Nationals 2, Cubs 1: O, joyous springtime! Baseball is once again upon us in full bloom. And after the first full day of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, the Nationals are on pace to go 162-0. OK, let’s not get too excited—the season opened with a pitchers’ duel in the ivy-covered confines of Wrigley Field.
Stephen Strasburg and the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster kept their opponents’ bats quiet, with the first run of the game coming in the bottom of the fourth inning when Chicago center fielder Marlon Byrd roped a single to left field that brought home Ian Stewart. But after that, Strasburg was impenetrable, facing the minimum number of batters until he was pulled after the seventh inning.
The Nats have Strasburg on a strict inning count this year after he missed the last few months of the 2010 season and nearly all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander in whom Nationals fans put all their faith (and gargantuan hamburger recipes) will be limited to 160 innings this year. Hm, perhaps we should start a Strasburg innings pitched counter:
Innings pitched: 7. Remaning: 153.
But Dempster was even better, holding the Nats scoreless until the eight inning, when he was pulled in favor of Kerry Wood, who proceeded to issue a bases-loaded walk to Jayson Werth. Ian Desmond, who notched three of the Nationals’ four hits yesterday, lashed a single to right field in the ninth inning to bring in the winning run. Brad Lidge recorded the save in his first outing as a National, but not before giving up a triple to Stewart, who was later thrown out at home by Ryan Zimmerman.
The Nationals have today off, and resume their three-game series against the Cubs tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.
Capitals 4, Panthers 2: In the penultimate game of the regular season, the Capitals scratched their way into the NHL Playoffs, nabbing the final seed in the Eastern Conference. Granted, they needed an assist from the Buffalo Sabres, who did them the solid of losing 2-1 to Philadelphia. Not that the Caps’ win was the cleanest of victories—goaltender Michal Neuvirth left in the second period after an apparent leg injury. But the team is just glad to be back in the postseason. “We’re just a group of guys that enjoys playing together and we’ll ride this wave,” Brooks Laich, who scored the game-winning goal, told the Post. The final game of the season, however, holds several possible outcomes for the Caps’ playoff route: Currently the eighth seed, they could win the Southeast Division and jump to No. 3 with a win Saturday over the New York Rangers, who have the best record overall. Or they could wind up seeded seventh if they wind up tied with the Ottawa Senators.
