Results tagged “joshwillingham”

Nationals 15, Cubs 6: I was practically raised on Eddie Vedder's nearly-unintelligiable snarl, but I can't seem to recall a song in the Pearl Jam catalog which provides quasi-cryptic advice about pitching. Too bad for the Cubbies: the bearded Ved threw out the first pitch at Wrigley last night and he probably could have quoted such a tune (if it existed) to Carlos Zambrano before he gave up eight earned in four and a third last night. Outfielders Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes lit up a number of Cubs pitchers for a combined seven hits, three home runs, and a massive eleven RBIs, seven of which came with two outs. Nationals starter Garrett Mock recovered from giving up an early home run to Zambrano and pitched into the sixth -- although by that point, the Nats were already up by eight, so one probably shouldn't read too much into Mock's numbers. The Nationals are averaging about 4.5 runs per game this season, and in their last seven games, they were right on that number. But sometimes you just get the feeling that they should develop into a much more potent offensive threat, and tonight, they certainly did: as Eddie might say, "it's evolution, baby."

• Nationals 5, Reds 4:: Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Ryan ZImmerman provided all the offense Washington needed to overcome a four-run fifth inning from the Reds and win their first series on the road since the middle of June. The three sluggers had big games in support of John Lannan, who looked incredibly average for the second straight start. Willingham delivered the most impressive blow, a towering two-run homer in the fourth inning with Dunn on base. Not to be outdone, Dunn was an on-base machine, reaching base four times (two doubles and twice hit by pitches) -- while Zimmerman's hit was the most timely of them all, a single which pushed both Dunn and Willingham home to retake the lead. The pen also came up big again: Jorge Sosa (2-1) got five outs in relief for the win, and Mike MacDougle picked up where Sosa left off and got the last four outs for the save, his 13th. The Nationals are off on Monday -- it's probably a good thing, as the team will be focusing all its efforts towards signing Stephen Strasburg before the midnight deadline.
• Liberty 60, Mystics 59: Not a typo there, folks -- this game really was that offensively-challenged. Washington couldn't carry over its momentum after a big double-overtime win against Connecticut two days ago, dropping this ugly one to conference doormat New York. To blame? If dismal shooting from beyond the arc and at the free throws line wasn't enough to assure the loss, fouling the opposition's best player -- Janel McCarville, who had 19 points -- on a final shot McCarville herself called "ugly" certainly did the trick. This one hurts: in a three-way tie for second at the beginning of the night, the Mystics fall all the way to fifth place after the loss.

• Nationals 5, Pirates 3: The Nationals have to be glad that they decided not to trade Josh Willingham -- he continued his torrid form on Sunday, sparking a Washington rally as the club broke a four-game losing streak. Willingham -- hitting in the clean-up slot as Adam Dunn took the day off -- hit a home run in a productive seventh inning which saw the Nationals finally get to Pirates ace Paul Maholm (6-6), who had shut down the Nats lineup through six frames. Willingham also smashed an run-scoring double in the eighth to seal the win; the right fielder, who hit .330 with 8 doubles, 7 homers and 23 RBI in July, has now gotten his August off to a fine start. Former Pirate Sean Burnett (2-2) claimed the win in relief, but youngster Collin Balester put in the hard work, giving up but two runs in 5.2 innings.
• Fever 87, Mystics 79: Three losses to the same team in a shade under two weeks? Rough. On the bright side, at least the Mystics don't have to play Indiana again this season. This go-round went a lot like the previous two -- the Mystics played it close, but faltered down the stretch. Indiana shot nearly 50% from the field and had four players score in double figures. Alana Beard and Lindsay Harding combined for 45 points to lead Washington, but they got little help from the rest of the team in the losing effort.

Nationals 14, Brewers 6: Yeah, good win for the Nats last night, their third in a row. Looking at the box score, lots of positive signs up and down the lineup -- six players scoring at least two runs, so you've got great balance. Ryan Zimmerman homered. Adam Dunn had a couple ribbies and a real nice sliding catch in left field. Tough one for Josh Bard, the only Nationals starting fielder to not score a run, but you know, that happens. Starter Tyler Clippard Craig Stammen was a little bit off his game, but when your offense scores six and seven runs in consecutive innings, that's less of a problem.