Results tagged ‘ Nationals ’
Suzuki benefiting from hitting work with Eckstein
By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com
WASHINGTON — For his first two weeks in a Nationals uniform, Kurt Suzuki’s role with his new team was one-dimensional. Manage the Nats’ young and talented pitching staff, and any offense that came with it would be considered a nice bonus.
After being traded to the Nats on Aug. 3, Suzuki batted just .180 (9-for-50) in his first 13 games. His work with the pitchers was fine, but eventually the Nats were going to want more offensive production from the bottom of their order.
“My job is to get the pitchers through the game and give us a chance to win,” Suzuki said. “Whatever I do offensively, I’m happy with, but when you contribute to both sides of the ball on the field, it definitely makes for a good game.”
Now, though, Suzuki has found his stroke at the plate and carries a six-game hitting streak into Monday’s series-opener with the Cubs. The 28-year-old backstop played a critical role in Sunday’s 4-3 series-clinching win over the Cardinals, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the fourth and an RBI-single in the sixth.
“Suzuki’s been good, he’s been swinging the bat better,” manager Davey Johnson said. “Today, he was outstanding. For some reason, I think he’s had pretty good success against [Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook]. He was 3-for-6 with a home run, and you could tell from that first at-bat with runners in scoring position. The ball hit him in both legs — he didn’t argue, he wanted to stay there and hit.”
Johnson has repeatedly credited Suzuki’s work with hitting coach Rick Eckstein this week, and did so again on Sunday.
“Well I thought when he first got here, he actually had a little bigger swing,” Johnson said. “He was kind of swinging up on the ball, a little longer swing. Eckstein’s done a good job.
“We had him in Cuba in the Olympic qualifier [in 2006] and he swung the bat really good there. We liked him a whole lot. I had both him [Red Sox catcher] Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and I liked Suzuki. He caught the last game over Saltalamacchia. So I liked him at an early age. He had a nice, short, quick stroke then, but when he came over, he was a little long. He’s getting back to it.”
With his quicker swing, Suzuki has went 8-for-19 (.421) with two home runs and five RBI over the course of the six-game hitting streak.
In addition, the adjustments have also made for a helpful approach that has helped Suzuki feel more free at the plate.
“That’s what we’ve really been doing, just take the effort out of the swing and just kind of be nice and easy, free and easy,” he said. “The less tension you have, you’re going to definitely be a lot quicker.”
Game 153: Cardinals at Nationals
Mike Fiammetta here, helping out Bill Ladson on the blog. The Nationals go for the series win against the Cardinals today at Nationals Park, where it’ll be Stephen Strasburg vs. Jake Westbrook. As always, follow along on Nationals.com throughout the game.
It was an awfully quite Nationals clubhouse this morning, understandable considering last night’s grueling 10-9 loss to the Cardinals. Unprovoked, Davey Johnson began his post-game meeting to the media with, “Well that had to be the longest nine-inning game I’ve ever been involved in.”
That sure wasn’t an understatement, as the three-hour, 29-minute game saw 24 hits between the two teams and a combined 11 pitchers used. Even a four-run first inning wasn’t enough for the Nats, who relinquished their lead after a four-run Cardinals fourth inning and again after St. Louis scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth.
Today, Strasburg looks to clinch the series for the Nats while making what should be one of this last two or three starts of the season. That was the number Johnson gave earlier in the week, and as inexact as it seems, the Nats have remained consistent with their approach to Strasburg. Johnson has said there is a plan in place, even if it hasn’t been disclosed to the media.
The good news for the Nats is that after exiting last night’s game in the ninth inning with hamstring cramps, Jayson Werth is back atop Washington’s lineup today. Adam LaRoche does get what appears to be a day off, though.
An update on Bryce Harper is coming in the notebook, and until then, here are the rest of today’s lineups.
Cardinals (72-61)
- Jon Jay CF
- Carlos Beltran RF
- Matt Holliday LF
- Allen Craig 1B
- David Freese 3B
- Bryan Anderson C
- Pete Kozma SS
- Daniel Descalso 2B
- Jake Westbrook RHP
Nationals (80-52)
- Jayson Werth RF
- Bryce Harper CF
- Ryan Zimmerman 3B
- Michael Morse LF
- Chad Tracy 1B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Danny Espinosa 2B
- Kurt Suzuki C
- Stephen Strasburg RHP
Johnson addresses Storen’s slower delivery after loss
By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com
WASHINGTON — Drew Storen pitched more than one inning for the first time this season in Saturday’s 10-9 loss to the Cardinals.
