Orioles 5, Nats 3
They have lost seven of eight games now and dropped below .500 for the first time since April 15. You can read all about it here in our game story. Another starting pitcher is also dealing with some kind of injury. Time to panic? Flashbacks to 2008 and 2009? No. That’s maybe the biggest difference between the Nationals of this season and previous incarnations, who almost expected doom.
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“I don’t think we’re in a rut. We’re just not scoring big runs when we need to,” said Nats outfielder Willie Harris. “I don’t think we’re in a rut. You’re going to lose games. You’re not going to win every game. But at the same time if you have the right mindset going into the game, the right plan, the right approach, we’ll be right where we need to be when it’s time. We’re on a little skid. But I don’t think it’s serious. I don’t think it’s anything we need to worry about. We just need to continue playing hard baseball.”
Fair enough. Four of those seven losses, after all, have been by two runs or less. Maybe that’s just the luck of the game finally swinging against a team that has exceeded expectations so far. But at 21-22 isn’t there any kind of concern?
“Not the least bit,” said Nats manager Jim Riggleman. “We played a great ballgame tonight. We just got beat. We played good baseball. [Cristian] Guzman and Harris hit the ball well, we walked seven times. Those are quality at-bats when you’re drawing those walks. We were in a position to win. I’m in a much better mood tonight after that loss than I was last night [after a 10-7 loss to New York] I’ll tell you that.”
Washington’s lone victory during this stretch came on Wednesday night against the Mets – a 5-3 win. And it is true that they’ve faced quality teams and top-notch pitchers – Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado) and Chris Carpenter (St. Louis) come to mind.
“It’s not a big deal. A lot of people actually look at the numbers that they show on the board. But they don’t actually look at the numbers in a professional way,” said Nats reliever Miguel Batista. “One thing a lot of people have not looked at is we’ve only been shut out once. And we have faced some good pitchers. So that says a lot about our offense. And pitching-wise our starting rotation is getting to be more consistent. That’s what we needed in the beginning of the season because some of the guys couldn’t last five innings and that killed the bullpen early.”
That did happen on Friday – but it’s hard to blame Olsen, who wasn’t right from the start. Batista said he and the rest of the bullpen knew Olsen might need help. He was ready for the call even after pitching two innings against New York on Thursday. Batista kept his team in the game for four innings as the Nats cut a 4-0 deficit to 4-3. He even notched his first hit since Aug. 9, 2006 and broke up the no-hitter Baltimore pitcher David Hernandez had going with one out in the fifth. Batista later compared his base hits to comets because “they happen every four or five years.”
“That’s the Renaissance man. That’s what I call him,” Harris said with a smile. “[Batista] knows how to pitch. He pitched two innings last night and he came out tonight and pitched four more. That tells you a lot about him. He’s ready to go. He’s a team guy. And he has a rubber-band arm. He pitched exceptionally well for us, kept us right in the game and gave us a chance to win.”
Nats Notes
» Harris hit his fourth home run of the season in the seventh inning to cut Baltimore’s lead to 4-3. He started in right field with Roger Bernadina in center as Nyjer Morgan was given the night off.
» The Orioles improved to 14-29 with the win. That’s still the worst record in Major League Baseball this season.
» Baltimore sends Brad Bergesen (3-3, 5.45 ERA) to the mound on Saturday afternoon against Craig Stammen (1-2, 5.86 ERA). Game time is 4:05 p.m.
» The middle of Washington’s batting order – Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham – went a combined 0-for-7. Then again – each player drew two walks apiece.
» The slumping Morgan will feel better after his pinch-hit double in the bottom of the seventh. He then scored on Harris’ homer. Riggleman said Morgan will be back in center on Saturday afternoon.
» Nats rookie reliever Drew Storen gave up the first run of his career in his third big-league appearance. He walked Baltimore catcher Craig Tatum to lead off the eighth inning, allowed a sacrifice bunt, struck out a batter, but then missed on a pitch to Corey Patterson. The veteran laced Storen’s offering into right-center field for an RBI single.
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