"I’ve got a feeling that the Bergmann of Neptune…New Jersey is gonna have a good one…"
- "The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous." - V - by e chigliak August 7, 2008 3:02 pm
I took in the first game of today's genuine doubleheader, which started at 3:05 pm EST, on the radio, XM ch. 185, as I was stuck at work and unable to watch DC righty Jason Bergmann (W, 2-8, 4.13 ERA), earn his second win of the season. Bergmann pitched 7.0 innings of 6-hit, shutout baseball before surrendering the 7th hit of the day to Matt Holliday, who led off the eighth with a solo shot to left that chased Bergmann in favor of Steven Shell, who ended the eighth, and had trouble in the ninth, necessitating a call to the pen for DC closer "Wild" Joel Hanrahan, who came on in the ninth to close out the win for his second save of the season.
Emilio Bonifacio, Ryan Zimmerman and Ronnie Belliard each had two hits this afternoon...Bonifacio (2-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI), Zimmerman (2 for 5), Belliard (2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 R), but it was Lastings Milledge who really came alive with the bat, stroking two HR's, (his 10th and 11th), both off Rockies' lefty Jeff Francis. Milledge hit the first HR in the fifth...
(ed. note - "The estimable Doghouse was taking in the action and described the 5th inning in the Comments of yesterday's Game Thread...")
"Bergie rings up Tulo to get his 5th K and end the 5th.
Still scoreless, and JBerg finally gets a 1-2-3. Now who’s cruising? It’s Lasto, Jesus, and Ronnie in the 6th. Let’s go Nats go!"
- "When in doubt, blame PLoD" by Doghouse.
"LASTO!!!
Hits a bomb over the bleachers in straightaway LF to put the Nats up 1-0! Maybe we can let Lenny stay until the end of the season."
- "When in doubt, blame PLoD" by Doghouse.
"LASTO!!!
Hits a bomb over the bleachers in straightaway LF to put the Nats up 1-0! Maybe we can let Lenny stay until the end of the season."
- "When in doubt, blame PLoD" by Doghouse.
...an RBI double by Thrillie Harris and an RBI triple from Emili-Ooooo! Bonifacio followed and the Nationals ended the fifth with a 3-0 lead over the Rockies.
After Ryan Zimmerman reached on a bunt single to start the sixth, Austin Kearns grounded into a force at second, bringing up Lastings Milledge, who took Francis deep again, out to left and GONE! for a two-run HR, Milledge's 11th, and his 38th and 39th RBI's of the season. An RBI single followed in the seventh for Milledge's 4th RBI of the night and 40th of the '08 campaign. Milledge would finish the game 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 HR's, and 4 RBI's.
The Rockies put two runs on Steven Shell, who closed out the eighth and came back out for the ninth with a 6-1 lead, when Yorvit Torrealba followed Troy Tulowitzki's leadoff single with a two-run blast to left that made it a 6-3 game and a save situation, at which point New Nationals' Manager Manny Acta mad a call to the pen...for "Wild" Joel Hanrahan...
Cory Patterson hit a pinch hit single off Hanrahan, before the DC closer got three fly balls in a row to end the game and earn the save. Nationals win 6-3...
New Nationals now 5-1.
Nationals now 43-71. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stands At...29.)
Game Two (115 of 162) after the jump...
Emilio Bonifacio’s back at bat again, this time against Rockies’ starter Ubaldo JImenez as the Washington Nationals and Colorado get at it again in the game two of the genuine doubleheader. A two-strike fastball outside gets Bonifacio swinging. Willie Harris drills a fastball through second for a single to right. Ryan Zimmerman pounds a high fastball to left for a line drive single. Lastings Milledge gets called out on a check-swing strike three. Kory Casto grounds out to first...Willy Taveras grounds weakly back to the mound. Odalis Perez pops Clint Barmes up to the infield. Matt Holliday walks with two down. Full-count fastball to Garrett Atkins...2-0 Rockies’ lead after Atkins lifts a fastball all the way out to left and 10 rows deep. 2-0 Rockies after one...
Ryan Langerhans works a leadoff walk off Ubaldo Jimenez in the second. Pinch Hittin’ Pete Orr skies a pop fly to the grass behind second. Wil Nieves goes to right with a one-hop single in front of Hawpe, who fields and throws out Langerhans, who was hung up, unsure, and out at second. Odalis Perez singles up the middle. Bonifacio with the two-out opportunity. Line drive to right, Nieves beats Hawpe’s throw home. 2-1 Rockies. Willie Harris turns around an inside fastball for a double to right, and Bonifacio almost passes Odalis Perez as two runs cross the plate. 3-2 New Nationals. Zimmerman walks in front of Milledge. Lastings Milledge goes the other way with an outside fastball and lines Harris in from second. 4-2 New Nationals after one and a half...Odalis Perez gets Jeff Baker to ground weakly to third. Emilio Bonifacio boots an easy grounder from Brad Hawpe. Troy Tulowitzki pops up behind second, Orr, Bonifacio and Milledge converge, and the ball drops between them for an error/single. Wil Nieves jumps up and throws out Brad Hawpe at third on Jimenez’s sac bunt. Willy Taveras flies out to right...4-2 New Nationals after two.
