicably fell between them for a foul ball. On the next pitch, Rendon drove one down the right field line that just cleared the fence for his first home run of his MLB career — and a 7-6 Nats lead.

Rafael Soriano gave up a two-out double in the ninth, but LaRoche snared a live drive off the bat of Bourn for the last out. Soriano earned his 18th save of the season.

THE GOOD: Chad Tracy. The much maligned pinch-hitter had not reached base in his last 21 plate appearances and was hitting .131/.172/.180 entering play. But he came through big-time when the Nats needed it Saturday night.

Also, Rendon. Kid looks like he belongs, eh?

THE BAD: In the top of the sixth, with two down and a runner at third, Steve Lombardozzi pinch-hit for Jeff Kobernus. Lombo hit a soft, spinning line drive off the end of his bat toward short. Off the bat, it looked like there was no way Mike Aviles would be able to make a play. But Aviles bare-handed the spinner and got the generous call at first. Lombo’s supposed to have decent speed and he was thrown out on a play he should have beaten.

THE UGLY: With the season he’s having, it’s tough to call Zimmermann’s outing ugly, especially since he had a two-run lead with two outs and a man on in the fifth. But three straight hits gave the Indians the lead and ended his night. Overall, six earned runs on eight hits and a walk in five innings — on a night he had a 5-0 lead — was indeed ugly.

THE STATS: 8 hits, 5 BBs, 7 Ks. 0-for-5 with RISP, 5 LOB. No errors, one DP.

NEXT GAME: Sunday at 1:05 pm against the Indians. Stephen Strasburg (3-5, 2.54) returns from the D.L. to face Corey Kluber (4-4, 4.08).

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Washington Nationals Game 65 Review: Zimmerman and Desmond rake in Nats 5-4 win over Rockies

June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

As the Washington Nationals slowly get guys back from the disabled list, and their hitters warm up with the summer weather, they are starting to look more like the team that was heralded in the pre-season as legitimate World Series contenders.

In the series finale in Colorado, the Nats used big days at the plate from Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond, and a return to the mound from Ross Detwiler, to beat the Rockies 5-4 and raise their record back above .500 at 33-32.

Detwiler, returning from an oblique injury, was going to be limited to about 80 pitches, and he didn’t do himself any favors out of the gate as got behind right away in the first inning. After the Nats went down 1-2-3, Detwiler’s first pitch was ripped by Dexter Fowler into right field for a lead-off double. Fowler went to third on a groundout by Jordan Pacheco, and came in to score on Tyler Colvin’s pinch-hit single to left.

Yes, pinch-hit in the first inning. Carlos Gonzalez, an early N.L. MVP candidate, was hit in the lower left leg by a foul ball off the bat of Pacheco while standing in the on-deck circle and had to be removed from the game.

Zimmerman got the Nats on the board in the top of the third. Detwiler led off with his first hit of the season, a soft live drive to right. Two outs later, Zimmerman crushed a fastball from Francis to the bleachers in left field for his seventh homer this season and extends the Nats team record with a home run in 78 consecutive series.

Lifetime, Zimmerman owns a .365 average with eight home runs and 33 RBIs in 28 career games at Coors Field.

The lead didn’t hold long though. The Rockies pushed tow across against Detwiler in the bottom of the fourth. Troy Tulowitzki singled to lead off and scored on Michael Cuddyer’s double that Jayson Werth then misplayed into an error in right field, allowing Cuddyer to go to third. Detwiler coaxed a grounder out of Wilin Rosario, but it was enough to bring Cuddyer in to make it 3-2.

Detwiler made it through five innings in his return to the rotation. He gave up three earned runs on six hits, without walking a batter, and struck out two. He threw 77 pitches, 51 strikes. Craig Stammen (W, 4-2, 2.94) took over for Detwiler and provided two innings of scoreless relief.

The Nats got a gift run to tie it in the seventh. Ian Desmond led off with a single and stole second as Kurt Suzuki struck out for the second out of the inning. Then, with Steve Lombardozzi hitting, Desmond was awarded third, and then home, when Rockies reliever Wilton Lopez was called for back-to-back balks by second base umpire Bob Davidson, widely known across baseball as “Balkin’ Bob” due to his proclivity for making the anomalous call.

Zimmerman delivered again in the eighth for the Nats. After Roger Bernadina’s one-out double, Zim cranked a double the other way which plated Bernadina, who appeared to jam his shoulder on the head-first slide on his double and was seen grimacing and being attended to by trainers in the dugout after he scored, though he did take the field the next inning.

