Bryce Harper Tries To Break Bat On Knee, Fails

Bryce Harper and his knees are having a lot of trouble lately. Bryce just missed an important game against the Dodgers after hurting his often hurt left knee on a diving catch in the previous game. The day before he had some trouble with the other knee after popping out in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 runners on base and a chance to win the game. He was so frustrated with the out he decided to try to break his bat over his knee. He slammed the bat into his leg but it didn't break. Bryce grimaced in pain and tossed the bat with frustration. It looked like it hurt really bad. Here's what it looked like:

Nats Fall Short, Wild Pitches Kill

Rockies 4, Nationals 3

The Nationals fell short despite a exciting 9th inning rally and lost to the Rockies 4-3.  Jordan Zimmermann pitched another gem today, going 7 innings of 1 run, 3 hit baseball.  The Rockies got their only run off of J-zimm in the 2nd and the Nats would take the lead in the 4th off an Ian Desmond 2 run homer.

In the 7th, Roger "the Shark" Bernadina came in and reached first base on a 2 out bunt.  He stole second and was driven in by Lombo to get the Nats an insurance run going into the 8th.  That's when the trouble started.

For the first time all season, Burnett didn't seem to have his best stuff.  He gave up a homerun and couldn't record a single out.  He left runners on the corners for a hastly warmed up Mike Gonzalez to deal with.  Gonzo would get out of the inning, but not before a wild pitch brought in the tying run from third.

The wild pitch bug was not gone as T-clip came into the 9th inning to try and keep the game tied.  Clip threw a wild one with Giambi at bat to let the go ahead run come in from third.  The Nats went to the bottom of the inning down by one.

Desmond and Bernadina both managed to reach base, and executed a double steal with two outs to give Jesus Flores a chance to win the game with a base hit.  He did not.  That Nats lost a hot one in DC, J-zimm saw another fantastic start go to waste, and the Nats failed to get to 50 wins before the break.

Still, 49 Wins ain't to shabby though, and the Nats will get some much needed rest this week before continuing their first place campaign into the second half of the schedule.  

Rockies @ Nationals: Game Preview (7/8)

Rockies vs. Nationals

1:35 PM Nationals Park

MASN-1

Story Lines:

• Final game before the All-Star break, Nats looking to finish strong.
• Former longtime Orioles Guthrie takes the mound for the Rockies tomorrow.

Pitching Match Up:

• Jeremy Guthrie
• 3-8 with a 6.28 ERA.
• Has NOT been good since joining the Rockies this season.
• First start since being taken out of the rotation earlier in the season.

• Jordan Zimmermann
• 5-6 with a 2.70 ERA.
• Has the best ERA of the rotation.
• Has gotten that "can't win at home" monkey off his back.

Who to Watch:

• Carlos Gonzalez
• Hitting .667 against J-zimm lifetime.
• Has game changing power ability and is batting well over .300 for the season (.339)
• Scored 2 runs the first game of the series before going 0-4 last game.

• Roger Bernadina
• The Shark is the only current National to have homered off of Guthrie.
• He is batting .250 with 2 RBI lifetime against the Rockies starter.
• Does not have a hit yet in the series.

Keys to the Game:

1. Start Ryan Zimmerman.  Duh. The guy has a run scored and an RBI in the first two games.
2. Knock Guthrie Out Before 7th.  His only 3 wins this season he pitched 7.0 innings.
3. Don't Change a Thing J-zimm.  Do what you do.  Its working.

Nats Rebound with a Win

Rockies 1, Nationals 4

The Nationals rebounded tonight behind a strong performance from Gio to beat the Rockies 4 to 1.  Gio went 6 innings pitching 1 run baseball, while giving up only 3 hits.  Mattheus, Burnett, and Clippard came in and handled the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning without issue and T-clip earned his 14 save of the season.

Washington took an early lead in the 2nd inning on a Desmond solo shot.  Apparently he has been dealing with an oblique strain and will miss the all star game, but he could have fooled me!  Francis pitched decently, but would leave in the 6th innings, an inning where Espinosa, Harper, and Zimmerman all crossed the plate to make the game 4-1.  

Nat's go out to try and win the series tomorrow afternoon.  Oh yeah, some guy by the name of Bryce was added to the all star roster.  

