Nats 17, Orioles 5
Baseball really is a bizarre sport sometimes. There was absolutely no reason anyone should have expected the Nationals to erase a 20-inning scoreless drought – 17 runs total in six games – by scoring 17 runs in a single night. Okay, maybe we should have taken into account the Orioles’ battered and bruised pitching staff. But for an offense that ranks among the worst in virtually every major statistical category in Major League Baseball, this was the perfect tonic. Read the details in our game story here.
“I think we were playing pretty good and then the day off happened [Tuesday] and the rain,” starting pitcher Jason Marquis said. “No excuses, though. I think the team found it within themselves to say ‘Enough is enough. We’re going to get the job done.’ And they did a great job. Hopefully they can take that confidence into tomorrow. Not only on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, also.”
That will be in part up to John Lannan (2-4, 4.53 ERA), who opposes Jeremy Guthrie (1-6, 3.91 ERA) at Camden Yards in Game 2 of this Battle of the Beltways series. The Orioles lead the all-time series between the two clubs just 16-15.
For some reason, all six of Danny Espinosa’s home runs this season have come with runners on base. According to Elias, no one else in the sport can say that this season. Consider him the anti-Adam Dunn, who for a long time during his two-year run in Washington always seemed to hit them out with no one on base. In fact, Espinosa now has four three-run homers on the season. Earl Weaver himself would be proud if he hadn’t just witnessed his once-proud franchise get demolished.
Baltimore’s bullpen has now allowed 22 earned runs in its last 22 1/3 innings. The starters have given up 13 earned runs in the last seven innings (a 16.71 ERA). It’s all cyclical, I guess. In the eight games prior the Orioles’ starters posted a 1.29 ERA. But still, watching the Nats crank homer after homer had to be demoralizing for a team that suffered two horrific losses to the Yankees and Red Sox earlier this week.
Washington’s No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters – the bottom three in the worst lineup in baseball so far – went 8-for-13 with nine runs scored, two triples, two homers and nine RBI. That’ll work. It was the first time the Nats had scored more than 10 runs in a game since last Sept. 6.
Jayson Werth was under the impression that he stinks when playing games on his birthday. His memory was playing tricks on him, though. Since breaking into the big leagues in 2002 Werth almost never gets to play on May 20. In 2008 he entered a game against the Nats as a fielder and didn’t hit. In 2009 he did go 0-for-4 against the Reds with a loss. And last season he had just a single at-bat with the Phillies against the Cubs. Not much of a track record there. So his 3-for-4 night with two booming home runs, four RBI and two runs scored pretty much erases that notion. Werth turned 32 on Friday.
Espinosa came to the plate twice needing just a double to hit for the cycle. That’s a momentous night for any ballplayer. But he walked and grounded out in his next two at-bats. Then in the eighth inning – with Espinosa hoping to get one more chance – fellow rookie Wilson Ramos came up with two on and one out needing just a double himself for the cycle. Unfortunately he ended both of their chances by grounding into a double play. Both players said they tried not to think about it while at the plate. But Espinosa also said that teammate Jerry Hairston kept yelling at him from the on-deck circle that he just needed a double. For his part, Ramos cracked that he couldn’t remember hitting a triple in a game before. He scored a career-high five runs
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