Clippard solid in 5-2 victory, picks up first win as a National
Tyler Clippard picked up his first win in a Washington uniform by tossing 6-plus innings of 2-run, seven hit ball as the Nationals beat the Mariners 5-2. Clippard got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by striking out Richie Sexson.
He gave up a walk and a single to start the seventh before being replaced by Saul Rivera. Rivera got Ichiro to ground into a double play to end the inning and preserve the 2-run lead.
Jesus Flores continued his hot hitting by driving in three runs on a single and a 2-run homer, his fourth of the year. Flores is batting .333 (16-48) with 2 HR, 14 RBI in his last 14 starts. All four of his home runs have come on the road. With runners in scoring position, Flores is batting .444 (12-27), 3 HR, 23 RBI on the season.
The Nationals' bullpen did another outstanding job tonight. Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch combined to pitch three scoreless, hitless innings. Rauch struck out the side in the ninth and picked up his 15th save, his second in as many nights.
The Nationals got on the board in the first on Flores' RBI single. They added another run in the fourth on Felipe Lopez's RBI double to take a 2-0 lead. The Mariners got to Clippard in the bottom of the inning when Jose Vidro and Adrian Beltre hit solo homers off him to tie the game 2-2. Washington got the lead back on Flores' 2-run shot in the seventh. They added an insurance run in the ninth on Ronnie Belliard's double.
With the loss, Seattle falls to 20 games under .500 at 24-44
The Nationals go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon as Tim Redding faces Jarrod Washburn.
Postgame Notes
Final Linescore
Nationals 5-13-0
Mariners 2-7-0
WP-Clippard (1-1)
LP-Batista (3-8)
SV-Rauch (15)
HR-Flores (4), Vidro (5), Beltre (14)
Offensive Stars
Flores: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
Belliard: 2-5, 2 2B, RBI
Lopez: 2-5, 2B, RBI
Young: 2-4, BB
Pena: 2-4
Dukes: 1-3, 2 BB, R
Milledge: 1-5, 2 R
Tyler Clippard, who suffered a loss in his debut for the Nationals, picked up the win Saturday night. He talked to Debbi Taylor about what he learned from his last start.
Pete McElroy's Live GameBlog
Nationals scoring, 7th inning
Jesus Flores has been absolutely dominating with runners in scoring position this year.
With 2-out and Lastings Milledge on second, Flores hit his fourth homer of the year, over the wall in left, and the Nationals have their two run lead back. On the season, Flores is batting .444 (12-27) with 3 HR and 22 RBI with RISP. Elijah Dukes walked to start the inning, but was forced out at second on Milledge's ground out. Milledge, running with Dmitri Young batting, avoided a double play on Young's groundout to second. Flores' homer came off reliever Miguel Batista.
Clippard's night
Tyler Clippard was solid in his second start for the Nationals. He gave up seven hits in six innings, plus two batters. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth and Saul Rivera had his back in the seventh. If he was flustered, he never showed it. Clippard had good command and mixed his pitches well. If the bullpen can hold the 4-2 lead, Clippard will pick up his first win in a Nationals uniform. Here's his final line.
6 IP +2 batters, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR. 90 pitches, 53 strikes.
Pitcher's Best Friend
Nationals pitchers have the best of friends, the double play. Tonight, Tyler Clippard got one in the second and Saul Rivera got Ichiro, one of the fastest players in baseball, to hit into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play with the tying runs on in seventh. So far the Nationals have turned four DP's in this series.
Clippard thru 6 innings
The Mariners loaded the bases on Tyler Clippard in the sixth, but the young righty came away unscathed.
With two outs, Jose Vidro walked, Raul Ibanez doubled and manager Manny Acta had Clippard intentionally walk Adrian Beltre to pitch to Richie Sexson. Sexson, batting just above .200 on the season, struck out swinging, and Clippard avoided a big inning. Here is his line.
6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR. 81 pitches.
Bedard thru 6 innings
Eric Bedard has scattered nine hits thru six innings. The Nationals got single runs in the first and fourth, but Bedard has gotten himself out of a few jams. He hasn't retired the side in order in any inning. Bedard has eight K's, three of those he caught Nationals batters looking. Here's his line.
6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. 99 pitches.
Mariners scoring, 4th inning
Jose Vidro and Adrian Beltre hit solo home runs and the Nationals 2-0 lead is gone. Vidro hit his fifth of the year, over the wall in right to make it a 2-1 game. One out later, Beltre hit a hanging change-up into the seats in left. It was his 14th of the season.
