The Washington Nationals took a 2-1 series lead with a 5-3 win against the Mets last night on strong starting pitching from Tim Redding and another home run off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman hit number 7 on the year, his second homer in consecutive games. Since Zimmerman’s self imposed benching in early May, he has hit .316 with 4 home runs, 2 doubles and 6 runs batted in and has lifted his average to .240.
Meanwhile, the Nationals once again got strong starting pitching, something that has not been rare for the Nats in 2008. Tim Redding tossed 1 run 6 strong innings to earn his 5th win of the season. Redding is 5-3 with an ERA of 3.55. All 4 of Washington’s main starters, including Redding, John Lannan, Odalis Perez, and Shawn Hill are boasting ERA under 4.00. The Nats of course experienced another shaky bullpen performance, this time from middle reliever Saul Rivera who yielded 2 earned runs in 1.1 innings. But, closer Jon Rauch shut the Mets down and pitched a perfect 9th for his 8th save of the year.
C Jesus Flores delivered the game winning hit that scored Elijah Dukes. Dukes even looks like a real centerfielder eh?
Washington and New York face off today at 1:10PM in the 4 game series finale. Recent recall Jason Bergmann takes the mound for the first time since being called up to try and anchor down the fifth starting slot. The fifth spot has been troublesome for the nationals, who originally gave the spot to Bergmann, but lost it after poor performances. When Bergmann was sent to Colubmus, he got his mechanics back in tune and put up nice numbers to earn a recall. Matt Chico was moved to long relief and Mike O’Connor last only one start before being optioned to Columbus. Bergmann battles Mike Pelfry today.
Injury Notes: 1B Nick Johnson is heading back to DC for an MRI on his wrist.
“I hope it’s not anything serious,” Johnson said yesterday before leaving Shea Stadium, his hand wrapped in a splint. “Today it’s pretty sore. Last night, I couldn’t go to sleep because it was pretty sore. Today I can’t really move it that much.”
Doesn’t sound very good. Aaron Boone will take over first base duties while Johnson is out. Boone is hitting .319.
This Catching Situation … Here is my deal. I like the rotation of Will Nieves and Jesus Flores. Both are playing well defensively and hitting the ball. Flores is hitting .348 and Nieves .317. Flores is the catcher of the future, the organization knows it and is excited about it. He has a knack for delivering in the clutch.
My solution: Cut your losses. Release Johnny Estrada and Paul Lo Duca, look tot he future and make it now, by playing both Flores and Nieves for the rest of 2008.
Farm Report:
Columbus (AAA) fell to Rochester last night 10-7. Ranier Olmedo and Jason Dubois each had two hits and David Wallace was 3 for 3, including his first homer of the year, but the Clippers fell short. Tyler Clippard took the loss giving up 7 runs, 4 earned, in 4 innings of work. Newly promoted reliever Jim Ed Warden also got pounded for 3 runs in 3 innings.
Current Columbus Record: 22-19, 3rd place, 4 games out
Shairon Martis pitched 5 shutout innings to lead the Harrisburg Senators (AA) to a 3-0 blanking of Reading. Martis is now 3-1 with an ERA of 2.98 in his first season in AA ball. Justin Maxwell continued to swing the hot bat going 2 for 4 with a triple and extending his hitting streak to 8 games. Maxwell is the number one offensive prospect in the system and expected to get a call at some point in 2008. Starting off struggling a bit, Maxwell has turned a hot bat to lift his sub-.200 average to .248. Over the 8 game hitting streak, Maxwell is 11 for 31 (.355) with a double, 3 home runs, 5 runs batted in, and 7 runs scored. Roger Bernadina tripled. Josh Perreault and Stephan Schmoll closed out the game from the bullpen, striking out five in 4 innings.
Current Harrisburg Record: 24-14, First Place
The Potomac Nationals (A) beat down Myrtle Beach 5-4 behind a solid performance from 2007 first rounder Ross Detwiler. Detwiler gave up 3 runs in 5 innings,s triking out 6 and earning his 3rd win of the year. He is 3-2 with a 4.58 ERA. Adam Carr struck out 2 in the 9th to earn his 3rd save. Mike Martinez, Seth Bynum and Matt Rogelstad each homer for the Nationals.
Current Potomac Record: 23-15, First Place
The Hagerstown Suns (Low A) slipped by Lexington 5-4 last night. Daniel Lyons and Jake Smolinski each homered for the Suns. Michael Burgess was 2 for 4 with a double. Smolinski is hitting .353 with 12 runs scored and 4 doubles in his last 10 games. Fellow middle infielder Daniel Lyons is hitting .345 over his past ten games with 9 runs scored and 6 runs driven in. Jeff Mandel pitched 6 strong innings yielding 1 run and striking out 4 to earn his third win. Kyle Gunderson closed out the 9th picking up his second save.
Current Suns Record: 18-20, Fifth place, 6.5 games out
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