 

Rockies @ Nationals: Game Preview (7/7)

Rockies vs. Nationals

4:05 PM Nationals Park

MASN-1

Story Lines:

• Nats look to avoid dropping their first series since playing Baltimore.
• High Heat.  Tomorrow will be the hottest day yet, with temps possibly reaching as high as 106.

Pitching Match Up:

• Jeff Francis
• 2-1 with a 5.16 ERA.
• The Rockies beat the Nats last time Francis pitched.
• In fact...the Rockies have won the last 5 games he has started.

• Gio Gonzalez
• 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA.
• Has gotten the team a win his last three starts after a Strasburg loss.
• Is 1 win behind R.A. Dickey for most in MLB.

Who to Watch: 

• Michael Cuddyer
• Batting .417 against Gio with a homerun in 16 appearances.
• Has 12 homeruns on the season and 50 RBIs.
•  Homecoming:  Cuddyer was born and raised in Virginia.

• Ryan Zimmerman
• Batting .500 with a homerun in 18 appearances against Francis.
• Has grounded in 13 double plays this season.
• Has a homerun in the last 4 series.

Keys to the Game:

1. Water, Water Everywhere.  Could be dealing with 106 to 110 degree temps by game time.
2. Focus.  Didn't look like the Nats had it until the 9th inning last night.
3. RBIs For Zim.  Nats are 5-3 when Zim gets 2 or more RBIs.

Rockies Shutdown Nats Offense

Rockies 5, Nationals 1

The Nationals fell short in their series opener against the Rockies tonight 5 to 1.  Strasburg started the game and pitched decently, but no where near as well as he is capable of.  The Rockies pined 3 runs, 2 of them earned, on Stras in his 6 innings of work tonight.

The Rockies added to their lead with a run in the 7th and 8th inning as Drew Pomeranz held the Nats lineup scoreless through 6.1 innings before handing this off to his pen.  A guy by the name of Tyler Colvin hit two homeruns off of Strasburg tonight...so that definitely helped the Rockies cause.

All-in-all the Nats came out and looked flat tonight.  After sweeping the previous series from the Giants I'm not sure they were mentally prepared to take the Rockies seriously tonight.  The offense couldn't get anything going until the 9th inning when Zim broke open the shutout with a solo shot and the Pomeranz pitched like a first round draft pick should.

Back at it again tomorrow afternoon where Gio will, for the third straight time, try and help the team recover from a loss on a night Strasburg pitched.

Rockies @ Nationals: Game Preview (7/6)

Rockies vs Nationals

7:05 PM Nationals Park

MASN-1

Story Lines:

• The Rockies helped jump start the Nats offense, lets not return the favor.
• In the last two series that Nats haven't scored less than 5 runs in a game.
• Strasburg is trying to avoid watching the team lose 3 in a row on his starts.

Pitching Match Up:

• Drew Pomeranz
• 0-3 with a 3.72 ERA.
• The only Nat he has faced is Mark DeRosa.
• He has lost his last two games, both to the Padres, who are awful.

• Stephen Strasburg
• 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA.
• Only pitched 3 innings last start because of dehydration in the heat.
• Fun Fact: Stras has only intentionally walked 1 person in his career, Colorado's Jordan Pacheco.

Who to Watch:

• Dexter Fowler
• Batting .667 with a triple and 1 RBI against Strasburg lifetime.
• Went 2-4 yesterday against the Cardinals.
• Leads the Rockies in walks (36) and triples (9).

• Mark DeRosa
• The only guy to face Pomeranz on the Nats, batting .333 lifetime off of him.
• Had a hit an run scored yesterday pinch hitting off the bench.
• Is batting .333 in the last 7 days with two doubles.

Keys to the Game:

1. Hydration.  Drink plenty of fluids Strasburg.
2. Short Innings.  Work quickly and play good defense.  Get off the field as much as possible.
3. Wear Out Their Pen.  Hot series and the Rockies have terrible starting pitching.  Get to the bullpen earlier and often today and drain them for the series.

Series Preview: Rockies @ Nationals

After sweeping one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Nats continue their pre-allstar homestand with a three game series against the Rockies.  It was during the last Colorado series that the Nats discovered their new found offensive firepower.  Here is how it stacks up:

• Friday: 7:05 PM, Pomeranz (0-3) vs Strasburg (9-3).
• Saturday: 4:05 PM, Francis (2-1) vs Gonzalez (11-3).
• Sunday: 1:35 PM, Guthrie (3-8) vs Zimmermann (5-6).

