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‘Shark’ returns to Nats camp
Nationals outfielder Roger Bernadina returned to camp Wednesday, two days after the Netherlands lost to the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
Bernadina did not travel with the Nationals to Jupiter, Fla., to play the Cardinals, but he was able to get four at-bats at Washington’s Minor League complex. He will be ready to play with the Major League team on Thursday, when it faces the Braves.
Bernadina said he was proud the Netherlands went to the final four and stayed humble during their run. In six games, Bernadina was 3-for-22 [.136] with three RBIs. He said his best moment at the Classic was beating Cuba in the semifinals.
“It was a lot of fun. Great group of guys,” Bernadina said. “They all wanted to go to the next level. As a team, we did great. It was a short tournament, but I felt it was the right moment and the right time for us. I loved it. Everybody was great to each other.”
Bernadina will start the regular season as a fourth outfielder and is ready to help the Nationals win another division title.
“I’m excited to get back in camp. The feeling that I had last week [with the Netherlands], I want to have the same thing for this season [with the Nationals],” Bernadina said. “I’m all for winning a championship. … I’m getting myself ready for the season. I feel like it’s unfinished business. Whatever they have me doing, I’m ready for it.”
Notes from Space Coast Stadium
* Left-hander Zach Duke will pitch against the Marlins on Sunday and then miss a couple of days to attend the funeral of his grandfather, B.J. Duke, who passed away Friday at the age of 87.
“He was a Marine & Battle of Iwo Jima Veteran who I had the pleasure of learning life lessons from. He was my Grandpa,” Zach Duke said on Twitter.
* Right-hander Christian Garcia still doesn’t know what’s wrong with his right forearm. He hopes to get the results sometime Saturday. Garcia is waiting on a second opinion from Baltimore.
In the meantime, Garcia said he will rest for a few days and hopes to be back on the mound soon thereafter.
* Here is the starting lineup for the Nationals on Sunday against the Marlins.
1. Denard Span –CF
2. Anthony Rendon—3B
3. Bryce Harper – LF
4. Tyler Moore – RF
5. Chad Tracy – 1B
6. Ian Desmond—SS
7. Danny Espinosa—2B
8. Kurt Suzuki – C
9. Steve Lombardozzi—DH
Jordan Zimmermann –P
Suzuki wants to stay with Nats past this season
Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki said he would love to stay with the Nationals past this season. He feels the team will be successful for years to come.
Suzuki said he hasn’t talked to the team about an extension. As of now, he just plans to get ready for the season.
“I love it here. I love the guys in the clubhouse. It’s a fun clubhouse. I got know quite a few of these guys really well,” Suzuki said. “They are just great guys to be around. The other part that doesn’t hurt, it’s a really good team. It’s going to be a really good team for a long time.”
After joining the Nationals on Aug. 3, Suzuki put up respectable numbers, hitting. 267 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. He also proved to be an above average game caller. Suzuki was acquired from the Athletics because the Nationals were unhappy with Jesus Flores’ game calling behind the plate.
Suzuki said a change of scenery helped him put up respectable numbers in the nation’s capital. When he joined the Nationals, Suzuki was having the worst year of his career, hitting .218 with a home run and eight RBIs.
“A lot of times, a lot of people say a change of scenery helps. In my case, it did,” Suzuki said. “It was nice coming over here. It was a different clubhouse, a different group of guys. They made it easy for me because the transition was so easy. I wasn’t performing up to my standards in Oakland and Rizz [general manager Mike Rizzo] believed in me. When your GM believes in you like that and he brings you over with the best record in baseball, it makes you as a player feel confident.”
Soriano arrives, ready to work with Nats
Nationals closer Rafael Soriano arrived in camp Saturday morning and was greeted in the clubhouse by teammate Gio Gonzalez and general manager Mike Rizzo. Soriano would later get reacquainted with left-hander Will Ohman. The two played together when they were with the Braves in 2008.
Soriano had visa issues, but was able to obtain one Friday morning in the Dominican Republic. Pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report this past Wednesday. While waiting to get his visa, Soriano was still able to find time to work out. In fact, Soriano was working out at the beach when he received word that he able to obtain his passport.
“I’m so happy to be here. I wanted to be here a little bit early and be with my new team” Soriano said.
Soriano, who joins a bullpen that already includes Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, has a 2.78 career ERA in 11 seasons spent with the Mariners, Braves, Rays and Yankees. The Nats signed Soriano after their bullpen struggled during last year’s National League Division Series against the Cardinals, allowing 16 earned runs in five games.
Soriano felt he made a good decision by signing a two-year, 28 million contract with the Nationals. It marks the second time in his career that Soriano goes into a season as the closer. The last time he went into a season as the closer was in 2010 when he was with the Rays. That year, Soriano had his best season, saving 45 games with a 1.73 ERA.
