The Nats responded by putting up five runs in a win over the Phillies last night. Johnson had planned to shave after the hits and runs started coming, but his players convinced him to leave the whiskers for the time being.
Johnson obliged.
"My wife said I could keep it one more day," Johnson said with a smile. "I was ready for a breakout again today after 10 hits and five runs, but the players said I should keep it. They think it makes me look better."
Johnson then took a playful shot at one of his former players with the Mets, Keith Hernandez, who is currently a spokesman for "Just for Men". Well, I should say Johnson tried to take a playful shot at his former first baseman.
"I might have to call up Hernandez and use 'Just Gray' or something," Johnson said.
While Johnson can try to fix the Nats' offensive struggles by leaving the razor in the drawer, there's another problem his team is dealing with that can't be combated with unorthodox measures. Nearly a third of the way into the season, Johnson still isn't content with the roles that have been established in the bullpen, a 'pen that has posted a 4.15 ERA as a whole, 22nd-best in the majors.
There are a number of factors that have played into Johnson's lack of comfort with his bullpen rotation: he's spent much of the season with just one left-hander in the 'pen up until Fernando Abad's recent promotion, leaving a couple right-handers to try and pick up the slack against left-handed hitters; Henry Rodriguez still isn't really trusted in high-leverage situations; and Ryan Mattheus will now be out around six weeks after breaking his hand.
"I thought we were getting close to everybody knowing their role out there. But with the loss of (Mattheus) and the new guy coming in, Abad, I've gotta create something where they each have roles that I'm comfortable with and they're comfortable with," Johnson said. "Stammen's been pretty consistent, and Clip, and Soriano, but the other guys, I've put it on me that I haven't found a niche for everyone to be comfortable with."
Johnson likes going with A and B bullpens, using one set of relievers one day and another set the next, in order to keep everyone fresh. But the Nats continue to be wary of using Rodriguez in close games, Mattheus was struggling against left-handed hitters prior to his injury (they were hitting .452 off him), Drew Storen has been inconsistent and Abad is not really proven at the big league level.
That leaves Johnson scrambling to get guys in the right spots.
"That's my biggest concern, getting those roles established in the bullpen," Johnson said. "I don't want to get buried with Clip and Soriano. I need to get some other guys where they are comfortable and mentally prepared for their roles. That keeps me up more than actually the offense, because I really feel the offense is going to come around.
"Now that the (starting) pitching seems more consistent, I may have to move (Craig) Stammen into a little different of a role. If Henry got any kind of problem, I always like to bring a sinker-baller in with guys on base. I would do that with Stammen or Mattheus, primarily if Henry is giving me a problem, I can bring a guy in looking for a groundball.
"Not having the configuration I had last year, it's been a little harder to separate (into A and B groups) and get the kind of balance you want on both sides of the bullpen."
If the starters continue to work deep into games, that could free up Stammen to move into more of a seventh-inning set-up role, allowing him to serve as a bridge to the late-inning relievers. That's a role that Mattheus occupied when he was healthy.
If the starting pitching is more inconsistent, Johnson will have a hard time getting into a comfortable rotation with his relievers, that is unless Rodriguez or Abad are able to step up and prove that they can be used in big spots with the game on the line.
]]>Reporters gazed out from the press box high atop Nationals Park this afternoon as Detwiler toed the rubber in the Nats' bullpen to get in a throwing session under the watchful eye of pitching coach Steve McCatty. There wasn't much to see, which was a good thing.
Detwiler's first mound session since he suffered a slight right oblique strain back in a start on May 15 was uneventful and went smoothly, and he's still on track to get the start for the Nats on Tuesday against the Orioles.
"He had a great bullpen," manager Davey Johnson said. "Threw the ball well. Felt good. Cat was impressed. And so, barring anything (coming) up tomorrow or the next day, he's good to go Tuesday."
The Nats were able to avoid putting Detwiler on the DL by having him skip a start and then pushing him back a couple days to give him extra rest. Stephen Strasburg will get the start tomorrow and Gio Gonzalez will go on Monday, with both starters working on normal rest because of Thursday's off-day.
Detwiler sat down halfway through his bullpen session for about five minutes to simulate waiting for the Nats to hit, and then he got back up on the mound and finished his normal routine without any issues.
There was a little cause for concern when Detwiler needed to leave his start against the Dodgers 10 days ago after just three innings. He had injured his oblique reaching for a throw while covering first base and, after finishing that half-inning, was removed from the game.
The Nats felt confident pretty much right away that the injury wasn't major, however, and they opted to keep Detwiler on the roster, have Zach Duke take Detwiler's next start, and then see if Detwiler could return to the rotation. That's how things have played out.