Jayson Werth moved Zimmerman to third with a ground out and the Rockies inexplicable walked Adam LaRoche to face the Nats hottest hitter, Ian Desmond. The shortstop came through again for the Nats with his fourth hit of the day, an infield single in the hole that Tulowitzki gloved but could not make a play on. Zimmerman strolled home to make it 5-3.

Xavier Cedeno and Drew Storen combined on a perfect eighth inning in relief, and while Rafael Soriano gave up a run in the ninth, he held on for his 17th save of the season.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. He loves hitting in Coors Field. 2-for-4 with a homer, double, three RBIs and two runs scored. His yearly averages are up to .274/.350/.458.

THE BAD: Denard Span took another 0-fer in Colorado, going 0-for-4. Werth and Suzuki joined him today taking the collar.

THE UGLY: The Rockies lost Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler and Troy Tulowitzki, their three best players and NL All-Stars all this season, to injury.

THE STATS: 9 hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks. 2-for-5 with RISP, 6 LOB. E: Werth (1, fielding). 1 DP.

NEXT GAME: Friday at 7:05 pm ET at the Cleveland Indians. Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.59) faces RHP Justin Masterson (8-5, 3.68)

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Washington Nationals Game 64 Review: Ohlendorf leads Nats to 5-1 win over Rockies

June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The Washington Nationals used eight starting pitchers all of last season, and only five up to September 1. Wednesday night, they used their eighth starter so far this season, sending journeyman Ross Ohlendorf against the Colorado Rockies at mile-high Coors Field. Ohlendorf came through for the Nats, keeping the Rockies’ potent offense off the board for six innings, leading the Nats to a 5-1 win to even the three-game series at a game apiece.

The Nats (32-32) called up Ohlendorf to make a start in Stephen Strasburg’s normal spot in the rotation. With the Nats’ ace due back next week, it’s probably a one-off shot for Ohlendorf, but he made the most of it. The 30-year old veteran journeyman, who owns an 18-32 record with a 5.10 ERA in 108 MLB games with the Yankees, Pirates and Padres pitched six innings and allowed just one earned run on two hits and two walks, striking out two. Ohlendorf threw 54 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

The Nats stuck first in the fourth inning against Rockies starter Jorge de la Rosa. Ryan Zimmerman earned a nine-pitch base on balls and took second on Jayson Werth’s comebacker. Adam LaRoche struck out looking, but Ian Desmond delivered with two outs, singling to right field to plate Zimmerman.

They tacked on more runs in the sixth. With de la Rosa running out of gas, Jeff Kobernus walked on four pitches. Zimmerman then clobbered one to deep center, where center fielder Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez collided, with the ball falling safely for an RBI double for Zimmerman, ending de la Rosa’s night.

Werth grounded out against reliever Adam Ottovino, moving Zimmerman to third. The Rockies intentionally walked LaRoche to set up a righty-righty matchup with Desmond. Ottovino uncorked a wild pitch, moving LaRoche up to second. Desmond then foiled the Rockies plans, singling to center to score both runners and give the Nats a 4-0 lead.

The Rockies finally got to Ohlendorf in the sixth. Fowler walked with one out, but was erased on a fielder’s choice, with Jonathan Herrera taking his place at first. Herrera stole second when no defensive player covered the bag. With two outs and first base open, the Nats decided to pitch to MVP candidate Carlos Gonzalez, and he made them pay, tripling to left field to drive in Herrera.

Ohlendorf got out of the inning by coaxing a long fly ball from Troy Tulowitzki to end the frame.

The Nats picked up another run in the eighth as LaRoche doubled to right, took third on Desmond’s ground out, and scored on Anthony Rendon’s RBI double. Rendon has 13 total bases in six games since rejoining the Nats. Danny Espinosa had 13 total bases in his previous 19 games before being placed on the D.L.

From there, the game was in the hands of the bullpen, and Ian Krol, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano all did their jobs to deliver the win.

THE GOOD: Ross Ohlendorf, naturally. He’ll probably only get one start for now, but he was very good in a tough park to pitch in when the Nats really needed it.

THE BAD: Denard Span. 0-for-4.

THE UGLY: The Nats lost four runners on the bases, including Jeff Kobernus getting thrown out stealing in the first inning, and Ian Desmond caught stealing twice. For a team struggling to score runs, you can’t waste outs on the bases.

