Chico (L, 0-6, 6.19), filling in for Shawn Hill (cortisone shot in pitching elbow), was bad enough. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings–allowing three of the four Phillies homers. But Colome was simply atrocious. Unfortunately, there is just no other way to say it. He faced seven batters and managed to record just one out. He allowed six earned runs on five hits and a walk, including Ryan Howard’s second home run of the game. Chris Schroder wasn’t much better, but certainly was luckier, as he gave up just two earned runs in one inning of work on three hits and four walks.
The only Nats pitcher approaching competence Wednesday was Joel Hanrahan, who threw two innings of shut out ball–allowing just a single walk–to finish the game. The Phillies’ arms must have been tired from swinging so much earlier in the game.
The hit parade for the Phillies started in the first inning. The second batter of the game, center fielder Shane Victorino, drilled a one-out double to left. Chico managed to retire Chase Utley, but the big man for the Phils–figuratively and literally–Ryan Howard followed with a double to deep left that easily scored Victorino to take the early lead. Pedro Feliz led off the second against Chico with his seventh home run of the year, and the rout was on. The fifth inning saw Victorino go deep with his second of the season and Howard become the first player to hit the upper deck in Nationals Park with a drive that still might be going.
It went from bad to ugly in the sixth inning. Colome entered to relieve Chico and was just tattooed. He actually got the first batter, Jayson Werth, to strike out, but that is the only out he would record. Feliz singled to center, and catcher Chris Coste reached on an infield single. Colome then issued a walk to Phils starter Jamie Moyer (W, 4-3, 4.37). Manager Manny Acta had every right to go pull Colome right there, but the slaughter would continue. Jimmy Rollins followed with a single that scored Feliz and loaded the bases. Victorino did more damage, singling to right field, scoring Coste. First baseman Dmitri Young couldn’t handle Elijah Dukes’ relay throw and the ball scooted into the camera well next to the Phillies dug out, allowing Moyer and Rollins to score, putting Victorino at third. Utley doubled, scoring Victorino, and Acta then mercifully yanked Colome.
The Phils fun did not end, however, as Howard ripped Schroder’s first pitch on a line drive into the stands to the left of the Nats bullpen for his twelfth home run of the season. Chris Coste later singled in another run to close the inning with eight runs on eight hits and two walks.
The Nats scraped two runs together in the bottom of the seventh on a Ryan Zimmerman infield single and RBI single from Dmitri Young, but that is all the could muster against the ageless Moyer and reliever Clay Condrey, who was awarded a three-inning save. The Nats actually had twelve hits on the night, but only three extra base hits, two doubles by Felipe Lopez (2-for-5, .259) and one by Jesus Flores (3-for-4, .357). Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge each added two hits as well.
The Nationals have an off-day Thursday. Friday they face the Milwaukee Brewers, with Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.34) taking on Jeff Suppan (2-3, 4.78) at 7:35 pm at Nationals Park.
NATS NOTES: Washington’s record stands at 20-28 after the loss, seven and one-half games behind Florida in the NL East. Philadelphia is 26-22, one and one-half games back.
Moyer made his Nationals Park debut, the 46th major league ballpark for the 45-year-old pitcher. Moyer moved into 57th place on the all-time list with his 234th career win.
Washington has lost five of six at home and six straight against left-handed starters. Including 8 runs tonight, Washington has been outscored 45-21 in the 6th inning this season.
Jesus Flores matched a career high with three hits, and has hit safely in seven of his last nine games, going 11-for-29 (.379) with 5 doubles.
Long Balls Crush Nats also posted at DC Sports Box
Photo (c) C. Nichols 2007
GOOD: Jason Bergmann. Where did this come from. All he’s done since returning to the rotation is throw 14 innings of shout out ball against two of the better hitting teams in the National League. Totals: 14 IP, 0 runs, 8 hits, 5 walks, 14 Ks.