Detwiler pushed himself during his mound work today, and he passed his own test.
"Any time you get healthy again, it's definitely going to be a relief," Detwiler said. "But the thing (is), I kind of went and threw a little harder today than I normally would just so I wouldn't have any, I wouldn't hold back anything. I proved to myself that I was healthy and I'm ready to go."
On the season, Detwiler is 2-4 with a 2.76 ERA, 23 strikeouts and 10 walks.
]]>Yes, Kobernus' position was listed on the official team press release as "infielder/outfielder". The 2009 second-round pick is a career-long infielder, but he's seen action in the outfield in 28 games for Syracuse this season.
In parts of five minor-league seasons (2009-2013), Kobernus batted .286 with 77 extra-base hits, 141 stolen bases and 189 runs scored.
The Nats now have seven relief pitchers and five position players on the bench. Danny Espinosa is in day No. 2 of his two or three day shutdown after doctors diagnosed him with a broken right wrist, so he's unavailable again tonight.
Davey Johnson will trot out the same lineup from 1-8 in the batting order that he did last night.
Kurt Suzuki will bat sixth, Tyler Moore will play left field and hit seventh and Steve Lombardozzi will play second base and bat eighth.
Dan Haren gets the start for the Nats, coming off a rough outing his last time out, when he allowed seven earned runs over five innings in a loss to the Padres. The veteran right-hander is 4-5 with a 5.54 ERA this season.
The Phillies will send 22-year-old Jonathan Pettibone to the mound tonight. The rookie has made six starts this season in his first big league stint, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
He held the Reds to one run over seven innings his last time out.
For the Nats
CF Denard Span
RF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
C Kurt Suzuki
LF Tyler Moore
2B Steve Lombardozzi
RHP Dan Haren
For the Phillies
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Freddy Galvis
3B Michael Young
1B Ryan Howard
RF Delmon Young
LF Domonic Brown
C Erik Kratz
CF Ben Revere
RHP Jonathan Pettibone
Just want to make sure I'm remembering things correctly and I didn't just wake up from some kind of sick dream.
In case you missed it last night, the Nationals will be making a roster move today, selecting the contract of infielder Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse and designating right-hander Yunesky Maya for assignment.
Maya came to the Nats with a decent amount of fanfare in July of 2010. He was once the ace of the Cuban National team, ahead of fellow Cuban Aroldis Chapman, who hits triple-digits on the radar gun with ease and is currently one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in the big leagues. Maya also once won Cuba's version of the Cy Young award.
At the time viewing Maya as a key piece of their big league rotation in the near future, the Nationals gave the right-hander a four-year, $6 million deal. In his Nats career, Maya made just 16 big league appearances, winning one game and posting just 1.29 strikeouts for every walk.
Maya now finds himself on the waiver wire, where 29 other teams will have a chance to pick him up or trade for him. If he isn't claimed, he could return to the Nats organization, or the two sides could decide to part ways. Mike Rizzo has made a number of successful free agent signings since taking over as the Nationals' general manager. The Maya signing was not one of them.
Prior to informing Maya that he was being designated for assignment last night, Nats manager Davey Johnson watched his team put up five runs on the Phillies in a series-opening win.
Pretty much this entire season, the Nats' offense has been carried by - at various points - Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond. The guys who normally find their names written into in the bottom half of the order - namely Tyler Moore, Steve Lombardozzi and Roger Bernadina - have been pretty quiet.
Last night, the Nats got some major offensive production from the 6-8 spots in the lineup. Kurt Suzuki (who has had a few big hits but still entered yesterday batting .245) had a big two-out RBI single and drew a walk. Moore reached base three times. Lombardozzi had three hits and a big two-run double.
All told, those three went a combined 5-for-10 with three RBIs and two walks. Chad Tracy also contributed a pinch-hit single later in the game, showing that maybe, just maybe, the bench guys and contributors down in the lineup are starting to come around.
"Our offense has really been down," Johnson said. "About 25 percent of our lineup has really been struggling, and along with some other guys at times. Seeing Lombo come in there and get three hits and drive in some runs, that was huge. ...
"I'm going to stay with Tyler Moore, I'm going to give him some more (playing time). He hasn't been swinging the bat at all like he's capable of swinging. Hopefully he'll get right. You've got the pitcher in the lineup but you can't have a couple other (soft) spots in the lineup. That'll just kill your offense. Certainly we have the talent to do it, they just have got to do it. It's that simple."
I wrote the other day about how the Nats' bench guys have all dropped off in a big way offensively after strong 2012 campaigns. The players are obviously aware of their poor offensive production this season, and their struggles have been weighing on them to an extent. That's why, for guys like Moore, Lombardozzi and Tracy, performances like last night's can go a long way towards getting them back on track.
