It was about time! We decided to skip watching or listening to the game all together (it’s been a rough two weeks) and instead drive south to watch the Potomac Nationals on this beautiful night in Virginia.
Manny decided to shake things up too by rewarding Felipe Lopez’s patience and good attitude with two consecutive starts and the lead-off spot. The move was an effort to jump start the offense — and it worked. Lopez led off the first inning with a double. Overall, he had a 3 for 5 night with 2 runs scored and a stolen base. I really like this move. If Felipe could keep this going, we could actually have a legitimate speedy lead-off guy. Tonight was encouraging.
In general, the team finally seemed alive tonight. Six runs on ten hits gave us the win – 3 came off of starter Andy Miller and another 3 off of reliever Justin Miller. Felipe, Guzman, Zimmerman, Johnson, Estrada and Milledge all played key roles. Finally, they were able to string together their hits and bring runners home. Nice job guys.
Redding also had another fantastic night. In six innings of work, he gave up 3 hits and 4 runs with 1 walk and 10 strike-outs. Finally a pitcher has a great outing and actually gets the win to match.
The lead was defended by a strong bullpen presence throughout the rest of the game. Ayala gave up 1 hit in his 1 and 2/3rds innings. Better yet, he threw 14 strikes in 18 pitches to retire 5 batters. King and Rauch also pitched well and slammed the door shut on the Marlins to lock up a desperately needed Nats win.
In other great news, Paul Lo Duca has finally went on the Disabled List to make room for Shawn Hill, who is expected to start tomorrow night. Lo Duca has been nursing a swollen hand for almost a week. The move is retroactive to April 14. Lo Duca predicts ten more days or so before he’s back. No Lo Duca for the home-stand – it’s like a present.
And just a side note — the attendance for tonight’s game was a pathetic 13, 279.
Entries (RSS)