For weeks, the Nationals have endured one dispiriting loss after another as their own bullpen gave away leads both big and small. Thursday night at Nationals Park, the meltdown happened to somebody else for a change.
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Orioles @ NatsWhen » Friday, 7:05Where » Nationals ParkTV/Radio » MASN (HD)/1500 AM/XMNats notes» Nats 2B Anderson Hernandez left the game after his fourth-inning ground out with a sprained little finger on his right hand. X-rays returned negative and he is listed as day-to-day. Manager Manny Acta said Hernandez felt the finger become “dislocated” while taking off his batting glove after grounding out.» Ryan Zimmerman’s RBI single in the eighth inning not only tied the game at 4. The hit also extended his on-base streak to 39 games in a row.» Nats starter Craig Stammen had a perfect game going through four innings and retired 19 of the first 20 batters he faced.» Washington had a pregame meeting of about three hours before the 7:05 start time. Acta said he wanted to get a positive message across to the struggling team all at once. Acta spoke along with one unidentified player and one unidentified coach.» Catcher Josh Bard had an RBI ground out in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth.» The Pirates’ LaRoche brothers gave the Nats trouble all series. Andy was 6-for-14 with a HR, five RBI and three runs scored. Adam was just 3-for-15, but scored six runs and had two doubles and a HR.» OF Josh Willingham doubled, walked and scored two runs for the Nats.» Nats manager Manny Acta on Stammen’s performance: “He didn’t look intimidated. The whole night he attacked the strike zone and he worked fast … [although] he did find out later it’s not that easy.”
Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn both punched home RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth inning to put Washington on top. And finally the lead stuck as closer Joel Hanrahan finished things off in the ninth for a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that put an end to a seven-game losing streak.
Starting pitcher Craig Stammen made a strong first impression in his big-league debut. The 25-year-old retired the first 12 batters he faced and needed just 67 pitches to get through six innings. Stammen finally tired the third time through the Pittsburgh order, allowing three runs in the seventh, including two on a homer by Adam LaRoche. He gave up four runs total in 6 1/3 innings, striking out three batters and walking just one before watching his team rally for the win.
“I thought that I controlled my emotions pretty well,” said Stammen, a University of Dayton graduate who had virtually his entire family in town from Ohio. “I just didn’t make good enough pitches [in the seventh]…That’s why it’s the big leagues.”
According to Nats catcher Josh Bard, the team avoided a detailed pregame scouting report with Stammen — mostly to keep the rookie’s mind clear. It was the second time this week Bard caught a big-league debut. Ross Detwiler pitched five solid innings on Monday against the Pirates in his first career start.
“[Stammen] pitched to contact the entire night,” Bard said. “It was so frustrating [he was trailing after leaving] because he probably made two bad pitches the entire game.”
Stammen, a 12th-round draft pick in 2005, has grinded his way through the farm system. He made three stops last year — ending up at Triple-A — but didn’t profile as a top prospect. That view hasn’t changed completely because none of his pitches are overpowering.
But what Stammen does have is a good sinker and change-up — giving him the ability to “tilt” the ball, Bard said — and excellent command. In seven starts at Syracuse, he had an ERA of 1.80 and averaged just 1.8 walks per nine innings. That alone is a refreshing change for a team that usually finds itself involved in slugfests lasting well over three hours — in part because of a pitching staff that struggles to throw strikes.
“We’re in [the locker room] at 9:30,” said Zimmerman, who had the third of four straight singles in the eighth to tie the game at 4. “It’s weird.”
Hanrahan has heard about Stammen for a while now from his roommate John Lannan — the Nats’ lefthander was a minor-league teammate of Stammen’s for almost three full seasons. But Hanrahan actually met the rookie for the first time in spring training, borrowing jumper cables from him when his car wouldn’t start. Hanrahan was simply returning a favor.
“This wasn’t a confidence boost,” insisted Hanrahan, who endured two bumpy performances in this series before rebounding on Thursday with his fourth save of the season. “It’s just a baby step. Take it for what it is.”