"It feels great," Moore said. "I know I'm not swinging the bat good and haven't done it all year, but just those small sparks kinda gets your confidence up and kinda gets you going. I know I'm not a .120 hitter. It eventually is going to turn around. I hope we continue to win."
Both Moore and Lombardozzi should be in line for some fairly consistent playing time in the near future. With Danny Espinosa dealing with a broken right wrist and Jayson Werth still expected to miss around 10 days with a hamstring injury, Johnson will likely continue to lean on his young bench players.
"It feels good," Lombardozzi said. "You never want anybody to get injured, but when my name's called I'm gonna be ready. It's always good to get some consistent ABs."
"You come in the clubhouse, and it's a different mentality when you know you're going to play," said Moore, echoing Lombardozzi's sentiment. "It kinda gets you settled in a little bit more and kinda takes the pressure off."
Those two were happy to get a chance to contribute, but their teammates, aware just how vital the bench guys can be, were equally as pleased with last night's effort.
"It's great to see any teammate have a big day, but you've got a guy that's got to sit and watch us play the majority of the time, Trace hits a big homer the other night, it's huge for all of us," LaRoche said. "We love seeing that, and on the other side we're having some injuries. Last year, same thing, and those guys stepped in, and they were a big part of it. They'd go a couple months with a ton of at-bats, and we need them to step up.
"We got a good lineup, but not good enough to have a few guys out and nobody step in. Tonight was big, and hopefully Espi's hand's all right, get Jayson back, and in the meantime we've got some pretty good replacements."
The top five guys in the order can only do so much. The replacements have shown they have the ability to perform at this level, and they'll need to start hitting their stride if the Nats are to put things together as the season gets deeper.
]]>After the Nats put up five runs in a 5-2 win over the Phillies, Johnson told a couple of his players that he thought it was now OK for the beard to go.
"They said, 'It's not coming off yet,' " Johnson said with a smile. "I might leave it on. See if this is not something strange happening right here."
The Nationals got some decent run support tonight thanks to a four-run fifth inning and were backed by another strong start from Jordan Zimmermann, who allowed just two runs over seven innings despite being bothered by a stiff neck. He was incredibly efficient yet again, throwing just 92 pitches over his seven innings.
"Zim woke up kind of with a stiff neck today and kind of hid it from me, but I knew about it," Johnson said. "Nothing's really hidden from the manager. So I kind of cut him a little shorter than I normally would. But he still threw a heck of a ballgame. He's not one to say anything, but cold night, I didn't want to go any further with him. But he should be all right."
Zimmermann going seven innings and allowing two runs is nothing new. The Nationals putting up five runs is, given how they've struggled offensively this season.
You could tell the Nats were trying anything they could to push runs across when third base coach Trent Jewett waved Tyler Moore home from second base on Steve Lombardozzi's single to shallow center in the fourth inning. There were no outs at the time, and Moore is by no means fleet of foot. But Jewett sent Moore anyway.
The burly Moore was out by a mile at the plate, but he did his best to dislodge the ball from Phillies catcher Erik Kratz by throwing a shoulder into him, sending both men to the ground in what looked like an open field tackle by a linebacker on a running back.
"I know Trent was a little upset he sent him on that play, but I didn't blame him at all," Johnson said. "We haven't scored many runs, and shoot, it could've been a bad hop or something. Even Tyler Moore got a terrible jump at second, shoot (center fielder Ben Revere) doesn't throw that good and the guy happened to make a pretty good play and the catcher made a good play. But we just haven't been the kind of offensive club I know we're capable of being."
Moore said that he was fine despite the big collision, and admitted he was a little surprised to look up as he rounded third to see Jewett waving him home.
"I don't have blazing speed," Moore said with a chuckle. "But, I mean, we haven't been swinging the bats all that great. So you have to take chances sometimes. Revere made a good throw and (I) ended up being out. ... I went down to slide but I didn't have anywhere to go. You don't ever want anybody to get hurt but you have to do what you have to do."
The Nats failed to plate any runs that inning, but they made up for it in the next frame by putting up a four-spot. Adam LaRoche tripled in Ryan Zimmerman, Kurt Suzuki followed with an RBI single and after Moore's infield single, Lombardozzi smoked a double to right-center, scoring two more runs.
Lombardozzi half expected the Phillies to pitch around him in that spot with Zimmermann behind him in the on-deck circle, but he made the most of his opportunity when Kyle Kendrick left a pitch over the heart of the plate.
