Righty leads rotation after injuries woes end
A miserable 2010 season finally appears to be behind Nationals starting pitcher Jason Marquis.
Signed to stabilize one of the worst rotations on Dec. 21, 2009, Marquis — a National League All-Star just six months earlier — suddenly found himself dragging the Nats even deeper into the abyss. He gave up 19 earned runs in his first three starts last year, with the ultimate indignity the seven runs he allowed without recording an out April 18 vs. Milwaukee.
Elbow surgery kept Marquis out until August, and even then he struggled to live up to the two-year, $15 million contract he had signed with Washington. Vowing to return to form this season, Marquis is doing so. The 32-year-old gave up just two earned runs in 62Ú3 innings on Sunday as the Nats earned an 8-4 win over the Florida Marlins. Marquis is now 5-1 overall with a 3.54 ERA and anchoring a starting rotation that has a combined ERA of 3.91. That ranks seventh in the National League and 14th out of 30 major league clubs — extreme progress for a team that hasn’t finished higher than 23rd in that category since 2005, its first season in the District. So what’s changed?
| Nationals notes |
| » Right-handed pitcher Jason Marquis has walked 69 batters or more in his six previous healthy seasons dating to 2004. He was just 10 walks in eight starts so far this season and 31 strikeouts. |
| » Washington’s scheduled game with Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park was postponed because of expected thunderstorms. The Pirates do make a return visit to the District for a three-game series July 1-3. |
| » The Nats announced they will skip right-handed starter Jordan Zimmermann‘s turn in the rotation. He was expected to pitch Tuesday. A team spokesman said Zimmermann is not injured and will make his next scheduled start Sunday against the Orioles. |
“Getting ahead in the count. [Marquis is] using all his pitches,” veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. “All his pitches are working very well for him right now. And he’s healthy. Last year he went through a tough time with injures, elbow injuries. And this year finally he’s healthy. When you feel 100 percent, you’re going to compete. And that’s what he’s doing right now.”
Bone chips in his right elbow eventually did in Marquis in 2010. He tried to rest after that Milwaukee start, but early in a rehabilitation assignment at Single-A Potomac the elbow locked up on him again. Marquis produced mixed results when he returned Aug. 8. In his second start back, he gave up three home runs and didn’t make it past the fourth inning. He managed just one out and gave up six runs in a Sept. 17 game at Philadelphia. But take away that Phillies debacle and he pitched 24 innings in September and allowed just six runs total. That strong finish set up Marquis for a healthier, happier 2011.
“You get rewarded with wins when you throw the ball well. Obviously sometimes you throw the ball well and it doesn’t come, the outcome you want. … That’s baseball,” Marquis said. “Things even out. I’ve had a lot of those over my career. Hopefully I can continue that this year. But you know what? You take the good with the bad. I feel like if mentally you’re on the right track, you’re throwing the ball well, the results are there with what you can control, then I guess that’s all you should worry about.”
