GameThread: Baltimore Orioles At Washington Nationals- Game 41 or 42 of 162.

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No I Hadn't Heard That...

So I'm turning the pages of the most recent edition of ESPN the Magazine which arrived in the mail this morning and I come across of picture of the Face of the Franchise©, the Nationals' third baseman, your favorite and mine, future All-Star Ryan Zimmerman and I start reading thinking it will have some obscure fact about his hitting streak that I may have missed elsewhere, but it's entitled, "Not-So-Natty-Threads", (ed. note - "Oh great...") quoting:

"Things don't look to sharp in the district these days, and we're not just talking about the ball play..."Now I'll just stop right there, you know what's coming...The article quickly recounts all the greatests hits: Hinckley's upside down "8", Dunn and Zimmerman's "O"-less Natinals jerseys, it's all great stuff, and the only new thing I learned was that Wil Ledezma had been give a jersey with a backwards "N" on the front...but I really enjoyed the last sentence of the article:

"The team's uni provider, Majestic, (ed. note - "Hey, who redacted that?"), apologized, but how will the Nots regain their dignity? Oh wait..."

Oh that's funny. ("Good one". - Ron Bennington) Keep laughing, MLB. The Nationals are getting Strasburg*. (ed. note - "To DC FO: You guys better sign him!!! I'm tired of taking this....")

INTERLEAGUE PLAY:

I Think Tonight's Orioles' Starter Is Laughing At The Nationals???

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Rich Hill's first start of the season for the Orioles, since returning from a strained left elbow, saw him pick up only his second MLB win since 2007, as the 6'5'' former Chicago Cubs' starter earned the W with 5.2 IP against Kansas City in which he allowed 7 H, 2 ER and 2 walks on May 16th. In two career starts against the Nationals, the 29-year-old left-hander is (1-1) with 16 hits, 7 ER, 2 HR's and 2 BB allowed in 12.0 IP. Both of his starts against the Nationals were in 2007. Hill beat Washington in Chicago, holding the '07 Nationals to 1 run on 6 hits, but when Hill came to the Hill, in old RFK, the DC lineup lit him up, with Ryan Zimmerman, DY, and Ronnie Belliard helping Matt Chico beat Hill and the Cubs 6-0.

Nationals vs Hill...

Ronnie Belliard - 1 for 9, .111 AVG, 1 2B

Adam Dunn - 2 for 16, .125 AVG, 1 RBI, 6 K's.

Austin Kearns - 2 for 8, .250 AVG.

Ryan Zimmerman - 4 for 5, .800 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI.

Jordan Zimmermann makes his first foray into Interleague play tonight. He's obviously never faced the Orioles. At home, Zimmermann's (1-1) in 3 starts, with no noticeable difference in #'s from his road starts. After winning his first two starts including his debut against Atlanta and a Sunday start in front of 40,000+ in Citi Field, Zimmermann's winless in his last four, over which he's allowed 28 hits and 21 runs in 22.2 IP.

DC Starting Lineup...

1. The Guzzzz - SS
2. Nick "Two-Spot" Johnson - 1B
3. THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! - 3B
4. The Big Single - RF
5. The Hammer - LF
6. Ronnie B. - 2B
7. The Bard - C
8. J-Max - CF
9. Zim(n) - SP

* = STRASBURG FILES...

MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote yesterday, in an article entitled, "Nats to investigate Strasburg's Injury", that the Nationals:

"...are planning to check the medical records of San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg to make sure his back injury is not serious."

• MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article has a video from the game, watch for yourself.

Simmons posted a FANSHOT here the other day entitled, "Strasburg Taken Out Early/Post Game Sound", and for anyone who didn't scream when they saw the title and hurriedly read on and start their own independent investigations (ed. note - "What? I was concerned..."), since then a number of stories have come out which have said that Strasburg just had a cramp in his back and as Washington Post writer Chico Harlan's Nationals Journal post entitled, "Strasburg's injury not serious", quotes "SDSU sports information officer Dave Kuhne" explaining:

"He had a little back cramp," Kuhn said. "Just a cramp in his back. On the lower side. He's walking around now, he's fine. He just needed some Gatorade."

Federal Baseball.com's Official Opinion:

(ed. note - "Just a cynical attempt to get a Gatorade endorsement deal for Strasburg.")

Or, as Federal Baseball.com regular Mezza wrote in the Comments section of simmons' FANPOST:

"Apparently just back cramp - he needed Gatorade...All is well with the saviour."

O's Invade NatsTown©!! Note To O's Fans: "We Don't Scream 'O' During The Anthem Here, Show Some Respect!"

The first game between the new Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles took place on Friday May 19, 2006 in RFK Stadium, as the geographical rivals renewed a feud that had been dormant since the previous Washington team left for Texas over 30 years earlier. The Nationals dropped the first game of that series, but took the next two. Later that season in Baltimore, the Orioles took two of three at home in Camden Yards.

In 2007, the Orioles took 2 more from DC in RFK in a 3-game series, but dropped all three in "Wire" country, and last year the Orioles took 2 of 3 during their first visit to Nationals Park from May 16-19th, while the Nationals took 2 of 3 up in Angelos' park in late June. So heading into today's game, the Washington Nationals hold a 10-8 lead over the Orioles since baseball returned to the nation's capital.

• One of Federal Baseball.com's frequent contributors, and the world's greatest source for Nationals-related links (just check the comments everyday, if it's out there he'll find it), ROSCOEtheNATSfan, posted his, "Preview: Battle of the Beltways" in the comments section of yesterday's game report, and since I liked it, I thought I'd feature it here...

ROSCOE: "I've seen both teams play, obviously more Nats but plenty of O's..."

And, by position, the edge goes to:

Pitching – toss-up
Catching – toss-up (Us, Nieves and Bard – Them veteran Greg Zaun who’s been throwing out a lot of base stealers)
1B – NATS (Roscoe Note - "Forgot about Huff's bat at 1B, that could make a difference.")
2B – Orioles
3B – Nats, though Mora is no slouch
SS – Nats – Guzi’s bat gives him the edge
LF – (assuming Dunn) O’s have a better fielder but he’s a rookie. Tough pick.
CF – If Adam Jones is out there, 100% O’s
RF – O’s
Bullpen – since nobody’s worse, the edge has to go to the O’s. But we have Pro Villone and they don’t.

- Orioles are a better built team but the evil empire just beat them down, and we’re hitting our stride.

- Nats are 3.5 games behind the Orioles according to their records. We avoid their best and worst starters and get the middle three.

Admiral Roscoe, your conclusions.
Well, sir,
the data support no conclusions as yet.
The absence of activity in the Pacific
suggests this could be just an exercise.

(ed. note - "Thanks, Roscoe.")

Game Time: 7:05 pm EST. Live from Nationals Park...

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