"He did go 2-0, but I was just setting myself and staying ready to look for something in a small zone that I could drive and I got something I was able to hit," Lombardozzi said. "I knew he had to come at me. He was in the hole. But again, I knew, Jordan's on deck so I'm looking for something that I can drive. I was able to get that and got two runs on him."
For a team that has been dreadful at scoring runs with two outs and bring in add-on runs, the three hits with two outs in that inning were a big boost.
"Today was a big day with (Danny) Espinosa out," Johnson said. "For Lombo to do what he did, and to score five runs, we've been kind of stuck on none or one or two. So that was big. Big shot in the arm for the offense."
]]>Infielder Jeff Kobernus will have his contract selected from Triple-A before tomorrow's game, manager Davey Johnson announced after tonight's 5-2 win over the Phillies, and right-hander Yunesky Maya will be designated for assignment to clear a spot for Kobernus on the 40-man roster.
"We're already one player short with four players on the bench (and) I like to have at least five," Johnson said. "And with Espinosa down, we can't go with three."
Maya appeared in just one game with the Nats after being called up Tuesday. He allowed two runs and got the loss in the Nats' 10-inning loss to the Giants Tuesday night.
The former Cuban defector was signed to a four-year, $6 million deal in July of 2010. He made his major league debut in September of that year, but struggled in five starts and failed to make the team out of spring in 2011. Maya made a couple different stints with the Nats that season, both as a starter and as a reliever, posting a 5.23 ERA in 10 appearances. He spent all of last season at Triple-A and
Overall, Maya appeared in 16 career games for the Nats, going 1-5 with a 5.80 ERA.
Maya will now be subject to waivers. Any of the other 29 teams will have a chance to claim him and what's left on his contract.
Kobernus was batting .333 with a .378 on-base percentage in 43 games for Syracuse this season. This will be the 24-year-old's first stint in the big leagues.
He'll back up Steve Lombardozzi at second base for now, and could also see a little time in the outfield, if needed. Kobernus, a second-round pick of the Nats in 2009, has played 28 games in the outfield this season.
]]>In nine of those 10 starts, Zimmermann has allowed two or fewer runs. In the one outlier, he allowed a whopping three runs, and that was in a complete-game victory over the Marlins.
Eight of the 10 times Zimmermann has gotten a start this season, he's worked at least seven innings. He's failed to get through the sixth just once.
The more you look at Zimmermann's numbers this season, the more impressive those stats appear.
Zimmermann went seven solid innings tonight against the Phillies, allowing just two earned runs on six hits. The right-hander walked none and struck out one.
He threw 92 pitches over those seven innings, which just barely inflated his league-leading number of pitches per inning. Zimmermann has now thrown 13.0 pitches per frame this season, far and away the best in the majors.
The Nats actually gave him a decent amount of run support tonight, putting up five runs, which leaves Zimmermann in line for his eighth win, which would tie the Rays' Matt Moore for most in the bigs.
Tyler Clippard just threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning, leaving the Nats three outs from victory in their first game against the Phillies this season. They'll take a 5-2 lead to the bottom of the eighth.
Update: That'll do it. The Nats beat the Phillies 5-2, moving back to two games above .500.
Rafael Soriano gets his 14th save, Zimmermann gets his eighth win and Steve Lombardozzi went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the victory.
The Nats benefited from a big four-run fifth inning, turning a 2-1 deficit into a three-run lead, and they never looked back.
The first of 19 games between these two division rivals goes to the reigning National League East champs.
]]>The problem has been converting those baserunners into runs.
It's a 2-1 Phillies lead here at Nats Park heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, despite the fact that Jordan Zimmermann has outpitched Kendrick, for the most part.
The Nats put two runners in scoring position in the second inning, but both Kurt Suzuki and Steve Lombardozzi were left stranded when Zimmermann grounded out to end the inning.
In the third, Kendrick walked the bases loaded with one out, but the Nats could only plate one run on Ian Desmond's sacrifice fly to right.
Then in the fourth, Tyler Moore reached second on Jimmy Rollins' two-base throwing error. Lombardozzi then singled to shallow center, and for some reason, third base coach Trent Jewett waved Moore home.
There are a number of reasons to question that decision to send Moore in that spot. The most paramount, in my mind, is that there were no outs. Yes, Zimmermann was due up next, but even if he just drops down a bunt, you've got two runners in scoring position and one out.
If you were talking about a runner that could fly around third, maybe you send him, but Moore doesn't have great speed, by any means. In addition, Phillies center fielder Ben Revere scooped up the ball in very shallow center and while he doesn't have the strongest arm, he didn't need it to gun the ball home there.
Moore was out by a mile, and went crashing into catcher Erik Kratz on the play. It was a big collision, one that could've easily been avoided.
