Welcome to the Majors boys! The Washington Nationals are on a streak - a winning streak! After a rough start in April, the boys have finally seemed to settle down and get in the groove of the season. There are plenty of reasons to be excited after tonight’s great win. We are on our longest winning streak of the season at 4 games and we’ve now won 7 of 9. We’re also sitting just 2 game below .500!
Odalis Perez got the Nationals off to a great start by absolutely dominating the Pirates through much of the game. He gave up just 3 hits, two of which were solo home runs. Coming into the season, I wasn’t expecting much from Perez, but he has slowly grown on me with his consistent pitching. It’s great to finally see our starters last more than 5 innings and give the bullpen a bit of a break. Unfortunately, Odalis had a no decision tonight and remains winless.
Wil Nieves continued to impress by not only calling a great game for Perez, but he also drove in the first two runs of the night. In the bottom of the second, Nieves drove in Kearns and Milledge to give Odalis some breathing room and the Nats a 2-0 lead. Austin Kearns also looks like he’s getting more comfortable at the plate. He had two hits and an RBI tonight. With the pitching starting to look more consistent, it’s great to see the offense pick up a bit too.
Ray Knight talked a little bit about attitude tonight, saying that the Nats and their fans have been far more optimistic these past few days and the team finally believes they can win. I can’t help but think some of that attitude has come from the addition of Wil Nieves to the roster. He is extremely positive in his outlook of the game and does a great job behind the plate. It’s obvious that he’s having fun and enjoying every minute of his time in the big leagues. With Paul Lo Duca ready to be called up and Cordero heading to the DL, it’s completely possible for the Nationals to keep Wil on the roster and carry three catchers. Personally, I have enjoyed watching Lannan’s success with Nieves and don’t think we should break it up if it isn’t necessary.
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May 1st, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I agree with keeping Wil Nieves on the roster at all costs. If one of the catchers has to be sacrificed, let it be Estrada. He hasn’t shown me much thus far. Plus, he looks like a lumpy pile of mashed potatoes in uniform. The sight of him shlumpfing up to the plate doesn’t inspire me with confidence.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
We’re also sitting just 2 game below .500!
Since when is a record of 12-17 two games under .500? They must be teaching a different kind of math now than they did when I was a kid.
(Hint: To figure out how many games under/over .500 a team is, calculate how many wins you’d need to add to/subtract from the W column to make it equal the number already there in the L column. That’s your answer. So for the current case of 12-17, you need to win five more games to equal the losses you already have, so you’re five games under .500, not two.)
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Sorry about that. I was listening to the post game when I was writing and thought I heard the record of 12-14. I didn’t double check, and acknowledge that I should have. I got a little caught up in the excitement of having an actual winning streak. Again, my apologies for inaccurate comment.