The first inning provided no hint of a special night. On this gusty, rainy and chilly night, Matt Chico walked three batters, allowed a hit and tossed 37 pitches. He tried to coax pitches over the plate, without much success.
He then settled down. And, though his night wasn’t exactly magical, it was special. It resulted in his first major league victory, a 5-1 win over Atlanta. It wasn’t pretty, with five walks and no strikeouts. But that didn’t matter.
“It wasn’t what I expected,” the left-handed Chico (1-1), who plans to frame the lineup card, said, “but I’ll take it. … It was one of those nights where it was real rough.”
The Nationals (4-9) now have won two straight and three of their last four, much to the delight of the announced crowd of 16,316 fans.
Chico, who walked two batters in the sixth before exiting, started poorly. He walked three batters and allowed a single in the first, yet didn’t allow a run. He threw just 60 pitches in his final four innings. Adjusting to the cold and wind for this San Diego native was crucial.
“That’s what we’ve seen from him so far, his makeup,” Nats manager Manny Acta said. “When he needed to make a pitch, he did it. It was tough weather and he battled through it and said, ‘I’ll do whatever possible to get a win.’ … The way it started I didn’t think he would make it five innings.”
Meanwhile, Dmitri Young honored baseball immortal Jackie Robinson. He wore Robinson’s No. 42 Monday and had a two-run double in the third, a single in the sixth and a double in the eighth. Ryan Zimmerman had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored.
Wearing No. 42 meant something to Young.
“I was thinking of things he went through and wondering if I would have been able to go through it,” Young said. “He wakes up with it and goes to sleep with it. He had to endure other teams, other fans, his own fans and own teammates. To endure all that and be revered like he is, God bless him.”
