Nats rally around Lannans arm, win 2-1

John Lannan may be young, but he’s not stupid. The pitcher who has played above his projected ability, and above his experience level all season long showed today that he also is mature beyond his years. Knowing the responsibility was on his 23 year old shoulders to stop the 4 game winning streak of the Orioles and to avoid the sweep, he came off his worst performance of the year and delivered a gem. They say one of the key jobs of an ace is to be a stopper by ending a losing streak before it gets out of control, Lannan filled the role today.

Lannan tossed seven and a third beautiful innings this afternoon, letting up only 5 hits and one earned run. He did an excellent job of locating all of his pitches and forcing ground balls. Out of 24 outs recorded, Lannan produced 11 ground ball outs and 5 K’s while letting up only one walk. That Nats fans, is how you win a game while only scoring 2 runs.

On the other side of the hill, former first round pick for the O’s, Jeremy Guthrie, also had himself a great day, allowing only five hits and only one earned run through seven innings. However for a change the Nats were able to turn their quiet bats into runs as they showed good patience against a good pitching performance. Washington drew 6 walks in comparison to only two strikeouts which allowed them to put that extra run on the board over the O’s.

Wil Nieves + Jesus Flores > Paul Lo Duca + Johnny Estrada

The sample size is still small, but it’s getting larger and larger every game and it’s becoming more and more evident that Flores and Nieves are the best catchers on this team. Damn the contracts and the big names, Nieves and Flores are playing like they want to be on the Nationals, as opposed to having to play for the Nationals. Lo Duca and Estrada are both former all stars, but its clear their careers are coming to a close and this is the only place they were offered a Major League job. The baseball gods are telling us something with these injuries, let the kids play.

Jesus Flores Season Stats: .367 BA (11/30), .500 OBP, 1.133 OPS
Wil Nieves Season Stats: .310 BA (13/42), .385 OBP, .788 OPS
Lo Duca Season Stats: .200 BA (10/50), .298 OBP, .558 OPS
Johnny Estrada Stats: .179 BA (7/39), .220 OBP, .298 OPS

Record with:
Nieves at catcher 7-8
Flores at catcher 3-8
Lo Duca at catcher 6-11
Estrada at catcher: 5-5, 4 broken clubhouse chairs

Game Notes:

Nick “Stone Cold” Markakis did not have a great game from the plate, but he did show Nationals fans his franchise talent from the field today gunning out two runners from right field ( Elijah Dukes twice). It’s players like Markakis, who always bring something to the table, that make Nats fans really frustrated with the disappointment of Austin Kearns, who brings nothing.

Going 0-2 today with 2 walks, Aaron Boone stopped his mini hit streak, but did continue his on base streak to 7 games.

GUZMAN WATCH: Guzman has a good game today and actually aided in a Nats winning effort. Guzman went 2-3 with 2 RBI’s and a solo homer. He also had a sacrifice bunt! Trade value: rising.

Question: Do you think the marlins would trade Austin Kearns for 1$?

(picture above is lucky jarmes behind an angry nats fan at camden yards)

Box Score

Photos courtesy of AP/Nick Wass

Nats lose 5-3 in first game of the series

The Nats did something tonight they haven’t been doing very well lately, they out hit their opponent. The Nats dropped 11 hits on their beltway neighbors but only one for extra bases as their offensive jump was not enough to beat the Orioles tonight. The 5-3 loss for the Nats tonight is symbolic of all the struggles they’ve had this season. The one night they can hit they can’t pitch, and despite having many runners reach base, all but three were stranded.
The loss tonight not only slowed a Nats hot streak that saw them take three of four from the Mets, it also broke a 4 game winning streak the team had against the orange and black. Turf Wars and pride aside, its important to remember that before we start hitting double and homers we need to be able to hit singles, and the Nats really did focus on just getting the bat on the ball tonight. The only starter without a hit was Wily Mo, and Zimmerman, Milledge and Flores both recorded multi hit games.

Meet Nick Markakis

For those of you who are former Orioles fans who stopped paying attention with Cal’s farewell, let me introduce you to their new prize possession, Nick Markakis. Markakis, like his clubs owner, is Greek and arguably the best Greek player ever (small talent pool). Markakis is a sweet swinging left handed right fielder who’s quiet approach to the game reminds many of the great modest sluggers of the games past.
In 2006 at the age of only 22 Markakis made his debut for the O’s and never looked back. He played 147 games in his rookie season, playing all outfield positions and showed great overall value for a team trying to compete in the most competitive division. He was no lame duck at the plate either, batting .291 with 16 bombs and 62 RBI’s. He also showed great patience for a young hitter reaching base .352 percent of the time. His sophomore campaign was even better. Markakis batted .300, hit 23 homers, 43 doubles, drove in 112 RBI’s and stole 18 bases.
So far this season Markakis having another good year. While his batting average is way down, now at .260, he is getting on base at .390 and has already hit 7 homers. He does not have the plate protection he had last year with Miguel Tejada in the line up, but it’s clear that when he gets some more protection he will be one of the better left handed hitters in the American League. He’s their Ryan Zimmerman, and it looks as if both these stars are locked up long term, there will be two bright stars in the beltway for years to come.

GUZMAN WATCH

Guzman only went 1-5 last night but was able to slap a double with no one on. His batting average continues to drop, but hopefully his trade stock will stay high.