Ryan Langerhans starts the third the same way he started the second, with a leadoff walk. Pete Orr pops out unproductively to left on the first pitch from Jimenez. Nieves K’s swinging over a two-strike sinker outside. Odalis Perez lines out to left and heads back to the mound...Clint Barmes hits a low liner into right for a leadoff single in the Rockies’ third. Matt Holliday flies out right to Milledge in center. Garrett Atkins drills a single through short. Chris Iannetta lines right into Bonifacio’s glove for the second out. Jeff Baker grounds to second, Bonifacio tosses to Orr covering. 4-2 New Nationals after three.
Bonifacio, 2 for 5 in the first game, already has his second hit of game two with a single to left. Bonifacio steals second with Willie Harris at bat. WiIlie Harris draws a walk in front of Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman grounds to Jeff Baker at second, who tosses under his glove to Tulowitzki who spins and throws to first...in time! Double play. Milledge flies out to center to end the DC fourth...Brad Hawpe flies out on the first pitch of the fourth from Perez. Troy Tulowitzki beats out a ground ball deep in the hole at short. Jimenez sacrifices successfully this time. Lastings Milledge tracks Willy Taveras' drive to center and catches the final out of the fourth.
Kory Casto takes four straight for a leadoff walk in the fifth. Langerhans walks on a high full-count fastball. Pete Orr rips a grounder to first, and Atkins takes the force at second on Langerhans, Casto to third, Orr safe at first. Wil Nieves up, Orr steals second. Nieves finds the left center gap with a two-run double, Casto scores, Orr scores, 6-2 New Nationals...Clint Barmes chops a grounder into Zimmerman’s gut, but Zim fields and throws him out. Matt Holliday hits one so hard to right, that Langerhans almost beats Holliday to second with the throw in, but Holliday’s safe. Garrett Atkins reaches the warning track in right, where Langerhans grabs it. Chris Iannetta’s up with two down, Holliday on second, Odalis Perez hits Iannetta’s foot. First and third for Jeff Baker. Baker grounds out to Bonifacio. 6-2 New Nationals after five.
Matt Herges is on in relief for Colorado in the sixth. Willie Harris makes Herges come down off the mound to field an attempted bunt single. Ryan Zimmerman gets under a fastball and flies out to right. Lastings Milledge goes back up the middle with a two-out single to center. Tulowitzki fields Casto’s weak grounder and tosses to second to get the force on Milledge end the top of the sixth...A 3-2 fastball from Odalis Perez gets a fly out to center from Brad Hawpe. Tulowitzki tests Orr’s backhand, and Orr’s up to it, two down. Perez drops a two-strike curve on pinch hitter Cory Sullivan for a check-swing strike three to end the sixth...
Right-handed Rockies’ reliever Luis Vizcaino gives up leadoff single through second to Ryan Langerhans. Pete Orr pops out to short right, where Jeff Baker makes the grab. Wil Nieves finds a hole at short and drives a single to right. Cristian Guzman comes on to hit for Odalis Perez. Guzman pops out t...Hawpe misjudges the ball and has it drop as he dives, bases loaded for Emilio Bonifacio. Bonifacio grounds to Tulowitzki, who takes the out at home. Willie Harris flies out to center, stranding three. 6-2 New Nationals at the stretch...Stand Up and Stretch....Jesus “Everyday” Colome takes over on the mound. Willy Taveras goes right back to Colome with a weak groundout. Clint Barmes pops out to Guzman behind second. Matt Holliday chops one to short, Ryan Zimmerman throws a little-too-casually to first and it gets by Casto. Holliday’s safe. Garrett Atkins singles through short, Holliday scores. 6-3 New Nationals. Milledge cruises over and catches the final out of the inning off Iannetta’s bat.
Ryan Zimmerman flies out to first. Lastings Milledge skies the second out out to left. Kory Casto ends the DC eighth with a fly ball out to center...Saul “Sa-ool” Rivera gets the first out of the Rockies’ eighth on a foul fly from Jeff Baker. Rivera throws a two-strike curve under Brad Hawpe’s bat. Saul Rivera breaks Tulowitzki’s bat and Guzman fields and throws on the resultant grounder...Manny Corpas gets Ryan Langerhans on a groundout to start the ninth. Pete Orr goes down checking, trying to hold up on a low two-strike fastball. Wil Nieves swings through a fastball to end the top of the ninth...Wait for it...
“Wild” Joel Hanrahan’s up for his second save opportunity of the day. Omar Quintanilla flies out to Langerhans. Seth Smith gets robbed by a diving Milledge in center. Hanrahan blows away Ian Stewart with a high heater... Nationals win. 6-3 final. DC takes 3 of 4 in Coors Field...
New Nationals now 6-1.
Nationals now 44-71. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stands At...29.)