Gio Gonzalez Hugs Kurt Suzuki, Loving Natitude

Gio Gonzalez was one strike away from completing 7 strong innings on Friday night against the San Diego Padres.  But the lefty held on to his last pitch a little too long and his nasty curve hit the Padres batter right in the foot, ending Gio's night at 115 pitches.

After the ball hit the player's foot, Nats catcher Kurt Suzuki pounded the dirt.  He knew his buddy Gio had thrown his last pitch, and was so close to ending on a high note.  Suzuki walked out to the mound as Davey Johnson made the pitching change and he gave Gio a little head rub to show that he felt his pain.   Later when the inning was over, Suzuki and Gio smiled at each other and gave each other a hug Check out the GIF.

Nats Lose Again, Lineup To Change

Cardinals 2, Nationals 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cardinals	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0		2	8	0
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	0

Well...the Nationals lost again.  The pattern is getting repetitive   Whenever the Nats play a decent team, they can't seem to generate any offense on a consistant basis.  On Tuesday night at Nats Park the Cards defeated the Nats 2-0 after the Nats failed to score a run.  You won't believe the stats the Nats have been putting up in losses this year.

Detwiler Gets 1st Win, Kurt Suzuki Rollin, Nats Beat Fish

Nationals 6, Marlins 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	2	0	0	1	1	1	0	1		6	11	1
Marlins	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	7	1

Bryce Harper had a Jordan-esque day, Kurt Suzuki continued his hot hitting, and Ross Detwiler pitched nothing like a typical 5th starter to help the Washington Nationals defeat the Miami Marlins 6-1 on Wednesday night and take home the series victory.  The Nats offense got their mojo back and if not for a bad call by an ump at home plate, Detwiler would have picked up the shutout.

Gio Gonzalez Struggles, Braves Sweep Nats, Doh!

Braves 9, Nationals 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Braves	3	0	4	0	0	2	0	0	0		9	12	0
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	4	2

Read the full box score at MLB

It may be early in the season but the Atlanta Braves just laid an ass-whooping on the Washington Nationals.  The Nats could only manage 4 hits for the 2nd straight day, and were shutout by the Atlanta Braves 9-0 giving them the series victory on a sweep.  Gio Gonzalez had his worst outing of the season and the offense made Braves starter Paul Maholm look like Nolan Ryan. (Although Maholm hasn't given up a single run all season!)

An Espinosa Mistake Proves Costly In 6-3 Loss To Reds

Nationals 3, Reds 6

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	8	1
Reds	3	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	x		6	11	0

Read the full box score at MLB

In a game featuring an epic matchup between two of the top pitchers in baseball that didn't turn out too epic, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ballpark (or smallpark as FP calls it) with a barrage of grounders and line drives.

Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg each gave up 3 early runs and amassed high pitch counts.  Cueto lasted 6 innings hurling 108 pitches.  Surprisingly, Strasburg threw even more in 5 1/3 inning, 114 pitches coming off a season in which he was shutdown early.

In the 6th inning of a tie game with a runner on first and the Reds fastest baserunner on third, Danny Espinosa made a huge mental mistake.  On a ground ball to second base, Espy overlooked the easy double play and decided to try to throw out the speedy Derrick Robinson at home to preserve the tie.

Not only did Espy's wide throw allow the runner to score, but he passed over 2 crucial outs.  The play caused the inning to be extended, which was a disaster for Strasburg who already had thrown over 90 pitches.  The Reds went on to score 2 more runs and take home the 6-3 win.

The Nats only scoring was a 3 run homerun in the 2nd inning by Kurt Suzuki who finished with 3 extra base hits (2 doubles and the homer).  Despite Cueto's early struggles, he hit the zone, and the Reds bullpen shut down the Nats ending with Aroldis Chapman making Denard Span look silly tossing 100+ stuff past him.

The Nats get Monday off before a 3 game interleague set at home against the White Sox...

Nationals @ Astros - Game Preview (8/8)

Story Lines:

• Gio Gonzalez and Kurt Suzuki will be reunited since their days in Oakland.
• Armando Galarraga might sound familiar, and this is why.
• Series victory can be clinched tonight with a Nats win.

Pitching Match Up:

• Gio Gonzalez
• 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA.
• Has given up 4 runs in each of his last two starts.
• Has had a winning record in each month this season.

• Armando Galarraga
• 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA.
• Hasn't pitched more than 5.1 innings in either of his starts this season.
• He gave up 7 walks, 5 hits, and 4 runs in 5.1 innings his last start.

 Who to Watch:

• Jayson Werth
• Recorded a hit in a pinch hit appearance last night.
• Hitting .471 since returning from injury.
• Has not homered since returning.

Keys to the Game:

1. G-G-Gio Time. Look for Gio to pitch lights out with his old team mate behind the plate. 
2. Work the Count.  Galarraga has struggled with control in his first two starts of his season.
3. Harper Homer.  If Harper knocks one out of the park, the Nats are going to win tonight.

The Oakland A's Players Chime In On Kurt Suzuki's Departure

Kurt Suzuki was traded from the team he played 6 seasons for, the Oakland A's, to the Washington Nationals.  Suzuki is having fun with his new team and some of his teammates from Oakland are having some fun with him.

On Monday night Suzuki had the game winning bunt "triple" and he tweeted the following:

Here's the response from A's starter Brett Anderson:

And the response from A's starter Brandon McCarthy:

The A's are 1-3 since the Suzuki trade...