Game of the Series: Friday.  You know Strasburg is going to be motivated after seeing the team lose during his last two starts.

Sound of the Series:  Buster Poindexter's Hot Hot Hot seems like a pretty good song to describe how the Nats have been playing of late.  Also the weather...I saw it was going to be 106 on Saturday.




Prediction Time:
Putting my reputation as a "baseball guy" on the line by predicting the outcomes of each series.  Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on twitter @dru90. 

• Nationals WIN Friday.
• Nationals WIN Saturday.
• Nationals WIN Sunday.

The Nationals SWEEP the Series 3-0.

Nats Rally Behind Napkin, Can't Finish

The Nationals started slow and made 2 valiant comebacks, but it wasn't enough as the Colorodo Rockies defeated the Nats 11-10 in 11 innings to split the series with the Nattys.  A Bryce Harper game-tying homer in the 9th inning gave the Nats hope, but the Nats never led, and every time the Nationals scored the Rockies answered right back, winning on a single in the 11th.

Edwin Jackson only made it 3 innings, giving up 10 hits and 8 runs. The Rockies were all over E-Jax, but the offense kept fighting to prevent getting Jackson a loss.  I can't even describe the Rockies pitching because it is so strange with no pitcher throwing more than 3 innings.

Morse hit a 3 run homer, and Ian Desmond hit a game tying 2 run shot off of his wife's brother.  Interesting.  Bryce Harper hit the 3rd homer for the Nats, a solo shot in the 9th that helped send the game to extras.

Craig Stammen pitched the 10th & 11th, but gave up a 2 out single to Marco Scutaro (the guy hit in the head by Strassy a few days ago) in the 11th with a runner on 3rd to earn the loss.  Gorzo gave up the other 2 Rockies runs in the 4th.

The Nationals have scored 33 runs in their last 2 games but could only take 2 of 4 from the worst team in baseball.  Maybe the offense was helped by a Napkin, but most likely it was Coors field combined with the Rockies insane pitching rotation.

The Nats move on to Atlanta for some important division games starting Friday night...

Nationals @ Rockies: Game Preview (6/28)

Nationals vs. Rockies

3:10 PM Coors Field

MASN

Story Lines:

• The most runs the Nat's have scored in 3 consecutive games this season is 22 (5/25-5/27).  They need 1 run tonight to break that.
• Finish the series strong going into a 3 game match up with the 2nd place Braves.
• Say what? Not a single Nat's player among the top all-star votes.

Pitching Match Up:

• Edwin Jackson
• 4-4 with a 2.91 ERA.
• Trying to win back-to-back starts for the second time this season.
• Every Rockies player who has faced him 10+ times is batting .300 or up against him.

• Josh Outman
• 0-3 with a 8.64 ERA.
• Hasn't made it more than 5 innings in a start this season.
• Has more Runs against (19) than strikesouts (16) since becoming a starter this season.

Who to Watch:

• Ian Desmond
• Batting .500 in the series with 7 hits.
• Batting .353 since June 19th
• Going for his 3rd, 3-game multi-hit streak of the season.

• Marco Scutaro
• Batting .300 with 2 homeruns against Jackson lifetime.
• Had 2 hits and 2 RBIs in last nights game.

Keys to the Game:

1. Hit Homers.  Last night each team had 14 hits.  Three of ours were homeruns, they had none.
2. Turn Two.  We turned 4 double plays last night to get out of innings quickly.  Do it again.
3. Score 6+.  The Rockies have yet to score more than 5 runs against us this series.

Nats Hit Bombs, Crush Rockies

Nationals 11, Rockies 5

The Nationals bats stayed alive post-rally napkin scoring 11 runs in Colorado on Wednesday night in an 11-5 win over the Rockies.  Both teams had 14 hits...interesting.

The Nats started out slow scoring an unearned run in the first.  But in the 2nd & 3rd innings the Nats scored a combined 7 runs, the highlights being homeruns by Tyler Moore, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ian Desmond.

For the rest of the offensive output set aside 30 minutes, grab the box score, and read through it.  I don't have enough characters to cover it.

Jordan Zimmermann picked up the win after pitching 7 innings giving up only 1 run on 8 hits.  Can you believe it, J-Zimm got run support. What is happening!

