Author Archives: REPETE in DC

Donovan Dominates, United States crushes Guatemala 6-0 in friendly

San Diego, California 7/6/2013

Landon Donovan, returning to the United States Men’s National Team for the first time since October, scored his 50th goal in International competition on a penalty kick early in the second half.  The penalty came as Donovan was knocked down in the box on a crossing run at about the six yard box.  He drove the penalty kick straight down the middle as the keeper leapt to the left.  Donovan scored again in the 72nd minute, easily showing why he deserves a spot on the roster for the World Cup team as the US prepares for Brazil in 2014.

Hercules Gomez opened the scoring in the closing minutes of the first half with a solid finish from the right side burying the ball low into the right hand corner.  This goal was important as the U.S. finally broke through against a Guatemala team that had basically been playing with a bunker mentality, keeping all 11 men deep in the defensive half of the field.

Chris Wondolowski scored his first International goal for the U.S. in his 12th appearance for the national team.  He drove a ball from about 15 yards out to the right hand side of the net.  Donovan’s second goal came less than a minute later, easily beating Ricardo Jerez with a drive to the right again. At this point it was 4-0 and the U.S. was actively substituting to get other players a chance with the game out of reach. 

Rather than slow the pace and close out the game, the U.S. continued attacking, and Clarence Goodson was able to finish off a corner kick after his first attempt was blocked by driving his second attempt high into the top of the net with bodies littered on the goal line.  It was a great finish in close facilitated by Oguchi Onyewu, who returned to the national team for the first time since October 2012.  This game was a renaissance and many firsts for the United States.

The final goal came from a hectic back and forth in front of the net that ended with Alejandro Bedoya driving a shot from about 22 yards out that smoked the top of the net.  This was Bedoya’s first goal for the United States in International competition.  After this goal, you could see the total deflation of effort from the Guatemalan squad, thoroughly discouraged as the United States controlled possession to run out the clock.

Jurgen Klinsmann now has to hope that this team can continue to perform like this during the upcoming Gold Cup competition and that he will have some difficult decisions in deciding who makes the final World Cup roster.

A Team Effort, Nationals beat Padres behind seven strong innings from Gio Gonzalez

WP – G. Gonzalez (6-3) LP – A. Cashner

S – R. Soriano (23)

 

The Washington Nationals had a great team effort tonight to beat the San Diego Padres 8 to 5.  Gio Gonzalez pitched six and two thirds, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.  He seemed to have trouble early on controlling his pitches but he settled down and gave the Nationals another solid performance.  The Nationals’ hitters were able to get to the Padres starter early and often, led by Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos.  Werth went 3-for-4 with one RBI, while Ramos went 2-for-4 with three RBI’s.  Denard Span continued to improve on his numbers, going 2-for-5 and two RBI’s as well. 

 

The Padres were led by Carlos Quentin, who hit a three run homerun off of Craig Stammen in the top of the seventh, who gave up two runs and allowed an inherited runner to score on the homerun.  The Padres also got runs in the first and third.  In the first inning, Chase Headley hit a ground rule double off Gonzalez, scoring Chris Denorfia.  In the third, Headley homered to deep left field. 

 

Bryce Harper continued to struggle, going 0-for-4, with a sacrifice fly RBI in the second inning.  Davey Johnson after the game discussed how he will likely give Harper the next couple games off to clear his head, as he is 1-for-18, with a homerun and two RBI’s since returning from the disabled list on July 1st.

 

The Nationals were well below their season average on strikeouts with only three on the night, so this helped to move runners around.  The Nationals have improved their team batting average from .232 to .238 over the last six games with their recent hitting improvement.

 

The Nationals improve to 44-42, and 39-10 in games where they score at least three runs.

 

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

 

Wilson Ramos to the rescue, Nationals top the Brewers 8-5 on the 4th of July

WP – D. Storen (3-2) LP – T. Gorzellany (1-1)

S – R. Soriano (22)

Wilson Ramos has been missing from the Washington Nationals lineup since May 16th.  He returned with a bang, hitting a game winning three run homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning along with a two run single in the sixth, giving him 5 RBIs for the day.  Taylor Jordan had a great effort in his pursuit of his first win, pitching five and two thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits.  He was in line for the win as he left the game, unfortunately the bullpen couldn’t keep the lead.  This is the second solid performance from Jordan since getting called up from AA with Dan Haren on the disabled list.

