June 20, 2013

Washington Nationals Game 46 Review: Strasburg strong but bullpen collapses in 9th and 10th

May 22, 2013 by

The Washington Nationals received a strong start from their ace, but couldn’t tack on any insurance runs, blew a one-run save in the ninth, then blew the game in the tenth, as the resilient San Francisco Giants beat the Nats 4-2 in the tenth inning on the strength of a two-run homer by Pablo Sandoval, off just-recalled Yunesky Maya, that still might not have landed.

The Nats (23-23) got all their offense in the very first inning. Denard Span singled leading off the inning and Bryce Harper, hitting second for the first time this season, sacrificed Span to second. Ryan Zimmerman delivered with the runner in scoring position, ripping a double to center to score Span. After Adam LaRoche flew out to right, Ian Desmond came through, doubling to right field to plate Zimmerman.

Strasburg needed 31 pitches to get through the first inning, but he escaped unscathed, leaving the bases loaded. Strasburg was not as fortunate in the second inning. Gregor Blanco led off with a single to right field. After a fly out and sacrifice by Matt Cain, Angel Pagan singled to center, which scored Blanco from second base.

Strasburg gave up four hits and two walks in the first two innings, and the Nats looked to be in trouble, especially considering manager Davey Johnson was forced to use all three of his “long-men” in Monday night’s 8-0 loss to the Giants. But Strasburg settled down impressively after the second inning, and he cruised through the five next innings, facing just one batter over the minimum.

All told, Strasburg (2-5, 2.66) went seven innings and allowed one earned run on five hits and three walks, striking out seven. He threw 108 pitches, 62 of which were strikes.

The Nats missed several opportunities to extend their lead, but couldn’t come through in the clutch. They loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Kurt Suzuki grounded into a force and Strasburg struck out swinging on three pitches. In the eighth, they had first-and-third with one out, but LaRoche struck out and Desmond grounded to the pitcher to end the threat.

Tyler Clippard pitched a scoreless eighth and handed things over to closer Rafael Soriano. Buster Poset led off with a comebacker, but Soriano couldn’t field it and was safe at first. Andres Torres pinch-ran for the catcher, and Soriano got the next two batters on fly balls. With two down, slap-hitting outfielder Gregor Blanco drove a ball to the right field wall. It looked like Harper might have had a play on the ball, but he tread gingerly as he approached the wall, no doubt still thinking about the collision he had in Los Angeles.

The ball carried over Harper’s head and off the wall in right. The run scored easily and Blanco ended up at third base with a game-tying triple. It was the third blown save of the season for Soriano, all coming on the road.

After the Nats went 1-2-3 in the top of the tenth, Davey Johnson called upon Yunesky Maya, just called up from Triple-A Syracuse (where he had a 5.07 ERA in eight starts) to pitch the tenth, instead of Drew Storen, presumably so Storen could be available for a save opportunity later. There would be no later, as Maya allowed a one-out single to Marco Scutaro, then grooved a batting practice fastball to Pablo Sandoval, who crushed it half-way up the large grandstand in center field to give the Giants their league-leading sixth walk-off win of the season.

THE GOOD: Once he got past the second inning, Strasburg was dominant. If they can ever figure out why he’s been struggling in the early innings…

THE BAD: Blame Soriano or Maya all you want — and they certainly deserve their share of the blame – but the Nats lost this one in the fifth and eighth innings, when twice they had a runner at third with one out and failed to score the run.

Honorable mention: the Nats offense is so bad lately, Bryce Harper felt compelled to sacrifice bunt…twice. Disgraceful.

THE UGLY: There’s no way to sugar coat this: Yunesky Maya does not have Major League caliber talent and has no business on a big league roster.

THE STATS: 5 hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. 2-for-8 with RISP, 6 LOB. No errors, 2 DPs.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday at 3:45 pm ET against the Giants to avoid the sweep. Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.01) faces Madison Bumgarner (4-2, 3.09).

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Washington Nationals Game 34 Review: Nats get to Fister early, hold on to sweep Tigers

May 9, 2013 by

The Detroit Tigers are one of the top teams in the American League, and some folks tried to bill this early May matchup with the Washington Nationals as a World Series preview. It’s a little early in the season to try to sell that, but with the Nats starting to play well it was a big series nonetheless. The Nats scored their runs in the first few innings, then got great bullpen work from a trio of relievers to beat the Tigers Thursday 5-4, sweeping the two-game set from the A.L. Central powerhouse.

The win is the Nats fourth in a row and sixth in their last seven games and it leaves them 1 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. East entering play in the evening games.

