Nats win second straight, 6-3 over Braves
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Ryan Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge hit 2-RBI doubles in the bottom of the 7th to break the game open. With the bases loaded and 1-out, Zimmerman doubled to right to score two. One out later, Milledge delivered a double to left that scored two and the Nats led 6-2. Jon Rauch relived an injured Chad Cordero and nailed down the win.
Nats win 6-3, their second straight over all and second in a row over the Braves.
Cordero Leaves with Injury
Chad Cordero, trying to work through tendinitis in his right shoulder, left tonight's game in the 9th with an injury to his right lat muscle. He will have an MRI on wednesday to see the severity of the injury.
Cordero came in the game to begin the 9th, gave up back-to-back singles, before getting pinch-hitter Brayan Pena to pop out in foul territory. Cordero got to a full count on Kelly Johnson before leaving the game. Cordero talked about the injury.
"As soon as I threw the pitched that he (Kelly Johnson) fouled off, it felt like someone was pulling on it real hard and yanking on it. It tightened up and didn't feel good at all. I'm glad it's not the shoulder again."
Slump Buster
Ryan Zimmerman, batting just .222, seems to have broken out of his early season slump. He singled in the 1st, homered in the 3rd and hit a 2-RBI double in the 7th, to break a 2-2 tie.
With the bases loaded, Zimmerman hit a one-hopper, off reliever Baline Boyer, off the wall in right to score Wily Mo Pena and Felipe Lopez and give the Nats the 4-2 lead.
Zimmerman talked about the help he's received from Barry Larkin (Special Assistant to GM)
"Barry is great, he's obviously a great player talent wise, but I don't think people know how smart he is. He's more of a mental guy that I talk to and he's helped me out a lot and it just so happenes he gets here today and I get 3 hits. I won't give him all the credit, but he's good to talk to."
Out of a Jam
Saul Rivera got out of a 7th inning jam and kept the game tied at 2-2. After a lead-off walk and stolen base by Matt Diaz, pinch-hitter Reben Gotay singled to put runners on the corners. Rivera got Kelly Johnson to ground back to him for the first out. With the infield in, Yunel Escobar grounded to Felipe Lopez, who threw home to get Diaz at the plate. Chipper Jones grounded out to Lopez to end the inning and the game is still tied.
Pitcher's Lines
Tim Redding and Tom Glavine both pitched well tonight. Here are their lines.
Redding: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. 107 pitches, 64 for strikes
Glavine: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K. 93 pitches, 56 for strikes.
Back-to-Back
For the first time this season, the Nationals hit back-to-back home runs. In the 3rd, Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson sent Tom Glavine offerings into the seats to give the Nats the 2-1 lead.
Zimmerman hit Glavine's second pitch deep into the left-center seats to tie the game at 1-1. Two pitches later, Johnson hit the second pitch he saw, into the seats in right to give the Nationals the 2-1 lead after three innings.
This was the first time since Wily Mo Pena and Ryan Church went back-to-back on September 12, 2007 at Florida.
Dukes & LoDuca update
In the first game of the a double header, Elijah Dukes had the game winning single, one of two singles in four at-bats and LoDuca went 0-3 for the Potomac Nationals against Winston-Salem . Cory VanAllen went 7 innings and gave up one hit.
Missed Opportunities
If the Nats lose this game, they can look back at the first two innings. In this first they had the bases loaded with 1-out and didn't score. In the second, they had a runner on third with one out and didn't get him home. With 2-outs, they had runners on second and third and still failed to score.
In their last 5 games, the Nats are batting .257 (9-35) with runners in scoring position. Tonight they are 1-5.
Poor Communication
Lastings Milledge is making some poor decisions in center field and tonight he's done it again. In the top of the 2nd, with Mark Teixeira on second and 1-out, Brian McCann lifted a fly ball to right-center. Both Milledge and Austin Kearns were closing in on it and nearly collided. They did bump each other, but Milledge made the catch and Teixeira tagged and went to third.
The issue I have with the play is this: Kearns, who is right handed and has the stronger arm, is moving towards third base and his momentum will give him a better chance of throwing out the runner. Milledge, who as a center-fielder, is supposed to call off Kearns, but he should know the situation and let Kearns take the ball. I know Milledge is young and still learning, but this is common knowledge at this level.
