Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

This is tough. The Nationals have been playing some pretty bad abysmal baseball lately. But there must be one person who gets the Beast of the Week honor, and we give this week’s award to…

Elijah Dukes, OF. The man who has been so troubled off the field has found lots more trouble on the field this year, batting below the Mendoza line. But Dukes seems to be prospering in the two-hole (give credit to Manny Acta here). For the week, Elijah hit .286, .375, .571 with 5 RBI and a home run (a game-winner Thursday night against St. Louis). He certainly has a lot of upside, and any offensive production from the replacement right-fielder will be a huge boost to the team with the worst combined batting average in the majors (.231).

Runners-Up: Jesus Flores, Cristian Guzman, Saul Rivera

The Nationals least of the week is…

Jason Bergmann, RHP. We thought that Bergmann had turned the corner after a terrible start to the season, but he reverted to his old self Friday night against the Giants, giving up 5 earned runs on 10 hits in just 3 innings of work, walking 2 and striking out none. That’s a WHIP of 4.00 and an ERA of 15.00. On a team that’s not hitting, he has to be better than that.

Runners-down: Wily Mo Peña, Felipe Lopez, Luis Ayala

Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

The Nationals Beast of the Week is…

RHP Joel Hanrahan. Joel had a phenomenal spring but suffered a rough start to the season. He’s been pitching very well of late, and had a great week for the Nationals, pitching 5.2 innings in 3 games, surrendering just one run on 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking one. His ERA for the week was 1.59, his WHIP was 0.71. Very impressive numbers for a pitcher who barely made the team in April.

Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Ryan Zimmerman, Luis Ayala

And the Nationals Least of the Week is…

2B Felipe Lopez. Look, it was a great story when Felipe won back his starting job at second base. But since then, he’s been extremely mediocre, to say the least. The former All Star hit .174 for the week, striking out 5 times. His OBP, extremely important for a leadoff man, was an awful .269. He doesn’t only deserve to be moved down in the lineup, he deserves to lose his starting job when Ronnie Belliard comes back from the DL.

Runners-down: Jesus Colome, Matt Chico, Dmitri Young

Around the Beast

Nationals 5-Brewers 1

Jeff Suppan pitched well for Milwaukee until the sixth, when the [long-absent] Washington offense came alive. After J.J. Hardy mishandled a double-play ball, the Nats broke through, scoring on doubles by Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores and on a Lastings Milledge sacrifice ground ball. Wily Mo Peña his his first home run of the year earlier in the first inning, and Suppan drove in the Brewers’ only run of the game.

Odalis Perez pitched well for the Nationals (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 84 P) but left with a no-decision. Brian Sanches, just called up from Triple-A Columbus, struck out the side in the sixth and was credited with the win. Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch closed the door for Washington.

Rockies 5-Mets 4 (F/13)

The Mets dropped their fifth straight game as Matt Holliday hit a walk-off single in the 13th off of Aaron Heilman after homering off of Billy Wagner in the ninth to tie the game (Wagner’s second blown save of the year). It was a back and forth game as neither team dominated on the mound.

Oliver Perez was all over the place for the Mets, going 5 innings allowing 6 hits for 4 earned runs, walking 8 and striking out only 2, and allowing a home run on 110 pitches (just 56 for strikes). Rookie starter Greg Reynolds never dominated for the Rockies, going 6 full innings allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits, walking 3, striking out 5, and allowing 2 home runs on just 84 pitches thrown. He left the game after allowing back-to-back home runs to Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis (who replaced the injured Marlon Anderson) in the 6th.

Driving in runs for the Mets were Luis Castillo, Delgado, Tatis, and Jose Reyes, who got in the home plate umpire’s face after being called out on a very low strike three in the 13th. Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes, and Holliday drove in runs for the Rockies.

Astros 5-Phillies 4

Brandon Backe was superb for the Astros, giving up just one run in 7.1 innings pitched, striking out 6 and walking one. Adam Eaton didn’t pitch terribly for the Phillies (7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO,2 HR, 96 P), but couldn’t keep the ball in the park, giving up two home runs to Hunter Pence.

Also driving in runs for the Astros were former Phillie Michael Bourn (who also stranded three on base), and Carlos Lee (his 36th of the season). For the Phillies, Pat Burrell homered in his second-straight game and Pedro Feliz and Jimmy Rollins also drove runs in.

Diamondbacks 11-Braves 1

Doug Davis returned from cancer surgery in unbelievable fashion, shutting the hot-hitting Braves lineup down for 7 innings, allowing just one earned run on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4 on 89 pitches. His team responded, taking batting practice off of Jo-Jo Reyes (5.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 3 HR) and Chris Resop (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR).

Homering for the D-Backs were Stephen Drew, Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Mark Reynolds. Whew. Kelly Johnson drove in the only Atlanta run of the night.

Giants 8-Marlins 2

Scott Olsen finally came back down to Earth, surrendering 5 earned runs off of 8 hits in just 3.1 innings pitched, walking 3, striking out 2, and allowing a home run on 81 pitches. Olsen drops to 4-2. He was relieved by Doug Waechter, Renyel Pinto, and Tyler Tankersley, who all pitched much more effectively. Dan Uggla homered for Florida (his 15th of the year) in the ninth, driving in both Marlins runs of the evening.

Barry Zito finally got his first win of the season, giving up just one earned run in 6.1 innings of work, walking 4 and striking out 5. Bengie Molina and Jose Castillo homered for the Giants. Aaron Rowand drove in three runs, and Rich Aurilia drove in two more for San Francisco.

