Monday, September 12, 2005
Nationals lose 9-7; Guzman at .200; Nationals now play 6 road games; Redskins Win 9-7; Other news
Start by committee: Bergmann got the start and pitched 2 innings, then Hughes pitched the third, Halama pitched the 4th, Rauch pitched the 5th, Stanton pitched the 6th, Rasner pitched the 7th, Majewski pitched the 8th and Cordero pitched the ninth.
The Braves put 6 unanswered runs on the board until the bottom of the sixth when the Nationals finally scored 2 runs. Kenny Kelly pinch hit for Mike Stanton and strike-out to lead-off the bottom of the sixth. Wilkerson flied out. With no runners on base, 2 out and down 6 runs, Rick Short hit his 2nd home-run of the year. Nick Johnson then immediately hit a home-run of his own, his 13th of the year. Guillen then struck out. Score end of 6: 6-2.
Neither team scored in the seventh, and the Braves failed to score in the top of the 8th. The Nationals scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come back and lead the game. Guzman lead-off with a walk. Byrd then walked. Wilkerson singled: Guzman scored and Byrd moved to third. Rick Short was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. No out, 1 run scored so far this inning, up comes Nick Johnson. Johnson singles in Byrd and Wilkerson, and Short moved to second. Guillen then flies out, moving Short to third. Church then hits a sac fly that scores Short, and moves Johnson to second. Zimmerman then singled, scoring Johnson. Schneider then strike-out to end the inning. End of 8 innings: 7-6 Nationals.
Best closer in the game comes in to pitch the ninth. Julio Franco hits a single (Orr - pinch runner). Rafael Furcal flies out. Marcus Giles then flies out. 2 out, 1 runner on base. Chipper Jones then hits a 2 run home-run moving the score to 8-6 in favor of the Braves. Andruw Jones then immediately hits a home-run of his own to drive the score to 9-6 Braves. Cordero then gets 1 more out. Top of inning over. Three Nationals came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Ten pitches, all out (Guzman, Baerga, Wilkerson).
Line-up:
Brad Wilkerson, CF5 1 for 1, 1 R, 1 BB .251
Rick Short, 2B 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR (2), 1 RBI (3), 1 HBP, .333
Jamey Carroll, 2B 0 for 0, .247
Nick Johnson, 1B 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR (13), 3 RBI (62), .289
Jose Guillen, RF 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 SO .295
Ryan Church, LF 0 for 3, 1 RBI (37), 1 SO .296
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 2 for 4, 1 2B (3), 1 RBI (2), 1 SO .333
Brian Schneider, C 0 for 4, 2 SO .267
Cristian Guzman, SS 0 for 3, 1 R 1 BB, .200
Jason Bergmann, P 0 for 0, .333
Travis Hughes, P .000
a- Brandon Watson, PH 0 for 1, .214
John Halama, P .250
Jon Rauch, P .000
Mike Stanton, P .000
b- Kenny Kelly, PH 0 for 1, 1 SO .364
Darrell Rasner, P .000
Gary Majewski, P .000
c- Marlon Byrd, PH 1 BB, 1 R .264
Chad Cordero, P .000
d- Carlos Baerga, PH 0 for 1, 1 SO .255
Guzman went 0 for 3, lowering his average to .200.
CBS.com Recap/box score. ESPN.com box score. Nationals.com recap. Washington Post recap. Washington Times recap.
NL East:
Phillies over Florida 11-1. Mets over Cardinals 7-2. Braves defeat Nationals.
Braves 83-60, -
Marlins 76-67, 7.0 GB
Phillies 75-68, 8.0 GB
Nationals 73-71, 10.5 GB
Mets 71-72, 12.0 GB
Wild Card:
See above, plus: Houston lost.
Astros 76-66, -
Marlins 76-67, 0.5 GB
Phillies 75-68, 1.5 GB
Nationals 73-71, 4.0 GB
Monday:
Travel Day. Nationals now in danger of falling below .500 and face the prospect of falling back to last place in the NL east. They will begin a three game series against the last place Mets on Tuesday.
