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Welcome to MASN's discussion space for today's Nationals-Brewers game at Miller Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the day, and if you'd like to participate, leave your thoughts in the comments section. I'll respond to you there.
2:20 The Nationals get a hit in the first inning off Dave Bush, but stranded Josh Willingham on second after his double. Now we'll see what Ross Detwiler can do.
2:32: Detwiler's mechanics look the same as the last time we saw him - he's still throwing across his body, which the Nationals have relented to let him do after spending most of 2008 tinkering with his delivery. His fastball is in the low 90s, and he's got a good changeup, but he's not finding the zone with his curveball and has walked two hitters here in the first. The bases are loaded for Casey McGehee.
2:38: It's 1-0 Brewers on a single by Jonathan Lucroy. The run is unearned because of Willie Harris' error, but Detwiler is running up his pitch count early.
2:39: . And now it's 2-0 Brewers; Detwiler threw a wild pitch to Carlos Gomez, scoring Prince Fielder. Detwiler has thrown 33 pitches in the first inning.
2:42: Detwiler's thrown 40 pitches in the first inning. The Brewers are hacking at his fastball, knowing he isn't getting his curve over the plate, and he's walked three hitters - though one was a quasi-intentional walk after he fell behind Gomez 3-1.
2:44: Detwiler is out of the first, having thrown 44 pitches and given up two unearned runs. The inning would've been over if not for Harris' error, but the walks are on Detwiler.
2:51: An error on a routine play by Rickie Weeks puts Adam Kennedy aboard with two outs, and Kennedy steals his 11th base in 11 tries. As he usually does, Kennedy got a tremendous jump. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in his ability to read pitchers. But Ian Desmond grounds out to end the inning.
2:59: A much-needed quick inning for Detwiler, who threw 15 pitches in a 1-2-3 second inning.
3:12: Detwiler has set down six straight, and has thrown 64 pitches through three innings. The Nationals had planned for him to go a maximum of five innings today, so he might be able to get close to that.
3:26: With shadows lengthening across home plate, Detwiler seems to be finding a handle on his curveball. He's struck out two batters in the fourth inning. BUt the Brewers have a 3-0 lead - and another unearned run - after Ian Desmond bobbled a grounder at short, set himself, and promptly fired an errant throw to first. That's two errors today, and a 3-0 lead.
3:29: Now Detwiler hangs a pitch to Weeks, who's turned into an extremely dangerous player, and pays for it with a two-run homer. He's done after 3 2/3 innings, having given up five runs, none of them earned. Following a pair of errors, Detwiler couldn't recover, but the fault for most of the Nationals' 5-0 deficit has to lie with their defense. Miguel Batista is pitching for the Nationals, and in another early double switch, Michael Morse has replaced Roger Bernadina in right field. This is looking like it's going to be a sweep for the Brewers.
3:52: Another hit for Morse, who singles to start the sixth. The Nationals have just two hits, and Morse, again, is making a case he should play more often.
3:56: A sacrifice fly for Josh Willingham puts the Nationals on the board. It's 5-1 Brewers in the sixth, and Willingham has 50 RBI for the season.
3:57: It's 5-2 now; Adam Dunn, who's had some great games at Miller Park, blasts a single to center field that scores Nyjer Morgan. Kudos to the organist at Miller Park, who's playing the Super Mario Brothers theme during a mound meeting.
3:59: After a long double by Alberto Gonzalez, the Nationals have runners on second and third. But they didn't score another run because Carlos Gomez was able to hold Dunn at first after his shot to center. That kept Dunn at third on Gonzalez's double, and Ivan Rodriguez's long flyout ended the inning. A strong defensive play from Gomez helped keep the Brewers up three.
4:23: Nyjer Morgan hits a chopper to short, beats it out and drives in Kennedy to put the Nationals within two. Good at-bat for Morgan, who fought off an outside fastball while in a 1-2 hole. And now he's stolen second, getting a good jump on Kameron Loe and doing his best to ignite something in the seventh for the Nationals.
4:40: Well, this one's about over; McGehee blasts a three-run shot off Joel Peralta to the second deck in center, and the Brewers lead 8-3 in the seventh. The pitch was a changeup that caught a little too much of the strike zone, and McGehee crushed it. This Brewers team has more homers than any team in the league, and if they had any pitching, they'd be a serious threat in the NL. They're talking about unloading Prince Fielder, but even without him, they'e got quite a few mashers.
4:56: Matt Capps is in the game to get an inning of work; he's only got one save on the Nationals' 10-game road trip. The Nationals will need a big rally in the ninth to avoid a sweep.
5:13: Morgan goes fishing for a Trevor Hoffman curveball, and the game is over. The Nationals fall 8-3 to the Brewers. They finish the road trip 3-7, and are now 42-57 for the season.