The Nats (19-15) jumped on Tigers starter Doug Fister early. Denard Span led off the bottom of the first with a double over the first base bag. He went to third on Roger Bernadina’s bunt base hit and scored on Bryce Harper’s fielder’s choice that erased Bernadina at second. Ryan Zimmerman followed with a single, and Adam LaRoche did the same, plating Harper. Ian Desmond then single to center to bring home Zimmerman and give the Nats a 3-0 lead after one inning.

The Tigers got one back in the top of the second off Haren (W, 4-3, 5.17), when Fister muscled an 0-1 pitch to center for his third Major League hit of his career, scoring Jhonny Peralta from third.

The hit parade for the Nationals continued in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Span reached when Fister clipped Span’s pant leg with an errant fastball. Bernadina fell behind 0-2 but worked the at bat for a walk. Harper struck out looking, but consecutive singles by Zimmerman and LaRoche again plated two more runs to stretch the Nats lead to 5-1 after two full.

Detroit used some small ball, then a blast to cut into the Nats lead in the sixth. With one out, Peralta drew a four-pitch walk. Haren got Alex Avila to line out to center, but on the next pitch, Omar infant reached on a perfectly placed bunt single. Matt Tuiasosopo pinch-hit for the pitcher’s spot and drilled a three-run shot over the Tigers bullpen in left center to make it 5-4.

Haren’s final line (6.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR) ended up kinda messy after the homer, but he threw a good game up until that point.

The rest was up to the bullpen, and they got the job done, with Ryan Mattheus, Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano all pitching scoreless innings to keep the one-run lead intact. Soriano earned his 12th save of the season in 13 tries, getting Prince Fielder to fly to the track in center for the final out of the game.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. 3-for-4, RBI, run scored. He’s starting to heat up. Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

THE BAD: Danny Espinosa. 0-for-4, K.

THE UGLY: Tyler Moore. Pinch-hit for Bernadina against a lefty reliever and struck out on three pitches, all breaking balls.

THE STATS: 9 hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. 5-for-12 with RISP, 7 LOB. No errors, no DPs.

NEXT GAME: Friday starts a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, 7:05 pm from Nats Park. Ross Detwiler (1-3, 2.50) hosts Jeff Samardzija (1-4, 3.09).

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Washington Nationals Game 31 Review: Nats strand 11 but score one late to beat Bucs 5-4

May 4, 2013 by

It’s been a struggle to score runs for the Washington Nationals thus far in 2013. They entered play Saturday against the Pittsburg Pirates third to last in the Majors in runs per game. They continued to struggle to come up with the big hits, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position which stranded 11 runners, but found a way to push a run across late, earning a 5-4 win before 29,975 at PNC Park.

Stephen Strasburg continued his erratic 2013, giving up two two-run home runs, but otherwise limiting the damage to keep the Nats in the game until the late innings. Strasburg allowed four earned runs on five hits and one walk, striking out eight. He hardly looked in control much of the game, missing his target often and even hitting two batters, but the big righty found a way to wiggle out of most of his jams.

The Nats (16-15) got on the board first against Jeff Locke in the third inning. Roger Bernadina got on base the hard way — he was hit by a pitch. He went to third on an error by Pirates shortstop Clint Barmes, which allowed Strasburg to reach first. Danny Espinosa was called out on strikes, but Ian Desmond hit a fly ball to center that looked like it might go, but the wind knocked it down and resulted in a sacrifice fly to score the run.

The Pirates (17-13) answered in the bottom half. Clint Barmes lifted a ball to right field leading off, but Tyler Moore misplayed the ball and it fell in front of him for a single. Locke sacrificed Barmes up 90 feet, but that didn’t matter, as Starling Marte jumped all over Strasburg’s first-pitch fastball, drilling it to right center for a two-run home run that should have been a solo shot.

Barmes got to Strasburg again in the fifth. After a leadoff single by Jordy Mercer, Barmes ripped a 1-0 fastball through the breeze into the home team bullpen — which is behind the visitor’s pen in right center – to put the Pirates up 4-2.

The Nats tied the game in the sixth inning. Bryce Harper led off with a soft single to center, and Ryan Zimmerman drew a walk against Locke. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle asked for lefty reliever Justin Wilson to face Adam LaRoche. Wilson walked LaRoche on a 3-2 count to load the bases. After a Tyler Moore strikeout, Wilson Ramos laced a single up the middle — to break an 0-for-16 streak – and both Harper and Zimmerman scored to even the game. Unfortunately the rally ended as Roger Bernadina struck out on three pitches and Strasburg K’d as well.