“I think I made a good decision with my [agent] to come here,” Soriano said. “Everybody is young. We have a good team. I come here and see what happens the next two weeks. I want to be comfortable with everybody here and win this year.
“Now I’m given the opportunity to be the closer. I’m happy with that. I want to win. That’s all I’m here for.”
Soriano had one of his best seasons in 2012, posting a 2.26 ERA with 42 saves for the Yankees, taking over closer duties after Mariano Rivera tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in early May. Soriano opted out of his contract with New York after he learned that Rivera was going to come back for the 2013 season. Soriano did not want to be a setup man.
Nats’ Zimmermann avoids arbitration
Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann avoided arbitration Friday evening by agreeing to a one-year, $5.35 million deal with the Nationals.
Zimmermann filed for arbitration at $5.8 million, while the Nationals wanted to pay $4.6 million. The two parties were scheduled to go to arbitration on Tuesday, but Zimmermann hinted early in the week that progress was made regarding a new contract.
“I was happy to get it done. Obviously, if we had to go [to arbitration], we were ready to go. We got the deal we wanted. We are definitely happy it’s over with,” Zimmermann said.
At the moment, Zimmermann and the Nationals are not talking about a contract extension. Since last summer, there has been talk about Zimmermann getting a multi-year deal.
“We are going to take it easy for a few days and just focus on baseball,” Zimmermann said. “As the time comes, we’ll be there to listen. We are just happy that the one-year deal is done and we are going to focus getting ready for the season.”
Zimmermann had his best season to date in 2012, winning 12 games with a 2.94 ERA in 195 2/3 innings. He is considered the third starter in a formidable rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez.
Desmond: ‘We are not at a disadvantage’
The Nationals plan to use left-hander Ross Detwiler for Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals. The last time Detwiler faced the Cardinals was on Sept. 30. He allowed seven runs – three earned – in 2 1/3 innings.
“I don’t think we are at a disadvantage. We have a great pitching. We got here on what we have been doing and we are going to stick to it,” shortstop Ian Desmond said. “I’m 100 percent confident in Det. I have no worries whatsoever. I think he is due.”
Infielder Mark DeRosa was with the Braves in the early 2000s and he watched them be eliminated in the early rounds of the playoffs. He said the Nationals can’t afford to play the game like it was any other series.
“I like to put the finality of it, the football mentality of it,” said DeRosa, who is off the playoff roster. “That will be my little speech to the guys tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. That’s stating the obvious. If you approach each pitch like that … you can’t do it for 162 games, but you can do it for a short series. You can do it when [the game] is on the line.
“We got beat, we got beat pretty handily. We move on to the next day. Thank goodness we have another game. We need to draw on the fact that we have been the best baseball team for 162 games and just have to win one game tomorrow. Ross will give his best effort. I would like to give Gio [Gonzalez] one more opportunity to pretty much cement the season that he already has.”
NLDS Game 3 lineups
Same lineups for both teams as they look to take a 2-1 edge in this best-of-five National League Division Series.
Cardinals
Jon Jay CF
Carlos Beltran RF
Matt Holliday LF
Allen Craig 1B
Yadier Molina C
David Freese 3B
Daniel Descalso 2B
Pete Kozma SS
Chris Carpenter RHP
Nationals
Jayson Werth RF
Bryce Harper CF
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam LaRoche 1B
Michael Morse LF
Ian Desmond SS
Danny Espinosa 2B
Kurt Suzuki C
Edwin Jackson RHP
If you want to read MLB.com’s pre-Game 3 coverage, there’s plenty of it up on Nationals.com right now. Some quick links…
-Bill Ladson talked to Stephen Strasburg, who has “accepted” being shut down while already looking forward to pitching next season.
-Anthony DiComo has a great story up on Ryan Zimmerman, the face of the Nationals franchise finally getting a crack at the postseason.
-Columnist Lyle Spencer writes that Ian Desmond is breaking out on the postseason stage.
-Bill Ladson takes a look at the “Goon Squad” on the Nats’ bench, which helped them win Game 1 and made this successful season possible despite all the injuries.
-There is a ton of stuff in the Nationals notebook, including Mike Fiammetta’s writeup of Bryce Harper’s approach through his first two postseason games. Plenty of other news and notes in there — Michael Morse is sticking with his agents, the game times for the rest of the series, NLCS tickets on sale and an update on the Sun Monster.
-And finally, the Nationals are excited about Washington’s first playoff game since 1933 for themselves as well as their fans. Check out the chart to see how other things have changed since the last postseason game in D.C.
-Adam Berry
NLDS Game 2 lineups
Adam Berry here at Busch Stadium, pinch-hitting for Bill Ladson. For more news and notes and in-game updates, check out Nationals.com and follow me on Twitter @adamdberry.
Same lineups as yesterday in what Nats first baseman Adam LaRoche called a “must-win” game for the Cardinals before this series moves to Nationals Park.
