Next Game
Baltimore Orioles
@ Washington Nationals
Sunday, May 24, 2009, 1:35 PM EDT
Nationals Park
Brad Bergesen vs Shairon Martis
Partly cloudy,rain. Game time temperature around 80.
?'s For The DC Faithful...
• Will Smarty Stop The Losing?
• WHERE IS JESUS FLORES?
• Dukes? Don't Listen To Them, Get Back Out There!!!
• Is There A Rivalry With The Orioles?
• Who's Gonna Miss A Smarty Start?
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Today's Starting Pitchers...
Six starts into his MLB career, the Orioles' 23-year-old righty Brad Bergesen is (1-2) with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 6 starts and 33.2 IP over which he's allowed 43 H, 22 R, 20 ER, 5 HR's and 12 walks while collecting 16 K's. The Nationals' 21-year-old righty Shairon Martis is (5-0) 8 starts into the '09 season, and 12 starts into his own major league career, having made 4 starts and 1 relief appearances at the end of the '08 campaign. In 47.2 IP this year, Martis has given up 45 hits, 25 runs, 24 earned, 4 HR's and 19 walks, while striking out 23.
Bergesen's one win came in his first '09 start, since then he's 0-2 in 5 appearances. Martis has won 3 of his last 5 outings and 5 of the last 7, though he received a no-decison in his last start on Tuesday against the Pirates, after having given up 5 hits and 5 ER in 6.0 IP. Martis vs Bergesen...1:35 pm EST at Nationals Park...Smarty puts his undefeated streak on the line in a must-win (What?) game against the Orioles...
DC Starting Lineup...
- The Guzzzzz - SS
- Nick "Two-Spot" Johnson - 1B
- THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! - 3B
- The Big Slumpy - RF
- THE HAMMER - LF
- TAWH - CF
- Ronnie B. - 2B
- Wil "Blocker" Nieves - C
- Smarty - SP
DO NOT TRADE NICK JOHNSON...UPDATE...
According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson's blog post entitled, "Nick Johnson continues to be subject of trade rumors", the Nationals' original plan after signing Adam Dunn was to ship Johnson out and have Dunn play first with Josh Willingham in left. (ed. note - "...and then they watched the WBC?") Johnson's success this season probably makes him more attractive to those teams currently searching for a first baseman, but Mr. Ladson quotes "Acting" DC GM Mike Rizzo in the post, who explains that Johnson:
"'...is an extremely valuable player. He is fourth or fifth in the league in hitting,' acting general manager Mike Rizzo said. 'We need him here and we like him here. If someone overwhelms us with a deal that we can't refuse, of course, we are going to listen to a deal about Nick or anybody else. He is an extremely valuable player for us.'"
Chico (The Writer) Talks To Chico (The Pitcher)...
According to a Nationals Journal post by Washington Post writer Chico Harlan entitled, "An Infirmary Report", which provides updates on those Nationals currently coming back from injury, left-handed pitcher Matt Chico, who's recovering from Tommy John surgery, reports that he's, "throwing three-inning, 50-pitch games in extended spring training", and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as the extended spring training ends. Do you think Matt Chico will be seen in DC again?
STRASBURG FILES...
Stephen Strasburg's collegiate career might have ended with San Diego State University's loss to the Utah Utes on Saturday night. In an article entitled, "Aztecs Drop MWC Title Contest, 9-3, to Utah", the anonymous SDSU site scribe writes that following the loss, which handed Utah an "automatic berth" in the NCAA Tournament:
"San Diego State will now have to wait until Monday morning (May 25) when the NCAA hosts in annual tournament selection show to see if it will receive an at-large bid to the postseason. That show will be broadcast live on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. (PT)."
Including his last start, Strasburg is now (13-0) record in 14 starts and 102.0 IP over which he surrendered 57 hits, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR's, 15 runs, 14 ER and 9 walks while piling up 180 K's and holding opponents to a .164 AVG.
Get Inside The Mind Of The O's Fan at The SBN's Baltimore Orioles blog:
Check the NatCast if you're heading to Nationals Park...
Who's Watching The Nationals?