The Nats loaded the bases again in the seventh, but Moore struck out to end the inning. Moore stranded six runners in consecutive innings without putting the ball in play.

The Nationals — and Moore — finally broke through in the ninth inning. Harper struck out leading off, but Pirates reliever Tony Watson hit Zimmerman on the front leg on a 2-2 count. LaRoche singled to move Zimmerman up, then two of the slower Nats base runners pulled off a double steal with Moore up to bat. After a foul ball, Moore lifted a fly ball to deep right, and Zimmerman raced home ahead of the throw.

Rafael Soriano earned his 10th save of the season to make the one-run lead stand up. He was helped by Roger Bernadina, who threw out Russell Martin trying to stretch a single into a double on his leadoff hit. Tyler Clippard was awarded the win with a scoreless eighth inning, where he made a nifty snare of a soft line drive to start a double play.

THE GOOD: Adam LaRoche. The first baseman is off to a rough start this season, but he was on base four times with a single and three walks. He must be seeing the ball better and that should start to lead to better contact.

THE BAD: Ian Desmond. 0-for-4, 2 Ks, 3 LOB. Desmond really expanded his strike zone for a down offensive day.

THE UGLY: Strasburg gutted out seven innings, but Clint Barmes has no business making solid contact against Strasburg, let alone clubbing a homer into the second bullpen in left center.

THE STATS: 6 hits, 6 BBs, 8 Ks. 1-for-10 with RISP, 11 LOB. E: Ramos (3, throw). 2 DPs.

NEXT GAME: Sunday at 1:35 pm against the Pirates. Gio Gonzalez (2-2, 5.34) faces Wandy Rodriguez (2-1, 3.91).

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Washington Nationals Game 9 Review: Nats complete sweep of Sox with 7-4 win

April 12, 2013 by

The Washington Nationals haven’t lost at home yet this season. Led by five innings of competency by starter Dan Haren, a timely big hit by Ryan Zimmerman, and a few shut-down innings by the bullpen, the Nats ran their overall record to a stellar 7-2 win a 7-4 win over the Chicago White Sox, before a crowd of 24,785 at Nationals Park.

After two home series sweeps, the Nats clean slate will be challenged by division rival Atlanta over the weekend. But for now, that pristine 6-0 record at home is pretty to look at.

The Nats took a bit of a different tack to win Thursday night’s game — at least on offense. Where the home run has been integral so far in the young season, the Nats pieced together an attack against the Sox rookie hurler Dylan Axelrod. The Nats made Axelrod work and forced him from the game early. Of course, Nats starter Dan Haren threw a lot of pitches too, but did a better job than his counterpart limiting the damage.

Haren (W, 1-1, 9.00), to his credit, did not walk a batter, though he did give up 10 hits in his five innings of work. He struck out five in the effort and held the Sox to three earned runs despite pitching in and out of trouble all night.

The Nats scored first in this one. With one out in the first, Jayson Werth singled after on the tenth pitch of his at bat. After Bryce Harper popped up, Werth stole second ahead of Ryan Zimmerman drawing a base on balls. The next batter, Adam LaRoche, singled to the opposite field to plate Werth and give Haren something to work with.

That didn’t last long, unfortunately, as Paul Konerko led off the second with a single, took third on Conor Gillaspie’s double to right field, and scored on Tyler Flowers’ ground out to short.

Washington’s attack went back to it in the third off Axelrod (L, 0-1, 5.79). Denard Span led off with a single, stole second and took third on Werth’s fly out to right field. Harper singled to center to score Span and give the lead back to the Nats. Zimmerman drew another walk and LaRoche did as well to load the bases. Ian Desmond delivered Harper with a sacrifice fly to center to put the Nats up 3-1.

Chicago came right back in the fourth off Haren. Gillaspie singled to lead off and went to second on Axelrod’s botched sacrifice that ended up a bunt single. Alejandro De Aza singled to right to plate Gillaspie and Axelrod moved up to third when the throw missed the cut off man. Jeff Keppinger followed with a single to left, scoring Axelrod to tie it back up.

But the Nats were undaunted and continued to peck away in the bottom of the inning. Haren helped himself out with a one-out double and took third on Werth’s single with two outs. Axelrod started Harper off 1-0 then uncorked a wild pitch, which scored Haren. Axelrod then gave Harper an intentional walk — the first of his career — to bring up Zimmerman again.

The veteran third baseman got into a 3-2 count before making Axlerod pay and delivering big time — a double to right field that scored both Werth and Harper. The hit turned what was a back-and-forth affair into a good lead for the home team.

