Questionable calls leave Detwiler at a loss

Here's Ross Detwiler on the umpiring in today's game: "I'm not going to make any comment on the umpiring." Later, Detwiler was asked if he thought he had struck out Ryan Ludwick on a 1-2 pitch in the first inning, two pitches prior to Ludwick hitting a grand slam that gave the Reds a 4-0 lead. The Nationals lefty cracked a wry smile but didn't speak a word. Yeah, he wasn't pleased. Detwiler allowed five runs today over five innings, but only one of the runs was earned. As I described earlier, three tough calls went against Detwiler in the first inning, allowing the Reds to plate four runs on Ludwick's grand slam when the frame easily could have ended with Detwiler walking off the mound a much happier man. The blown calls rattled Detwiler a bit, leading to the Ludwick homer.

"I need to stay in it and focus mentally on my next pitch," Detwiler said. "I think I let it go a little bit. It wasn't completely gone, but I let it go a little bit. And that's when you make your mistake." After the four-run first (in which he threw 38 pitches, including 18 after an apparently blown call at first base which could have ended the inning), Detwiler did a nice job regaining his composure and getting through five frames. By doing so, he saved the bullpen from having to go even more today. But while his teammates praised his ability to battle through five innings and keep the Nats in the game, Detwiler was hard on himself. "Things aren't always going to go your way," Detwiler said. "It's a big test to see how you're going to react to that. I guess today I didn't react all that well. I only went five. I put so much pressure on the bullpen. And being down four runs after the first, that's just terrible."