BAD: Jon Rauch. Charged with pitching the ninth and holding the Phils to a tie to give the home teama chance to win, Rauch came in and got smoked for three hits and a run–and it could have been more if not for a tremendous relay from Guzman and outstanding effort from Flores to block Dobbs off the plate and keep him from scoring.
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UGLY: Down 1-0 with runners on first and third with two outs, and having just watched the previous two batters reach via walk–including several balls in the dirt–Felipe Lopez swung at a slider on the first pitched and rolled it over to second base. That’s bad enough–TAKE A PITCH FELIPE!!! But as he jogged out of the box, Utley bobbled the slow bouncer. Had Lopez run hard from the start, it would have given Utley something to think about instead of calmly noticing that he had time, settle, and throw out the barely jogging Lopez. Bad baseball.
NEXT GAME: Tonight, the rubber match against the Phillies. Matt Chico (0-5, 6.07) takes Shawn Hill’s scheduled turn and faces ageless Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89).
Photo courtesy of A. Amobi, DC Sports Box
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Bergmann made his second consecutive excellent start since returning from Triple-A Columbus. He went seven innings and allowed no runs, five hits and three walks and struck out five Phillies. His opponent, Cole Hamels, was just as effective pitching seven innings himself. He gave up four hits and two walks and struck out a season-high eleven. Neither pitcher figured in the decision, but both provided efforts worthy of a win.
But for all the starting pitching, the story of this game ended up to be a soft, sinking line drive off the bat of Phillies pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs in the top of the ninth inning which drove in pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett with the only run that would cross home plate on this cool but comfortable May evening. Nats closer Jon Rauch (L, 2-1, 2.78) was summoned to pitch the ninth, despite the game being tied. Usually, the tall righty enters only to protect a ninth inning lead, something he’s accomplished safely ten times this season. Tonight he would not be as successful.
Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz led off the ninth with a hard hit double to left field. Bruntlett ran for Feliz, and advance to third on catcher Carlos Ruiz’ sacrifice to Rauch. Dobbs then stepped in, and with a 2-0 count he lifted a soft liner that fell just in front of center fielder Lastings Milledge, who tried to deke Bruntlett into thinking he was going to make the play. Milledge could not, and Bruntlett strolled across the plate safely to take the first, and only, lead of the night.
Things might have been worse. With two outs, Shane Victorino sent a liner into left center that Milledge ran a long way and slid to cut off from going to the wall. He bobbled the pick-up slightly, and bounced his relay into shortstop Cristian Guzman, who filed a laser to catcher Jesus Flores. Flores blocked the plate masterfully since Dobbs beat the throw to home, and Dobbs was called out for the third out.
Unfortunately for the Nats, there would be drama but no pay off in the bottom of the frame.
Flores and Wily Mo Pena both struck out against Phils’ closer Brad Lidge to start things off. Elijah Dukes then coaxed a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Rob Mackowiak pinch hit for Rauch and with the count 2-2, Dukes stole second without a throw. After two foul ball and another ball, Dukes stole third — again without a throw. With Dukes at third, Mackowiak also drew a 3-2 walk.
Manager Manny Acta sent Willie Harris in to pinch run for Mackowiak, and the faithful believed that the Nats could make some late inning magic. But on the very first pitch he saw from Lidge, Felipe Lopez grounded to second baseman Chase Utley, who momentarily bobbled the lazy grounder. Lopez, however, inexplicably did not run hard on the play and Utley recovered and easily threw to first to put out the jogging Lopez. Lidge earned his eleventh save, and has allowed only one earned run in 20 innings pitched this season.
Veteran reliever Tom Gordon (4-2, 4.26) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Phillies to earn the win.
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Nats SS Cristian Guzman slides safely on a steal of second base against the Phillies.
Wednesday’s match-up features Nats’ lefty Matt Chico (0-5, 6.07) against the Phillies crafty veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89). Game time is 7:10 pm from Nationals Park.
NATS NOTES: The loss sends the Nats overall record to (20-27), six and one-half games behind division-leading Florida. The Phillies (25-22) are one and one-half out.
