DC Starting Lineup...
- Anderson Hernandez - SS
- Nick Nick Johnson Johnson - 1B
- THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! - 3B
- The Big Walky - LF
- Elijah "Super" Dukes - CF
- The HAMMER - RF
- WWJD? - C
- The General - SS
- John "Cool Hand" Lannan - Throwing Less Fastballs...
The Washington Nationals vs Ricky Nolasco...
The Washington Nationals put up 5 runs on 7 hits with Florida Marlins' starter Ricky Nolasco on the mound the last time they faced the right-hander on Opening Day, but the Marlins scored 6 runs off Nationals' starter John Lannan, and then added 2 runs off Julian Tavarez and 2 more off Will Ledezma in what would eventually be a 12-6 Florida win. The Marlins have won six of seven games since then, while the Nationals have won one of six, and now the two teams meet again tonight, this time in DC, in the first of a three game weekend series.
Nolasco allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in his second start of '09 against the Mets in the Marlins' only loss of the young year, but in his career against the Nationals, Nolasco in now (6-1) in 7 starts and 2 relief appearances, with a 4.10 ERA in 42.1 IP, 34 H, 21 R, (19 ER), 6 HR's and 6 walks allowed, 31 K's collected, a 0.96 WHIP, and a .222 BAA.
The Nationals vs Nolasco...
Josh Bard - 1 for 4, .250 AVG, 1 2B.
Ronnie Belliard - 2 for 8, .250 AVG, 1 2B.
Adam Dunn - 2 for 11, .182 AVG, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI's.
Jesus Flores - 2 for 5, .400 AVG.
Nick Johnson - 3 for 15, .200 AVG, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI.
Austin Kearns - 2 for 10, .200 AVG, 1 2B.
Ryan Zimmerman - 3 for 17, .176 AVG, 2 2B, 1 RBI.
Has John Lannan Lost The "Cool Hand"?
John Lannan hasn't looked like last year's level-headed lefty in his first two starts of the 2009 season, losing twice and allowing 15 hits and 10 runs in 9 IP. The season opener, you'll remember, was Lannan's first start against the Fish, and the 6 hits and 6 runs the Marlins put up all came in just 3.0 IP, in which Lannan threw 58 pitches, 30 for strikes.
After his second start against Atlanta, Lannan told MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he thought there was an improvement in his performance, or as he's quoted explaining himself in Mr. Ladson's article entitled, "One bad inning proves Nats' undoing":
"'Anything is better than the first outing,' Lannan said. 'I felt better and threw more first-pitch strikes...'"
Something tells me Lannan's going to be even more comfortable at home...do stats support my gut?....Not exactly...
John Lannan Career Splits...
Home vs Away...Home - 16 GS, (5-10), 4.96 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, .277 BAA, 89.0 IP, 84 H, 58 R, 49 ER, 14 HR, 39 BB, 47 K's.
Away - 23 GS, (6-9), 3.69 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, .266 BAA, 136.2 IP, 139 H, 58 R, 56 ER, 15 HR, 53 BB, 84 K's.
Elijah "Super" Dukes...
Can Elijah Dukes hits 3 HR's in 3 games? In the last 5 games, Elijah Dukes is a combined 9 for 23, .391 AVG with 2 doubles, 2 HR's and 5 RBI's. So far this season, that leaves Dukes:
Dukes- 9 for 25, .360 AVG, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI's, .407 OBP, .680 SLG, .1.087 OPS, (172 OPS+, with 100 OPS+ being League AVG).
STRASBURG FILES...
ROSCOEtheNATSfan was kind enough to link to this article out of the New Mexico Daily Lobo (U of New Mexico paper) where Lobo writer Isaac Avilucea set about preparing fans of the University of New Mexico baseball for tonight's matchup with San Diego State University and their starter, Stephen Strasburg, who is the top prospect in baseball heading into this season's draft. One line of interest for the DC Faithful in the article:
"Strasburg has been clocked throwing anywhere from 99 to 102 mph. There are even reports than he unfurled a 103 mph pitch in a workout with the Washington Nationals, which the organization neither confirms nor denies."
..."workout with the Washington Nationals"? Source please?
Strasburg starts in the Simpsons-reference friendly Isotopes Park in New Mexico, at 6:00 p.m. MT, so for us East Coasters, that's 8:00 pm EST instead of the usual 3-hour California difference we've grown accustomed to...The SDSU official site will have the audio available tonight...
DC Weather...
Check the NatCast if you're heading to Nationals Park...(Official NatCast Prediction: Slightly Cooler Than Perfect.)
Who's Watching The Nationals? Who's Watching the Future?