Tom Gorzellany, a former National, took the loss this Independence Day for the Brewers, as he pitched the sixth and seventh innings, giving up the homerun to Ramos.  He also allowed two runners inherited from Burke Badenhop to score. The Brewers starter, Donovan Hand gave up five runs on five innings pitched before yielding to Badenhop. 

Besides Ramos, who went 3-4 at the plate, Ian Desmond, Adam Laroche and Jayson Werth all had multi-hit games.  The Nationals need to find a way to consistently deliver this kind of performance at the plate to be able to catch the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.  Ian Desmond also stole two bases in this game giving him a team leading 10 stolen bases for the year.

This is the first time in over a month that the Nationals have had what they would consider their whole lineup back for a game, so hopefully with the return of Ramos this team can win more of the games they are supposed to.  It was apparent with today’s performance how much of a difference Ramos is at the plate over Kurt Suzuki. 

The Brewers have consistently fought their way back into games this series, this time coming back from a 5-2 deficit with homeruns from Yuniesky Betancourt and Carlos Gomez off Drew Storen in the seventh inning.   That brought the total runs given up by Storen to seven over the last two innings pitched, compounding the inconsistency from the Nationals bullpen that has plagued them all season.   Ramos came to Storen’s rescue in the bottom of the inning with his homerun to put the Nationals in the lead for good.

Bryce Harper continues to struggle since his return.  His first at bat back from injury was a homerun but Harper has gone 0-for-15 since then.  Opposing pitchers seem to be pitching Harper strictly away, using breaking balls and off speed pitches to keep Harper from pulling the ball.

The win today gave the Nationals a split of this four game series, and brought their season record to 43-42.  The Nationals improve to 38-10 when they score more than three runs.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

Washington Nationals bats are quiet again, Lose 4-1 to Milwaukee Brewers

WP – K. Lohse (4-6) LP – R. Detwiler (2-7)

S – F. Rodriguez (7)

The Washington Nationals hitting malaise continues to haunt them this season, as they managed only five hits against the Milwaukee Brewers’ Kyle Lohse and Francisco Rodriguez in a disheartening effort all around.   This team prides itself on its ability to remain even keeled whether winning or losing, but that even keeled is beginning to come across as lack of passion, as several Nationals had effortless at bats.  This team doesn’t seem to have an answer to why it cant consistently hit the ball or advance runners, especially early in the game. 

Kyle Lohse pitched eight great innings, striking out seven as he helped the Brewers take a second game in this series.  There were a couple of outstanding fielding plays behind him especially Carlos Gomez robbing Bryce Harper of an extra base hit on his second at bat. 

Ross Detwiler provided six solid innings of work, giving up four runs but only two earned over that time.   The damage was done in the fifth inning, when Sean Halton and Logan Schafer both scored on a Norichika Aoki single that got by the drawn in infield.  In the sixth, the Brewers got two additional runs that scored after Bryce Harper made an error in left field on a line drive that he seemed to lose in the lights.  Logan Schafer tripled to drive in Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy after the Harper error.

The four runs would be all Kyle Lohse needed as he baffled Nationals hitters all night other than a solo homerun given up to Anthony Rendon, who continues to hit with power consistently since his call up last month from the minors.  Rendon also had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning but came up just short on a drive to center field off Rodriguez.  He finished the game 1-for-4 and his season average now sits at .312 with 2 HR and 9 RBI. 

The biggest problem for the Nationals is that the top five batters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-19 in this game.  That’s a whopping .052 average for the night.  The Washington Nationals are going to have to do something to correct these hitting woes that consistently plague this team.  It might take Davey Johnson losing his calm cool demeanor with this team or making a drastic change to the lineup. It might even require changing the hitting coach at this point. 

I won’t claim to have the answer but if this trend continues much longer Johnson’s prophetic “World Series or Bust” will most likely be a bust.  This team now sits seven games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, and six back in the wild-card standings, behind the St Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. 