THE STATS: 8 hits, 8 BBs (a season-high), 8 Ks. 3-for-11 with RISP, 8 LOB. E: Ohlendorf (1, throw).

NEXT GAME: Thursday at 3:10 pm ET against the Rockies. Ross Detwiler (2-4, 2.76) returns from the disabled list to face LHP Jeff Francis (2-4, 6.30).

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Washington Nationals Games 61 & 62 Review: Nats sweep doubleheader from Twins to get back to .500

June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In the regularly scheduled 1:35 game Sunday, the Washington Nationals tied their season benchmark for runs in a inning. In the nightcap, a rescheduled affair prompted by the rainout Friday night, the Nats came from behind by three runs to win a game for the first time all season. The result: a sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the day/night doubleheader, which pulls the Nats back up to the .500 mark at 31-31.

The early game was all about two big innings… and Jordan Zimmermann. The leader of the 2013 staff did it again, pacing the Nats with seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball. Rookie Ian Krol and Xavier Cedeno – lefties both — kept the Twins off the scoreboard in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the shutout.

The late game was a case of chipping away at a deficit, one run at a time, until the Nats overcame the hole they’d dug themselves, with four different players driving in runs and four different players scoring runs. Then a parade of relievers shut the door and kept it that way until the Twins’ last out was exhausted.

In the early game, the Nats exploded for their seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings off Twins starter Scott Diamond. Consecutive singles by Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche set the table for Ian Desmond in the fourth. Desmond singled to center and third base coach Trent Jewett sent Werth, who was cut down at the plate on a great throw by center fielder Clete Thomas. But Anthony Rendon followed with a smash off shortstop Pedro Florimon’s glove, and LaRoche and Desmond both came around to make it 2-0.

In the next inning, Diamond intentionally walked Werth to load the bases after Jeff Kobernus walked and Ryan Zimmerman doubled. LaRoche made him pay, with a single to the left side which plated Kobernus. A visit by the Twins pitching coach did no help, as Desmond followed with a two-run single three pitches later. Rendon put the cap on the inning, doubling off reliever Ryan Pressly to drive in LaRoche and Desmond.

The rest was up to Zimmermann, who was equal to the task yet again.

In the nightcap, Nathan Karns was not very good and put the Nats in a hole early, allowing four earned runs in the first three innings, on five hits and two walks. Washington got a run in the third on three consecutive singles by Roger Bernadina, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth. But an Adam LaRoche strikeout and Ian Desmond double play ground ball halted the threat there.

Two innings later, LaRoche came though, with a two-out RBI sacrifice fly, which brought home Denard Span to cut the lead to one and moved Bernadina to third. Again, the rally stalled at just one run as Desmond was called out on strikes.

The Nats tied the game finally in the sixth. Anthony Rendon singled off shortstop Pedro Florimon’s glove and scored on Span’s two-out triple. Bernadina walked to give Zimmerman a chance to take the lead, but the Nats No. 3 hitter struck out looking to end the frame.

The very next inning, though, back-to-back doubles by LaRoche and Desmond did the trick, putting the Nats up 5-4.

The entire bullpen were the heroes in the second game. It started with Craig Stammen, who came on for Karns in the fourth and blanked the Twins for two innings. Erik Davis, Fernando Abad, Tyler Clippard (W, 5-1), Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano (S, 16) all did their jobs to earn the Nats 31st win of the season.

THE GOOD: Jordan Zimmerman. We’re out of superlatives for the stoic righty. Two hits, two walks and 8 Ks over seven shutout innings for his ninth win of the season.

In the early game, Desmond went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Rendon went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. In the evening game, Roger Bernadina went 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Nice game for The Shark.

THE BAD: Kurt Suzuki went 0-for-3 with 4 LOB in the first game.

THE UGLY: Karns. He left everything up in the evening game and paid for it. With Detwiler coming back this week, Karns will probably find himself back in Syracuse for more seasoning.

THE STATS: First Game: 14 hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. 5-for-10 with RISP, 8 LOB. E: Rendon (4, fielding), Zimmerman (11, throw).

Second Game: 10 hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. 3-for-14 with RISP, 9 LOB. E: Rendon (5, fielding); one DP.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday at 8:40 ET in Colorado against the Rockies. Dan Haren (4-7, 5.45) faces Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 4.59).

NATS NOTES: Before the games, the Nats recalled 1B Chris Marrero from AAA-Syracuse. The right-handed hitter was hitting .306/.355/.502 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 55 games for the Chiefs. After the games, the team sent 1B/OF Tyler Moore to Syracuse. Moore has struggled all season and the team hopes that he’ll find his swing playing every day in the minors.