Zimmermann allowed a run in the fifth after surrendering four singles to the first five Phillies hitters that came to the plate. He hasn't allowed a walk or an extra-base hit yet, but he trails by a run and will have to hope the Nats can be more effective with runners in scoring position the rest of the way out.
Update: A four-run bottom of the fifth - that included three straight two-out hits - has given the Nats a 5-2 lead going to the sixth.
Adam LaRoche smacked a one-out triple off the center field wall (LaRoche's 11th triple in his 10 big league seasons), scoring Ryan Zimmerman to tie the game, and after Desmond struck out, Suzuki, Moore and Lombardozzi strung together three straight hits.
Lombardozzi's double to center score Suzuki and Moore, making it a three-run Nats lead.
The Nats entered today batting just .195 with runners in scoring position and two outs, and they had gone 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position tonight through the first four innings. Now, they have a nice cushion and will get to face the Phillies bullpen the rest of the night, as Kendrick is done after five long frames.
Lombardozzi, by the way, is 3-for-3 tonight with a double and two RBIs.
]]>Espinosa says that he won't use the injury as an excuse for his poor hitting this season - he has a .163/.196/.291 slash line over 39 games played - but he did say that the wrist felt "stiff" when he was hitting left-handed and it affecting him trying to get his top hand to the ball when hitting right-handed.
With Espinosa taking at least 2-3 days to rest the wrist, the Nationals will use Steve Lombardozzi as their starting second baseman. If Espinosa needs to land on the disabled list, then Lombardozzi would get the bulk of the starts for the time being, as well.
Because Espinosa is unavailable and the Nationals are carrying eight relievers after the promotions of Fernando Abad and Yunesky Maya, manager Davey Johnson has just three bench players at his disposal for tonight's game.
That won't be the case for long.
The Nationals will make a roster move tomorrow, sending down a reliever (likely Maya) and bringing up another position player that can add depth and another option off the bench.
Johnson said that Anthony Rendon, the Nationals' top prospect who made his major league debut last month, is not an option to be called up this time around. Rendon is out of Double-A Harrisburg's lineup tonight, but that's due to a wisdom teeth procedure, according to a Nats official, and Rendon's absence is not related to the Nats' upcoming roster moves.
The player that is called up will come from Triple-A Syracuse, Johnson said, which leaves infielders Jeff Kobernus and Will Rhymes as the two possible options. Kobernus is out of Syracuse's lineup tonight, which almost certainly means he's the choice.
Kobernus has gotten off to a really hot start to this season offensively, batting .333 with a .378 on-base percentage in 43 games. The 24-year-old, who was a Rule 5 pick by the Tigers and then returned to the Nats toward the end of spring training, is a career infielder who has also gotten time in the outfield this season.
Rhymes, who has played 130 games in the big leagues with the Tigers and Rays over the last three seasons, is batting .299 with a .366 on-base percentage this season.
Neither player is on the Nats' 40-man roster, so the organization would need to drop one player from the 40-man if they were to activate either Kobernus or Rhymes. One option there is to transfer Christian Garcia to the 60-day DL.
Garcia has been rehabbing a forearm injury since February.
]]>Espinosa initially injured the wrist on April 14, when he was drilled on the right wrist by a pitch from Atlanta's Paul Maholm.
After initial X-rays on the wrist came back negative, Espinosa was diagnosed with a sore wrist, and he was held out of the Nats lineup for the next four games in an attempt to get the second baseman back to full strength. The discomfort in Espinosa's wrist has not subsided since his return, however, and so Espinosa went to see a specialist in Baltimore today.
A second round of X-rays revealed a bone chip in the second baseman's wrist, as well as a fracture of the bone where the chip came from.
"It's a broken bone, and the problem is inflammation and pain from a broken bone," manager Davey Johnson said.
The Nationals' plan for now is to have Espinosa rest for two to three days, not taking part in any baseball activities. Doctors hope that the rest will allow the bone chip to knit, and they're confident that Espinosa's condition cannot worsen if he continues to play. The question, then, is how much pain Espinosa will be able to tolerate and how effective he can be with the fracture still in his wrist.
"That's what the hand specialist said: Two or three days would really calm it down, just because the constant, everyday (grind), there's never been a rest," Espinosa said. "The initial five days (off) was good, but then after that (playing) everyday, they're hoping 2-3 days of rest will be able to calm it down."
Because this is an issue with a bone, a cortisone shot wouldn't provide any assistance. Surgery also isn't an option, Espinosa said, because the bone that is broken isn't similar to the hamate bone, which can be removed without affecting a player's strength or the integrity of the wrist. Espinosa had the hamate bone in his right wrist removed after the 2010 season.