The Sox picked up their fourth run of the night in the sixth inning off reliever Ryan Mattheus, with Adam Dunn doubling in De Aza, who had singled earlier in the inning. Mattheus pitched two innings and struck out three. He allowed the one run on two hits and a walk.

The Nats got that run back later, with Harper driving in Span on a two-out single to provide the 7-4 final score.

All that was left was for Tyler Clippard to pitch a scoreless eighth and Rafael Soriano to toss a clean ninth inning to record his fifth save of the season.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. 1-for-2 with two walks, but the hit was a big one, breaking the game open. Can’t imagine too many folks are going to be willing to put Harper on ahead of Zimmerman this season.

THE BAD: Wilson Ramos went 0-for-4 with a K.

THE UGLY: Danny Espinosa went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, lowering his April average to .182, before being lifted in a double switch late in the game.

THE STATS: 10 hits, 6 BBs, 6 Ks. 5-for-11 with RISP, 8 LOB. No errors, no DPs.

NEXT GAME: Friday night, April 12 against the Atlanta Braves (8-1) at 7:05 pm. Ross Detwiler (0-0, 0.00) hosts Julio Teheran (0-0, 9.00).

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Washington Nationals Game 1 Review: Harper, Strasburg lead Nats to Opening Day win

April 1, 2013 by

After all the pomp and circumstance, player introductions, color guard and National Anthem, announcement of last season’s award winners and ceremonial first pitch, there was actual baseball. And it was good.

Led by twin phenoms Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals beat their division rival and personal nemesis Miami Marlins 2-0 before a single-game, regular season record crowd of 45,274 at Nationals Park.

Not that the sellout crowd needed anything else to get them going after the rousing pre-game activities — including revealing a “NL East Division Champions” sign above the HD scoreboard – but the Nats  extended the feel-good vibe by jumping out quickly, thanks to who else but Bryce Harper, who lined a 1-0 curveball from Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco into the seats in right field in his first at bat in the bottom of the first inning to give the Nats an early 1-0 lead.

Almost unbelievably, Harper struck again in the fourth. Working the count full, he finally measured Nolasco again and deposited at 3-2 slider into the same section as his first one, extending the Nats lead to 2-0.

The rest was Stephen Strasburg. The Nats ace had as easy a seven inning, 80-pitch appearance as one could have. He allowed a single to Marlins leadoff hitter Juan Pierre to start the game, then set down 19 in a row before allowing a one-out double to Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh. Placido Polanco followed that with a single to move Stanton over to Strasburg in a little hot water for the only time all day.

Strasburg got rookie catcher Rob Brantly to fly out to left field for the second out. Stanton bluffed off third while Harper fired a strike to Wilson Ramos at home on the fly. Polanco broke from first to try to draw a throw and got caught in a rundown. Stanton then broke for the plate and the Nats nabbed the burly slugger easily at home. The play went 7-2-3-4-2 to erase the Marlins only scoring chance against Strasburg all day.

Strasburg’s day was as efficient as it was dominating. He threw 80 pitches in seven innings, with 52 for strikes. He allowed just three hits — and no walks — striking out three. He got 10 ground ball outs and five fly outs in earning his — and his team’s — first win of the season.

 Tyler Clippard, as he has done the last two seasons, pitched a scoreless eighth inning and new closer Rafael Soriano blew away the Marlins 1-2-3 hitters in the ninth to save his first game as a member of the Washington Nationals, including punching out Stanton to end the game.

The Nats are off on Tuesday as is customary at the beginning of the season. They’ll face these Marlins again Wednesday, with Gio Gonzalez set to face Kevin Slowey at 7:05 at Nats Park.

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Washington Nationals Spring Training: Zimmermann retires 18 straight but Nats fall 5-1 to Tigers

March 18, 2013 by

When you compare Sunday’s combined pitching lines for the Washington Nationals with those from Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Tigers, at first glance, you might find it hard to determine which rotation recorded a win for “K Street.”

Washington came away with a 5-1 loss Monday at Space Coast Stadium, despite the fact that Jordan Zimmermann retired 18 batters in a row over six scoreless innings. He threw just 67 pitches in a day’s work, allowed only one hit – a leadoff single by Andy Dirks in the first inning – struck out one and walked no one. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Spring Training: Nats’ pitching dominates in Rafael Soriano’s spring debut

March 5, 2013 by

The Washington Nationals’ relievers combined for six scoreless innings of baseball, allowing only two hits and one walk in the Nats’ 7-1 win over the Houston Astros Tuesday afternoon.

In his long-awaited spring debut with the Nationals, Rafael Soriano struck out Robbie Grossman and allowed only one hit in one inning of action.

