Tonight's Top 5:
5. Thanks, Kyle. Philly right-hander Kyle Kendrick gives up a one-out single to Ian Desmond in the first, then walks Adam Dunn with one down and Roger Bernadina and Adam Kennedy with two down, forcing in a run when Desmond comes home from third on the bases-loaded free pass to Kennedy. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez is up next and he lines a two-run single to center to set Stephen Strasburg up with a 3-0 lead before he even takes the mound. When Stras does, he drops a 2-2 bender on Jimmy Rollins, makes Placido Polanco flinch with a curve before a groundout to short and gets Chase Utley reaching for a 92 mph change that gets rolled out to second for a scoreless first by Stras.
4. 6-Pitch Third: It may have been the perfect Strasburg inning, if it wasn't for the bad form of throwing an 0-2 bender to a defenseless pitcher. Stephen Strasburg needs just six pitches to get through a quick 1-2-3 third. Brian Schneider grounds to short on the second pitch he sees, Ian Desmond makes a slick charging play to get the former Nats' catcher. Kyle Kendrick flails at an 0-2 curve. Jimmy Rollins is first-pitch swinging and he grounds out to Strasburg, who steps and throws to first.
3. He Was Due: Placido Polanco, hitless in his last 12 at bats before tonight's game, and 0 for 1 with a groundout tonight before he doubles off the left-center wall to start the Phillies' fourth and then moves to third on a groundout by Utley before scoring on a groundout by Ryan Howard. Strasburg gets Shane Victorino looking at a full-count curve, but the Phillies push a run across the plate to get in the game, 5-1 Nats after four. Strasburg at 48 pitches through four...Prepare yourself...
2. DANGER!! DANGER!! Shut Strasburg Down!: The Nats' '09 No.1 overall pick, the best pitching prospect in a decade, is now possibly injured for the second time, (I know the first DL stint wasn't an "injury"), after being pulled from the game when he shows noticeable pain in his arm after throwing a 2-1 change to Phillies' outfielder Domonic Brown. Immediately upon releasing the pitch, Strasburg winces and pulls his arm back quickly. Strasburg's seen examining the inside of his forearm/elbow, noticeably enough for Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman, Pitching Coach Steve McCatty and the team's trainer make a trip to the mound and after which they eventually pull him. NatsTown falls silent...
• Post Game Reports:
• @markzuckerman: "#Strasburg flexor tendon in forearm strain. MRI tomorrow."
• @NatsTownNews: "Strasburg left tonight’s game with strained flexor tendon in right forearm. Mri tomorrow in dc."
• @InjuryExpert (aka Will Carrol): "Word I'm getting on Strasburg is flexor tendon, which matches up with grabbing his wrist. Lots of levels with that injury, so wait and see."
• @Buster_ESPN: "Watching Strasburg walk off with an apparent injury reminded me of what one evaluator said: "Maybe throwing that hard is actually a curse."
1. Nats Win, No Celebrating In NatsTown: Roger Bernadina's 3-run HR in the top of the ninth gave the Nats a fairly secure 8-1 lead, but all Nats fans were thinking about as the game wound down was what the beat writers following the Nationals would have to report after the post game press conference...But...
....before the game was over, Roger Bernadina provides fans with one more highlight when he scales the wall in left and robs Ryan Howard of extra bases or possibly more when he pulls the ball back into the field of play and throws to second almost doubling up Chase Utley. Web Gem for sure. Bernadina finishes the night 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI"s on his 7th HR of 2010. Ian Desmond goes 4 for 5 with two runs scored. Desmond seems to like the two-spot, and his strong defense is making some forget or least not obsess on the errors. Speaking of which...E: 97 - Craig Stammen misplays a weak grounder from Placido Polanco and throws late to first to put runners of first and third before Doug Slaten replaces him to get the Nats out of the sixth...Nyjer Morgan hits his 7th triple of 2010, Zimmerman his 27th double, and four relievers: Stammen, Slaten, Tyler Clippard and Miguel Batista combine for 4.2 scoreless after Strasburg leaves the game. That is all.
• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...
| Num | Name - Comments |
|---|---|
| 1 | RobBobS - 141 |
| 2 | plebescite - 94 |
| 3 | grizzy - 91 |
| 4 | MissB - 88 |
| 5 | gannett123 - 19 |
| 6 | souldrummer - 17 |
| 7 | HarmonK - 16 |
| 8 | Blicks - 14 |
| 9 | ROBOT UMPIRE - 6 |
| 10 | Brotato - 4 tie |
| 10 | bluelineswinger - 4 tie |
• Final Score: Nats 8, Phillies 1.
Nationals now 53-70.
• FULL GAME REPORT:
1 - Philly right-hander Kyle Kendrick gets a groundout to second from Nyjer Morgan to start the second of three in Citizens Bank. Ian Desmond goes back up the middle for a one-out single. Adam Dunn takes a one-out walk in front of Ryan Zimmerman. Zim grounds out to second, but both runners move up. Roger Bernadina takes a two-out walk. Adam Kennedy walks to force Desmond in. 1-0 Nats. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez lines a two-run single up the middle to bring Dunn and Bernadina home and make it 3-0 Nats. Willie Harris grounds to second, Chase Utley makes a diving play and throws Harris out...Jimmy Rollins watches a 2-2 curve fall in outside for a called strike three. Placido Polanco grounds out to short. Strasburg gets a grounder to second from Utley and has a scoreless first.
