by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
The Nationals find themselves in a position to go for a series win instead of salvaging a series split thanks to Gerardo Parra and his teammates. It was a key team win last night and the operative word is “team” because there are no heroics if Parra does not come up to bat in the 8th inning. Continue reading
We needed a Hollywood ending, and Gerardo Parra delivered the script with a grand slam winner in the 8th inning to take a loss and turn it into a win. Entering the 8th inning, the Nationals win expectancy was calculated at 10% by Fangraphs. So you’re saying there’s a chance! With 2 outs after watching Anthony Rendon strikeout in a 3-2 count, Parra got to face Dylan Floro who he was 2-for-2 against in his career, but this seemed to be a different Floro and a different Parra. This Floro entered the game with a 0.00 ERA, and Parra was batting just .185 at that moment in time. Redemption sometimes comes at the most opportune times. Earlier this week Parra was booted to the curb by the Giants and was unemployed.
The script had the count at 2-2 and like the mythical left-handed Roy Hobbs, this real-life lefty barreled up a fastball that was a mistake pitch — and crushed it 413 feet into the right-center bleachers at Dodger Stadium. Parra’s home run did not destroy a light stanchion sending sparks onto the field like the fictional Hobbs — but he did destroy the hopes of the mostly partisan 53,647 fans in attendance. Their cheers went to shocked silence.
All of this was possible because of a Dodgers error earlier in the inning to make Parra’s at-bat a possibility, and he did not miss the pitch and made them pay for the miscue with four unearned runs and a blown-save on Floro’s record. It was also Parra’s first hit as a Nats player, and the most impactful debut for a Nats first basemen in their history. Parra really is not a first baseman by the numbers, but on this night his manager got creative to put him there to rest Howie Kendrick and the rest was history. Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
Slowly but surely the Nationals are getting their injured players back. Today it is Juan Soto returning to the active roster after suffering from back spasms. The lineup card is very close to what manager Dave Martinez penciled up on Opening Day except for today Wilmer Difo is at shortstop and the newly hired outfielder, Gerardo Parra will have his first baseman’s glove tonight. That is not a misprint. Howie Kendrick could have played tonight or tomorrow afternoon’s game, and Martinez opted for Parra who has 20 starts at first base during his tenure in Colorado the previous two seasons. Parra has an .808 OPS against the Dodgers starter, Walker Buehler. Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
A day after dominating the Dodgers in a well-played shutout, Nats fans were cautiously optimistic that their team could beat the Dodgers in a game where both teams were missing two star players. The Dodgers sat Justin Turner and scratched Corey Seager, and the Nats are still missing Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Continue reading
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Last season, Anibal Sanchez became a study in analytics. He resurrected a career that had looked like it was nearing a statistical curve destined for retirement. This season he has had seven starts, and his best performances have been 2-run performances. But when you look at last season through his first seven appearances, he had 4 shutouts. What is the difference in this tale of two seasons? Maybe it can be explained away in the defense behind him and also defensive positioning because the hit rate has increased from 7.0 to 9.6 between this year and last year. Maybe it is the BB/9 rate that was 2.8 and is now 5.4. Can new pitching coach Paul Menhart change anything to improve Sanchez? He has identical HR/9 numbers nearly identical K/9 stats as last year so the difference is hits and walks leading to more runs. Continue reading
Photo by Navy Yard Nats for TalkNats
Pick your stars of this game, and it begins with Howie Kendrick who started the scoring in the first inning with a 3-run blast on his way to a 4 RBI game in this 6-0 shutout behind 7.0 strong innings by Patrick Corbin who had no-hit stuff tonight. Corbin had 8 strikeouts and yielded only 3-hits, and the defense behind him turned two nifty doubleplays including a Web Gem by Anthony Rendon. It was Corbin who shutdown the best offensive team in the league in this “must win” game against the Dodgers who own the best record in the National League. Continue reading
Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
For manager Dave Martinez, he was always a slow starter in his career as a player. The month of April was his worst statistical month, and he had hoped that as a manager he could come out of the gates strong this year. It almost looked like it was going to happen until Anthony Rendon got injured. If only the Nationals could have just treaded water until Rendon, Juan Soto and Trea Turner returned from the injured list, they could go on a run when their opening day roster was intact. Unfortunately, Martinez’s team has been sinking under the weight of the water and are now 8-games under .500. As their luck has it, they are facing the team with the best record in the National League for the next four days. Last week, the Cardinals had the best record in the National League and the Nationals had to face them for three games. The Dodgers got red hot and have surpassed the Cardinals now for the top spot in the NL. The Dodgers just swept the Braves and have won 16-of-their-last-23 games which followed a 6-game losing streak. Continue reading
Adam Eaton is stirring it up; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Nationals once had a player who would talk about that he would run through a “fricking brick wall” for his manager but in reality he would not even run out most infield groundballs. Many players will give you a cliché or a cute soundbite to tell you how hard they are working. Talk is cheap and you never want a losing culture to be acceptable. Continue reading
Last night was a game that baseball purists love as Stephen Strasburg was dominating through six innings last night. He knew the 7th inning would be his last, and maybe he knew that he had to plunk a batter. That batter he hit also hurt his catcher, Kurt Suzuki, who took the deflection off of his left ear. That seemed to unnerve Strasburg and his inning quickly unraveled. If you had a great bullpen, maybe you make a move there and call it a night in a 0-0 game. Instead, Strasburg remained in the game and gave up two singles to load the bases. At this point the former first overall draft pick had to save his own game, and he nearly did. Stras got a key strikeout for the second out of the inning, but then Lorenzo Cain ripped a bases clearing double to put the game in quick peril. The ending for the Nationals matched the same fate of how their season started — as a shutout. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
The player we affectionately call “Tony Two Bags” is due to come off the 10-day injured list today. The Nationals were a .500 team at 9-9 when Rendon was at 3rd base until the day that he was plunked on the elbow. Since, then the team has unraveled with some of the sloppiest play we have ever seen in the history of the Nationals. This team in the past three days has accumulated nine charged errors in the field and several more plays that should have been made. On Sunday it was Jake Noll apologizing for a first inning error that allowed two runs to score, and Carter Kieboom last night botched a grounder and did not snag a liner at glove’s reach that resulted in the only two runs (one earned) against Max Scherzer. Continue reading
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