Nationals
Werth RF
Harper CF
Zimmerman 3B
LaRoche 1B
Morse LF
Desmond SS
Espinosa 2B
Suzuki C
Zimmermann RHP
Cardinals
Jay CF
Beltran RF
Holliday LF
Craig 1B
Molina C
Freese 3B
Descalso 2B
Kozma SS
Garcia LHP
The importance of 1-0, winning on the road; links
Adam Berry here in St. Louis, pinch-hitting for Bill Ladson. For more news and notes and in-game updates, check out Nationals.com and follow me on Twitter @adamdberry.
The Nationals won their first postseason game Sunday at Busch Stadium, beating the Cardinals, 3-2, thanks to some pinch-hitting heroics from Tyler Moore, a spectacular effort by their bullpen and a wild, but not totally disastrous, start from Gio Gonzalez.
“We learned a lot about ourselves. It doesn’t have to be perfect for us to get it done,” closer Drew Storen said afterward. “If we’re going to be playing in the World Series, that’s the only way we’re going to get there.”
More immediately, they’re two wins away from hosting the NLCS against the Reds or the Giants (and given the way Cincinnati thumped San Francisco last night to go up 2-0, it’d be stunning if it wasn’t the Reds), and they’ll have as many as four more chances to get those two wins, three of them coming at Nationals Park if the series goes a full five games.
Obviously winning Game 1 matters in any series. You set the tone, establish early momentum and all that cliche stuff. It’s especially important in a five-game series. Consider these numbers, updated by MLB.com’s Zack Meisel:
-Teams with a 1-0 lead in the NLDS have gone 30-4 in the series.
-Teams with a 2-0 lead in the NLDS are undefeated, going 21-0 to this point. (See what I meant about the Reds?) Overall, between both leagues, clubs that won the first two games of a five-game series have gone 38-4.
-Seventeen of 19 clubs to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS have won the series.
“The first one’s huge, especially in this first round. You go up to seven games, it’s a little different,” Adam LaRoche said last night. “But a short round like this, you want to get the first one.”
Jayson Werth called on his own experience about the importance of surviving a tough first game on the road, recalling one in Milwaukee in the 2008 NLDS — it was Game 3, the first one in Miller Park and the only one the Phillies lost that series. He remembered that the roof was closed and the crowd was banging ThunderStix the whole time — “It was so loud, it was like 10 times louder than any game we had played,” he said — and Philadelphia lost, 4-1.
“And mentally, we were fried. It was a lot to overcome. I always remember that game,” Werth said. “We got beat and we came back and won the next night, but that first game was tough to swallow. I felt like we got into that situation a little bit in the first inning [Sunday]. We grinded through it and we ended up getting the win. Big win for us today, no doubt.”
If you want to read more about Game 1, here are some links from the MLB.com staff here in St. Louis:
-The game story focuses on Tyler Moore’s game-winning, pinch-hit single in the eighth, which made everything all right after so much seemed to be going wrong early on.
-Anthony DiComo’s story on the good, the bad and the ugly of Gio Gonzalez and his first postseason start.
-DiComo also recaps Ryan Mattheus’ short, but incredibly important, outing in this piece on the Nationals’ bullpen.
-On the topic of Mattheus, and Moore, columnist Tracy Ringolsby delves into their stories and their contributions in Game 1.
-The Cardinals game story from Jennifer Langosch reads a lot like the Nationals’ story probably would have had Tyler Moore not come through: full of missed opportunities and a must-win Game 2.
-Speaking of Moore, Paul Hagen runs through Mike Matheny’s options in the most crucial moment of the game.
-And if you can’t get enough of the shadows at Busch Stadium, Jennifer Langosch got reactions from both sides. Something to look forward to: They’ll probably be even worse today.
-The Did You Know? collection of fun facts and notes from Game 1, compiled by associates Mike Fiammetta and Jake Kaplan.
-And, looking ahead to this afternoon’s game, another piece by Anthony DiComo on why the always stoic Jordan Zimmermann says he won’t be affected by the playoff excitement.
NLDS Game 1 lineups
Adam Berry here at Busch Stadium, pinch-hitting for Bill Ladson. For more news and notes and in-game updates, check out Nationals.com and follow me on Twitter @adamdberry.
Just a reminder this game begins at 3:07 p.m. ET and will be televised on TBS. Head over to Nationals.com for a bunch of stories and columns from the MLB.com staff here in St. Louis.
No surprises on either side, but here’s who will be taking the field for the Nationals’ first playoff game on this chilly St. Louis afternoon…
Nationals
Werth RF
Harper CF
Zimmerman 3B
LaRoche 1B
Morse LF
Desmond SS
Espinosa 2B
Suzuki C
Gio Gonzalez LHP
Cardinals
Jay CF
Beltran RF
Holliday LF
Craig 1B
Molina C
Freese 3B
Descalso 2B
Kozma SS
Wainwright RHP
The Rocket
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