Nats Ride Streak into Beltway Series
We were rubbing our eyes last Sunday as we watched the Nationals sweep the Florida Marlins to win their first series of the year. Then they took 3 of 4 from the Braves and knocked them out of first place in the NL East, and now we’re asking ourselves, “Who the hell are these guys?”
With only two of their regular starters hitting over .250 and none of them within shouting distance of .300, they had looked absolutely abysmal offensively in plummeting to the worst record in baseball. But the return of Cristian Guzman, some spunky play from rookie catcher Jesus Flores, and vastly improved pitching combined to help the Nats win 6 out of their past 7 during this current 10 game home stand. Of course, there's always this explanation, from Braves punk/3B Chipper Jones: "It was all us. It had nothing to do with them. You pitch bad, you play bad defense, you don't hit -- you lose."
Interleague play begins this weekend, and with local “rivals” the Orioles set to visit RFK this weekend, it’s a good time for the team to hit their stride. Everybody's (read: the Nationals front office and MASN, who's carrying the games locally) trying to play up the "Beltway series" like it's some great rivalry. It's not yet, but there's no reason why we shouldn't hate them like bitter enemies. Remember folks, as Capitol Punishment points out, Baltimore is the city that killed Barbaro.
Journeyman Jason Simontacchi, who picked up his first win last time out, starts on the mound on Friday, opposite veteran Steve Trachsel for the O’s. Closer Chad Cordero also returns for the Nats after a bereavement leave, but in his absence the relief staff has done well and Jon Rauch has looked dominant as a closer.
Either way, the Nats are 7-4 in one run games, so the problem isn’t late-game pitching. Rather, it’s been their dull bats. Hopefully some of the clutch hitting that highlighted the Braves series – Felipe Lopez’s RBI triple on Thursday and Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off grand slam on Saturday – will provide some more run support for the steadily improving pitching.
Also, you won’t want to miss Saturday’s promotion: The first 25,000 fans – aged 16 and over – in the door get a free Nationals visor, courtesy of Geico. Why, exactly, you have to be 16 years old to get a visor is beyond us – certainly an unconventional way to market to families.