Two batters later, Mark Kotsay grounded into a fielders choice and Teixeira scored. This likely wouldn't have happened had Kearns made the throw to third.
History repeating itself?
The last time Tom Glavine pitched here at Nationals Park, he didn't make it out of the first inning. Tonight looked like it may be a repeat performance. Glavine loaded the bases with one out, but got Lastings Milledge to ground into the 4-6-3 inning ending double play.
Game Preview: Braves (12-13) vs. Nationals (9-17)
The Nationals have a 2-game set against the Braves beginning tonight. They have already faced each other 6 times, with both teams winning 3 games. After tomorrow, they won't see one another until after the All-Star break in mid-July.
The Nats, who have won 3 of their last 4 and 4 of 6, send Tim Redding to face Tom Glavine. The last meeting between the two teams, on April 22, John Lannan beat John Smoltz 6-0.
Nick's 'Stache
Just after batting practice, I caught up with Nick Johnson and spoke to him about the team's recent success. As we were talking I noticed his mustache looked different. It kind of looked like he used "Just for Men" hair coloring and with the new look, he reminded me of Burt Reynolds from the Smokey & The Bandit movies. Johnson gave me the scoop about the mustache.
Nick Johnson Talks with Pete McElroy Before Tonight's Game
Manny Acta's Pregame Press Conference
Starting Line-Up's
Braves
2B Kelly Johnson
SS Yunel Escobar
3B Chipper Jones
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
RF Jeff Francoeur
CF Mark Kotsay
LF Matt Diaz
P Tom Glavine
Nationals
2B Felipe Lopez
SS Criatian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Nick Johnson
CF Lastings Milledge
RF Austin Kearns
C Johnny Estrada
LF Wily Mo Pena
P Tim Redding
Rehab Assignment
Both Paul LoDuca and Elijah Dukes will make rehab assignments tonight for the Potomac Nationals. LoDuca will play one of the two games scheduled. Yesterday's game was rained out, so the Nationals are playing a double header today. Dukes will play in both, but DH in one of them, according to Manny Acta.
Pitching Match-Up
Tim Redding (3-2, 3.67) is coming off a loss to the Mets, where he gave up 3 earned runs in 5 innings in the 7-2 set back. He took sole responsibility for not pitching well enought to keep his team in the game. One positive from that game, he got 10 ground ball outs compared to 2 fly ball outs.
His two prior outings, both wins, weren't great by any means, giving up 7 earned runs in 11 innings, but the Nats bats had his back, winning 6-4 and 5-4. This is Redding's second start against the Braves and Glavine this season and he beat him 5-4 on April 13. In that game, the Nationals jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 3 innings and Glavine didn't register an out, leaving the game after 16 pitches with a pulled right hamstring. In his career vs. Atlanta, Redding is 2-1, 5.06.
Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.38) is still looking for his first win of the season. In that game against the Nationals, on April 13, where he pulled his right hamstring in the first inning and landed on the DL, Glavine didn't get an out, gave up 3 hits and a walk and matched the shortest outing of his career. This will be his first start since returning from the disabled list.
Glavine has more career wins vs.the Nats/Expos, 33, than any other pitcher in baseball history. His career numbers vs. the franchise: 33-24, 3.41 in 68 starts. In DC, he is 4-1, 2.09.
Inside the Numbers
Cristian Guzman is killing NL East pitching this season , compared to teams outside the division. Check out these numbers: .357 AVG, .389 OBP vs NL East. .154 AVG, .154 OBP vs. all others
Felipe Lopez must love artificial light. His average is much higher and he hits more ground balls at night then during the day. Take a look, .333 AVG (16-48) and 24 ground balls to just 6 fly balls in night games and .087 AVG (2-23) and 9 ground balls to 7 fly balls when the sun is out.
Jeff Francoeur loves to face the Nationals. Since 2006, he has more RBI, 42, than any other player against a single opponent. The Twins Justin Morneau is second with 41 vs. the White Sox.
This may sound odd, but maybe the Nats want Braves catcher Brain McCann to be hitting with runners on base or in scoring position. Since April 11 his average is so much higher when no one is on base. Have a look: .419 (13-31) with bases empty, .107 (3-28) with runners on and .053 (1-19) with runners in scoring position.
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