Marlins @ Nationals: Game Preview (8/5)

Marlins vs Nationals

1:35 PM Nationals Park

MASN-2

Story Lines:

• Nationals look to take 3 of 4 from the Marlins, and hold onto their lead over the Braves in the NL East.
• Strasburg looks to rebound today, after he was roughed up last start against the Phillies.

Pitching Match Up:

• Ricky Nolasco
• 8-10 with a 4.90 ERA.
• Has given up 4 or more runs in each of his last 4 starts.
• Went 5.1 innings his last start against Washington surrendering 4 runs on 6 hits.

• Stephen Strasburg
• 11-5 with a 3.12 ERA.
• Only lasted 4 innings his last start where he surrendered 6 runs on 8 hits.
• His last start against Miami was 6 innings of shutout ball.

Who to Watch:

• Jose Reyes
• It starts and ends right now with Reyes.  Went 3-4 with 4 runs scored yesterday.
• Also had 2 stolen bases against Nats pitching.
• Is hitting .571 during this series.

• Kurt Suzuki
• Went 0-3 leaving 3 men stranded on the bases last night in his debut.
• Prior to yesterday, he had a 5 game hitting streak going.
• With a large crowd expected, look for him to make a big splash today.

Keys to the Game:

1. Keep Stras Calm.  Don't let him get rattled, and don't let him press because of what happened last game.  Interested to see how him and Suzuki work together.
2. Get Reyes Out.  Do not let him get on the base path.  Bad things happen.
3. Patience.  Nolasco has given up runs his last few starts, the opportunities will come to score.

Kurt Suzuki And His Painted (Stickered) Fingernails

Here is new Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki and his pretty new nail-polish (not really nail-polish, read below).  His fingers are marked in order to help with the signs, or so FP Santangelo says.  I just think Kurt likes to be fashionable.

The yellow on Suzuki's fingers is not actually nail-polish.  It is a bunch of removable stickers without the mess of nail polish.  The product is called "Game Signs". From an article about the creators of the product"

Last September, they introduced a new product called Game Signs, colorful stickers catchers could painlessly apply to their nails and discard instantly after the game.

Whatever works for you Kurt!

More on Kurt Suzuki:

• A heartwarming story about Kurt Suzuki & his father with cancer
• Welcome a catcher who can throw runners out!
• Kurt Suzuki jumping out of a pool

Kurt Suzuki Jumping Out Of A Pool

While National Kurt Suzuki Fantastic Fun Friday continues, we continue our non-stop coverage of the Washington Nationals new catcher.

Now, we look at a video from Youtube, showing Kurt Suzuki jumping out of a pool.  The water is 3 1/2 feet deep and it is almost 4 feet to the top of the ledge.  This is hard I assume (although this 300 pounder did it)

One of the google searches that comes up when looking this up is "Please do not let Kurt Suzuki get injured jumping out of pools"  Ha, but agree! More on Kurt Suzuki:

• A heartwarming story about Kurt Suzuki & his father with cancer
• Welcome a catcher who can throw runners out!
• Kurt Suzuki's Painted Fingernails

Kurt Suzuki & His Father, A Heartwarming Story

Kurt Suzuki was traded to the Washington Nationals today, and he looks to be the starting catcher for the remainder of the season.  But baseball is just one part of Suzuki's life.

The MLB did an article earlier this season about Kurt Suzuki, his family, and his father Warren who lives in Hawaii and has cancer.  It is a very touching story and all Nationals fans and baseball fans alike should read it.  An excerpt:

So, too, is Warren's unwavering outlook on life, despite the bad hand dealt his way back in 2007. He learned he had kidney cancer and had to relay the information to Kurt and his daughter, Keri Ann, over the phone. (Read The Article)

You can also watch this piece from Comcast:

Welcome New Starting Catcher Kurt Suzuki

The Washington Nationals have traded for Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki.  Suzuki has been struggling this year at the plate but should be an improvement over Jesus Flores, especially throwing out runners.

The Nats moved from the 2nd worst catcher in baseball to a guy in the top 10

The key for this trade was that Suzuki this season has caught 38% of runners stealing while Jesus Flores is at 10%.  Flores' numbers are awful in that category and teams have been stealing bases uncontested for the past several weeks.  Catcher play like that would not be good in clutch games where a runner moving from first to second can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Suzuki's 2.18 batting average is only a few points below Jesus Flores 2.25

As you can see, Suzuki is struggling on offense.  He has been a much better hitter in the past and has the potential to get his average up.  However keeping the bases clean and having a solid catcher in the field could be more important than having a catcher who can hit at this time.

Jesus will most likely backup and possibly pinch hit late in games.

And he is on Twitter

According to Mark Zuckerman, Suzuki was Traded For David Freitas, Class A Minor League and will be under contract for the rest of this year, and for next year.  Next year's contract is almost $6.5 million

The contract situation means that next season if Wison Ramos returns as the #1 guy, then you have a lot of money tied up in backup catcher.  But that can be dealt with later, the key was fixing up the position for a World Series run.

Stat of the Trade: (from Baseball Reference)

• Suzuki is top 10 in the MLB in Caught Stealing % (Must play 20 games)
• Jesus Flores is 2nd to last in the MLB in Caught Stealing % (Must play 20 games)

More on Kurt Suzuki:

• Suzuki & His Father, a heartwarming story
• Suzuki jumps out of a pool (hard)
• Kurt Suzuki's Painted Fingernails