Tuesday:
RHP John Patterson (8-5, 2.74) vs. LHP Tom Glavine (10-12, 3.89)
This four man rotation deal is working great. Patterson says that he might miss his next start due to illness. "Weakened starter still suffering the effects of flu, sinus infection." "Patterson was supposed to have a bullpen session on Saturday, but it was postponed due to his illness. Patterson said he has lost eight pounds since Thursday."
"I've been pretty sick," Patterson said. "I haven't picked up a ball in two days. I'm going to try and play catch today. We have an off-day tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to pitch right now. I'm weak, and I've lost weight. I know we don't have any options. I don't know what I can do. I don't want to hurt the team or myself with the weight that I've lost. I have to get some energy and health back. Someone that is healthy can do better than I can."
Times article on Patterson's illness.
Scouting Report:
Patterson will face the Mets for the fourth time this season. He is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA against them. Patterson hopes to do better than he did in his last start. Patterson woke up on Thursday morning with a sinus infection, and it ended up affecting him on the mound. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits against the Marlins. Patterson struck out four and walked three. He threw 105 pitches, 66 for strikes.
The new, improved Tom Glavine has been on display since mid-July, but few have noticed because the improvement hasn't produced success. He has a 4-5 record in 11 starts, beginning with his work against the Braves on July 15 at Shea -- one run in seven innings in a no-decision -- through his start in Atlanta on Wednesday -- one run in 7 1/3 innings in another no-decision. His ERA in those 11 starts is 2.48, the seventh lowest in the National League in that span.
Nationals.com Preview.
Wednesday:
RHP Esteban Loaiza (10-10, 3.79) vs. RHP Kris Benson (9-7, 4.00)
Scouting Report:
Loaiza will face the Mets for the fourth time this season. He is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA against them. In his last start, Loaiza's problems against Braves center fielder Andruw Jones continued. On Aug. 31, Jones drove in five runs off Loaiza. Last Friday was almost similar, with Jones driving in four runs, three of them on a home run in the fifth inning. Loaiza lasted six innings and six runs on 10 hits, but the Nationals won the game, 8-6.
Benson's season has turned like cream after its expiration. The Mets have lost his last four starts, and he has taken three of the losses and produced a 7.32 ERA. He remains a decidedly more effective pitcher at home ?- 5-3 with a 3.53 in 13 starts, compared with 4-4 and 4.52 in 11 starts on the road. His most recent start against the Nationals, Aug. 21 at Shea, produced the worst start of his career. He allowed six runs and eight hits -? all after two outs ?- in two-thirds of an inning.
Thursday:
RHP Livan Hernandez (15-7, 3.83) vs. RHP Jae Seo (7-2, 1.98)
Scouting Report:
Hernandez will face the Mets for the fifth time this season. He is 2-1 with a 6.38 ERA against them. In his last start, one bad inning proved to be costly for Hernandez, and Washington was blanked by Atlanta, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon.
Still smarting from the home run by Larry Walker that stained his record with a second loss Friday night, Seo makes his fourth start this season against the Nationals at Shea Stadium. Seo is unbeaten with four victories and a 1.35 ERA in five home starts this season. And he has a 2-1 record and 1.90 ERA in 19 innings against the Nationals, beating them at Shea on April 23 (six innings, one run) and Aug. 19 (eight scoreless innings).
Friday-Sunday and beyond:
Nationals visit the currently 71-71 Padres for a three game series Friday to Sunday.
The Nationals will then have a travel day on Monday, then host The Giants for a three game series, then the Mets for a three game series. The Nationals will then immediately head to Florida for a 3 game series. Thursday will be a travel day. Friday finds the Nationals hosting the Phillies for the last series of the year (three games; last game of year: Oct. 2nd, 2005).
Redskins win (and choices):
Portis rushes for 121 yards on 21 carries (41 long), while Betts adds another 41 rushing yards off of 12 carries.
Ramsey throws for 105 yards on 6 completed passes (11 attempted) and throws 1 interception.
Burnell throws for 70 yards and completes 8 of 14 attempted passes.
Moss almost makes it to 100 yards receiving (96 - 4 catches - long - 52) and Cooley is the next closest receiver with 3 catches for 34 yards (long - 23). Thrash (15), and Patten (34) also catch 3 passes and Royal catches 1 (11 yards).
Choices:
Post Article on the choice facing Washington fans: Nationals or Redskins.
Boswell Column on the two games.