Storen allowed one run on two hits and was tagged with the loss, dropping him to 1-1. Storen threw 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes, but his allowing Allen Craig to steal second base after a leadoff single in the ninth put the ultimate winning run in scoring position.
“He was slow to the plate last year, but this year — boy, he’s very deliberate,” manager Davey Johnson said. “I think he’s over two seconds on some of those deliveries. That cost him tonight.”
Being slow to the plate is an issue Johnson has addressed multiple times this season, noting the slower deliveries of particularly his younger pitchers. The Nats have allowed 132 stolen bases, 12th-most in the league, but their stolen bases-against percentage of .858 trails only the Pirates for the highest in the league.
“He’s got to quicken up just a little bit,” Johnson said of Storen. “With that move, anybody can steal. It seems to me last year, he was 1.5 [seconds]. I saw a couple of them today over two seconds.”
For his part, Storen didn’t recognize the issue, adding that he was OK with the pitches he threw.
“I don’t know,” Storen said when asked if he’s slower to the plate this season. “I’m concentrating on throwing good pitches. That’s something I need to work on and something, I guess, I need to make an adjustment on for next time.”
Werth exits with hamstring cramp, “hopefully it’ll be nothing”
By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com
WASHINGTON — Jayson Werth exited Saturday’s 10-9 loss to the Cardinals prior to the ninth inning with a hamstring cramp.
With the score tied 9-9 as the Nationals took the field, Eury Perez — called up earlier in the day as rosters expanded to 40 players– made his Major League-debut in center field as Werth remained in the dugout. Werth finished the game 1-for-5 with one run scored and two strikeouts, lowering his batting average to .313.
Perez never got to bat, though he did field a fly ball for the final out of the ninth.
“It just felt intelligent not to play any longer, so [manager Davey Johnson] took me out,” Werth said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve cramped up during a game, so hopefully it’ll be nothing and I’ll be back by [Sunday], but we’ll see. I don’t think it’s too serious, though.”
Werth added it’s been “four or five years” since he’s cramped up during a game, but Johnson confirmed the issue wasn’t anything serious.
“He was cramping real bad,” he said. “He didn’t pull nothing, so he should be OK.”
Gonzalez’ gem powers Nationals to 3rd-straight win
By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com
WASHINGTON — Eight innings into the first complete-game shutout of his career, Gio Gonzalez received a jolt of energy from one of the loudest Nationals Park crowds of the season.
Chants of “Let’s go Gio!” emanated from all corners of the stadium, keeping Gonzalez alive in the ninth despite surrendering a leadoff single and a walk two batters later. But then Shane Robinson came to the plate with two outs and launched a Gonzalez fastball — still hitting 94 MPH on the radar — high and harmlessly to Bryce Harper in center field. Harper hauled it in, rewarding the Nats and whatever the percentage of the crowd that stayed for the duration of the game despite a 10-0 blowout.
“It was kind of like having a Red Bull right there in the ninth,” Gonzalez said of the crowd’s chanting. “But when they were coming alive, I was just trying to do my best and try to pound that strike zone. Then I just came up with it, and [Kurt Suzuki] did a great job and made everything come out alive. The defense was unbelievable.”
Gonzalez was effusive with his praise afterward, lauding the Nats’ team defense and catcher Kurt Suzuki more than anything. He also thanked the 10 runs on 12 hits the offense supplied him, deadpanning, “10 runs is a pretty good cushion.”
The victory boosted his record to 17-7, tying him with R.A. Dickey and Johnny Cueto for the Major League-lead in wins. But perhaps more than anything, it continued the tremendous distance the Nats have placed between their current standing and the five-game losing streak earlier this week that muddied much of their strong play in August.
It all came with Gonzalez’ family in the stands, too, with his mother directly in his line of sight for the whole game.
“My Mom was right behind home plate, so imagine seeing [Suzuki’s] face, then the umpire and then my mom,” Gonzalez said. “So it was like, ‘Uh oh, can’t disappoint you, Ma.’ You can hear her every at-bat, ‘Swing! Do this!’ And I’m like, oh God, somebody keep her quiet over there.