Brett Carroll had to leave the game in the fourth inning after separating his right shoulder. He’ll be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

 

Postgame: Nationals 1-Mets 0

What a great pitchers’ dual today, between two very unlikely hurlers. Mike Pelfrey had a no-hitter going for 6.2, and pitched a gem (7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 100 P). Jason Bergmann pitched out of his mind in his first start back with the parent club after a stint at Triple-A Columbus (7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, 103 P), combining with Luis Ayala (who picked up his 11th hold of the year) and Jon Rauch (who picked up his 9th save) to shut out the lifeless Mets offense.

Aaron Boone broke through for the Nationals in the seventh, and was promptly thrown out by Ramon Castro in a bid to steal second base. Jesus Flores subsequently hit his way on base and was driven home by Felipe Lopez.

The Mets looked to rally in the ninth, but were shut down on two great defensive plays. After Carlos Beltran singled to start off the inning, Ryan Church fouled a ball out to left. Willie Harris ran the ball down and made a spectacular catch for the first out. Next up was Carlos Delgado, who lined a ball directly to Rauch, who lined the ball back to third where he caught Beltran (who was running) for the last out.

David Wright and Jose Reyes combined to go 1-8 today. Some serious problems are afoot for the Mets, who are headed to the Bronx tomorrow to face as Johan Santana squares off with Darrell Rasner in the Subway Series. If there was ever a time for the stopper, it is now. Shawn Hill and the Nationals head to Baltimore to face Garrett Olsen and the red-hot Orioles in the Battle of the Beltway tomorrow night.

Postgame: Mets 6-Nationals 3 [BEAST-OFF]

Much better game for the Mets tonight, as John Maine pitched very well from the start (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR). Ryan Church picked up his 30th RBI and 8th HR of the season. Brian Schneider and Jose Reyes also drove in runs.

For the Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman homered off of Maine in the third for his sixth of the season. Rob Mackowiak also drove in a run. John Lannan wasn’t great tonight, going 6 innings with 4 earned runs off of 12 hits, with a walk, two strikeouts, and a home run. Luis Ayala continued to struggle, surrendering an earned run in the eighth on two hits and a walk.

Matt Wise allowed a run in the 7th, but was still credited with a hold, as was Duaner Sanchez, who apparently still has the confidence of Willie Randolph. Billy Wagner notched his eighth save of the year.

Maine continues to be the Maine man, as the rest of the Mets pitching staff remains a wild card. Other than Johan Santana, there’s no one I’d rather see on the mound for the Amazin’s. Should be interesting tomorrow as Claudio Vargas goes against Tim Redding.

-Jonathan Kraft

Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

Tough choice here, but 1B Nick Johnson barely beats Ryan Zimmerman for the Beast of the Week honors. Nick hit .333 for the week, with a home run and 4 RBIs. He walked 8 times, striking out only 3, for a phenomenal OBP of .565. Nick’s bat will be crucial in the Nats lineup, as the failure to drive home Felipe Lopez and Cristian Guzman has been a significant problem thus far.

Runners-Up: Ryan Zimmerman, John Lannan

The least of the week for the Nationals is LHP Mike O’Connor. Having been moved into the rotation to take the place of ineffective starter Matt Chico, O’Connor needed to establish consistency at the back end of the starting five. He failed, going just 3.1, giving up 9 runs, all earned, on 6 hits, walking 6 and striking out just one. His WHIP increases to 2.44 on the season. His ERA climbs to 13.00. Ouch.

Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Felipe Lopez, Luis Ayala

Nationals Pregame: 5/1 vs. PIT

The Game: Pittsburgh Pirates (11-16) at Washington Nationals (11-17)

The Matchup: Zach Duke (0-2, 5.34) vs. Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.31)

The Story: The streaking Nationals look to push their win streak to 4 in a row as they open up against the mediocre Pirates. Perez looks to regain form after starting the season slowly, and if recent times have been any indication, he should get more run support this time than in his previous starts. The Nationals bats are starting to heat up on the backs of Ryan Zimmerman, who is slowly improving from his slow start, and Felipe Lopez, who has been a key part of the Nats offense.

The Nats have been riding on their bullpen, especially on the backs of Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch, and it should be interesting to see how much longer those workhorses can hold up, especially tonight in relief for Perez.

The Bucs are coming off of a 13-1 whopping of the New York Mets, but look for their bats to quiet down significantly this weekend barring any Nats pitching meltdown.

Braves at Nationals BEASTOFF Postgame

Nationals 6-Braves 3

W: Rivera (2-1)   L: Boyer (0-3)

Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals with 3 RBIs, bringing runs home on a solo shot and a 2-run RBI double. The Z-Man provided the spark that the Nats offense has been lacking. Nick Johnson also homered for the Nationals and Lastings Milledge drove two in as well.

Tom Glavine returned to the hill for Atlanta and pitched well, going 6 full innings (6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO) but did not get the run support he needed to defeat the last place DC club. Glavine came away with a no-decision (the loss was awarded to Blaine Boyer) For the Braves, Mark Kotsay, Chipper Jones, and Kelly Johnson drove in runs, with Chipper going yard in his return to the lineup.

For the Nats, Tim Redding continued to pitch well, also going 6 full innings (4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO), but did not pick up the win. The bullpen was mostly flawless, with Saul Rivera picking up the win, and combining with Luis Ayala, Chad Cordero, and Jon Rauch for 1 earned run over three.

The Nationals have now won five of their last seven and have reason to be celebrating tonight (NL Beast may have spotted Ryan Zimmerman at a DC bar after the game).