"Washington fans have waited generations to see their city become a sports town with the full banquet of pleasures set before them year-round like the lucky folks in places such as Boston, Chicago and New York. This weekend, the evidence became indisputable that the time has finally arrived. Joe Gibbs coaching at FedEx Field as the Nationals play at RFK . . . just pinch me."
"Yesterday, I skipped the Nats and Braves, who drew 112,212 fans for three games, to watch the Redskins win their season opener 9-7 at FedEx against Chicago before a crowd of 90,138. That's right, more than 200,000 fans to see the Redskins and Nats on the same weekend. The Skins throng roared so loudly that, in the most important series of plays in the game, the flummoxed Bears couldn't hear their signals and false-started three times in a row."
I skipped the Nationals game (my ticket was used) to watch the Redskins game on TV, but I caught some of the Nationals action by occasionally flipping over to the game.
"Sometimes, the enormous growth of a community is measured in unexpected ways. A place, constantly described as "a sleepy Southern town" a half-century ago, gradually evolves into a full-blown sprawling city with constantly expanding suburbs. Then, one day, you realize that this morphing piece of geography -- the whole Washington area -- has become more than just another large city, one comparable to America's very largest."
"Washington is no longer strictly "a Redskins town."
Redskins Recaps:
Times:
With Brunell, Redskins find some relief
"Mark Brunell is the former (last year) and perhaps future (next week) starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins." - Ramsey was injured when a Bear tackled him by slamming his arm into Ramsey's neck and slamming Ramsey head first into the ground. Brunell lead the Redskins to victory.
Redskins defeat Bears in ugly win
"Style and form were not the priorities yesterday at FedEx Field, not after last season -- or the previous ones, for that matter. In the National Football League, it's not how you play the game so much as whether you win or lose."
Capitals Training Camp Opens:
Times:
Caps start with uncertainties
" The Washington Capitals will open training camp today with nearly 60 players and at least that many questions that must be answered before the season opener Oct. 5 against Columbus at MCI Center."
Do not particularly care at this time.
Redskins.com recap. Washington Post recap. Hog Heaven Blog preview.
College Football: JMU loses 31-27: Richmond is now 0-2:
JMU: now 1-1
Here is a link to a summary, a link to game stats, and a link to, I believe, a radio recap of the game.
Richmond: now 0-2:
Recap of the first game.
Recap of the second game.
The Braves put 6 unanswered runs on the board until the bottom of the sixth when the Nationals finally scored 2 runs. Kenny Kelly pinch hit for Mike Stanton and strike-out to lead-off the bottom of the sixth. Wilkerson flied out. With no runners on base, 2 out and down 6 runs, Rick Short hit his 2nd home-run of the year. Nick Johnson then immediately hit a home-run of his own, his 13th of the year. Guillen then struck out. Score end of 6: 6-2.
Neither team scored in the seventh, and the Braves failed to score in the top of the 8th. The Nationals scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come back and lead the game. Guzman lead-off with a walk. Byrd then walked. Wilkerson singled: Guzman scored and Byrd moved to third. Rick Short was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. No out, 1 run scored so far this inning, up comes Nick Johnson. Johnson singles in Byrd and Wilkerson, and Short moved to second. Guillen then flies out, moving Short to third. Church then hits a sac fly that scores Short, and moves Johnson to second. Zimmerman then singled, scoring Johnson. Schneider then strike-out to end the inning. End of 8 innings: 7-6 Nationals.
Best closer in the game comes in to pitch the ninth. Julio Franco hits a single (Orr - pinch runner). Rafael Furcal flies out. Marcus Giles then flies out. 2 out, 1 runner on base. Chipper Jones then hits a 2 run home-run moving the score to 8-6 in favor of the Braves. Andruw Jones then immediately hits a home-run of his own to drive the score to 9-6 Braves. Cordero then gets 1 more out. Top of inning over. Three Nationals came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Ten pitches, all out (Guzman, Baerga, Wilkerson).
