• Today's Top 5:
5. Detwiler Not As Sharp: A leadoff walk by Nyjer Morgan, a single to center by Alex Cora on an 0-2 pitch from Astros' righty Brett Myers and an RBI line drive to left by Jayson Werth get the Nationals out to an early 1-0 lead with Morgan going first to third on Cora's hit and the veteran infielder going first to third on Werth's. Your new, more athletic Nationals then get a sac fly from Michael Morse that scores Cora from third and left-hander Ross Detwiler has a 2-0 lead before he takes the mound.
Detwiler threw a quick, scoreless first, but issued a leadoff walk to Bill Hall to start the second and watched Hall go first to third on a Jason Michaels double. Matt Downs forced a grounder through short off Cora's glove to score Hall and Humberto Quintero fouled off a few pitches before lining to left to score Michaels from third and tie it at 2-2, at which point Detwiler got a visit from Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman. A sac bunt by Brett Myers put both runners in scoring position for Astros' prospect T.J. Steele, who lined out to right, but an errant throw by Werth that got by the cutoff man, catcher and the pitcher allowed Downs to score from third for a 3-2 Houston lead.
Detwiler allowed a two-out walk to Bill Hall in the third, but retired Jason Michaels in his last inning of work in what was probably a shorter outing than expected out of the 25-year-old '07 1st Round pick.
• Detwiler's Line: via @NationalsPR: 3.0, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K's, 71 pitches, 43 strikes.
On the Spring, Detwiler, who's battling for the fifth spot in the Nats' rotation, has three walks and ten K's in 12.0 IP in which he's given up 13 hits and six runs, four earned.
4. NMIMHRHH!!: Nyjer Morgan is my HR hitting HERO!!! The Nats got back-to-back singles by Alberto Gonzalez and Laynce Nix off Brett Myers in the top of the fifth to bring Nyjer Morgan to the plate. Now, mind you, the Astros' announcers stated clearly before the game that it was a breezeless 75 degree day in Kissimmee, Florida's Osceola County Stadium. But nonetheless, the 30-year-old light-hitting Nats' center fielder somehow managed to take a line drive out to right for a three-run blast that cleared the wall and put the Nationals up 6-3. How rare is a Nyjer Morgan HR? He didn't hit a single one last season...didn't hit one in Spring 2010, his first Spring Training as a Nat...in fact, we have to go all the way to July 28, 2009, when Morgan hit a solo HR off Carlos Villanueva...
3. Espinosa Update: 23-year-old Nats' infielder Danny Espinosa fouled a pitch off his right foot last night, momentarily causing panic in NatsTown, as Nats fans feared that another one of their top prospects had gone down with an injury on a night that also saw veterans Ryan Zimmerman, Ivan Rodriguez and Michael Morse scratched from the lineup. Espinosa had to be helped off the field, but post game reports had him walking around the clubhouse sans limp and this morning reports said that it was as if he'd never suffered the injury at all. The Nationals and Espinosa went ahead with an x-ray anyway, and during today's game announced the following via the team's Twitter feed:
@NationalsPR: "X-rays on Danny Espinosa's right foot returned negative. Danny will be treated & evaluated on a daily basis. He is listed as "day-to-day."
That sound you hear is a collective sigh of relief from those in NatsTown who, even when Espinosa seemed fine, expected that the x-ray would find something that would once again cause some heartbreak in the nation's capital. Good news for once.
2. "WILLL----SON!!!" MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote this afternoon, in an article entitled, "Ramos could be starting catcher soon", that some of the, "members of the team's think tank believe that catcher Wilson Ramos is ready to take over the No. 1 role right now, according to a baseball source." ESPN.com's Jayson Stark spoke to anonymous sources from other clubs in the "STRIKE TWO -- CAMP BUZZ DEPT.", section of his article today entitled, "Three Strikes: What it's Werth edition", who told him that the Nats are searching for a "veteran back-of-the-bullpen arm" and though their "catching surplus" might be a strength to deal from, "clubs that have asked about Wilson Ramos are being told they're not interested in dealing him because they think he's ready to catch regularly sooner, not later."
The 23-year-old backstop, acquired from Minnesota last July in a deal for Matt Capps, who was at one time the Twins' top catching prospect, put the Nationals up 7-3 in the eighth when he hit his first HR of the Spring to deep center off Astros' right-hander Wesley Wright. Ramos is now 8 for 28 through 11 Spring Training games with a double and a HR. Before the season, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez admitted that he knew Wilson Ramos and Jesus Flores (and Derek Norris) were the future for the Nats behind the plate, but the future Hall of Fame catcher still thinks he has something to offer, and he still wants 3,000 hits...When is it time to step aside for the next generation of Nats' backstops?
1. Peaches Implodes: Why, you might ask, would the Nats be looking for a late-inning reliever like ESPN.com's Mr. Stark suggests? Nats' right-hander Tyler Clippard recorded the final out of the eighth and came back out for the ninth with Washington ahead 7-3. Back-to-back walks to start the frame set Drew Locke up with an RBI opportunity, and the young Astro doubled in a run on a fly ball that somehow got over Roger Bernadina's head in center and made it 7-4. A wild pitch with a runner on third and it's 7-5. An RBI double and it's 7-6 and a run-scoring triple ties the game at 7-7 before Clippard finally surrenders a game-winning single to former Nationals' infielder-for-a-moment Anderson Hernandez, who's walk-off hit gives Houston an 8-7 win. Clippard gives up four hits, five runs, all earned and two walks. On the Spring, Clippard's now given up eight hits, four walks and nine runs, eight earned in five innings this Spring. Maybe another bullpen arm isn't such a bad idea...