Veteran catcher stars in field and at the plate in win over Giants
At age 39 and on a team with a talented young catcher ready for playing time, Ivan Rodriguez has had to play a role to which the future Hall of Famer is unaccustomed. Sunday at Nationals Park, however, Rodriguez turned back the clock with an inspired performance, worthy of his prime.
Scoring the go ahead run, driving in two that sewed it up, and gunning down one of the fastest base runners in the game, Rodriguez propelled the Nats to a 5-2 victory before 21,611.
“I’m still the same guy. Yeah, it’s still me,” Rodriguez joked. “I’m the same person.”
Rodriguez entered the game hitting .200, but with some luck he could have gone 4-for-4. He sent two rockets to centerfield that were flagged down by the Giants’ Aaron Rowand. His single to right in the fourth inning started the go-ahead rally. His single up the middle in the eighth inning expanded a 3-2 cushion to 5-2, making the ninth inning a breeze for Drew Storen, who earned his fifth save.
But the play that harkened back to the Rodriguez of old, came when the 13-time Gold Glove winner threw out pinch-runner Darren Ford on an attempted steal for the first out of the eighth inning as the Nats were protecting a tenuous lead. Winning pitcher Jordan Zimmermannn (2-4) was the man most appreciative of the play, calling it a “game-changer.”
“It doesn’t matter who’s running. It could be fast. It could be slow. It could be average. I’m always ready,” Rodriguez said. “To cut the rally right there is good for us. That’s why I always take a lot of pride in my defense.”
It’s been a trying season for Rodriguez as he has stepped aside for 23-year-old rookie Wilson Ramos, who is hitting .358. But Rodriguez has accepted his role with grace, providing his teammates a valuable example of professionalism.
“It’s different absolutely. When you’ve played 21 years every day and you get up like this, it’s tough,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think about any of that. I think about winning. That’s me. I’ve grown up on winning teams and they teach me how to play the game to win.”
When Jayson Werth was asked about Rodriguez’s contributions Sunday at the plate and behind it, he was quick to point out where the catcher is most important.
“In the clubhouse,” Werth said.
“It’s fun to watch him play when he comes to life. He reminds me of a young Pudge Rodriguez,” Werth continued. “He’s still got a lot to offer. He’s an icon of the game and it’s a privilege to play with him.”
Werth (3-for-4) and Alex Cora (2-for-4) added to a 10-hit attack that squared the record of the Nationals with that of the world champion Giants (13-14) and made a loser out of nasty right-hander Matt Cain (2-2).
“I think the biggest thing is April is over,” Werth said. “We talked before the game. We all decided we’re going to start playing some baseball.”
The Giants jumped in front 2-0 in the second inning as Miguel Tejada beat out an infield chopper, Mike Fontenot ripped a double over the head of Werth in right field, and Nate Schierholtz blooped a two-run double, just inside the foul line in left field.
But after that, Zimmermann got stronger. He wriggled out of two-on, two-out jams in the third and fifth innings and finished with a perfect sixth. It was a vast improvement from rough outings in losses to the Cardinals and Mets.
“I felt a lot better today. Slider was good. I kept it down all day. Fastball was there,” Zimmermann said. “That one little bloop hit they got where two runs scored was a change-up that I thought was a pretty good pitch.”
Reliever Tyler Clippard was even better, fanning three of the five hitters he faced in 1 2/3 hitless innings. Left-hander Sean Burnett got the final out of the eighth inning, against lefty Aubrey Huff. Storen allowed a double, the lone base runner in his inning. Manager Jim Riggleman insisted that he has not settled on Storen as the closer.
“I think everybody in the community wants Drew to be the closer, and I want that,” Riggleman said. “But he’s 23 years old. I don’t want him to run out there four days in a row and even three days in a row.”
Until Rodriguez came up clutch, the Nats’ offense struggled to cash in. They scored single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings, when they could have blown it open, but stranded five runners in scoring position. Then in the fifth inning, after Werth led off with a single and advanced to third on Schierholtz’s error in right field, he stayed there as No. 4 hitter Laynce Nix struck out, No. 5 Adam LaRoche popped out, and No. 6 Ian Desmond did the same.
With the news Saturday that Ryan Zimmerman’s strained abductor is actually a muscle tear and will require surgery, the Nats could continue to struggle in the middle of the lineup, which has been highly unproductive much of the year.
With Zimmerman not due back until mid-June, Riggleman is taking a glass is half-full approach.
“We’re just going to try to best utilize everybody to try to scratch out as many wins as we can,” Riggleman said. “At some point Zim’s gonna walk in the door and it feel like we made a major trade. We got this star coming in.”
Notes: Nats second baseman Danny Espinosa was not in the starting lineup, but started a rally in the eighth with a walk and a steal of second base. Desmond added a single and an uncontested steal of second, with Espinosa on third, setting up Rodriguez’s two-run single. It was the 10th steal for Desmond, who is tied for first in the National League, one behind major league leader Michael Bourn (Houston). Desmond stole 17 bases last year.
