Tonight's Top 5:
5. THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!: Knee high fastball inside and low and GONE!! Ryan Zimmerman hits a two-run HR to center off LA Dodgers' right-hander Hiroki Kuroda one out after Roger Bernadina starts the game with a leadoff walk. 2-0 Nats early on Zimmerman's 22nd HR of the year. A year ago Saturday, after 110 games last season, the Nats' FOF™, who'd played in 106 games, had 21 on his way to 33 on the year...
4. E: 87: Livan Hernandez loads the bases with one out in the fourth, having held the Dodgers hitless through the first ten at bats. A one-out single by Ryan Theriot, a double by Andre Ethier and a one-out walk to James Loney and the bases are loaded for Matt Kemp. Kemp takes an 0-1 sinker to right and to the wall...Michael Morse reaches up and pulls it back in. Morse makes the catch, pulling the potential slam off the wall. Morse fires in as Theriot tags and scores from third. Adam Kennedy cuts the throw and fires to first trying to catch Kemp, but no one's home, the second/tying runs scores on the error. Adam Kennedy's 9th, the Washington Nationals' league-leading 87th...2-2 game.
3. Kuroda Shuts Nats Down: After allowing back-to-back one-out singles in the second, Dodgers' right-hander Hiroki Kuroda retired 17 straight, leaving the game for a pinch hitter after the Nationals went down in order in the seventh. Kuroda allows just the two runs he surrendered on Zim's first inning dinger. The Nats go 0-5 with runners in scoring position on the night with the only runs scored on HR's for the third game in a row. Kuroda throws 88 pitches, 66 for strikes over 7.0 innings in which he gives up just 3 hits, 1 walk and the 2 ER. 8 K's for Kuroda, who receives no decision...
2. 5-Man Infield: It's still tied at 2-2 after nine and a half when Ryan Zimmerman strikes out to strand two. Nats' lefty Sean Burnett gives up a leadoff walk to Ronnie Belliard and surrenders a single to Scott Podsednik that puts runners on first and third with no outs. After a visit to the mound, Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman goes with a 5-man infield and it works, with Michael Morse (the right fielder) making a 9-3 putout from the grass behind the mound. Andre Ethier gets the intentionals. James Loney gets the game winner on a hanging 1-0 bender from Burnett. 3-2 Dodgers.
1. El Gordo: There's nothing better than listening to Dodgers' institution Vin Scully call a game, especially when he tells you things about your own players you never knew. I'd never heard of El Gordo, and I've been following Livan Hernandez's career fairly closely since he was traded to the Montreal Expos in March 2003, but I've somehow never heard the story of how the then-20-year-old right-hander defected from Cuba. To hear Mr. Scully tell it like a serial mystery spread out over the course of an inning between pitches and plays is the only way to hear it told. Go back to last night's broadcast somehow and listen to him tell it...or you can read about the undercover fan, the picture of the Fat Man, the late night phone calls and Livan almost getting hit by a car as he defected in an article from the Sun Sentinel.com article by Gordon Edes entitled, "Intrigue, Marlins And The Fat Man". Great stuff. On the mound tonight, Livan throws 3.0 hitless before giving up two hits, a walk and a sac fly on which the Nats commit the error that ties it....
• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...
| Num | Name - Comments |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mevans12 - 163 |
| 2 | souldrummer - 151 |
| 3 | grizzy - 127 |
| 4 | Doghouse - 107 |
| 5 | ajk9hy - 95 |
| 6 | sweetpearacer - 81 |
| 7 | Jorgath - 67 |
| 8 | MissB - 56 |
| 9 | RobBobS - 53 |
| 10 | Perry Mason - 34 |
• Final Score: Dodgers 3, Nats 2.
Nationals now 49-62.
• FULL GAME REPORT:
1 - Dodgers' right-hander Hiroki Kuroda walks the Nats' leadoff batter, Roger Bernadina. Ian Desmond pops out to James Loney at first for the first out of the game. Ryan Zimmerman gets a hold of a low fastball and drives it out to center and GONE!! Two-run blast and a 2-0 lead. Adam Dunn goes down swinging on three pitches. Josh Willingham grounds out to end the top of the first...Livan Hernandez gets a fly ball to left from Scott Podsednik for the first out of the inning. Adam Kennedy fields and throws out Ryan Theriot. Andre Ethier battles but flies out to deep right where Mike Morse makes the grab.
