Everything started off well for the Nats in the game tonight. Matt Chico came out and dealt strikes and kept the Mets relatively off balance through the first four innings. Batters like Kearns and Zimmerman were able to produce for the team for the first time in what has seemed like too long. Through four and a half the Nats played playoff level baseball showing that maybe this season could take a turn in the right direction.
However it’s the little things in baseball that will kill you. Little mistakes like a young starting pitcher not constantly hitting his spots causing is pitch count to reach 90 before the 5th inning. Little things like letting that runner on with 2 outs, because even though he doesn’t score, it’s one more batter you have to face and therefore a few more pitches. The fatigue of Matt Chico is what lead to the big inning for the Mets, and after the 5th inning rally, it was all she wrote…the Mets bullpen took over.
Beware of the Big Inning
In most ball games the winning team will have one big inning that clinches it for them. For the
Mets today it was the 5th. A leadoff homer by their sparkplug Jose Reyes led way. Base hits by Ryan Church and then David Wright led way to another bomb by Carlos Beltran, scoring three more before the Nats had recorded an out. It was a four run inning, and that’s all the Mets needed to turn it around.The responsibility for avoiding the big inning often lies in the hands of the manager. You can argue that after Reyes jacked the solo shot to left, Acta should have taken Chico and his high pitch count off the mound. Some may argue that he had only pitched 4 full innings, but it was clear that he was fatigued. If the homer wasn’t indication enough, maybe the back to back singles should have been…it’s rather surprising he was still in to give a bomb to Beltran.
Big inning stat: Take away the 5th inning from the Mets and instead of 5 runs on 9 hits they would have had 1 run on 5 hits….
When the Nationals play their best baseball they use their great bullpen and strong defense to avoid the big innings. The Nats just don’t have the bats to get in a slugfest, or generally even play behind. Speaking of which….
Where’d the Bats go?
In the 9 game losing streak the Nationals were scoring runs:
7, 4, 4, 0, 7, 4, 3, 0, 2 runs to be exact.
The problem was their pitching, not the run support. Now it appears the pitching for the most part has returned, but the hitting has disappeared. Don’t let the two runs the Nats scored tonight fool you either, they only managed five hits and four walks. I know many of the hitters are coming off injuries, but lets get it together before its too late Nats.
Christian Guzman must read The Nats Blog
After we called for him to be stricken from the leadoff spot for his lack of ability to walk, Guzman tripled his overall season walk total today by walking twice. He now has three walks in 66 plate appearances.
Chad Cordero is clearly not healthy
Yes, Cordero came on in a meaningless situation and retired three of the four batters he faced pitching a scoreless eighth. However, he only threw one pitch that topped 80 mph, a fastball that went to 81. This can not be a good sign for the Nats closer who usually throws in the low 90’s to high 80s with his fastball. A changeup is only effective if it actually is a change in speed. Another indication of Cordero’s health problems was that he was pitching from more of a three quarters to side arm position, as opposed to his usual over the top. This is a clear indication that his arm and his motion do not feel all right. I watched the game tonight on MLB.TV which means I watched the Mets broadcast not the Nationals(the Mets were home) and Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling were shocked that Acta would even let Cordero on the mound in his condition.
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