If these two to three days of rest don't solve the problem, Espinosa will probably land on the disabled list for a lengthy period of time - at least six weeks - during which the bone can heal with rest.
The thinking is that the initial X-rays didn't pick up the fracture or bone chip in the wrist because of the inflammation that was still there. When Espinosa got this latest round of tests, the issue was clear as day, Johnson said.
Some might wonder what took Espinosa so long to go get the second X-ray if he felt that his wrist wasn't right.
"Well, when you initially find out and they do the X-ray and everything is said that there's no break, there's nothing wrong, as a player you say, 'OK, well it's going to take a few days for the pain to go away,' " Espinosa said. "And especially in a spot like that, your wrist, your ankle, something that's got a lot of bones, it's going to be sore, you know you're going to have to deal with some discomfort for two to three weeks just until everything goes away.
"But at a certain point, when I felt there was nothing getting better, it was just every day was, it wasn't hurting, wasn't excruciating, dying pain, but it was a discomfort every single day, I knew I just wanted to get a second opinion. ... But like I said, they found out today that there was."
Johnson isn't surprised that it took Espinosa this long to get the wrist checked out again. As a former second baseman with a high pain tolerance who tried to play through injuries, Johnson understands where Espinosa is coming from.
"I told him, 'You remind me too damn much of me. Except you're better looking,' " Johnson said. "I want to do what's best for Danny. I know Danny would run out there with something wrong with himself. He's a trooper."
Espinosa wasn't exactly tearing it up offensively prior to getting hit by the Maholm pitch back in mid-April. He had a .175/.233/.350 slash line through the season's first 12 games, but had five extra-base hits in that stretch. Since the hit-by-pitch, Espinosa has a .158/.181/.267 slash line, with seven extra-base hits in 27 games.
After a strong spring training, Espinosa came into the regular season confident that he would be able to put up big numbers offensively and perform at a consistent level. That obviously hasn't happened, but he's not going to blame his lack of success on the wrist injury.
"I won't ever use this as an excuse for what has happened with my hitting," Espinosa said. "I haven't hit lately and that's just kind of what it is. I'll continue to work to get my hitting back to where I want it to be, but I won't use my wrist as an excuse for me not playing up to par."
]]>Kurt Suzuki, who normally hits eighth for the Nats, has been bumped up to the No. 6 spot in the order, with the struggling Tyler Moore hitting seventh.
The Nats will face right-hander Kyle Kendrick today, he of the 4-2 record and 2.82 ERA.
Jordan Zimmermann gets the start for the Nats, looking to improve upon his 7-2 mark and 1.62 ERA this season.
Zimmermann hasn't gotten stuck with the loss at Nats Park is his last 15 starts here.
Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore spent a good amount of time on the field just now working with outfield instructor Tony Tarasco on tracking fly balls on the warning track just in front of the wall.
The two were making a concerted effort to put their hand out and brace for the wall as they hit the track, allowing them to have an idea exactly where they were and how much space they had left.
Center fielder Denard Span came out and joined Harper and Moore at one point, and the three outfielders took turns catching balls out of a JUGS machine.
For the Nats
CF Denard Span
RF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
C Kurt Suzuki
LF Tyler Moore
2B Steve Lombardozzi
RHP Jordan Zimmermann
For the Phillies
SS Jimmy Rollins
CF Ben Revere
3B Michael Young
1B Ryan Howard
RF Delmon Young
LF Domonic Brown
2B Freddy Galvis
C Eric Kratz
RHP Kyle Kendrick
Mattheus broke his right (pitching) hand after a rough appearance against the Padres on Sunday when he punched a locker in frustration. He told reporters he wasn't aware the hand was broken until the next day, when the hand started swelling after Mattheus played catch.
The 29-year-old reliever then alerted pitching coach Steve McCatty, general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson, and the team placed him on the disabled list.
Mattheus left the Nationals' West Coast road trip early and flew back east to see a hand specialist, who determined that the broken bone would not require the insertion of a stabilizing pin, according to the source. The bone will be able to heal on its own, but will obviously need time to do so.
Mattheus' right hand will be immobilized and he will not be able to pick up a ball and start throwing for somewhere around the next month.
Depending on how quickly the bone heals and how long it takes Mattheus to build up arm strength lost during this time off, he could miss anywhere from 4-8 weeks, but six weeks is viewed as the more realistic timetable. That would have Mattheus returning in July, when he could be ready for the Nationals' stretch run.
Mattheus has been one of the Nats' key setup guys over the last two seasons. He had posted a 2.35 ERA through 13 games prior to his appearance against the Padres on Sunday, when he allowed five runs in just an inning of work.
For the season, Mattheus has a 4.96 ERA with 12 strikeouts and five walks in 16 1/3 innings.