Wang came in the 8th and gave up 2 runs, Mike Gonzalez gave up 2 more in the 9th.

Nats fans are getting excited and it is a great thing that the bats are coming alive, but wins like the past two have to be kept in perspective.  The Rockies are the worst team in baseball.  Their pitching staff was so bad that the manager switched over to an insane 4 man rotation and it caused the pitching coach to quit.  And a lucky rally napkin appeared.  Good wins & good offense, but the Nationals will have to keep the efforts up outside of Coors Field.

Series finale tomorrow afternoon (3:10pm) Nats look to take the series and keep the O going...

Nationals @ Rockies: Game Preview (6/27)

Nationals vs Rockies

8:40 Coors Field

MASN2

Story Lines:

• Can Zimm get a win?  His 2.89 ERA deserves more than 3 wins.
• Harper won't be in the HR Derby, will he show tonight why that's a mistake?
• All eyes will be on the offense again to see if last night's 12 runs were a fluke.

Pitching Match Up:

• Jordan Zimmermann
• 3-6 with a 2.89 ERA.
• Hasn't pitched less than 6 innings in every start.
• Leads the team in homeruns allowed (11).

• Edwar Cabrera
• 8-2 with a 2.94 ERA. *In double A ball.
• Making his major league debut tonight.
• Has given up 15 homeruns in 15 games in AA.

Who to Watch:

• Bryce Harper
• Had a quiet night at the plate last game compared to the rest of his teammates.
• Will want to make amends for his rookie mistake in the outfield last game.
• Has not recorded an RBI since Jun 20th, or crossed homeplate since Jun 21st.

• Marco Scutaro
  
  • Returning to play after being hit in the head with a Strasburg pitch.
  • Had 5 hits in 4 games before getting hit.
  • Has never recorded a hit against J-zimm.

Keys to the Game:

1. Keep up the Cortisone.  Its doing wonders for Zim's shoulder and bat.
2. Rock the Rookie.  Get to Edwar early and often.  Has given up a lot of homeruns in AA.
3. Stay the Course J-Zimm.  Keep doing what your doing, the run support and wins will come. 

Now That's Some Offense

Nationals 12, Rockies 5

What you just read is not a misprint!  The Nationals won the second game of four in Colorado tonight with a 12 run explosion of offense.  There's alot to cover in this one...so here we go:

Gio Gonzalez pitched well, though he struggled with command over his curveball for the second straight start.  Still, giving up 5 runs in Coors isn't anything to be ashamed of.  Thanks to a little run support Gio notched his 10th win on the season.  Now about that run support...

Nationals @ Rockies: Game Preview (6/26)

Nationals vs Rockies

Coors Field

8:40 MASN2

Story Lines:

• The Nationals have lost 3+ games in a row 5 times this season.  Trying to avoid making that 6.
• Gio is trying to become the leader in wins on the staff tonight with win number 10.
• No excuses of travel fatigue tonight, the offensive needs to produces for the Nats.
• The Rockies fired their pitching coach

Pitching Match Up:

• Gio Gonzalez
• 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA.
• Has only faced two of the current Rockies, Cuddyer and Scutaro.
• Has only given up 1 homerun all season.

• Christian Friedrich
• 4-4 with a 5.65 ERA.
• Has never faced any of the current Nationals.
• Has only made it through 7 innings twice this season.

Who to Watch:

• Michael Morse
• Is only hitting .217 with 1 homerun and 5 RBIs since returning from injury.
• Since hitting his homerun on Jun 19th, his average has dropped 13 points.
• He should LIVE for Coors Field.

• Michael Cuddyer
• Batting .400 lifetime against Gio with a homerun in 10 at bats.
• Has hit 11 homeruns on the season and is second the team in RBIs (47)

Keys to the Game:

1. Score Some Runs.  We are going to need at least 3 runs to win this thing.
2. Stop BUNTING.  Small ball and Coors Field do not mix.
3. Go-Go-Gio.  Gio can't get chased early, because I don't want to see what Wang will do in Coors.

Rockies Slow Pitch, Still Beat Nats

Rockies 4, Nationals 2

Stephen Strasburg pelted Marco Scutaro's helmet with a misplaced fastball sending Scutaro crashing to the ground and out of the game with a possible concussion.  The play shook up Strasburg, who went on to give up a few hits and 2 runs in the inning.  The Nats offense was non-existent again and the Rockies won 4-2 on Monday night at Coors Field.

