First-inning outburst keys win vs. division rival
They rank near the bottom of most major offensive categories. Batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, it doesn’t matter. If a bat is involved, the Nationals haven’t been very effective so far in 2011.
But for one afternoon at least, Washington earned a respite from its offensive futility. The Nats scored six runs in the first inning — the first time they had accomplished that in almost six years — and cruised to an 8-4 victory over the Florida Marlins on Sunday at Nationals Park.
Washington (19-21) salvaged the final contest of a three-game series with the Marlins (23-16), but it grabbed that big lead early through smart base running and a little help from Florida, not by smoking the ball around the field.
| Nationals notes |
| » The only other time Washington has scored six or more runs in the first inning of a game since the franchise returned to the District was Aug. 21, 2005, at the New York Mets. The Nats won that day 7-4. |
| » Nats catcher Ivan Rodriguez reached base three times — a two-run single, an RBI double and a walk. That’s the first time he has done that this season. The veteran catcher hadn’t appeared in a game since Thursday at Atlanta and has just 63 at-bats in 19 games in 2011. |
| Up Next |
| Pirates at Nationals |
| Paul Maholm (1-5) vs. John Lannan (2-4) |
| When » Monday, 7:05 p.m. |
| Where » Nationals Park |
| TV » MASN2 |
Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison committed an error during that frame that led to one run and allowed two runners to advance into scoring position. Roger Bernadina reached on a bunt single, Jayson Werth on an infield hit, Laynce Nix via a bloop to the outfield, Adam LaRoche by walk and Jerry Hairston on a fielder’s choice. Even a two-run single by Ivan Rodriguez was simply popped down the right-field line. In fact, the hardest hit was the last one — a two-run double by pitcher Jason Marquis, who was eventually thrown out at third base on the play.
“I think our record indicates what we are at this point,” Nats manager Jim Riggleman said. “We know that if we got untracked offensively a little bit earlier maybe we would have won a few more games obviously because we’ve pitched very well. But that’s the nature of it.”
No complaints from the Washington dugout on Sunday. Those eight runs tied a season high it had reached twice previously. Entering the game the Nats were ranked last among the 30 major league clubs in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, 28th in OPS and 27th in slugging percentage. Washington actually has scored more runs (145) than expected given those numbers. But even in that category it ranked just 23rd overall before its outburst Sunday.
In recent games, the Nats have found a way to score despite those struggles. Six times in the last eight games Washington has scored five runs or more. If it can keep that up until star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman returns from an abdominal injury next month, it could stabilize the lineup yet.
“It seems like we’re one pitch, one swing away from being five, six, seven games over .500,” said Marquis, who allowed six hits and just two earned runs in 62Ú3 innings to improve to 5-1. “We feel like we’re playing good baseball. We’ve lost a lot of close games. We keep doing what we’re doing — catching the ball, throwing the ball — and we’ll be fine.”