2 - Strasburg grounds out to Rollins at short. Nyjer Morgan triples off the out-of-town scoreboard in right, over Domonic Brown's glove and almost out. Ian Desmond grounds weakly to Kendric with Morgan coming home, and Kendrick throws to Brian Schneider in time to get him. Two down. Adam Dunn flies out to left. 3-0 Nats in the second...Ryan Howard lifts a curve outside to center for a leadoff single. Shane Victorino takes a hack at a full-count change outside but has no chance. Raul Ibanez gets the same change in an 0-2 count. 3 K's. Domonic Brown grounds to short, 1-2-3 for Stras.
3 - Ryan Zimmerman doubles to center and off the wall on a hop to start the Nats' third. Roger Bernadina follows with a line drive single to right. Adam Kennedy battles for eight pitches and then lines an RBI single to right to score Zim and make it 4-0 Nats. Pudge Rodriguez grounds to first and off Ryan Howard, Ultey's got no one to throw to. Bases loaded. Willie Harris takes an 0-2 fastball under the arms for a called strike three. Stephen Strasburg hustles down the line to beat out his own DP grounder and allow Bernadina to score. 5-0 Nats. Morgan flies out to left, 5-0 Nats after two and a half...Strasburg gets a quick out on a grounder to short by Brian Schneider. Kyle Kendrick swings through an 0-2 curve. Strasburg throws out Rollins on a grounder to the mound.
4 - Ian Desmond singles to start the fourth and Adam Dunn walks to put two on for Zimmerman. Kyle Kendrick gets a DP grounder right to Utley at second, to Rollins and on to Howard, double play. Roger Bernadina grounds out to second to end the Nats' fourth...Placido Polanco lines one off the wall in left-center for a leadoff double. Utley's groundout to second moves Polanco up and Ryan Howard's groundout to second scores him from third, 5-1 Nats. Shane Victorino takes a full-count curve outside for a called strike three.
5 - Adam Kennedy flies out to center. Pudge grounds back to the mound. Willie Harris K's looking at the same pitch he K'd looking at earlier...Raul Ibanez holds up, but it's a strike anyway, as Strasburg drops a 1-2 bender on Ibanez for a called strike three. Strasburg throws a 2-1 change to Domonic Brown and experiences a noteable issue with his right arm that causes him to wince in pain and check/look at the inside of his forearm/elbow. Strasburg's done. Craig Stammen gets a groundout to second from Domonic Brown to finish Strasburg's at bat. Stammen gets a groundout from Brian Schneider to end the fifth. 5-1 Nats.
6 - Kyle Kendrick gets back-to-back groundouts from Craig Stammen and Nyjer Morgan before giving up a two-out single to Ian Desmond. Kendrick's replaced by J.C. Romero, and the reliever gets Adam Dunn swinging to end the top of the sixth...Stammen gives up a leadoff double to Ben Francisco to start the Phillies' sixth. Jimmy Rollins' groundout moves Francisco to third. Craig Stammen misplays a weak grounder from Polanco. First and third, one down for Doug Slaten. Utley pops out to short. Ryan Howard K's trying to hold up on a slider outside. 5-1 Nats.
7 - Ryan Zimmerman pops out to short. Roger Bernadina runs into his own bunt trying to get out of the box. Adam Kennedy grounds back to the mound and J.C. Romero's got a quick scoreless frame...Slaten gets a groundout from Shane Victorino for the first out of the inning. Raul Ibanez K's swinging. Mike Sweeney grounds to short, and Ian Desmond makes a strong throw to end the frame.
8 - Jose Contreras gets a groundout to short from Pudge Rodriguez. One down. Willie Harris singles to right and then steals second as Kevin Mench K's. Nyjer Morgan grounds weakly to second to end the Nats' eighth...Tyler Clippard strikes Brian Schneider out, swinging K. Adam Dunn gets over to the first base dugout to catch a pop from Ben Francisco. Jimmy Rollins hits a two-out double off the out-of-town scoreboard, but Clippard gets a groundout from Polanco to end the frame.
9 - Chad Durbin gives up a leadoff single to left by Ian Desmond. Adam Dunn walks to put two on for Zimmerman. Zim K's looking for Durbin's first out. Roger Bernadina tags a fastball low and inside and drives it out to right for a 3-run blast and an 8-1 lead over the Phillies. Adam Kennedy grounds out to first. Ivan Rodriguez K's swinging...Miguel Batista walks Chase Utley to start the ninth. Ryan Howard flies deeep to left and ROGER BERNADINA CLIMBS THE WALL TO ROB HIM OF EXTRA BASES OR MORE!! Brilliant catch by Bernadina and he almost doubles up Utley on the throw in. Shane Victorino K's looking. Raul Ibanez walks with two dow. Jayson Werth flies out to Morgan to end the game, 8-1 Nats.