Losing to the Dodgers, I can handle.  Tommy needed his first Grapefruit League win since his managing days.  Perez did get knocked around a bit in his debut (four runs in 4 1-3 innings, five hits and two walks.)  Rivera and Hanrahan combined for a scoreless, hitless 7th, 8th and 9th.  Miss Chatter was there and has some great photos!

But, losing 11-3 to the Orioles today was just brutal.

Patterson looked more 2007 than 2005 today.  He allowed Oriole hit after hit (eight in all) and six earned runs in four innings.  Munoz entered the game, lost a pop up in the sun and gave up a 2 run shot to new Oriole Luke Scott.  Schroder, still battling for a spot in the bullpen, pitched a perfect 6th before turning it over to Charlie Manning.  Manning’s line followed more like Patterson’s.  Three earned runs, three hits, two walks.  Even Jesus Colome struggled getting outs in the 8th — giving up 2 hits and a walk.  All in all, a brutal pitching day for our guys against our beltway rival.

Of course, any offense at all would have helped Patterson out a little.  Felipe Lopez had a hit to start things off but the Nats had no runs until the 6th inning with G. Guzman’s 2 run blast to right field.  Luis Jimenez later scored on a de Caster sacrifice for the final 3rd run.  The only regulars to travel to Fort Lauderdale for today’s game were Belliard, Johnson, Milledge and Lopez.  But still, 11-3?

Tomorrow:  Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Mike O’Connor on the mound?  Very clever, Manny.  It’s our first reunion (if you skip the rain-out) with Church and Schneider, should they make the trip and Lastings first game against the Mets after harsh words about his former team.  Hanrahan, Rauch, Ayala and Cordero are expected to work in relief.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Game Recaps, Spring Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.