Results tagged “johnpatterson”

Well, we are reaching the end of the season. The Nationals stand two games away from their stated, and admittedly pathetic, goal of 72 wins -- one better than last year. They have 5 games remaining, two against the Mets and three against the Phillies, all on the road. Given that the Nats are 30-46 on the road this year, these last two wins should be tough. That said, the Mets seem desperate to see the Phillies in the playoffs this year, and the Nats have won three of the last four against Queens' finest, including last night's 13-4 win. Lets face it, anytime your team gives up a home run to Ryan Langerhans you know you are in trouble.

The talk about the Nationals being the worst team in major league history seems to have been slightly exaggerated. That being said, they've been pretty awful in losing 5 in a row, including being swept by the Cubs this weekend. The Nats are 9-22, 10.5 games out of first place in the National League East and 5.5 behind the fourth place Phillies. And they face the surprising Brewers, who have the best record in baseball,...

Put the champagne on ice, kids. The Nats, at 4-9, are threatening to climb out of last place for the first time since last June, ahead of struggling Philadelphia. Both teams are 4.5 games back, but the Nats have one more win thus far. Try washing down your $90 million payroll with that, Phils fans! After a dreadful first turn through the rotation, the Nats starters have rebounded with some impressive performances as of late....

Maybe it was the indignity of the Marlins spoiling the last Opening Game ever in RFK. Maybe it was the insufferable Aramark concessionaires, who insist that it's perfectly acceptable to run out of buns in the fifth inning of the first damn game. Maybe it's the humiliation of the long winless streak to the other presidents. There's no telling. Something, though, was terribly amiss in that giant head of Teddy Roosevelt's during the Nat's 9-2...

We're still a couple of weeks away from putting together a comprehensive Nats season preview like last year's, but we just wanted to pass along this sunny bit of optimism from the Sports Bog: Vegas gives our motley bunch 1:300 odds to bring home a World Series trophy this year - the longest odds in baseball. This year's roster, plus a heap of injury-riddled regurgitation known as "non-roster invitees" begin assembling in Viera this week...

You may have heard: some team called the Redskins plays their season opener this weekend. It seems as though that team has some sort of local following, so attention may start to shift away from baseball in the region soon.

The Washington Nationals found themselves in a familiar position Sunday afternoon. After dropping their first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats again were trailing in the third and final game of the series. Down 3-1 in the seventh, and in danger of being swept for the fourth time in a month's time, the Nationals turned to pinch-hitter Alex Escobar. With Jose Guillen on board with a walk, Escobar drilled a shot over...

The Washington Nationals arrived at this year's All-Star Break in ignominious fashion, suffering their fifth sweep of the season at RFK. This time, the Nats were victimized by the San Diego Padres. After a successful series against Florida earlier this week, the Nats could smell second place in the NL East. They now find themselves amid the musky odor of the division's basement. That they played the Padres so closely only adds to the...

With Mother Nature tossing lightning and thunder, space shuttle Discovery shooting across the Florida sky, and the pyrotechnics on the National Mall, the Nats' little matinee date with the Marlins was easy to overlook yesterday. Only 23,000 showed up for the game between NL East also-rans played under threatening skies. But rookie RBI machine Ryan Zimmerman would have none of it. He launched some fireworks of his own with a walk-off homer in the bottom...

John Patterson may make his return by Friday of this week against the Orioles, and not a moment too soon.

In the 70's, Karen Carpenter sang that "Rainy Days and Mondays" always got her down. Well, this would chart as a real downer, as today combines the two. On a cheerier note, Saturday morning I took in the unveiling of Cultural DC's Shaw Heritage Trail, which included a fabulous performance by the Shiloh Baptist Church choir and had a great turn-out from the community; check out the Trail, and the local Shaw businesses, sometime in...

The Nationals enter the weekend needing reverse some serious negative momentum. Thursday night’s 6-2 loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis made for five straight. The Nats haven’t led in a game since late Sunday, a streak now at 38 innings—during which they’ve been outscored 23-10. They now trail the Mets by 7.5 games in the NL East. Last night, recent call-up Michael O’Conner made an emergency start as John Patterson nurses his sore...

This entry was written by DCist contributor Benjamin Kabak.

This entry was written by DCist contributor Ben Kabak.

Damn it. Baseball doesn't make it easy on the Nats. Last year, the team opened their season with an extra long road trip to allow time for final RFK upgrades. This year RFK is in good shape (relatively), but Washington will still kick things off with six games on the road, beginning with three against the spend-happy Mets. In yesterday's afternoon opener at Shea, the Nats avoided Pedro and played well, but one more elbow...

It's been a rough spring training for the Nats, particularly where pitching is concerned, and the approaching World Baseball Classic might induce some additional nervousness for Washington fans, as Nationals' arms are put to the test. Fireballing Mets reliever Billy Wagner withdrew from the U.S. roster yesterday, allowing Nats relief pitcher Gary Majewski to step into his spot. Majewski joins closer Chad Cordero on the American team, while Washington players Luis Ayala and Tony Armas...