Line-up:
Brad Wilkerson, CF5 1 for 1, 1 R, 1 BB .251
Rick Short, 2B 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR (2), 1 RBI (3), 1 HBP, .333
Jamey Carroll, 2B 0 for 0, .247
Nick Johnson, 1B 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR (13), 3 RBI (62), .289
Jose Guillen, RF 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 SO .295
Ryan Church, LF 0 for 3, 1 RBI (37), 1 SO .296
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 2 for 4, 1 2B (3), 1 RBI (2), 1 SO .333
Brian Schneider, C 0 for 4, 2 SO .267
Cristian Guzman, SS 0 for 3, 1 R 1 BB, .200
Jason Bergmann, P 0 for 0, .333
Travis Hughes, P .000
a- Brandon Watson, PH 0 for 1, .214
John Halama, P .250
Jon Rauch, P .000
Mike Stanton, P .000
b- Kenny Kelly, PH 0 for 1, 1 SO .364
Darrell Rasner, P .000
Gary Majewski, P .000
c- Marlon Byrd, PH 1 BB, 1 R .264
Chad Cordero, P .000
d- Carlos Baerga, PH 0 for 1, 1 SO .255
Guzman went 0 for 3, lowering his average to .200.
CBS.com Recap/box score. ESPN.com box score. Nationals.com recap. Washington Post recap. Washington Times recap.
NL East:
Phillies over Florida 11-1. Mets over Cardinals 7-2. Braves defeat Nationals.
Braves 83-60, -
Marlins 76-67, 7.0 GB
Phillies 75-68, 8.0 GB
Nationals 73-71, 10.5 GB
Mets 71-72, 12.0 GB
Wild Card:
See above, plus: Houston lost.
Astros 76-66, -
Marlins 76-67, 0.5 GB
Phillies 75-68, 1.5 GB
Nationals 73-71, 4.0 GB
Monday:
Travel Day. Nationals now in danger of falling below .500 and face the prospect of falling back to last place in the NL east. They will begin a three game series against the last place Mets on Tuesday.
Tuesday:
RHP John Patterson (8-5, 2.74) vs. LHP Tom Glavine (10-12, 3.89)
This four man rotation deal is working great. Patterson says that he might miss his next start due to illness. "Weakened starter still suffering the effects of flu, sinus infection." "Patterson was supposed to have a bullpen session on Saturday, but it was postponed due to his illness. Patterson said he has lost eight pounds since Thursday."
"I've been pretty sick," Patterson said. "I haven't picked up a ball in two days. I'm going to try and play catch today. We have an off-day tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to pitch right now. I'm weak, and I've lost weight. I know we don't have any options. I don't know what I can do. I don't want to hurt the team or myself with the weight that I've lost. I have to get some energy and health back. Someone that is healthy can do better than I can."
Times article on Patterson's illness.
Scouting Report:
Patterson will face the Mets for the fourth time this season. He is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA against them. Patterson hopes to do better than he did in his last start. Patterson woke up on Thursday morning with a sinus infection, and it ended up affecting him on the mound. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits against the Marlins. Patterson struck out four and walked three. He threw 105 pitches, 66 for strikes.
The new, improved Tom Glavine has been on display since mid-July, but few have noticed because the improvement hasn't produced success. He has a 4-5 record in 11 starts, beginning with his work against the Braves on July 15 at Shea -- one run in seven innings in a no-decision -- through his start in Atlanta on Wednesday -- one run in 7 1/3 innings in another no-decision. His ERA in those 11 starts is 2.48, the seventh lowest in the National League in that span.
Nationals.com Preview.
Wednesday:
RHP Esteban Loaiza (10-10, 3.79) vs. RHP Kris Benson (9-7, 4.00)
Scouting Report:
Loaiza will face the Mets for the fourth time this season. He is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA against them. In his last start, Loaiza's problems against Braves center fielder Andruw Jones continued. On Aug. 31, Jones drove in five runs off Loaiza. Last Friday was almost similar, with Jones driving in four runs, three of them on a home run in the fifth inning. Loaiza lasted six innings and six runs on 10 hits, but the Nationals won the game, 8-6.
Benson's season has turned like cream after its expiration. The Mets have lost his last four starts, and he has taken three of the losses and produced a 7.32 ERA. He remains a decidedly more effective pitcher at home ?- 5-3 with a 3.53 in 13 starts, compared with 4-4 and 4.52 in 11 starts on the road. His most recent start against the Nationals, Aug. 21 at Shea, produced the worst start of his career. He allowed six runs and eight hits -? all after two outs ?- in two-thirds of an inning.