The Rockies only have a 4 man rotation, which is just insane.  What that means is that the starters don't usually pitch very far into the game.  Jeff Francis who throws slower than me only made it 5 innings, but the Nats could only muster 2 runs off the slow-ball tosser and none off the bullpen.  If you want to win playoff games eventually, you have to take advantage of situations like that.  The Nats did not.

Strasburg gave up 6 hits in 6 innings of work (97 pitches), 3 of them coming in that mini-disaster 6th inning.  Strasburg moved back into first place in K's, mowing down 8 Rockies, but he failed to win his 10th game.  Very unexpected.

Gorzo had to come in because of the limited Strasburg outing and he gave up the forth run to the Rocks.

Stevey tried to help out his own cause in the 5th inning with an RBI double, his 4th of the season.  That means in around 80 less at bats, Strassy had more doubles than Nady.  (Nady was moved to the DL to make room for DeRosa who is back on the roster)

Ryan Zimmerman said his cortisone shot made him feel better and after a classic ZIDP in the first inning, he came back with a double off the first base bag that drove in a run.  2 games in a row with RBIs after 11 games without one.

Bryce Harper was 0-4, struck out 3 times, and left 4 guys on base.  No homerun since Toronto Blackberry explosion.

Another thing of note in the past several games is that the other teams take 2nd base at will...

Nats get a chance to make up for tonight on Tuesday night...

Nationals @ Rockies: Game Preview (6/25)

Nationals vs. Rockies

8:40 PM Coors Field

MASN

Story Lines:

• The Nationals have not lost back-to-back series all season.
• How will the Nationals league lowest ERA fair in Coors Field?
• Will the Rockies league highest ERA help break the Nats out of their offensive slump?
• On going issues with Ryan Zimmerman's shoulder.

Pitching Match Up:

• Stephen Strasburg
• 9-1 with a 2.46 ERA.
• Has never faced any of the current Rockies players in his career.

• Jeff Francis
• 0-1 with a 8.56 ERA.
• Starting his 4th game of the season.
• Has had issues making it past 5 innings.

Who to Watch:

• Ryan Zimmerman
• Zim has face Francis 15 times and is batting .533 with 3 RBIs.
• With rumors of a DL stint swirling, Zimmerman has to produce.

• Carlos Gonzalez
• Hitting .328 on the year and leads the team in homeruns with 17.
• He also leads the team in RBIs with 52 and will be the main offensive threat.

Keys to the Game:

1. Strike Outs. When any contact could leave the park, it would be best to just strike everyone out.
2. Hit Homers.  If you want to win in Coors, you're going to have to hit a few homeruns.  Looking at you Morse.
3. Heads Up Defense.  The ball flies off the bat in Coors, so our fielders will have to be on their toes, particularly in the outfield, which is quiet spacious.

Series Preview: Nationals @ Rockies

The Nationals are leaving the DC area for a four game series against the Colorado Rockies.  If anything is going to fix our offensive woes, its four games in mile high Coors Field.  Here is how things stack up:

• Monday: 8:40 PM, Strasburg (9-1) vs Francis (0-1).
• Tuesday: 8:40 PM, Gonzalez (9-3) vs Friedrich (4-4).
• Wednesday: 8:40 PM, Zimmermann (3-6) vs Outman (0-3).
• Thursday: 3:10 PM, Jackson (4-4) vs White (2-5).

Game of the week:  Monday.  I'm personally very interested in how Strasburg will fair in Coors Field.  I also can't wait to see our offense break out against Francis, who has a 8+ ERA.

Sound of the Series:  Comes from Boston this week.  There's no arguing we have been going through a rough patch, but Don't Look Back!

Don't look back, a new day is breakin'...
Forget about the last couple of series.  Forget about not being able to score any runs.

It's been too long since I felt this way...
Let's get that optimistic vibe going strong again.

I don't mind where I get taken, The road is callin', Today is the day!
I certainly don't mind going on the road to face Colorado.  Today is the day our slump is broken!

Prediction Time:
Putting my reputation as a "baseball guy" on the line by predicting the outcomes of each series.  Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on twitter @dru90. 

• Nationals WIN Monday.
• Nationals WIN Tuesday.
• Nationals WIN Wednesday.
• Nationals LOSE Thursday.

Nationals WIN the series 3-1.