Seriously, the boos aren't helping. Last night, in the top of the third with two outs and two on, John Patterson struck out Barry Bonds to end the threat. Patterson returned to the dugout in happy kid form, practically skipping his way off the field. Bonds went down again in the fifth and was intentionally put on in the seventh. It was almost an uneventful night for the slugger. Except for that time up in...

Stick a fork in 'em? The Nationals' three game cross-country trip to San Diego, which started out on a high note with Friday night's 5-1 victory (John Patterson was brilliant - 9IP, 3H, 0BB, 1R, 6K), ended in the worst way possible: back-to-back heartbreaking losses that might have finally, quietly, snuffed out their 2005 playoff hopes. As you remember, the banged-up Nats left for the West Coast on Thursday a giddy bunch, with their...

Well, they just won't go away, will they now? In winning their last two straight against the Mets, your Washington Nationals have made up a little ground in the Wild Card standings. Hector Carrasco took the baton from an ailing John Patterson on Tuesday night, coming through with four solid innings and setting the tone for a 4-2 win (Rauch, Eischen, Majewski, and Cordero combined for five scoreless innings). Last night, Esteban Loaiza gave most of the members of the beleaguered bullpen a much needed breather, tossing seven gritty innings (7H, 3R, 0BB, 5K) to pitch the Nats to a 6-3 victory (Cordero earned his 46th save). Livan Hernandez takes the hill for the Nats this afternoon with a chance to sweep the series.

After a promising start to the weekend (a 4-1 win on Friday night), the Nationals dropped back-to-back games to the Cardinals in all too familiar fashion: Back-to-back 6-0 losses to the best team in baseball, and consecutive no-shows by the Nats' bats. Saturday, the Nats had no answer for the previously struggling Jason Marquis, managing just two hits. Yesterday they collected just four hits and two walks. It all adds up to another series' loss...

Last Friday, the television behind the bar at Bar Pilar was switched from a tie ball game between the Nationals, who were then a half game off the wild card, and their division rivals the New York Mets to a preseason Redskins game. On Saturday night (or perhaps Friday, as well; we can't be sure how quickly these things turn around) a measure of karmic retribution was exacted, as the Nats erased an eight...

A weekend trip to Colorado might have been just what the doctor ordered for the oft offensively-challenged Washington Nationals, who appear to be breaking out of their offensive doldrums just in time for the second leg of their make-or-break 13 game road trip. After a 4-2 win Friday and an 8-0 thrashing Saturday night, the Nats completed the three game sweep by pounding the Rockies 9-2 yesterday. More importantly than winning (and sweeping) their first...

Hot town, summer in the city...and the Nationals continue to tumble, dropping three of four to the Astros. It appeared that the Nats had hit bottom and there was nowhere to go but up after being outclassed by Roger Clemens and nearly pounded back to Montreal 14-1 on Friday night, especially after a 4-2 win and superb performance by Tony Armas (7IP, 1H, 2ER) on Saturday evening. But apparently there was a little more...

After dropping three of four in Milwaukee over the weekend, the Nationals hit the reset button and return home for a seven game homestand, welcoming NL West bottom-feeder Colorado to DC for a three game series that begins tonight. The Nats lead the NL East by 1.5 games over the Atlanta Braves, who split a four game series with the NY Mets over the weekend. The good news is that the Nats have played lights-out at home (best home record in baseball). The bad news is that the Nats' offense continues to sputter. The good news is that the Rockies have lost four in a row and share the dubious distinction of owning the lowest win total in the majors (31) with the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays; mere percentage points separate the Rockies from the worst record in baseball. The bad news, again, is that the Nats' offense continues to sputter. In theory, the series against Colorado should be a good opportunity for the Nats to beat up on a bad team.

Editor's Note: As many of you are well aware, this post was riddled with errors. See comments for our public whipping.

With their 5-4 win last night in Pittsburgh, your Washington Nationals took the series against the Pirates two games to one and notched their second series win in three tries on their latest road trip. Staying with the formula that got them into first place, last night's win was a total team effort. After giving up two home runs early, starter John Patterson, settled down in the third. "After the second inning, I could've gone...

After being swept by the woeful Reds (21-31) last Thursday, the Nats' prospects against the non-woeful Cardinals (33-18) looked pretty bleak. Friday's inevitable loss brought the team to .500, a low since late April, when the team record was just 11-11. Then Saturday's "L" put them under the halfway mark for the first time since the Nats' seventh game of the season, where they fell to division rival Atlanta. But then something happened: the Nats...

It was starting to look a little dismal for the Nationals. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Nats had lost six of their last eight games (although it'd be unfair not to point out that they murdered the Mets 11-4 on Sunday). But then a funny thing happened: Nick Johnson drilled a home run into the right-center stands in the first inning. Caveat one: Yes, the Phillies had already scored a run of their own. But...