Thursday:
RHP Livan Hernandez (15-7, 3.83) vs. RHP Jae Seo (7-2, 1.98)
Scouting Report:
Hernandez will face the Mets for the fifth time this season. He is 2-1 with a 6.38 ERA against them. In his last start, one bad inning proved to be costly for Hernandez, and Washington was blanked by Atlanta, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon.
Still smarting from the home run by Larry Walker that stained his record with a second loss Friday night, Seo makes his fourth start this season against the Nationals at Shea Stadium. Seo is unbeaten with four victories and a 1.35 ERA in five home starts this season. And he has a 2-1 record and 1.90 ERA in 19 innings against the Nationals, beating them at Shea on April 23 (six innings, one run) and Aug. 19 (eight scoreless innings).
Friday-Sunday and beyond:
Nationals visit the currently 71-71 Padres for a three game series Friday to Sunday.
The Nationals will then have a travel day on Monday, then host The Giants for a three game series, then the Mets for a three game series. The Nationals will then immediately head to Florida for a 3 game series. Thursday will be a travel day. Friday finds the Nationals hosting the Phillies for the last series of the year (three games; last game of year: Oct. 2nd, 2005).
Redskins win (and choices):
Portis rushes for 121 yards on 21 carries (41 long), while Betts adds another 41 rushing yards off of 12 carries.
Ramsey throws for 105 yards on 6 completed passes (11 attempted) and throws 1 interception.
Burnell throws for 70 yards and completes 8 of 14 attempted passes.
Moss almost makes it to 100 yards receiving (96 - 4 catches - long - 52) and Cooley is the next closest receiver with 3 catches for 34 yards (long - 23). Thrash (15), and Patten (34) also catch 3 passes and Royal catches 1 (11 yards).
Choices:
Post Article on the choice facing Washington fans: Nationals or Redskins.
Boswell Column on the two games.
"Washington fans have waited generations to see their city become a sports town with the full banquet of pleasures set before them year-round like the lucky folks in places such as Boston, Chicago and New York. This weekend, the evidence became indisputable that the time has finally arrived. Joe Gibbs coaching at FedEx Field as the Nationals play at RFK . . . just pinch me."
"Yesterday, I skipped the Nats and Braves, who drew 112,212 fans for three games, to watch the Redskins win their season opener 9-7 at FedEx against Chicago before a crowd of 90,138. That's right, more than 200,000 fans to see the Redskins and Nats on the same weekend. The Skins throng roared so loudly that, in the most important series of plays in the game, the flummoxed Bears couldn't hear their signals and false-started three times in a row."
I skipped the Nationals game (my ticket was used) to watch the Redskins game on TV, but I caught some of the Nationals action by occasionally flipping over to the game.
"Sometimes, the enormous growth of a community is measured in unexpected ways. A place, constantly described as "a sleepy Southern town" a half-century ago, gradually evolves into a full-blown sprawling city with constantly expanding suburbs. Then, one day, you realize that this morphing piece of geography -- the whole Washington area -- has become more than just another large city, one comparable to America's very largest."
"Washington is no longer strictly "a Redskins town."
Redskins Recaps:
Times:
With Brunell, Redskins find some relief
"Mark Brunell is the former (last year) and perhaps future (next week) starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins." - Ramsey was injured when a Bear tackled him by slamming his arm into Ramsey's neck and slamming Ramsey head first into the ground. Brunell lead the Redskins to victory.
Redskins defeat Bears in ugly win
"Style and form were not the priorities yesterday at FedEx Field, not after last season -- or the previous ones, for that matter. In the National Football League, it's not how you play the game so much as whether you win or lose."
Capitals Training Camp Opens:
Times:
Caps start with uncertainties
" The Washington Capitals will open training camp today with nearly 60 players and at least that many questions that must be answered before the season opener Oct. 5 against Columbus at MCI Center."
Do not particularly care at this time.
Redskins.com recap. Washington Post recap. Hog Heaven Blog preview.
College Football: JMU loses 31-27: Richmond is now 0-2:
JMU: now 1-1
Here is a link to a summary, a link to game stats, and a link to, I believe, a radio recap of the game.
Richmond: now 0-2:
Recap of the first game.
Recap of the second game.
