Nats 5, Braves 3
The roller-coaster starting to chug back up the track for the streaky Nats, who used two homers from Rick Ankiel, a nice performance by starting pitcher Livan Hernandez and a mostly solid outing from the bullpen to earn their third straight win. Check out our game story here.
No idea how to explain 11 runs off Atlanta starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens, who entered the game with a 12-3 record and 2.38 ERA. Jayson Werth did say he thought Jurrjens’ velocity has been down compared to what they normally see from him. But otherwise no one in that clubhouse had an explanation. They’re just glad to have two good games at the plate against him.
After the game Washington sent right-handed relief pitcher Atahualpa Severino back to Triple-A Syracuse. He rolled into the clubhouse on Sunday morning, said hello to some teammates, sported a sweet Mohawk haircut – and that was pretty much it. No appearances for Severino, whose demotion likely makes way for reliever Collin Balester. That move won’t be made official until Tuesday morning, however. That should give manager Davey Johnson a little more balance in his bullpen. Other than one bad outing last month for the Chiefs, Balester has been pretty reliable at Triple-A. He’s pitched 13 2/3 innings in two different stints in the majors this season.
Werth reached base twice once again. That might not seem like it’s worth a party, but he’s also had a hit or a walk in 12 games in a row now and in seven of those games reached base two or more times. Baby steps as he tries to break out of a season-long slump. Michael Morse continues to rake with a 2-for-4 night. And Ryan Zimmerman’s infield single extended his own hitting streak to 10 games. Nice job in the bullpen, too, by Ryan Mattheus, who has taken on a larger role in recent weeks. He gave up a hit, but no runs in the eighth inning to give the much-used Tyler Clippard a needed day off. Drew Storen and Todd Coffey both gave up homers – but neither came with a man on so the damage was limited. Storen, of course, had an emotional day on Sunday when he learned he wouldn’t be traded and blew a save by giving up a two-out home run in the ninth against the Mets.
“I want to see how far [Storen] can go before he cries uncle,” Johnson cracked when asked if he just wanted to get Storen back out on the mound quickly.
Earlier in the day, Washington announced that veteran pinch hitter Matt Stairs had been officially released. No surprise there. The team designated him for assignment last week. Also, Johnson acknowledged that Stephen Strasburg is about set to pitch in a minor-league game on a rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery. Check out our post on that news here. In a nugget-filled pregame, Bryan Harper – the brother of star prospect Bryce Harper and himself a 30th round draft pick by the Nats in June – tweeted that he had agreed to terms with Washington. He will sign his first pro contract on Tuesday.
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