Chien-Ming Wang was almost there.
In his second major-league appearance since returning from shoulder surgery two years ago, the Nationals’ right-hander shook off a rocky start and – for three innings at least – looked like the pitcher who won 19 games twice for the New York Yankees.
But there is still much work left for Wang, 31, to get back to that point. His fifth-inning throwing error allowed Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves to slip away. Dan Uggla’s three-run home run during that frame was the decisive blow in an eventual 6-4 loss at Nationals Park.
Wang’s command was shaky in the first inning – just as it was in his debut last Friday against the New York Mets. He walked one batter, but went deep into counts several times. A ground out by Freddie Freeman and a single by Alex Gonzalez drove home just two runs in that frame. The Mets needed just six batters to score four times against Wang five days ago.
| Nats notes |
| » Nationals right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg will throw one last side session in Viera, Fla., on Thursday and then likely make his way to low-A Hagerstown for his first rehabilitation start on Aug. 7, according to manager Davey Johnson. |
| » Injured catcher Ivan Rodriguez (strained right oblique muscle) will likely return to Washington on Friday and get some at-bats at Hagerstown over the weekend and early next week. Ideally, he’ll be ready to catch Strasburg on Sunday. |
| » The Nats (53-57) remain in last place in the National League East, though they did take 2-of-3 from Atlanta. Washington begins a 10-game, 11-day road trip to Colorado, Chicago and Philadelphia on Thursday. |
But for the next three innings the Taiwan native pitched beautifully, retiring nine of 10 batters and inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the second. Things fell apart in the fifth, however. A harmless ground ball by Braves pitcher Brandon Beachy turned into a disaster when Wang threw well wide of first baseman Michael Morse. A base hit and two fielder’s choice ground outs followed to drive in one run. But Wang had extended himself a bit too far. Freeman singled to center to drive in another run and then Uggla crushed an 84 mph slider to left to break the game open at 6-0.
The Nats weren’t done, though, because Beachy fell apart in the sixth. He walked Danny Espinosa to start the inning, gave up consecutive singles to Ryan Zimmerman and Morse and was charged with two consecutive wild pitches. With two runs already in, Werth launched a two-run homer well into the red seats beyond the center-field wall. With still no one out, Atlanta reliever Anthony Varvano – on for Beachy – walked Laynce Nix.
The skies opened, sending the game into a 22-minute rain delay. When the teams returned, Washington stranded runners at first and second. That was a mistake against the Braves’ formidable bullpen. The trio of Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel has not allowed an earned run since July 1. They tossed 3 2/3 shutout innings to close the game.