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Washington Nationals Game 57 Review: Middle relief culprit again in 6-3 loss to Braves

June 2, 2013 by

If the Washington Nationals want to consider their deficit in the N.L. East, they need to look no further than the team across the diamond from them Sunday. The Atlanta Braves took advantage of the Nats bullpen yet again, while Washington could muster nothing against the Braves’, falling in the series finale 6-3. With the loss, the Nats drop below .500 (28-29).

The Braves lead in the East stretched to a whopping 6 1/2 games — the largest in baseball currently. The Nats have a season series record against the Braves of 3-7, accounting for a large portion of that deficit.

As was the case Saturday night, the Nats bullpen could not handle their responsibility, as Zach Duke walked four and gave up two hits in his two-thirds of an inning, effectively digging the Nats hitters a hole they are incapable of rallying from these days.

Duke’s incapacity to throw strikes Sunday made a loser out of Nathan Karns (0-1, 6.00). Karns was not as strong as in his debut, but left two runners on base when he left the game, and Duke allowed both to score. The rookie, who made his second MLB start, gave up four runs — three earned — on seven hits and a walk, striking out six in 4 2/3 innings.

After the Nats went in order in the top of the first against Braves starter Paul Maholm (W, 7-4, 3.68), the Braves jumped right on Karns. Leadoff hitter Andrelton Simmons reached on a throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman, his tenth of the season. The next hitter, Ramiro Pena, clobbered a fastball into the stands in right for an early 2-0 lead for Atlanta.

The Nats got both runs back in the second. Adam LaRoche doubled to lead off and went to third on Ian Desmond’s bunt single. Tyler Moore followed with a run-scoring single to left to get the Nats on the board. Later in the inning, Maholm butchered Karns’ popped up bunt. All hands were safe, and Desmond scooted home with the then-tying run.

The tie didn’t last long, as B.J. Upton homered off Karns in the bottom half of the inning to re-take the lead.

Things stayed that way until the fateful fifth inning. Justin Upton started the Braves rally with a one-out single off Karns. After the Nats righty got Freddie Freeman to fly out, he lost Evan Gattis on a 3-2 fastball after having the slugger down 0-2. Manager Davey Johnson called on Duke at that point, and Duke did nothing but pour gasoline on the fire. On Duke’s ninth pitch to Brian McCann, the Braves catcher finally got one he could handle, slapping a single to left field to plate Upton. Duke got out of the inning without more damage, but he wasn’t done yet.

Desmond homered in the top of the sixth to cut the Braves lead to 4-3. In the bottom of the frame, Duke walked the first two batters he faced. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, Duke intentionally walked Justin Upton to face Freeman. The decision backfired, as Freeman doubled off the top of the wall in left field, plating two more runs. The play was reviewed as the Braves thought the hit was a home run, but the call on the field stood.

Not that it mattered.

The Nats went hitless in the last three innings, failing to muster any sort of comeback. Washington has yet to score on the Braves bullpen in their ten games this season. For the entire year, the Nats are hitting .194/.252/.286 in innings seven though nine.

THE GOOD: Right-hander Erik Davis, called up Saturday from Triple-A Syracuse, made a successful Major League debut, throwing 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief, recording two strikeouts.

THE BAD: The bottom third of the Nats order went 1-for-9 with five runners left stranded.

THE UGLY: Zach Duke. Whatever magic the lefty used last season to get his name back in good graces, he must have used all up. His ERA sits at 8.71 now and just continues to have poor performance after another, giving up multiple runs in four of his last five appearances.

THE STATS: 5 hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. 2-for-6 with RISP, 3 LOB. E: Zimmerman (10, throw). No DPs.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday at 7:05 against the New York Mets at Nationals Park. Jordan Zimmermann (8-3, 2.37) hosts Jeremy Hefner (1-5, 4.74).

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Washington Nationals Game 36 Review: Strasburg unravels after Zimmerman error in Nats’ loss to Cubs

May 11, 2013 by

The Washington Nationals (20-16) were reminded once more what a difference an error can make as they fell 8-2 to the Chicago Cubs (14-22) Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Stephen Strasburg (L, 1-5) looked the best he’s been all season to start the game, retiring the first 11 batters he faced in a row before giving up a single to Anthony Rizzo in the fourth. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Game 35 Review: Desmond’s three RBIs leads Nats to victory

May 10, 2013 by

Ian Desmond plated three runs for the Washington Nationals (20-15) as they topped the Chicago Cubs (13-22), 7-3 to record their fifth straight win Friday night.