Aside from a double off the bat of Chad Tracy, not a single player in Nationals uniform enjoyed an extra-base hit against Houston pitching, and yet the Nats were able to post seven runs – including five runs in the sixth inning off four singles and smart base-running.

Dan Haren started strong, retiring the side in both the first and second innings.  In the third, he allowed Carlos Corporan to single on a line drive to right field. Matt Dominquez flied to right in the next at-bat, but Marwin Gonzalez advanced Corporan on a grounder to Adam LaRoche at first. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals Spring Training Photo Gallery

February 18, 2013 by

Thanks to DistrictSportsPage.com fan contributor Wendy McDowell, here are some photos from Sunday’s chilly workout from Viera, FL. Most of the day players were bundled up underneath hooded sweatshirts, but most of the pitchers threw in the bullpen and there were some recognizable faces (and facial hair) floating about as well.

If you (or someone you know) is attending Nats spring training and would like to be a fan contributor for us this spring, please reach out to us at comments@districtsportspage.com. [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals 2013 Season Preview: The Bullpen

February 5, 2013 by

This week, District Sports Page will take a look at the players that should comprise the 2013 roster of the Washington Nationals. Following a record-setting season last year that saw the Nats finish first in the N.L. East and advance to the playoffs for the first time since the relocation, GM Mike Rizzo has tweaked the roster a bit and expectations have never been higher for the organization, which is expected to be a legitimate World Series contender this season.

Monday, we looked at the starting pitchers. Today, it’s the bullpen.

PROJECTED OPENING DAY BULLPEN: Rafael Soriano, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Ryan Mattheus, Craig Stammen, Zach Duke, Henry Rodriguez/Christian Garcia [Read more...]

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Washington Nationals reportedly sign reliever Rafael Soriano

January 15, 2013 by

ALL-STAR CLOSER RECEIVES TWO-YEAR DEAL WORTH $28 WITH VESTING OPTION IN ’15

According to multiple reports, and first reported by Yahoo! Sports, the Washington Nationals signed right-handed All-Star reliever Rafael Soriano to a two-year, $28 million deal with a vesting option for 2015. The option will vest should Soriano finish 120 games across the term of the contract and would be worth an additional $14 million.

The deal makes Soriano the highest paid reliever in baseball.

The Nationals will have to surrender their first round pick (No. 29 overall) and the slot money assigned to it in compensation for signing Soriano.

Soriano, 33, was with the New York Yankees last season, going 2-1 with 42 saves in 46 chances. He compiled a 2.26 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in 67 2/3 innings with a 7.3 H/9, 9.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. He was an All-Star in 2010 with Tampa Bay when he led the American League with 45 saves and miniscule 1.73 ERA.

According to this article in The Washington Post citing an unnamed source, owner Ted Lerner was “heavily involved” in bringing Soriano to the Nats.

Soriano brings even more depth to an already stacked Nats bullpen. With the money invested — and his vesting option triggered on closing games — Soriano figures to gain most of the save opportunities. But the Nats now have three right-handed relievers that have saved a total of 123 games the past two seasons, with Soriano joining 2011 All-Star Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen.

Immediately upon hearing news of the signing, folks on social media were already speculating which “closer” the Nats were going to trade. But unlike the Michael Morse situation, I don’t see where the Nats “have to” make a deal to open space up for Soriano.

Clippard has been overworked the last two seasons and is due for a salary increase through arbitration this off-season and should command a hefty jump after closing last season and putting up big save numbers, so if the Nats felt like they needed to move someone, Clippard could be that candidate. But his changeup is equally impressive against right- and left-handed batters, so he also could become that de facto missing lefty in the late pen for manager Davey Johnson.

Plenty are suggesting that Drew Storen will be the odd man out and sent packing, but I don’t see that either. It’s true that he faltered in the epic Game Five meltdown against the Cardinals, but Storen possesses filthy stuff when worked regularly and will be completely healthy and recovered from the elbow surgery that limited him to 37 appearances last season.

I believe this is an “all-in” type of move to protect the Nats against the bullpen tiring out over the course of the season. Most of last year, the Nats pen was dominant, but it collectively struggled late in the season and into the playoffs, culminating in the Game Five loss to the Cardinals. Soriano will effectively push every reliever up an inning, shortening games by essentially sending an All-Star caliber closer out for the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, allowing Davey to pick and choose how he wants to use his other relievers, including lefty Zach Duke and righties Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen.

Regardless of how the bullpen shakes out, this moves further cements the Nats as a central figure in the National League and as a big-time player in the free agent market for players they deem to be the right fit.

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