You said it Don. Finally on Sunday at home, the Nats busted their 9 game losing streak by sneaking one past the Atlanta Braves. It wasn’t pretty though; the Nats got some luck with Glavine leaving after only 17 pitches in the first inning, they nearly blew a 5 run lead and were only a few feet away from loss number 10.
The Game:
The Nats bats, or at least their eyes came out early today. With Glavine’s early control problems and early departure the Nats got on the board quickly. Guzman started the game with a ripped double off the wall, fallowed by a beautiful bunt for a hit by Milledge giving the Nats a first and third situation with no outs. An infield single by Zimmerman scored Guzman and so the least exciting rally in baseballs young season started. Several walked in runs, or runs scored from bases loaded double plays found the Nats up 5-0.
Tim Redding came out dealing today (5IP 6H 3ER). Through the first five innings he was
basically unhittable allowing only three hits. His 12-6 curveball at times seemed dominant, he worked the count well and didn’t make any mistakes until the 6th. The 6th inning however was Redding’s undoing, after only 99 pitches he had to come out of the ball game fallowing a single to Escobar, a homer to Chipper and a double off the very top of the wall to Teixeira. The game quickly went from a 5-0 easy win to a 5-4 nail biter.
Ray King(the only lefty in the Nats pen), came on to retire Kotsay to stop the bleeding. A combination of Rivera, Ayala, Cordero and Rauch led to the ultimate victory for the Nats.
Pleasant Returns (Kinda):
Today’s game saw a rough return to Wily Mo Pena in right. Pena struck out three times, made a costly error in right, and the only contribution he gave to the team was grounding into a double play with the bases loaded that happened to drive in a run.
The Chief Chad Cordero returned for a tough save situation in his first day back as well. It was originally proposed that Chad wouldn’t return immediately as the closer but instead would come back in set-up situations until he could complete his rehabilitation. However he was thrown onto the mound at Nats Park to face the 9-1-2 hitters with a one run lead to try and end a 9 game skid. It started well enough, retiring the first two batters but he quickly walked the bases loaded and was replaced by Rauch who came on and got the final out.
Who Let Lastings Out?
Lastings Milledge had himself a day. Three for three with a walk, bunt single, base hit, a double and a stolen base. It’s days like these for the young outfielder that show promise to the future of this franchise. Does every dog have his day? Sure. Does one good day mean anything for the future of any player? No. But the fact that Milledge came out and had himself a big day in a game when his team needed to snap a 9 game losing streak showed for the first time that he could save the day for this city. Here’s to hoping there are many many more instances of Lasting saving the day.
Injuries:
Glavine's Injury is interesting. In his 22 year career Glavine has never gone on the disabled list. He has only twice left the game before recording an out, one was this afternoon, and the other 19 years ago. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back and how quickly he returns.
Paul Lo Duca injured his hand after being hit by a pitch and will be day to day fallowing some tests.
The Game:
The Nats bats, or at least their eyes came out early today. With Glavine’s early control problems and early departure the Nats got on the board quickly. Guzman started the game with a ripped double off the wall, fallowed by a beautiful bunt for a hit by Milledge giving the Nats a first and third situation with no outs. An infield single by Zimmerman scored Guzman and so the least exciting rally in baseballs young season started. Several walked in runs, or runs scored from bases loaded double plays found the Nats up 5-0.
Tim Redding came out dealing today (5IP 6H 3ER). Through the first five innings he was
basically unhittable allowing only three hits. His 12-6 curveball at times seemed dominant, he worked the count well and didn’t make any mistakes until the 6th. The 6th inning however was Redding’s undoing, after only 99 pitches he had to come out of the ball game fallowing a single to Escobar, a homer to Chipper and a double off the very top of the wall to Teixeira. The game quickly went from a 5-0 easy win to a 5-4 nail biter.Ray King(the only lefty in the Nats pen), came on to retire Kotsay to stop the bleeding. A combination of Rivera, Ayala, Cordero and Rauch led to the ultimate victory for the Nats.
Pleasant Returns (Kinda):
Today’s game saw a rough return to Wily Mo Pena in right. Pena struck out three times, made a costly error in right, and the only contribution he gave to the team was grounding into a double play with the bases loaded that happened to drive in a run.
The Chief Chad Cordero returned for a tough save situation in his first day back as well. It was originally proposed that Chad wouldn’t return immediately as the closer but instead would come back in set-up situations until he could complete his rehabilitation. However he was thrown onto the mound at Nats Park to face the 9-1-2 hitters with a one run lead to try and end a 9 game skid. It started well enough, retiring the first two batters but he quickly walked the bases loaded and was replaced by Rauch who came on and got the final out.
Who Let Lastings Out?
Lastings Milledge had himself a day. Three for three with a walk, bunt single, base hit, a double and a stolen base. It’s days like these for the young outfielder that show promise to the future of this franchise. Does every dog have his day? Sure. Does one good day mean anything for the future of any player? No. But the fact that Milledge came out and had himself a big day in a game when his team needed to snap a 9 game losing streak showed for the first time that he could save the day for this city. Here’s to hoping there are many many more instances of Lasting saving the day.
Injuries:
Glavine's Injury is interesting. In his 22 year career Glavine has never gone on the disabled list. He has only twice left the game before recording an out, one was this afternoon, and the other 19 years ago. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back and how quickly he returns.Paul Lo Duca injured his hand after being hit by a pitch and will be day to day fallowing some tests.
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1 comment:
Bang! Zoom! There go the fireworks!
Even though they both had disappointing returns, the come back of Wily Mo and Cordero could mean huge things for the team.
Cordero brings a stability to the roles in the pen. Last year if a lead got to the seventh inning, you knew who was coming in and who was not going to score. This could easily return.
Pena also brings the possibility of the clutch hit that we're missing right now. Last year the Nats scored 2 more runs-per-game with Pena than without it. Even with Pena doing nothing, this showed today.
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