The Nationals are now 42-42, and fall to 5-32 in games where they score fewer than three runs.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

Strasburg gem wasted by bullpen, Washington Nationals lose 4-0

WP – J. Henderson (3-2) LP – D. Storen (2-2)

Stephen Strasburg threw seven strong innings, scattering three hits, and striking out eight.  His record remains at 4-6 but he improves his season ERA to 2.24.  He escaped one jam in the sixth inning, allowing the Milwaukee Brewers to get the bases loaded with only one out, partially due to another atypical error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.  Strasburg was able to strike out the next two batters though to end the inning. 

Drew Storen proceeded to implode in the top of the eighth, allowing four runs.  He gave up back to back singles to Logan Schafer and Rickie Weeks before allowing both runners to score on a double by Juan Francisco.  Francisco came in to score on a play ruled a double by Martin Maldonado.  The ball was well hit but Bryce Harper in his second game back from injury should have caught the ball as it tipped off the top of his glove.  Jeff Bianchi singled to left to score Maldonado which ended up being the last run of the night.

The Nationals looked as if they were going to get things started early, as they had two runners in scoring position in the first and another in the second but were unable to capitalize once again.  The see saw nature of the Nationals offense this year was on full display, going from 23 runs in the last two games to a complete shutout.

Wily Peralta pitched an outstanding ballgame for the Brewers, going five and a third innings of shutout pitching before having to leave with an apparent injury sustained throwing a pitch to Ryan Zimmerman. He attempted a second pitch after the initial pain throwing off the mound.  He seemed to have something wrong with his hip but I am sure the team will release details at a later time.  The Brewers bullpen pitched a solid three and two thirds inning to complete the shutout.

The Nationals looked like they might have one last hope of getting back into the game as Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon singled back to back to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, but the rally ended there with Kurt Suzuki watching strike three, pinch hitter Roger Bernadina struck out swinging and Denard Span hit a weak line drive to the shortstop.

Span, Rendon and Zimmerman each had two hits apiece in this losing effort but the team couldn’t put the hits together to get anything more done

The Nationals continued their inability to avoid the strikeout themselves, giving eight outs back without putting the ball in play.  Surprisingly the Nationals are only middle of the pack in this category at almost eight per game, not even coming close to the league leading Detroit Tigers who strikeout almost 9.2 times per game.

The Nationals fall to 42-41 overall, and 5-31 in games that they score less than three runs.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

Harper returns with a Homerun, Zimmermann improves to 12-3

Nationals 10, Brewers 5

WP J. Zimmermann (12-3) LP: Y. Gallardo (6-8)

Tonight marked the return of Bryce Harper, who wasted no time in announcing his return, smacking the second pitch for his 13th home run of the year.  Harper had been out for the last 31 games due to a lingering knee injury.  He showed no holdups running the bases, so now we will see how the knee reacts to his first game back. 

This was just the beginning for the sluggish Washington offense as they continued some momentum from the game Sunday night where they pounded the New York Mets 13-2, pounding out five runs in the third inning that started with a double from starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who went 3-3 from the plate, while also pitching six innings, giving up four runs.  You have to wonder if all the base running took a little out of the Nat’s starter, who is now leading the National League in wins as we approach the all-star game, as he typically goes a bit farther into games.

This two game explosion of 23 runs on 26 hits is a breath of fresh air for a team that has been batting .232 as a team.  Jayson Werth really seemed to enjoy the move back to the two spot in the order, delivering five RBI’s on a 2-for-5 night.  Ryan Zimmerman also contributed a couple RBI’s bringing his season total to 43, second on the team to Ian Desmond, who also knocked in one, giving him 49 for the season so far. This was plenty of offense to allow the bullpen to close things out.  It was a combination of Craig Stammen, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Fernando Abad to finish off the last three innings. 

It was good to see the Nationals take one step closer to being a full roster again.  Speculation is that catcher Wilson Ramos, the last remaining starter on the Disabled List, may return as early as Thursday for the 11 am game against the Brewers on the 4th of July.  It will be interesting to see the lineup that Davey Johnson chooses to employ once Ramos returns.