Left-hander Fernando Abad, called up from Triple-A Syracuse after Mattheus' injury, will likely get some of the work Mattheus would have received, serving as a bridge from the starters to the late-inning relievers.
]]>Ryan Zimmerman's fourth annual "A Night At The Park" was held at Nats Park last night, with nearly 2,000 fans joining a number of D.C. sports celebrities to enjoy some music, food and a good time, all benefiting Zimmerman's ziMS Foundation, which is dedicated to the treatment and ultimate cure of multiple sclerosis.
Those in attendance were treated to a performance by Third Eye Blind (who finished their set with a pretty cool cover of "Stairway to Heaven"), and live and silent auctions were also held before the concert out on the concourse above the right field bleachers.
All 1,850 tickets for the event were sold, and all told, the event raised over $300,000 for MS research. Since creating the ziMS foundation in 2006, Zimmerman has now raised in the neighborhood of $1.5 million dollars, the bulk of which goes directly to the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at the University of Virginia.
"To be able to raise that much money, and more importantly, give back that much money in that short of a period of time, we're very proud of that," Zimmerman said. "They've come a long way in the last five years. And hopefully in the future we won't have any more of these, because they'll find a cure and we won't have to do these anymore."
This is a cause close to Zimmerman's heart; his mother Cheryl has been fighting MS since her diagnosis in 1995. In addition to the Nationals players and coaches in attendance, the Capitals' Brooks Laich and Redskins' Ryan Kerrigan and Nick Sundberg were there supporting Zimmerman and his foundation.
With the Nats getting in so late yesterday morning and it being one of their few off-days, Zimmerman was obviously appreciative of the number of guys that made their way to the park for the event.
"It means a lot," Zimmerman said. "We're obviously teammates, and on the field we're fighting for the same thing. But for them to take time out of their off-day -- which we don't get many -- and getting home at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning from the West Coast, for so many of them to come out and support me and buy things and drive up prices on the auction ... I think it just shows you not only what kind of players, but what kind of organization we have."
The event truly was a great time even with the rain forcing some adjustments to the concert, and if you haven't made it out to one of the four "A Night At The Parks" so far, make sure you look into attending next year.
Zimmerman and the Nats will be back at the park today for a more traditional purpose - they'll be welcoming the Phillies into town for the first time this season.
The Nats' schedule with the Phils is a little funky this year; the two teams didn't face each other once in the season's first seven weeks, and now they'll square off 10 times over the next seven weeks.
Jordan Zimmermann, Dan Haren and Stephen Strasburg are listed the Nats' probable starters for the series, so if that holds to form, we can expect Ross Detwiler to likely get the start Tuesday against the Orioles.
Detwiler missed his last start because of a slight oblique strain, but he seems to be on track to return to the rotation without needing to land on the DL. The Nats were able to push Detwiler's next start back from Sunday to Tuesday because of yesterday's off-day, and Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez will be able to start Sunday and Monday, respectively, on full rest.
This will be the first time the Nats and Phillies have seen each other since the incident back in spring training when Strasburg hit Chase Utley with a pitch and Phillies starter Roy Halladay appeared to respond by throwing behind Tyler Moore.
Both Utley and Halladay are currently on the disabled list, but in no way does that mean the incident this spring will be forgotten. These two teams don't like each other, and you can bet the umpires in this series will be closely monitoring things to try and prevent any on-field issues from getting out of hand.
The two teams are separated by just a game in the National League East standings and the Phillies have won seven of their last 10, so this series could be a nice barometer of how the division stands at this point.
]]>Zimmerman's mother, Cheryl, was diagnosed with MS in 1995, and Zimmerman founded ziMS shortly after reaching the majors in 2005. Third Eye Blind will be performing at the tonight's event, and those in attendance can bid on baseball memorabilia and other good stuff during a silent auction.
According to the event's Web site, tickets for the event are sold out, but you can still make a donation to the ziMS foundation here. I'll be at the event tonight, and if you're there as well and happen to see me, be sure to say hi.
The Nationals' win yesterday not only prevented the team's losing streak from reaching a season-high five games, it also gave the Nats their fourth win this season when scoring two or fewer runs.
Overall, when they've scored under three runs this season, the Nationals are 4-20. On the flip side, when they've scored three or more runs, the Nats are an impressive 20-3.
I guess the lesson here is simple: Get to that three-run mark, you'll find yourself shaking hands on the field at the end of the game more often than not.
The Nats have yet to lose a game all season when they've put at least five runs on the board, indicating, for the most part, how good their starting pitching has been.