“My dad disappeared, my dad was somewhere in the stands. Probably in left field or something. It was one of those things when you have your whole family here, you want to step it up and enjoy it.”
The Nats sure did enjoy it, and a lot of it was due to manager Davey Johnson, who kept Gonzalez in the game despite his reaching 119 pitches. With Major League rosters set to expand to 40 players tomorrow and significant alteration coming soon to the rotation once Stephen Strasburg is shut down, Johnson has been stretching his starters a little longer. Thursday night, Edwin Jackson tossed eight sterling shutout innings, giving up just four hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks while throwing 123 pitches.
“I had an 120-pitch limit on [Gonzalez] in a game like that,” Johnson said. “He took me right to the edge. If he walked [the last batter], I had [Ryan] Mattheus ready. But I might’ve let him go over my predetermined number. Otherwise, I’d have Gio hassling me all week. So, what a great effort.”
In actuality, the decision might not’ve been that difficult for Johnson. After Gonzalez said his manager would’ve had to “kill me first” before he’d leave the game, the 26-year-old lefty said Johnson teasingly pushed him back to the mound for the ninth inning.
Either way, Gonzalez was dealing from the start. Though he had only two strikeouts through three innings, Gonzalez got five of those nine outs on ground balls.
“His curveball was good early tonight,” Suzuki said. “Usually, it takes a little bit for him to get into a groove and get his curveball going. He was spotting his fastball, keeping it down in the zone, moving it in and out. You could just kind of see it from the beginning couple of innings.”
Gonzalez struck out four batters over the last three innings, enjoying 1-2-3 frames in the seventh and eighth after facing just four batters in the sixth. But when Robinson’s fly ball floated high toward center field on his 119th pitch, Gonzalez — satisfied but worn-out — just hoped the game would end.
“Catch it please, Bryce,” he said of his thoughts while the ball was in the air. “That’s all I had left in the tank. As soon as he caught it, I just stood there, closed my eyes for a second, or probably not. Then I gave Suzuki a big smile and a big handshake, a thank you. It’s a great win for us all.”
Nats’ Rodriguez, Giolito go under knife
Nationals right-handers Henry Rodriguez and Lucas Giolito had arm surgeries performed on Friday.
It turns out that Rodriguez had a lose body removed from his right elbow and cannot pick up a ball for at least three months. However, Rodriguez is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Rodriguez has been on the disabled list since Aug 2 because of another injury – lower back strain. Rodriguez has been complaining about the elbow injury two weeks before he went on the DL, according to general manager Mike Rizzo.
“Henry’s procedure was similar to the one that Drew Storen had,” Rizzo said. “He had the bone fragment, the bone spur removed from his elbow. So they cleaned it up, and he should rehab and be prepared for the beginning of spring training.”
Rodriguez appeared in 35 games and had a 5.83 ERA with nine saves. He started the season as the closer, but lost the job to Tyler Clippard later in the Spring because he was not productive on the mound.
“He was pitching with a lot of pain,” Johnson said. “He is big and strong. He just kind of hidden [the pain]. He was letter perfect in the spring, he was fresh. … Then he started having some lulls. From what the doctor said, the elbow was in a lot worse shape than he anticipated. .. [The doctors] had to do more cleanup work than they thought going in.”
As for Giolito, he had Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Southern California. His fastball had been clocked as high as 100 mph, and he has a power curveball, but he endured right elbow problems earlier this year, spraining his ulnar collateral ligament.
Giolito would have been a higher pick in this year’s First-Year Player Draft if not for the injury. Giolito had been pitching for the Gulf Coast League Nationals. During the Rizzo era, the Nationals have had their share of pitchers — Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann to name two — who have had Tommy John surgery and have come back to become successful pitchers.
Game 131: Cardinals at Nationals
Mike Fiammetta here, helping out Bill Ladson on the blog. The Nationals get the Cardinals’ tough right-hander Adam Wainwright tonight, while Gio Gonzalez takes the mound looking for his 17th win. As always, following along on Nationals.com during the game.
Suddenly, all the bad vibes from last week’s road trip are washed away as the Nationals look to push their winning streak to three games on Friday night. Last night’s 8-1 win over the Cardinals was exceptionally satisfying for the Nats, who received a scoreless one-hit, eight-inning gem from Edwin Jackson and multi-hit games from five different batters.
