Webb blanks the Nationals, 4-0

Last night Brandon Webb showed the Nationals exactly what makes him arguably the best pitcher in the National League; he’s nearly impossible to hit. Webb went the distance and finished a complete game shut out of the Washington Nationals, completely slowing any offensive firepower they may have showed days before.

The Nats Banged up line up again featured many players not in the opening day batting order. They weren’t quite as successful this time. While the team is slightly banged up, it’s not clear why Manny Acta went with an alternate line up two nights in a row. The order tonight saw both Wily Mo Pena and Elijah Dukes out of the order, which leaves it with just about no potential pop. With no runs scored, and only six hits, the Nats fell to Arizona 4-0.

This game was just odd

Abnormalities Saturday in the desert:
-Zero substitutions the entire game. Not a pitcher or a position player was take out for any reason whatsoever, only 18 men stepped on the field.

-Two complete games pitched on the same night, both threw under 115 pitches.

-Four of Bergmann’s seven hits allowed were solo home runs. This means he allowed more home runs then any other sort of hit, and he still managed to pitch a complete game.

-Zero walks the entire game for both teams

-A UVA alumni third basemen was the best player in a Nats game, and it wasn’t Ryan Zimmerman. It was Mark Reynolds

Injuries frustrate the Nats

Saturday night saw Ryan Zimmerman out with a sore shoulder, and Jesus Flores out with dizziness. The Nats obviously need these two to get healthy, Zimmerman is the backbone of the young franchise and Flores has the hottest bat. Both are listed as day to day which is certainly troubling for the immediate plans of Manny Acta. Not knowing who will be slotted where until they get to the ball park can be stressful to everyone on the team. Players can’t prepare mentally for their role on a given day if they don’t know who will be healthy or not. The Nats need to get better quick because the seasons only gong to get longer and harder.

Notes:

Jason Bergmann’s scoreless streak ended, but aside from the 4 solo homers (which really means he made 4 mistakes the whole game), he pitched very well en route to the complete game finish. His eight innings of work also allowed a tired bullpen to get some rest. Most importantly he showed a lot of heart going head to head with one of the games best pitchers.

Lastings had himself a day. He went 2-3 against one of the best pitchers in baseball and snagged two bases. In his last 10 games Milledge is batting .300 with two homers and six RBI. He has also stolen seven bases in that time.