Ding dong the losing streak is over! Roark pitches a gem!: Postgame

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Washington Nationals win a nail-biter at the end 3-2 after Tanner Roark pitches a 7 inning shutout. Jayson Werth was bit by the ‘sun monster’ who traveled to Milwaukee to get him and Villar got a gift wrapped triple to represent the tying run in the 9th inning with 2 outs. Shawn Kelley didn’t panic and got the save in the 3-2 win ending the losing streak at 7.

The offensive heros were Clint Robinson and Jose Lobaton who both homered. CRob’s was a 2 run HR and those RBIs turned out to be needed as the score went to 3-2.

Tanner Roark got himself in trouble a few times in the game and worked out of it. One time was due to a passed ball that put runners at 3rd and 2nd and 1 out and Roark struck out Chris Carter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis without any worries.

The Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson exited with a 5 inning no-hitter but ran his pitch count up and actually worked out of a bases loaded situation with 3 walks and Bryce Harper smashed one to the warning track in CF for a long out.

boxscore 6 26 16

If you are someone who likes watching the standings, the Nats win and a Mets loss put the lead for the Nats in the NL East at 3.0 games. The Nats on Wednesday evening are still guaranteed to be in 1st place.

Happy flight back to D.C.!

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #76 Tanner Roark takes Strasburg’s spot: Game Thread

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Andrew Lang

Today marks the last game of this road trip and hopefully the end of this 7 game losing streak. Tanner Roark pitched one of the best 7 inning games of the season in his last start, but as we know, baseball games are 9 inning games. The issue was Roark stayed in the game for the 8th inning and gave up a 3 run home run and the Nats lost 3-2.

The Brewers will pitch Jimmy Nelson who the Nats have faced before.

This is Jimmy Nelson’s stats against the Nats:

Here is Tanner Roark‘s stats against the Brewers:

Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
1st Pitch: 2:10pm EDT
TV: MASN2, FSWI-Brewers, MLB.tv

Line-ups (subject to change without notice):

  1. Ben Revere CF
  2. Jayson Werth LF
  3. Bryce Harper RF
  4. Daniel Murphy 2B
  5. Anthony Rendon 3B
  6. Clint Robinson 1B
  7. Stephen Drew SS
  8. Jose Lobaton C
  9. Tanner Roark RHP
Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Stats vs. Scouts

Posted on June 25, 2016 by DonH

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in Analysis, Sabermetrics | Leave a comment

Gio gave up 6 runs over 3 innings and pulled. The offense clawed back to make it close.: Postgame

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nats losing streak is now at 7 in a row and the longest losing streak since 2009 for the Nats. The game seemed out of reach early as Gio Gonzalez gave up 6 runs and was pulled after the 3rd inning. Gio was fortunate when he departed at a score of 6-1 as Werth threw out Villar at home—it could have been worse. It was the 7th poor outing in a row for Gio Gonzalez (all team losses) and Gio’s ERA shot up to 4.73.

The Nationals relievers were perfect on the day after taking over for Gio Gonzalez from the 4th inning on.

The Nats offense battled all day to get back into the game, and besides the 2 hits with runners in scoring position by Wilson Ramos, the team was 0-7 in all the other RISP spots. The Nats produced runs from outs on Sacrifice Flies which totaled 3, but Ryan Zimmerman came up again in a key spot with bases loaded and 1 out and hit it well to the warning track for a sacrifice fly. No position players had strikeouts today which was a key in getting back into the game.

The Nationals defense was excellent with 2 runners cut-down at the plate with outfield assists to Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper.

Nats lose 6-5.

boxscore 6 25 16

For the jolt of reality, when is Mike Rizzo going to make a move? How long can you stick with Gio Gonzalez? How long can Dusty stay with O-fers in the leadoff spot? How long can you go hitless in RISP spots from your 1st baseman? This is what the fanbase wants to know.

Bill Ladson asked Dusty Baker in the postgame presser if Gio had anything wrong physically and Dusty said he did not and expected Gio as of now to make his next start.

In new news, Stephen Strasburg will not pitch tomorrow as he still has soreness. Per Kolko, Tanner Roark will take his place and will be on normal rest due to the day-off on Thursday which allowed this. It is possible that Strasburg goes on the 15-day DL which would get back-dated.

https://twitter.com/masnKolko/status/746849964605718528

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #75 It’s Gio’s turn to be the guy!: Game Thread

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nationals are mired in a 6 game losing streak and the only way out of it is WIN. Some of the players are making their manager look bad by not executing. Today is Gio Gonzalez’s turn to step up.