Desmond closed out the night just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and his three hits on the night helped awaken a sleepy Nats’ offense.

Left-hander Ross Detwiler (W, 2-3) looked sharp, allowing eight hits, two runs and no walks in 6.2 innings pitched. He tossed 57 of 90 pitches for strikes but, oddly enough, gave up six doubles on the night.  [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Game 28 Review: Zimmermann dominates in Nats’ first victory over Braves

May 2, 2013 by

Jordan Zimmermann (W, 5-1) proved himself a dominant force Wednesday night at Turner Field as he became the first Washington National this season (14-14) to out-pitch the Atlanta Braves (17-10), 2-0.

At last, a member of the Nats’ rotation stumped the Braves. After holding the Cincinnati Reds scoreless with just one hit in nine innings last Friday, what did Zimmermann do? He blanked the Braves and gave up just two hits in eight innings Wednesday night, snapping a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season against the rivals to the South. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Game 19 Review: No offense in 3-2 loss to Cardinals

April 22, 2013 by

In the first rematch of last season’s National League Divisional Series, the Washington Nationals dropped the first of a three game series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, before a chilly crowd of 27,263 at Nationals Park.

Nats starter Dan Haren pitched his best game of the season to date, but was outdueled by Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller, as the Cards rookie and three relievers limited the Nats to five hits for the night.

The Cardinals got to Haren (L, 0-3, 7.36) in the third inning. Pete Kozma — Nats nemesis — singled over Danny Espinosa’s head at second base on a 2-0 count with one out and went to second on Shelby Miller’s sacrifice. Matt Carpenter then coaxed a free pass to set up Allen Craig. Craig got fooled on a 2-1 cutter, but he lefted a fly ball into the wind and it carried to the wall in left center. Denard Span lept at the last, crashing into the fence, but he could not come down with it. Two runs scored on the play.

The Nats (10-9) answered off Miller in the fourth. Jayson Werth reached on an infield single and scored on Ian Desmond’s two-out double to center. Anthony Rendon, in his second Major League game, worked the count full before lining a double to right center for his first big league hit and RBI, plating Desmond easily to tie the score.

The Cardinals came back in the sixth and chased Haren quickly. Haren hit Matt Holliday on with a 1-1 fastball to lead off the inning. Carlos Beltran hit the next pitch into right for a single. Yadier Molina then hit the very next pitch into right for a single to score Holliday from second. Haren then walked David Freese on a close inside pitch, his 97th of the night, and Davey Johnson had seen enough.

Johnson summoned Craig Stammen from the pen and the dependable righty got Jon Jay to ground into a nifty 3-2-3 double play. After intentionally walking Kozma, Stammen calmly struck out Miller with a 91-MPH sinker to end the threat.

Haren’s line was solid: five innings, three earned runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts. But it wasn’t enough on a night the offense was quieted.

Unfortunately, the offense just couldn’t mount any comeback against the Cards to change the score. The Nats put two runners on in the seventh against Miller with two outs, but Joe Kelly came in and got pinch-hitter Chad Tracy to fly out to center on a great sliding catch by Jon Jay. They put two more on in the eighth against Trevor Rosenthal, but the fireballer froze Ian Desmond with a 97 MPH fastball on the outside black to squelch the rally.

Edward Mujica finished things up for the Cards with a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the season.

THE GOOD: The double play turned by Adam laRoche and Kurt Suzuki to keep it 3-2 in the sixth was a thing of beauty. In fact, the Nats turned three DPs on the night helping their cause, maybe a little turning the tide on the Nats defensive woes this season so far. Rendon started a 5-4-3 in the sixth with a sharp, calm feed to Espinosa perfectly on the glove-side.

THE BAD: Ian Desmond looking at strike three with runners at second and third and two outs in the eighth inning. Rosenthal is a “challenge” pitcher, he puts his fastball up there and challenges you to hit it. Desmond looked like he wanted no part of it.

THE UGLY: LaRoche went 0-for-4, stranding three and lowering his season batting average to .185.

THE STATS: 5 hits, 3 BBs, 11 ks. 1-for-7 with RISP, 6 LOB. No errors, 3 DPs.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday at 7:05 against the Cardinals. Ross Detwiler (1-0, 0.90) hosts Adam Wainright (3-1, 2.48).

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