But with tomorrow being the Sept. 1 date for roster expansion to 40 players, much of the pre-game talk addressed the Nats’ roster. Bill will have all the details in the notebook, but manager Davey Johnson said Sandy Leon, John Lannan and Eury Perez are expected to join the team on Saturday. Mark DeRosa (left abdominal strain) is also expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow.
-Henry Rodriguez underwent an operation today to remove a bone fragment from his right elbow. Head Team Physician Dr. Wiemi Douoguih performed the surgery in New York, and the Nats are shooting for Rodriguez to be “full-go” at the beginning of spring training.
“Henry has got great upside,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “He’s a power pitcher, and if this injury prevented him from performing at his accustomed level, then that’s a good thing because when he gets healthy, he’s going to revert back to the guy that we saw in spring training and the guy we saw in the beginning of the season.”
-Lucas Giolito also went under the knife, but for Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Dr. Louis Yocum performed the surgery in Los Angeles, though Rizzo didn’t elaborate any further.
-Chien-Ming Wang will make one more minor-league start, while Jhonatan Solano will report to the instructional league in Florida to stay in shape in case of an injury at the Major League level.
Bill will have more in the notebook. Here are tonight’s lineups:
Cardinals (71-60)
- Jon Jay CF
- Carlos Beltran RF
- Matt Holliday LF
- Allen Craig 1B
- Yadier Molina C
- David Freese 3B
- Skip Schumaker 2B
- Pete Kozma SS
- Adam Wainwright RHP
Nationals (79-51)
- Jayson Werth RF
- Bryce Harper CF
- Ryan Zimmerman 3B
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Michael Morse LF
- Ian Desmond SS
- Danny Espinosa 2B
- Kurt Suzuki C
- Gio Gonzalez LHP
Harper heating up, benefiting from Werth leading off
By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com
WASHINGTON — All of a sudden, Bryce Harper is heating up.
After seeing his batting average dip to .250 during the Nationals’ five-game road trip last week, the young center fielder is 5-for-14 (.357) with three home runs and six RBI over his last three games. Harper’s struggles had magnified his recent displays of emotion on the field, most recently his 9th-inning ejection on Wednesday after slamming his helmet into the ground following a double play.
Thursday night in the series-opening 8-1 win over the Cardinals, Harper hit his 15th home run of the season in the first inning of a 2-for-3 day at the plate. He nearly added another dinger in the third, sending Jon Jay leaping into the center-field wall before hauling in a deep fly ball.
“I’m just trying to stay within myself,” Harper said. “I’m just trying to use my hands and work up there, see some pitches and get the pitch I can drive.”
After batting .282 in the first half of the season, Harper has seen an increasing amount of outside and off-speed pitches aimed at forcing the rookie out of his comfort zone. Given his outbursts on the field, common thought suggested that Harper’s struggles at the plate were indeed making him over-extend himself at the plate.
“He’s all in all the time,” manager Davey Johnson said. “But he’s gotten a little calmer with his lower half. He can get real aggressive with his lower half, and he’s calmed down quite a bit. That’s when you get antsy, and that doesn’t help your swing.”
Harper has also benefited from the return of Jayson Werth, who has looked very comfortable batting in the leadoff spot. When batting first in the lineup this season, Werth is batting .350 with a .797 OPS (.350 on-base percentage, .447 slugging.) For the season, Werth is boasting a .825 OPS (.384 on-base percentage, .441 slugging).
“I really like guys that can get on base and also produce runs,” Johnson said of Werth and Harper atop his lineup. “Both can run, both basically make [opposing pitchers] throw it over. It’s great.”
While Harper denied seeing a change in how opposing pitchers have attacked him — both during his recent hot streak and with Werth batting in front of him — he did admit to benefiting from Werth’s patient, productive presence.
“I think having Werth hit in front of me just gets me going and he sets the tone,” Harper said. “It just calms down and just lets me go up and there just swing it.”
Game 130: Cardinals at Nationals
Mike Fiammetta here, helping out Bill Ladson on the blog as the Nationals return home from their eventful — to say the least — road trip for an 11-game homestand. As always, following along at Nationals.com.