Will Dusty Baker go with Wilson Ramos behind the plate instead of Jose Lobaton to catch Gio Gonzalez and will Clint Robinson get the start at 1st base or will it be Daniel Murphy at 1st base and Stephen Drew at 2nd base? Zimmerman has hit Garza well but is it significant what Zim did in 2011 when he went 2-4 against Garza? Maybe Drew at 3rd base today in place of Rendon?

From our sources, we are being told there are no personnel changes today which means don’t expect Trea Turner.

Matt Garza pitches for the Brewers today, and the Nats have faced him several times over the years.

Here are the Nats stats against Matt Garza:

Here is Gio’s stats against the Brewers:

Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
1st Pitch: 4:10pm EDT
TV: MASN2, FSWI-Brewers, MLB.tv

Line-ups (subject to change without notice):

  1. Ben Revere CF
  2. Jayson Werth LF
  3. Bryce Harper RF
  4. Daniel Murphy 2B
  5. Wilson Ramos C
  6. Ryan Zimmerman 1B
  7. Anthony Rendon 3B
  8. Danny Espinosa SS
  9. Gio Gonzalez LHP
Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Was something brewing at the end of April that pointed to danger ahead?

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

Nats losing streak now at 6. Where is the in-game strategy?: Postgame

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nats were behind 5-3 in the 8th inning and had Daniel Murphy on 3rd and Wilson Ramos on 2nd with no outs. Ryan Zimmerman stepped in against the pitcher and struck out looking. Anthony Rendon walked to load the bases. Danny Espinosa then struck out, and with 2 outs Clint Robinson popped out.

Dusty had Jayson Werth, Chris Heisey, Stephen Drew and Clint Robinson all available when Zimmerman’s spot came up in the 8th inning. Here was the chart of what Zimmerman saw. Pitch #8 for the strikeout was right down the middle.

zimmerman K 6 24 16

Continue reading →

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #74 Cy Scherzer must be the stopper, now!: Game Thread

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Andrew Lang

Do you want the good news or the bads news first? The good news is the Nats hold a 4.0 game lead over both the Mets and Marlins in the NL East and can work this weekend on widening that lead. The bad news is the Nationals fell into some bad luck in a 5 game losing streak, and it must end tonight with Max Scherzer taking the mound in Milwaukee where he has pitched very well as Scherzer has a career 1.69 ERA pitching 3 times in Miller Park. You may remember the gem Scherzer threw last year in Milwaukee when he had a complete game 1 hit shutout with 16Ks.

The Nats face 23-year-old Zach Davies who is a 6’0″ 155 pound righty from Puyallup, Washington. Davies was an original draft pick of the Orioles in the 26th round and was traded last year for Gerardo Parra. Davies has had some success lately ranking 10th in the NL since May 4th in ERA at 2.40 although his overall ERA is 3.62. Davies is a finesse pitcher who is a sinkerballer and changeup specialist. He can also throw a curve and cutter and the occasional slider. His fastball tops out at 91 and the changeup has big speed differential at 79mph.

No Washington Nationals player has ever faced Davies before, and this will be the first time.

Max Scherzer has faced several of the Brewers before and here is his stats against them:

 

Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
1st Pitch: 8:10pm EDT
TV: MASN2, FSWI-Brewers, MLB.tv

Line-ups (subject to change without notice):

  1. Ben Revere LF
  2. Michael Taylor CF
  3. Bryce Harper RF
  4. Daniel Murphy 2B
  5. Wilson Ramos C
  6. Ryan Zimmerman 1B
  7. Anthony Rendon 3B
  8. Danny Espinosa SS
  9. Max Scherzer RHP

Screenshot_2016-06-24-17-04-58

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

A 0-5 game with the error that loses the game. Buckner to Taylor. Vin Scully was the voice for both.

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

The Fourth 18-gamer — Steady as she goes.

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Section222

You must be a TalkNats Subscriber to access this content. Subscribers have access to exclusive content on the TalkNats website and can engage in discussions with other Nats fans.

Click here to become a subscriber.

First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.

If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.

Posted in 18GameRecap, Analysis, Games, Schedule | Tagged | Leave a comment