by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
This are two pitchers who know each other. Kris Medlen from his Atlanta Braves years before serious arm troubles faces off against Stephen Strasburg. This 2:15pm afternoon game is the 6th game on this road trip before the Nats head to Wrigley Field for a 4 game series starting tomorrow.
Dusty will employ a day game after a night game roster and can take advantage of the DH to rest a player. It worked well for Jayson Werth last night as he went 2-4 with a HR. Continue reading
The Nats wasted some great performances tonight with HRs and clutch hits backing a tough night for Tanner Roark who gave up 4 earned in 7 1/3.
Jonathan Papelbon had a 2-run lead in the 9th as he came in for the save, and the 1st batter was Alex Gordon who fought off a pitch and grounded one through the vacated shortstop domain as Espinosa was in a shift. The next batter hit a single into leftfield. With runners on 3rd and 2nd, Papelbon got a K for the first out of the inning. In a 2 strike count to the pinch-hitter Moustakas, Papelbon threw a changeup that was grounded past the shift for a 2 RBI single that tied the game.
Lorenzo Cain with 2 outs and men on 3rd and 1st hit the ball past Michael Taylor for the walk-off winner.
It was Papelbon’s 2nd blown save of the season as he has now converted 9 of 11. This series is tied at one game a piece and tomorrow’s game with determine who wins the series.
You can look at the positives and negatives in this boxscore:
The Washington Nationals are back at it tonight for an 8:15pm game versus the Kansas City Royals. The Nats have right-handed pitcher Tanner Roark on the mound, and he will face-off with Chris Young who was actually in competition with Roark at Nats Spring Training of 2014 for a spot in the Nationals starting rotation. Young would end up opting out of his contract and signing with the Seattle Mariners.
Tanner Roark is coming off of a very good start that he wants to build on as he was locating all of his pitches well even though he wasn’t getting the swing and miss like he got in his previous start.
Tonight’s line-up has a few changes as Wilson Ramos returns and Chris Heisey will play LF with Jayson Werth doing the DH duties. Wilson Ramos has 2 at-bats in his career against Chris Young and both are home runs.
Here are the Nats stats vs. Chris Young:
Here is Tanner Roark against the Royals:
Tanner Roark RHP
Gio Gonzalez had a gutsy 6 inning shutout and shutdown the Royals, and let the park dimensions work for him. The Nats got all the runs they needed in the 1st inning, but had many opportunities to add-on runs.
Jonathan Papelbon got the Save which was his 9th of the season and Shawn Kelley, Sammy Solis, and Oliver Perez all got Holds. Oliver Perez saw 2 batters and struck them both out. Shawn Kelley saw 2 batters and got 1 strikeout, and Papelbon struck out Infante to end the game while he could have had a K on Gordon but the foul tip wasn’t held. Continue reading
The early May 2016 road show continues today, down-river in Kansas City Missouri, as the Washington Nationals take on the defending World Champion Royals in the Nats first inter-league series of the season which brings the DH (designated hitter) into play here in an AL venue.
Tonight’s game at 8:15pm has Gio Gonzalez going up against Edinson Volquez. Gio is no stranger to AL baseball, and Volquez was a long-time NL pitcher.
Tomorrow’s game has a familiar face as the Nats face Chris Young who was a Nats reclamation project back in 2013 as he pitched at Syracuse Triple-A and then came back for Spring Training 2014 and looked very sharp and opted-out and signed a 1 year deal with the Mariners which he then parlayed into a multi-year deal with the Royals last year. Young will pitch on Tuesday against the Nats’ Tanner Roark. Strasburg goes up Wednesday afternoon against another familiar face as Kris Medlen who the Nats remember well as an Atlanta Brave pitches for the Royals. Medlen as you might remember developed severe arm issues and has worked his way back into the starting rotation for the Royals. Continue reading
The Nats might have lost the shutout but they won each game in the series for the 1st sweep of the Cardinals in Nats history. The Cardinals entered the series with a 12-10 record and now the Nats knocked them below .500 with a 12-13 record.
The Nationals improve to 17-7 behind Ace pitching from Max Scherzer who was locked in a pitchers duel with Carlos Martinez who had a 3-o record and pitching great until Lobaton got a bloop opposite field hit and Scherzer bunted him to 2nd and Matt den Dekker singled him home. Continue reading
UPDATED: Wilson Ramos is back, but there has not been a line-up change. There has been a roster change as Pedro Severino was sent back to Syracuse Triple-A.
The Nats go for a sweep of the Cardinals today (and sweeping the Cardinals at Busch stadium is something they apparently have never done in Nats history. The Nats, with already winning the series, has done that for the first time in 9 years in St. Louis. Game time is 2:15pm, and the weather forecast has improved.
Max Scherzer is on the mound for the Nats, and during Saturday’s broadcast he was quoted as saying he has figured out what he was doing wrong. So lets hope he is right and the brooms can come out after today’s game.
The Cardinals have Carlos Martinez pitching today, and has been one of their best pitchers over the last year.
We have some quotes from Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny that are very complimentary to the Nationals:
“The Nats are athletic. You see a team with big power, and you look just at that starting pitching. We already faced Strasburg and then a Ross who was extremely good, and we have Scherzer today. You are going to have your hands full with the starters and the bullpen is good. You have an offense with an MVP right in the middle of it, and guys who are supporting him that are all capable of causing big damage. They are just a well rounded club. Dusty is communicating well with them as far as what the expectation is. They are playing well. We had a chance to do a little bit against Strasburg [and didn’t], and Ross had us on our heels all day.”
It would seem that Joe Ross really impressed Mike Matheny.
Continue reading
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