He tells himself to be patient. Nine months removed from surgery to repair a right forearm nerve, the arm strength that has always allowed John Patterson to whip pitches past opposing batters is still missing.
The radar gun at RFK Stadium told the story during Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Philadelphia before 18,671.
Patterson, with a fastball around 95 miles-per-hour when at full strength, instead labored in the mid-to-upper-80s against the Phillies and lasted four innings with seven hits and three earned runs. He also walked four with a wild pitch and a home run allowed to Philadelphia’s Aaron Rowand.
The Nationals (5-11) have lost all four of Patterson’s starts so far this season.
“I’m pushing, I’m driving, the mechanics have felt much, much better,” said Patterson, now 0-3 with a 7.00 ERA. “The arm strength isn’t progressing as fast as I’d like it to. And that’s frustrating. But at the same time I can’t afford to lose it mentally. That’s not going to do anyone any good.”
As Patterson waits for his speed to return, his teammates received a clinic from veteran Philadelphia starter Jamie Moyer on how slow can get the job done, too. Moyer took a shutout into the ninth inning despite rarely topping 80 on the radar gun.
“He’s Jamie Moyer. That’s what he does every time,” said Nationals center fielder Ryan Church. “We battled and tried to make adjustments. It just wasn’t happening for us today until it was a little too late.”
