Tim Redding pitched a gem of a game last night, six shut out innings, by trusting his fastball. Relievers Rivera, Ayala, and Hanrahan completed the game, and the Nats defeated the Phillies 4-0.  The guys capitalized on the pitching of Brett Myers and produced some key hits. 

It was good to finally see Milledge producing at the plate; he went 2-4 last night with a key RBI double down the right field line. Hopefully that production continues, and the other outfielders follow his lead.  Guzman continued his hitting streak and went 3-4.  He always seems to be on base. I’m really having fun watching him this season. Jesus Flores had a pretty good night behind the plate also, catching a shut out game, and hitting a double.  However, he did let a pop up fall between he and Zim during the first inning that would have been an easy out.  Catching pop ups seem to be one area where Flores could use some more practice.

Zimmerman’s fielding last night was the highlight of the game for me.  His diving stop and throw to first followed by his bare handed grab later in the game were both impressive to watch. He produced at the plate also going 2-3 with a double.  Our third baseman leads the team in hits and home runs. He is a treat to watch.

After the game, the team announced that 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard is headed to the DL with a left calf strain.  Chris Schroder gets the call up again from Columbus.  Any chance this guy will get to stay in DC for more than one game this time around?  Poor Chris — that back and forth trek can’t be much fun.  With Ronnie now on the DL, it might be possible to fill out a full line up card with hurt guys.  We’ve got a couple of catchers, a first baseman, a second baseman, an outfielder (not officially on the DL but not playing), and a couple of pitchers.  Manny really doesn’t have much to work with these days. Some call ups might make things more interesting.

Coming off his great performance last week in New York, Jason Bergmann faces Phillies Cole Hamels tonight at 7:00.  There might be another pitchers’ duel in the works tonight…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am and is filed under Game Recaps, Injuries. 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.