Austin Kearns missed his third straight game with soreness in his right elbow. An MRI on Tuesday showed no significant damage though, and the team expects him to miss a couple more games to allow inflammation to settle before he plays again.
It was Kearns’ 28th birthday, and a group of fans in the right field corner–which Kearns usually patrols–wore straw cowboy hats and made signs in his honor. He was even seen wearing one of the cowboys hats in the dugout pre-game.
Catcher Johnny Estrada, on the 15-day DL with soreness in his elbow, was examined by Dr. James Andrews who performed surgery on his elbow during the off-season. Dr. Andrews said that the soreness is not coming from the surgically repaired area and the discomfort is being triggered by irritation of the ulnar nerve, something he expects will recede with time and rehab.
Hamels Shuts Down Nats 1-0 also posted at DC Sports Box
Photos of Bergmann, Guzman courtesy of A. Amobi, DC Sports Box.
Photo of fans in cowboy hats (c) C. Nichols 2008.
In an event sponsored by ESPN Zone and the team’s public relations department, Milledge was affable and personable, joking with the fans and the event’s moderator, team play-by-play man Charlie Slowes. Milledge took questions on a wide variety of subjects from fans and from Slowes, fans answered trivia questions about Milledge for game tickets and after the Q & A, fans were invited to meet Milledge and have him autograph whatever memorabilia that fans brought. Milledge even autographed the red-and-blue leather Nationals recliner that the ESPN Zone provided for him to sit in during the session.
The Nationals’ center fielder was quite candid with some of his answers to the questions presented. Slowes asked, “With all the juggling Manager Manny Acta has done to the line-up, does it matter to you where you hit in the order?” Milledge replied, “It doesn’t matter,” but then offered, “Where you hit [in the order] does affect your game.” As an example, he said hitting in the fifth spot in the order is a run-producing spot, so he wouldn’t necessarily bunt or steal from there.
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A particularly telling segment took place when Slowes asked how much different playing in the big leagues is than the minors. Milledge responded that he has had a hard time picking up the ball off the bat, and pointed out that high school and minor league stadiums are usually single decked, and with the upper decks behind home plate — especially in center field — he’s had a difficult time picking up the ball until it rises above the upper deck and gets into the sky. He said, “with wood bats, it’s real easy to get fooled,” and from center field one “has to read the ball, and you have to see it to read it.” He also went on to say he’s not a fan of the “funky” outfields in the major leagues, such as Houston’s Minute Maid Park or Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Park, where the dimensions are not uniform.
Milledge got surprisingly introspective when a fan asked about the early season struggles for the hitters.
There were humorous moments as well. When a fan asked if the team’s success at home since the Pope said Mass was just coincidence, Milledge said, “He [the Pope] should come and throw out the first pitch.” Another fan wanted to know if Milledge knew the last player to wear jersey number 44 to bring a title to DC, even prompting him with “he has a radio show in town, nickname was ‘Riggo’”; but Milledge had to confess he knew nothing about John Riggins. To be fair, Milledge wasn’t even born when John Riggins led the Washington Redskins to the Super Bowl.
GOOD: Tim Redding hasn’t allowed an run–earned or otherwise–to the Phillies this year. The only two times the Phils have been shut out this season have been at the hands of Redding and the Nats.
BAD: Belliard goes on the DL, Kearns’ elbow needed x-rays. What next? I’ll tell ya. Shawn Hill had a cortisone shot in his right elbow and will miss his next start. Not good. Matt Chico will take his turn on Wednesday.
UGLY: Last night’s starting corner outfielders: Wee Willie Harris in left and Rob “Mendoza” Mackowiak in right. Talk about underwhelming. At least they can go catch the ball.
NEXT GAME: Tonight against our neighbors up the road a bit on I-95. Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45) tries to follow up his outstanding starting debut against Phils’ ace Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.89).
Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008
Redding (W, 6-3, 3.16) allowed his share of base runners last night. He gave up seven hits and two walks, but pitched out of trouble all evening and did not allow a Phillie to cross home plate, as the visitors left nine men on base. Redding extended a scoreless inning streak to thirteen and one-third innings over the Phils this season. Both times Philadelphia has been shut out this season has been at the hands of Redding and the Nats. Phillies starter Brett Myers took the loss (2-5, 5.76), allowing three earned runs on eight hits and three walks, with a surprisingly low total of two strikeouts.
The Nats started their scoring in the bottom of the first against Myers. Cristian Guzman (3-for-4, 3 runs scored) reached on an infield single with one out, and Ryan Zimmerman doubled him to third base. Dmitri Young, in his first game at first base this season, lofted a sacrifice fly to center field that easily scored Guzman, giving the Nats the lead they would hold all night long. In the third, second baseman Felipe Lopez doubled to start the inning and went to third on Guzman’s shallow single to center. Zimmerman (2-for-3) walked to load the bases, and after a Young strikeout, Lastings Milledge blooped a double down the right field line that scored both Lopez and Guzman. Milledge went 2-for-4, with two doubles, and two RBIs on the night.
The Nats last run of the contest came in the seventh inning against Phillies reliever Ryan Madson. Guzman — DC’s MVP so far this season — doubled to lead off the inning, and Zimmerman followed up with his second hit of the contest. Guzman then came home on Young’s double play to put the icing on cake.
The game ended with Joel Hanrahan striking out one of the NL’s hottest hitters, Jason Werth, who had three home runs in a single game Friday night.
The series continues Tuesday at 7:10 pm with Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45) facing Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.89) for the Phillies.
NATS NOTES: The win moves the Nationals season record to 20-26, five and one-half games behind Florida. The Phillies fall to 24-22, and are one and one-half behind the Marlins.
The team announced that LHP Matt Chico will start Wednesday in place of Shawn Hill, who experienced significant discomfort in his pitching elbow after Friday’s start against Baltimore. He received a cortisone shot in his right elbow Saturday and will need to skip a turn in the rotation. The team hopes that’s all that he will need to miss.
Second Baseman Ronnie Belliard was placed on the 15-day disabled list after then game with a strained calf muscle. It’s only the third time in his career that he has had to go disabled. The team will probably recall Chris Schroder on Tuesday before the game to take Chico’s place in the pen.
Austin Kearns did not start for the second game in a row due to a sore elbow. He was x-rayed, but the team has released no further information by the time this story went to press.
ss–Rollins
1b–Howard
lf–Burrell
rf–Jenkins
3b–Feliz
c–Ruiz
Nationals:
2b–Lopez
3b–Zimmerman
1b–Young
cf–Milledge
c–Flores
p–Redding
Granted, this player is no spring chicken. He’ll be 41 the last day of May. He’s not the gold glove caliber defensive player he once was, and certainly not a piece of the long-term puzzle. But at this point, with the outfield defense as pathetic as it has been, especially over the weekend, wouldn’t it be nice to have at least once PROVEN major league veteran in the outfield that could take charge defensively and provide some on-base percentage assistance to a team that is seriously deficient in that area?
The Nationals’ team OBP is .315 WITH Nick Johnson’s stellar .415 factored in. One shudders to think what it will be over the next 4-to-6 (6-to-8?) weeks without him.
BAD: Elijah Dukes. He went 0-for-3, lowering his average to .042. He has one hit and three walks so far this season in 27 plate appearances for a stellar .143 on base percentage.
UGLY: Mother Nature. The game was delayed two hours and one minute at the start, and endured another 27 minute delay in the eighth inning. Not the way you want to end a “road trip”.
NEXT GAME: Monday night versus the dreaded Philadelphia Philles. Staff ace Tim Redding (5-3. 3.55) takes on disappointing Brett Myers (2-4, 5.91). As an aside, I spent Sunday afternoon and evening in south Jersey with my cousins at my aunt’s 75th birthday party. They all wanted to know why I didn’t write about the Phillies. Needless to say, I’ll have plenty to say about the cheesesteak-lovers the next couple of days.
