by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
It took a few times, but Gio Gonzalez got his 100th win, and Daniel Murphy got his 500th RBI in his career, and the Nationals got their 75th win of the season.
While Jayson Werth homered again tonight and so did Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner was the sparkplug and havoc wreaker tonight. He personally caused 3 errors on the Rockies tonight and went 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Werth, Murphy and Harper each had 2 RBIs each as the offense really got it going. Continue reading
Frank Howard gets enshrined into the “Ring of Honor” tonight at Nationals Park. A fitting tribute for one of the greatest Washington Senators of their final team before owner Robert Short would rob 
The memories of Hondo and Zim closing RFK Stadium to baseball in 2007 will always be a great memory of passing the torch. Let us hope that tonight is just as special as we have some more glimpses of Frank “Hondo” Howard with Ryan Zimmerman as we always thought of them as the “Faces of the Washington Franchises”. The picture (to the right) was actually produced by our own Allstars_S2 back in 2007 for a tribute piece to them. Congratulations Frank Howard!
The Nationals players, coaches, Dusty Baker, and Mike Rizzo must have finally slept well. Poorly played games can sometimes keep you up at night. Max Scherzer had one of the most important wins of the season for this Nationals team as they widened their lead back up to 8.0 games in the NL East with 35 left to play, but more importantly split this mini 2 game series and got off of the four game losing streak.
The fight in this team was shown on Wednesday night that they don’t give up even when behind by 7 runs in the final half inning of a game. That was also evident in their play on Thursday. Continue reading
The Nats losing streak is at 4 games, and while that is disappointing, the Nationals still maintain a healthy 7.0 game lead in the NL East. Tonight the Nationals send Max Scherzer to the mound as their starter and Ace. The Orioles placed Chris Tillman on the DL and will go back to the struggling Ubaldo Jimenez as their starter.
The Nationals offense came alive last night mounting a comeback that was almost of historical proportions as the Nats were down 10-3 in the 9th and scored 5 runs with the tying runs on base and the winning run in the batter’s box with only 1 out. Ryan Zimmerman grounded into a game ending doubleplay, and while Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos continue to struggle, Trea Turner and others are getting it done. Continue reading
The Washington Nationals didn’t throw in the towel and gave it all they had as the score was a 10-3 deficit in the bottom of the 9th inning as Danny Espinosa got on base with an infield hit followed by a Clint Robinson single. Jayson Werth walked to load the bases for Daniel Murphy who hit a no-doubter grand slam which was the first of his career. That made the score 10-7.
Buck Showalter went to his closer Zach Britton, and Bryce Harper singled off him followed by an Anthony Rendon RBI double. It was the first RBI that Britton had given up since May. Wilson Ramos stepped into the batter’s box representing the tying run, and he hit a comebacker to Britton who tried to get Rendon leaning off of 2nd base, and he was safe. Luckily Ramos was hustling down the line and was safe giving the Nats the winning run stepping into the batter’s box. Ryan Zimmerman had a chance to be the hero, and redemption to make his season right with one swing for history. Zimmerman went first pitch swinging and grounded into a 4-6-3 game ending doubleplay.
The Nationals lost 10-8. A heartbreaking finish.
Baseball is an interesting game, and the players all have interesting backgrounds. In 2012, a phenom rookie pitcher emerged in the desert. Few knew who Wade Miley was out of SLU when he was drafted as a top pick. Yes, SLU, not LSU. SLU is Southeastern Louisiana University where Miley was selected in the 1st round in 2008 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The lefty pitcher was a workhorse, and he dominated the NL West that season, and got 12 first place votes in the Rookie of the Year voting where he got edged out by some kid named Bryce Harper who got 16 first place votes. Miley, like Harper, was also named an All-Star in the 2012 season.
Since that great 2012 season for Miley, he had a good 2013 season but since then his pitching stats have worsened year over year. He currently has an ERA of 9.53, but is also capable of throwing the occasional gem as the Cubs found out, and the Royals, and the Indians, and before he was traded to the Orioles, Miley also shut them out. This is Wade Miley, the master of inconsistency. Miley should have a fresh arm as he didn’t even get through the 2nd inning in his last start, and we will see what he looks like in this game.
Miley and Max Scherzer were teammates in the Diamondbacks system, and once played on the same 2009 Visalia Rawhide team in A-ball.
The Nationals are the 4th best team in MLB versus lefty pitchers with a .790 OPS. Expect Dusty Baker to take advantage of that in his line-up.
Tanner Roark gets the familiar start amidst a losing streak. The Nats have lost 3 in a row, and if you recall it was Tanner Roark on June 26th who stopped that dreadful losing streak. Roark is used to being the stopper, and has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the National League. Roark did not have the pitching pedigree of Wade Miley or for that matter any of the other Nationals’ starters. He is a blue collar type of pitcher who grinds out starts. Those who appreciate that rare mixture of finesse and power can appreciate Tanner Roark. Continue reading
There are 37 games remaining in the season, and the Nationals head home. Many Nats look tired. Reynaldo Lopez was not particularly sharp tonight as he gave up four earned runs in a game that ended in an 8-1 loss.
The Nationals had plays they did not make on defense as Daniel Murphy had an error allowing 2 runs to score, and Danny Espinosa once again had range issues to his glove side and sailed a throw on a tough groundball.
The Orioles had seven hits in 2 strike counts as Lopez just count command his pitches tonight and put the batters away.
The Nationals had a chance in the 7th inning after four straight hits, but Clint Robinson tried to go 1st to 3rd on Espinosa’s single and was the first out in the inning.
Trea Turner had a 4-4 night with 1 double and 3 singles and Bryce Harper had a 2-4 night. The Nats had their chances to add-on more runs but failed once again to execute.
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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