The Nationals had a disappointing road trip in California the last week and a half. The Nats lost 6 of the 10 games played in California. When they did have offense, it was due to Zim and LaRoche. Zimmerman hit .333 with 2 homers and 10 RBIs. Only 2 of Zim’s hits throughout the road trip were not in RBI fashion. I guess Zim likes #steak too! LaRoche had a good road trip, hitting .243 with 10 RBIs. LaRoche added 4 home runs in that trip, too. Here is a recap of each game.
- Nationals 6, Dodgers 2. Win- Zimmermann Loss- Beckett Nats win but lose Harper
Jordan Zimmermann was sparkling and became the MLB’s first 7 game winner. The Nationals lost Bryce Harper after he banged into the out of town scoreboard tracking down a fly ball. Zimmermann threw 8 innings and Storen shut the door.
- Dodgers 2, Nationals 0 Win- Kershaw Loss- Haren Save- Jansen Kershaw dazzles until 2 outs in the ninth
Dan Haren threw a masterful game, but Clayton Kershaw threw a scoreless game. Kershaw made it 8 2/3 innings, but after giving up a single to Adam LaRoche, Don Mattingly passed the ball over to dominant closer Kenley Jansen and he struck out Tyler Moore. Bryce sits for the game.
- Dodgers 3, Nationals 1 Win- Greinke Loss- Detwiler Save-League Greinke returns as strong as possible
Battery mates Ross Detwiler and Wilson Ramos get injured in this game. Detwiler strains his back and will miss at least 1 start. Zack Greinke returns after breaking his collarbone on April 11. Adam LaRoche hits a solo shot in the game. Brandon League got Denard Span out to end the game and the series in L.A. Bryce Harper pinch-hit in the 9th of this game after being injured 2 days before.
- Nationals 6, Padres 2 Win- Strasburg Loss- Volquez Stras returns, and calls it home
Stephen Strasburg returns home to San Diego. Bryce and Adam went deep. Strasburg got into the 8th inning for the first time in his career, and got his 2nd win of 2013. Rafael Soriano grounded out Nick Hundley to end the game.
- Nationals 6, Padres 5 Win- Soriano Loss- Street Save- Storen Now Batting, Number 18, Chaaad Tracy!
Chad Tracy hit the go-ahead homer in this one. Burch Smith got San Diego’s start. Smith opposed Gio Gonzalez. Adam hit two bombs in the game. Also, Zim hit one out. Storen got Everth Cabrera to ground out to Zim, who booted the ball but was still able to get Cabrera out.
- Padres 2, Nationals 1 Win- Stults Loss- Zimmermann Save-Street Zimmermann and Stults throw great games
Bryce Harper is out of the lineup again. Zimmermann and Padres pitcher Eric Stults throw absolutely great games. But the Nationals offense wasn’t able to find a way to hit of Stults, while Zimmermann gave up 2 runs. Huston Street got Ian Desmond to pop out to end the game.
- Padres 13, Nationals 4 Win- Cashner Loss- Haren Haren not in same form as last few starts
Dan Haren was not as fine in this one. Kyle Blanks hit a monstrous shot into the Western Metal Supply Company building in deep left field. Ryan Zimmerman homered. Tyson Ross got Steve Lombardozzi to ground out to Jedd Gyorko at 2nd to end it. Losing 13-4 to the Padres hurts!
- Giants 8, Nationals 0 Win- Vogelsong Loss- Duke New Starter doesn’t help
Zach Duke took the hill for Washington in place of Ross Detwiler. The Giants lost Ryan Vogelsong due to a broken hand when he was hit by an inside pitch. Ryan Mattheus also hurt himself; after giving up 5 runs he punched his locker and broke his hand. Brandon Belt absolutely owned the Nats by going 4 for 5. Jeremy Affeldt got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to Hunter Pence.
- Giants 4, Nationals 2 Win- Affeldt Loss- Maya Sandoval walks off
Pablo Sandoval ended the Nats’ chance of winning the game by hitting a walkoff home run in the 10th– the longest home run of his career– off Yunesky Maya. What? Yunesky Maya? He and Fernando Abad were called up to take Mattheus’ spot in the bullpen when he went on the DL (OF Eury Perez was also sent back to AAA). Stephen Strasburg and Mr. Perfect Matt Cain threw a Pitchers Duel. Still, taking the reigning World Series champs into extra innings isn’t so bad.
- Nationals 2, Giants 1 Win- Clippard Loss- Affeldt Save- Soriano Desi is hero in win
Ian Desmond drove in Bryce Harper in the 10th to get the game winning run. Bryce Harper hit a home run, too. Rafael Soriano got Marco Scutaro to fly out to deep left to end the Nationals’ California road trip.
Looking ahead to this weekend….
The Phillies and the Orioles come to DC. The Phillies are in third place, a game behind the Nationals. This is a crucial series. The Nationals need to win at least 2 games of this series, or they will fall behind the Phils in the NL East. The Nats can’t let the PHILLIES fans prevail over the Nats.
And then, the Orioles come in from 45 minutes away for the start of the Battle of the Beltways series, so we have to win one of the home games. The O’s have a better record than the Nats, but are in 3rd place in their AL East Division.
The Nationals need to stop the losing and go on a Winning Steak!
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
NATIONALS VS. PHILLIES
KYLE KENDRICK (4-2, 2.82 ERA) VS. JORDAN ZIMMERMANN (7-2, 1.62 ERA)
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