At least for this night it all seemed to click for the Nationals who are now 26-19 when Harper plays, and 37-10 when they score more than three runs.  Let’s hope that the Nationals can deliver a string of wins over these next thirteen games against the next four teams, all of which currently have losing records.  It could go a long way to brining them back into contention with the Atlanta Braves for first place in the National League East.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

The Nationals Teeter Totter Season….the bats must come alive

Nationals

Consistency, something that has been seriously lacking from the Washington Nationals this season, is something they must find if they hope to catch the Atlanta Braves to win the NL East again this season. This team seems to take two steps forward, three back and two more forward. They continue to flirt with a winning streak but haven’t been able to put together a solid week’s performance this season. It has been a bad pitching assignment one night, or a lack of hitting another that stops their momentum.

The starting pitching this year has been solid for the most part, led by Jordan Zimmerman (11-3) 2.28 ERA, potentially the starter for the All Star Game next week. Gio Gonzalez has continued to deliver great performances but hasn’t gotten the support for his record to show it. Gio went 2-0 in the month of June, delivering six performances of at least six innings with an ERA of 2.16 in that span. Brilliant stuff that the bullpen and the bats just couldn’t help get a few more wins. Stephen Strasburg coming off a stint on the disabled list went 1-1 in the month of June, with an ERA of 1.89 during his three outings. It’s a bad sign when as a team almost to the All Star break, the pitcher with the second highest wins on the team is a reliever in Tyler Clippard at five wins.

The big black hole on the staff has been the pitching of Dan Haren (4-9) 6.15 ERA, who recently ended up on the disabled list with a strained throwing shoulder. The recovery from this injury will go a long way to determine how the back end of the rotation helps carry the team. The positive performance of several of the relievers recently called up from the minors, including Ross Ohlendorf, Ian Krol, and Fernando Abad has given the team hope that if Haren is not able to recover there will be teammates that can fill the void.

The bigger problem facing the Nationals is their lack of timely hitting which has been compounded by injuries. As many as four starters have been on the disabled list at the same time this season, so a challenge for consistency is understandable. Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, Danny Espinosa, and Wilson Ramos have all spent time recovering from injuries, costing the Nationals significant at bats in key games. The injuries still do not account for having a team batting average that is third worst in Major League Baseball, sitting just in front of the New York Mets and Miami Marlins.

If this team hopes to get back to winning consistently, they need to reduce the high strikeout count (7.92 per game) and put the ball in play. Losing almost a third of your outs in each game without putting the ball in play leaves you struggling to move runners over when they actually get on base. Almost every other offensive stat has the Nationals sitting close to the bottom of the league, 29th in Runs Scored, 28th in Hits, and 27th in at bats. I keep hearing that it’s because the Nationals have streaky hitters, that Adam Laroche, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman are all better second half hitters, that the bats will come alive after the All Star Game. That’s nice if it’s true but everything I have seen so far makes me wonder if the amazing performances we saw last year was a team reaching beyond its norm and this is more what the team is made of.

The switch from Danny Espinosa to Anthony Rendon has been a major surprise and seems to be paying early dividends with Rendon batting above .300 with ten doubles so far. Espinosa, as popular as he has been with the coaching staff, just has not been able to deliver, averaging almost a strikeout per game while batting .158.

Denard Span was brought in to be the prototypical leadoff man, the guy that gets on base, steals bases, and provides the hitters behind him with extra opportunities for RBIs. So far he has an On Base Percentage about one hundred points lower than where you would expect a leadoff man to be, with only seven stolen bases, and only eighteen extra base hits. This just isn’t getting it done from that spot and considering the move to trade to get him led to the Nationals trading Michael Morse away, it just seems like a move that hasn’t worked out thus far. I enjoy Span’s hustle and how well he plays centerfield but if he doesn’t start getting on base I hope that the Nationals at least give a look to their minor league system to see if someone else can deliver in that spot.

As a fan it’s challenging to watch your team struggle day in and day out to consistently compete. As we near the second half of the season, the Nationals need to find a way to string together six or seven wins in a row coming out of the break. The positions are filled with the best talent they have so barring a significant trade they will have to find a way to start winning these games with the staff that they have. I am not sure what spark it’s going to take to light a fire under this team but I hope Davey Johnson can find it and gets this team moving towards first place and a return to the playoffs.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.