2 - Mike Morse flies out to Matt Kemp in center. Pudge Rodriguez singles to center off Kuroda. Adam Kennedy works for a line drive single to left to put two on for Livan. Hernandez K's swinging in front of Roger Bernadina. Two on, two out. Bernadina pops out to short, Jamey Carroll with the catch...James Loney grounds out to Adam Dunn, one down in LA's second. Matt Kemp sends the second out to Mike Morse in right. Casey Blake tests Morse again.
3 - Ian Desmond goes down swinging. Ryan Zimmerman swings through a split fastball from Kuroda. Adam Dunn is the third victim, though he battles for seven pitches before striking out....Michael Morse catches a fly ball off Jamey Carroll's bat. Brad Ausmus grounds out to second, two down. Hiroki Kuroda lines to righ--Kennedy leaps to pull it down.
4 - Hiroki Kuroda gets Josh Willingham looking. Casey Blake dives on a grounder with eyes for left hit by Morse, jumps up and throws the Nats' RFer out. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez grounds out to second to end the Nats' fourth...Scott Podsednik flies out to center to start the Dodgers' fourth. Ryan Theriot singles under Kennedy at second for a leadoff hit. Andre Ethier doubles to right and off the wall over Morse's head. Second and third with no outs for Loney. Livan walks James Loney to load the bases. Matt Kemp goes deeep to right, Morse pulls it off the wall. Great catch, Morse throws to Kennedy as the first run scores, Kennedy throws to first, Dunn's not there, no one is, the Dodgers' tie it on the throwing error. 2-2 game. Livan drops a slow curve on Casey Blake to get the K.
5 - Adam Kennedy flies out to left field. Kuroda gets Livan swinging. Roger Bernadina grounds out to Ryan Theriot at second, 2-2 game in the fifth...Jamey Carroll flies out to right, one down. Brad Ausmus singles to center off Livan. Kuroda bunts Ausmus over. Two down. Scott Podsednik grounds out to second to end the Dodgers' fifth.
6 - Ian Desmond vs Kuroda. Swinging K to start the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman flies out to Podsednik in left. Adam Dunn sends a weak grounder to short, Carroll throws to first...Ryan Theriot flies out to right off the end of his bat. Ian Desmond backs up into short left to catch the second out off Andre Ethier's bat. James Loney hits a ground-rule double out to right with two down. The Nats walk Kemp intentionally to bring Blake up with two on and two out. Casey Blake takes a full-count pitch for ball four. Bases loaded. Jamey Carroll grounds to third. Inning over.
7 - Josh Willingham flies out to left, one down. Jamey Carroll charges a grounder by Michael Morse and throws to first, in time! Ivan Rodriguez grounds out for Kuroda's 17th straight batter retired...Brad Ausmus grounds out to second. Reed Johnson hits a pinch hit double to right. Scott Podsednik grounds out to second, Johnson takes third on the groundout. Ryan Theriot goes down swinging at a full-count change.
8 - Scott Podsednik makes the grab on a fly ball to left from Adam Kennedy. Kevin Mench hits a one-out single to center off LA reliever Hong-Chih Kuo. Roger Bernadina bunts for a single, moving Mench over. Ian Desmond K's looking at an 0-2 fastball. Ryan Zimmerman walks with two down. Adam Dunn pops an 0-2 fastball up, three down, still 2-2...Doug Slaten strikes Andre Ethier out. One down. James Loney grounds out to Kennedy at second. Joel Peralta replaces Slaten and gets a groundout to short from Matt Kemp to end the eighth.
9 - Jonathan Broxton to pitch the top of the ninth. Josh Willingham walks to start the frame. Michael Morse grounds to short, Jamey Carroll to Theriot to James Loney, double play. Pudge grounds out to first, Broxton holds it tied at 2-2....Joel Peralta vs Casey Blake. Blake fouls strike three into Pudge's mitt. Jamey Carroll flies out to the Hammer in left. Brad Ausmus K's swinging to end the ninth.
10 - Broxton gets Kennedy swinging. Alberto Gonzalez reaches first on an error by Casey Blake. Roger Bernadina grounds into a force at second. Two down. Willie Harris walks to get Zimmerman up with two down. Broxton throws a 2-2 fastball by Zimmerman to end the Nats' tenth...Sean Burnett takes over in the tenth and walks Ronnie Belliard to start the frame. Scott Podsednik lines to right on an 0-2 pitch from Burnett. First and third. Ryan Theriot faces a five-man infield. Groundout to Morse behind the mound, one down. Still 2-2. Andre Ethier gets the intentionals. James Loney lines a curve from Burnett to right, ballgame.