After snapping their five-game losing streak last night in Miami, the Nationals begin a four-game set with the Cardinals tonight. Edwin Jackson faces the team he won a World Series ring with last year, which will send left-hander Jaime Garcia to face the Nats. Gio Gonzalez takes the mound for the Nats on Friday, followed by Jordan Zimmermann — carrying his 2.63 ERA into a matchup against Kyle Lohse’s 2.64 — on Saturday and Stephen Strasburg on Sunday.
Sticking to tonight, though, the Nats will trot out their normal lineup — with one exception. Jesus Flores will catch Jackson while Kurt Suzuki gets a day off. Flores last played in the series finale with the Phillies on Aug. 26, a 4-1 loss.
The timing is somewhat odd, considering Suzuki is as hot at the plate as he’s been since coming to the Nats. Suzuki has a three-game hitting streak in which he’s 4-for-10 with a home run, which Johnson credited to the work the veteran catcher has been putting in with hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
“Eck’s been working with him good, he’s in a good place right now,” Johnson said. “I like the way he’s been swinging the last three days. He’s in a good spot.”
-Speaking of Strasburg (as always), manager Davey Johnson said the Nats’ young ace will make two or three more starts before he is shut down for the season. After his horrid outing Tuesday night against the Marlins — seven runs allowed (five earned) on nine hits in five innings — Strasburg has thrown 150 1/3 innings. Of course, Johnson’s comments fall pretty much in line with the 160-180 innings number that’s been thrown around all season.
-Bill will have more on Strasburg, Bryce Harper’s temper and Drew Storen’s hot streak in the notebook. In the meantime, here are tonight’s lineups:
Cardinals (71-59, 2nd NL Central)
- Jon Jay CF
- Carlos Beltran RF
- Matt Holliday LF
- Allen Craig 1B
- Yadier Molina C
- David Freese 3B
- Skip Schumaker 2B
- Rafael Furcal SS
- Jaime Garcia LHP
Nationals (78-51, 1st NL East)
- Jayson Werth RF
- Bryce Harper CF
- Ryan Zimmerman 3B
- Michael Morse LF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Danny Espinosa 2B
- Jesus Flores C
- Edwin Jackson RHP
Game 128: Nationals at Marlins
Adam Berry here in Miami, once again pinch-hitting for Bill Ladson. For more news and notes and in-game updates, check out Nationals.com and follow me on Twitter @adamdberry.
Some quick news and notes before the first pitch from Marlins Park…
-GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson set the record straight about their vocal postgame meeting following Sunday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia. In short: It wasn’t a big deal, and there are no hard feelings.
Johnson proved that as soon as the two sat down in the visiting dugout at Marlins Park. Rizzo sat beside Johnson during his usual pregame meeting with the media, and Johnson immediately put his boss in a headlock and laughed. This came two days after Johnson was overheard shouting, “You come down and manage the team,” at Rizzo inside his office.
“It’s normal business as usual,” Johnson said.
-The full lineups are below, but you’ll notice Michael Morse and Ian Desmond are both starting. If you missed it after the Nats’ fourth straight loss Sunday, there was some talk about how playing short-handed contributed to their recent offensive struggles. They’ve scored all of six runs during their current losing streak.
“We’ve been down a man or two, mostly a man, most of the year,” Johnson said. “But down two, that’s affecting what you can do.”
-Johnson said to only expect three call-ups on Sept. 1: Mark DeRosa, who will be activated from the disabled list; a third catcher; and someone who can pinch run.
-Speaking of call-ups, Johnson said John Lannan, recently named International League Pitcher of the Week, will make one more start for Triple-A Syracuse on Sept. 3 then join the Nats. Of greater interest, considering all the national attention on Stephen Strasburg’s shutdown, is what Johnson had to say about the timing of Lannan’s promotion.
“I think it’s going to pretty much coincide fairly close with Stephen, when he’s shut down,” Johnson said. “I think the timing, he’s lined up almost the same day, so he may have to miss a start.”
As for tonight’s lineups…
Marlins (58-71)
Bryan Petersen LF
Justin Ruggiano CF
Jose Reyes SS
Carlos Lee 1B
Giancarlo Stanton RF
Greg Dobbs 3B
Donovan Solano 2B
Rob Brantly C
Ricky Nolasco RHP
Nationals (77-50)
Jayson Werth RF
Bryce Harper CF
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam LaRoche 1B
Michael Morse LF
Ian Desmond SS
Danny Espinosa 2B
Kurt Suzuki C
Stephen Strasburg RHP
The Rocket
Recent Comments