Nationals scoring, 4th inning
Felipe Lopez doubled over the head of center fielder Ichiro Suzuki, scoring Ronnie Belliard, extending the Nationals lead to 2-0. Belliard led-off the inning with a ground-rule double. Coming into tonight, Belliard was batting .345 (39-113) in his career against the Mariners.
Clippard thru 3 innings
Tyler Clippard looks much more comfortable tonight than he did in his first start. He's given up three hits but hasn't walked a batter. He had two in the first two innings of his last start. The defense has been solid behind him, throwing a runner out at third and turning a double play in the second. His command is better than in his National debut. Here's his line.
3 IP, 3 H, K. 36 pitches.
Great Defense
The Nationals used the relay to perfection in the first inning. Ichiro doubled to the gap in right-center but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Elijah Dukes hit Felipe Lopez who wheeled around, threw a one-hop strike to Ronnie Belliard and nailed Ichiro at third. Neither Dukes nor Lopez panicked or rushed their throws and it was a thing of beauty. This is the way the relay looks when it is done the right way.
Not a smart decision
Sometimes I wonder what third base coach Tim Tolman is thinking. Tolman sent Dmitri Young from second base on a Jesus Flores single to right. Young was thrown out and the play wasn't close. Why would you send a guy who doesn't run well on a ball to the right fielder? That position usually has the strongest arm in the outfield. Furthermore, it killed a chance for the Nationals to possibly add another run. Washington would've had runners on the corners with hot-hitting Ronnie Belliard coming to the plate. Tolman has made bad decisons like this for the past two seasons.
Nationals scoring, 1st inning
Jesus Flores continues to prove he belongs in the Majors.
With two outs and runners on second and third in the top of the first, Flores singled to right to score Elijah Dukes, who singled and moved to third on Dmitri Young's ground-rule double. Third base coach Tim Tolman sent Young on the hit, but he was gunned down at the plate to end the inning. Washington scored a first-inning run last night as well.
Starting Line-Ups
Nationals
SS Cristian Guzman
RF Elijah Dukes
CF Lastings Milledge
1B Dmitri Young
C Jesus Flores
3B Ronnie Belliard
2B Felipe Lopez
DH Wily Mo Pena
LF Kory Casto
Mariners
CF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Jose Lopez
DH Jose Vidro
LF Raul Ibanez
3B Adrian Beltre
1B Richie Sexson
RF Wladimir Balentien
C Jamie Burke
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
Game Preview
Nationals (27-42) at Seattle (24-43)
Tyler Clippard will make his second start for the Nationals tonight, taking Odalis Perez's turn in the rotation. Perez was placed on the 15-day DL with left shoulder tendinitis, retroactive to June 4.
Last night, the Nationals built a 7-1 lead after two innings with a 6-run sixth only to see the Mariners slowly chip away, but Washington was able to hold off the M's rally and Shawn Hill picked up his first win of the year and first since September 10.
The Nationals have now won four straight against Seattle and in the process snapped a 2-game losing streak.
Washington continues their stretch of 15 consecutive games vs. AL opponents.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Tyler Clippard (0-1, 6.23) made his Nationals debut last Monday vs. San Francisco. He lasted just 4 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and four walks while throwing 98 pitches. Clippard did strike out six Giants. He only retired the side in order one time.
The Giants scored a run in the first, when Clippard walked Ray Durham and Randy Winn doubled him home. San Fran added two more in the fifth on three consecutive hits, the big blow was Bengie Molina's 2-run double and Clippards debut was short lived.
This will be Clippard's first career start against the Mariners.
LHP Eric Bedard (4-4, 4.26) is coming off a no-decision against the Red Sox. He gave up one run on two hits in five innings, but the heat in Boston took it's toll on the lefty. It was 98-degrees with a 102-degree heat index and he needed 99 pitches to get through the five innings. Boston won that game 2-1.
Bedard hasn't won since beating the Red Sox at Safeco Field on May 28. In that game he tossed seven scoreless innings of 2-hit ball in the Mariners 1-0 win.
At home, six starts, Bedard is 3-2 with a very solid 2.19 ERA while holding opponents to a .191 average.
This marks the second start against the Nationals in his career. Last year, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, Bedard received a no-decision in Washington's 4-3 win. He limited the Nationals to a run on three hits in seven innings and matched a career-high with 12 K's. Nook Logan spoiled the day for Bedard by hitting a 2-run single with two outs in the eigth for the come-from-behind victory.
