If last night’s game had been played in July, there is no way the guys could have come back from a three run deficit. However, August is clearly a new month, and the new Nationals including Gonzalez and Bonifacio, have sparked some pep, excitement, and clearly a desire to win. I’m not saying the wins will continue the rest of the season, but maybe…hopefully…we will continue to see some good baseball.
Starter Tim Redding got off to a rough start giving up three runs in the first inning. Redding acknowledged that he wasn’t feeling right before the game. He issued a couple walks in the early innings, dangerous in Coors Field, especially with hot hitting Matt Holliday in the lineup. Redding pitched five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. His pitch count was pretty high all night (58 pitches after two innings) but he was able to get in a groove and worked three scoreless innings.
Redding was helped by his teammates with some great offense. Jesus Flores led off the third inning with a solo shot to left field, his eighth home run of the year. Jesus continues to have solid at bats, waiting for pitches he can really drive. He also added to his RBI tally last night and went 2-5.
In the fourth inning, the Nats capitalized on a bunch of Rockies errors and the boys scored four more runs, putting them ahead by two.
Bonifacio hit his second triple as a Nationals in the sixth inning. It was a stand up triple no less! I knew he was fast, but it really is exciting to watch him fly around the bases. Bonifacio went 3-5 with two runs scored, and continued to shine defensively. Willie Harris’ two run homer in the eighth sealed the deal for the Nats. Solid relief work from Rivera, Ayala and Colome ensured the Nats 9-4 victory.
The win was nice, but there was some bad news also. Newbie Alberto Gonzalez slid hard into third base in the third inning on a wild pitch and hurt his glut/hamstring. He aggravated it again in the sixth inning when rounding first base. He was taken out of the game. The team says the injury isn’t serious, but come on when has that been true this season? He is listed day to day.
Ryan Zimmerman’s pinch hit last night was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully he’ll be in the lineup tonight!
Entries (RSS)
August 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I loved Bonifacio’s quote in the Times gamer today:
“Everybody knows we don’t have a good record right now,” Bonifacio said. “But I feel no matter what, everybody has to do his job. We’re playing good baseball right now.”
Great to see guys playing with lots of enthusiasm and heart at this point in the season.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:05 am
It’s about time!! Yeah, I’ll take watchable baseball any day. We’ll lose a few more for sure, but if they hustle, try hard and aren’t saddled with as Dave at Bottom Feeder Baseball described it, a 5’9” weight on their shoulders, I can feel content in my fandom again.