Despite some inconsistent efforts from a couple guys early on in the season, the Nats' starters have the third-best ERA in the majors at 3.24, and they've worked the fifth-most innings of any staff. The bullpen, however, has been shaky, posting a 4.21 ERA (22nd in the bigs) and a 1.38 WHIP (23rd).
Drew Storen has been in a rough patch of late, posting a 2.12 WHIP and blowing two saves over his last six appearances, spanning 5 2/3 innings. He's allowed three runs in that stretch, but also allowed an inherited run to score yesterday.
Tyler Clippard, meanwhile, hasn't been scored upon over his last eight outings, spanning 7 2/3 innings. He's allowed just two hits, walked three and struck out 10 in that stretch, and has stranded four inherited runners.
He obviously still has a very long ways to go, but Danny Espinosa took a minor step in the right direction yesterday. Espinosa singled and walked in yesterday's ballgame, marking the first time he's reached base twice in a game since May 8, a span of 13 games.
The walk was also Espinosa's first since April 27. Yes, he had gone 78 plate appearances without drawing a base on balls.
I know we've talked at length about how the Nats' main bench guys (Steve Lombardozzi, Tyler Moore, Roger Bernadina and Chad Tracy) haven't been performing to nearly the level they did last season. But when I compared their collective numbers this year to what that foursome did in 2012, I was shocked at the discrepancy.
Last season, Lombardozzi, Moore, Bernadina and Tracy combined to put up a slash line of .276/.334/.406. They battled in at-bats, drew walks and delivered key extra-base hits.
This season, the slash line put up by those four players is a paltry .163/.207/.233.
Not only have Lombardozzi, Moore, Bernadina and Tracy been needed in the late innings as pinch-hitters early on this season, but they've been given significant playing time due to injuries to Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper. The Nats got so much from their bench guys last year, and it could certainly be argued that their collective struggles this season have played a big part in the Nats' overall offensive woes.
]]>You can certainly argue that Harper's play on that fly ball was merely one of many factors that led to the Nats blowing Tuesday night's game, but there's no arguing that Harper carried the Nats to a massive victory yesterday with his play on both sides of the ball.
Harper is lauded by scouts, coaches and teammates for his raw ability, and for good reason. The 20-year-old outfielder is incredibly skilled at an incredibly young age.
But a part of what makes Harper so special this early in his career is that when he does happen to make a mistake, when he does give us that rare glimpse that he actually is human, he always seems to make the necessary adjustment and follow the mistake with a big play of some kind.
Yesterday, Harper provided the bulk of the Nats' offense, smoking an opposite-field homer to left in the sixth inning that gave the Nats a 1-0 lead and then doubling and providing the game-winning run in the 10th.
His defensive effort in yesterday's game was just as impressive, and could go a long way to helping Harper clear a big mental hurdle.
Two nights ago, Harper acknowledged that his collision with the Dodger Stadium wall affected him when he pursued Blanco's fly ball to deep right-center. He had banged himself up good in Los Angeles, forcing him to miss three games and causing his body a lot of hurt.
It was only natural for Harper to shy away from the next possible battle with an outfield wall, and that's what happened Tuesday night when he made a premature leap and didn't give a full attempt at a ball that was a good 10 feet short of the wall.
Yesterday, however, just a half-inning after his go-ahead home run in the top of the sixth, Harper played a tricky fly ball - one that was very similar to the one that Blanco hit - perfectly. He moved back onto the track on Hunter Pence's deep fly to the gap, realized he had a little room, shifted a few steps toward center and made the grab just a couple feet short of the wall.
With that unforgiving brick wall at AT&T Park bearing down on him, Harper trusted his feet, counted his steps on the warning track and made a big play. This doesn't mean he won't think about that Los Angeles collision next time he follows a ball onto the track, but it means he's willing to put his nose in and give it his best shot.
He followed that play up with a sliding catch on a tricky Pence liner in the bottom of the eighth, a grab that likely prevented the go-ahead run from scoring but caused Harper to bang up his sore left knee.
He was hurting, but he wasn't stopping. Harper then smoked a one-out double down the right field line in the 10th, and two batters later came barreling around third to score the eventual game-winning run on Ian Desmond's RBI single to right.
While the seemingly endless hype and attention surrounding Harper might lead many of us to believe that he can do no wrong on a baseball field, that's simply not true. He is human. He is just 20 and is in his first full season in the major leagues. Mistakes, both mental and physical, will happen.
But what we've seen already is that Harper possesses the mental fortitude to bounce back from those mistakes, and bounce back quickly. Over the last two days, we've gotten the perfect example of that fact, and while Harper might have contributed to Tuesday night's loss, he played an even larger part in yesterday's win, a win that snapped a four-game slide and might help get the Nats back on track.
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