We missed much of the beginning of the game last night. Sometimes, it’s better that way. The Angels batted around in the first, sending 10 men to the plate and securing a 6 run lead. When they scored 2 more runs in the third, Manny handed the game over to the bullpen. The combination of Shell, Colome, Hanrahan and Manning put up 6 zeroes with 5 strike outs, 3 hits and only 1 walk. But the damage was already done.
Errors proved costly in the game and yielded 2 unearned runs to the Angels. Hill balked and Lo Duca, Young and Harris all had a hard time making routine plays. Lo Duca’s left field experiment was cut short by a bout of light-headedness. He left in the second and was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. His replacement, Wily Mo Pena, surprised everyone by going deep in his first at bat to give the Nats their first run. It was only his second home run of the season. An inning later Elijah Dukes would collect his third, a homer to left field. The only other run came in the 5th when pinch hitter Kory Casto singled to score Ronnie Belliard.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, there’s more injury news. Nick Johnson underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic and will likely be out for the season. That’s a big loss and very disheartening because he worked so hard to get healthy for this season. Shawn Hill, who has been experiencing pain all season, will also head to the Mayo Clinic for another evaluation. Hill will likely end up on the disabled list and probably should have been put on it awhile ago. We admire his desire to battle but wonder if the Patterson release motivated Hill to fight through the pain more than he should have. When he’s sharp and effective, he’s a treat to watch. We wish him a speedy recovery, but you know how those things go.
Some other news:
Zimmerman has a new blog post up, but it’s rather dull. The team announced a partnership with the Spanish Beisbol Network. Games will debut on WZHF 1390AM on Friday, June 27. Select games will be broadcast on WMET 1160AM and XM Radio Channel 174, MLB en Español. The team also announced plans to build a Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. From the release:
In partnership with the District Government, The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation has committed to building a Youth Baseball Academy that will engage inner city youth in the sport of baseball, along with providing after-school educational programs. Slated as a 12,000 square foot facility with three fields on 10 acres, the Academy will be a year-round youth development program committed to equipping youth with the life skills necessary to succeed in life and to become responsible, productive citizens in their community.
Chico Harlan’s chatting at 2 pm, Mark Zuckerman’s chatting at 1 pm and Jim Bowden’s chat yesterday was utterly useless.
Tim Redding (6-3, 4.12 ERA) takes on Ervin Santana (9-3, 3.17) tonight.
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