Post by Fish Troll on May 26, 2007 11:00:59 GMT -5
Nats' Bowie backed by defense, bats
Lefty picks up first victory; Lopez, Kearns flash the leather
By Bill Ladson / MLB.com
ST. LOUIS -- Entering the 2007 season, manager Manny Acta expected the Nationals to be one of the better defensive teams in the Major Leagues. But injuries to key players such as center fielder Nook Logan and shortstop Cristian Guzman made that quite difficult.
But with all the position players now at full speed, one saw a glimpse of how good the Nationals can be with the leather as they edged the Cardinals, 5-4, at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
It started with second baseman Felipe Lopez in the fifth inning. With the Nationals up, 3-2, the Cardinals had a chance to tie the score. With Aaron Miles on second, one out and left-hander Micah Bowie on the mound, David Eckstein hit a liner which looked like it was going to right field for a base hit. But Lopez dove to his right and made a spectacular catch.
"He came out of nowhere and caught that ball," Bowie said. "Yeah, it fires you up. There was a chance that run was going to score right there. It pumps you up on the mound."
Lopez was leaning toward the second-base bag trying to hold Miles, but, at the last minute, moved to his left.
"I know Eckstein tries to shoot for the hole," Lopez said. "I was holding the guy at second, but I left early to try to cover that hole. Sure enough, Eckstein went that way. I had to run hard and dive. That was the only way I was going to make that play."
Logan increased the Nationals' lead to 5-2 with a two-run double in the top of the sixth off Cards starter Anthony Reyes, but they would need a spectacular play from Kearns to prevent St. Louis from making it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning.
With reliever Winston Abreu on the mound, St. Louis had runners on first and second and Jim Edmonds representing the tying run. On a 2-2 pitch, Edmonds hit the ball to deep right field. The ball was slicing away from Kearns, but he dove and made a sensational diving catch. To top it off, Kearns managed to double up Scott Rolen to end the inning. It was a play Acta called the turning point of the game.
"I didn't know if I was going to have a play or not," Kearns said. "It has so much top spin when Edmonds pulls the ball. It's going away from me. I ended up having a chance. I'm going after it as if I have a play on it. I was going to try to catch it. As I got closer, I realized I had a chance."
In the ninth, with the Nationals winning, 5-4, Miles led off and hit a ground ball to Lopez's right. It looked like another hit, but Lopez dove, made the grab and threw Miles out for the first out of the inning.
"Outstanding. If you put the first man on in the ninth inning -- up by one run -- there is a chance the game may not be saved. That was a great play," Acta said.
Bowie, who started his second game of the season, didn't run out of gas after 50 pitches, like he did in the third inning on Sunday against the Orioles. On Friday, he pitched five innings and gave up two runs on four hits.
"The one on Sunday, I doubled anything I've ever done in [the last few years]," Bowie said about his pitch count. "Once you start stretching out a little bit, you have a little bit more endurance, and I got a little deeper today."
Bowie was able to pick up his first win as a starter since Sept. 23, 1999, when he was with the Cubs. It was his first overall victory since 2002, when he was a member of the Athletics.
"The guys played hard," Bowie said. "They did a great job defensively. I'm glad we were able to pick up a win out of it."
Bowie was given a 3-0 lead by the top of the second against Reyes. Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer and Guzman hit a sacrifice fly.
Bowie's only blemishes came in the bottom of the fourth, when he gave up solo homers to Albert Pujols and Edmonds.
In the eighth, reliever Jon Rauch started the inning and he couldn't get anyone out. He allowed the fourth run of the game on a Rolen single. Jesus Colome entered and put a stop to the rally as he struck out Edmonds and induced Yadier Molina to hit into a double play.
"I wanted to hold the game and try to make a good pitch," Colome said. "I didn't look for the strikeout. I looked only for the ground ball. I got lucky. I got the strikeout and I got the ground ball."
Washington has won four consecutive games, 11 of its last 15 games and improved to 20-29.
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Lefty picks up first victory; Lopez, Kearns flash the leather
By Bill Ladson / MLB.com
ST. LOUIS -- Entering the 2007 season, manager Manny Acta expected the Nationals to be one of the better defensive teams in the Major Leagues. But injuries to key players such as center fielder Nook Logan and shortstop Cristian Guzman made that quite difficult.
But with all the position players now at full speed, one saw a glimpse of how good the Nationals can be with the leather as they edged the Cardinals, 5-4, at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
It started with second baseman Felipe Lopez in the fifth inning. With the Nationals up, 3-2, the Cardinals had a chance to tie the score. With Aaron Miles on second, one out and left-hander Micah Bowie on the mound, David Eckstein hit a liner which looked like it was going to right field for a base hit. But Lopez dove to his right and made a spectacular catch.
"He came out of nowhere and caught that ball," Bowie said. "Yeah, it fires you up. There was a chance that run was going to score right there. It pumps you up on the mound."
Lopez was leaning toward the second-base bag trying to hold Miles, but, at the last minute, moved to his left.
"I know Eckstein tries to shoot for the hole," Lopez said. "I was holding the guy at second, but I left early to try to cover that hole. Sure enough, Eckstein went that way. I had to run hard and dive. That was the only way I was going to make that play."
Logan increased the Nationals' lead to 5-2 with a two-run double in the top of the sixth off Cards starter Anthony Reyes, but they would need a spectacular play from Kearns to prevent St. Louis from making it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning.
With reliever Winston Abreu on the mound, St. Louis had runners on first and second and Jim Edmonds representing the tying run. On a 2-2 pitch, Edmonds hit the ball to deep right field. The ball was slicing away from Kearns, but he dove and made a sensational diving catch. To top it off, Kearns managed to double up Scott Rolen to end the inning. It was a play Acta called the turning point of the game.
"I didn't know if I was going to have a play or not," Kearns said. "It has so much top spin when Edmonds pulls the ball. It's going away from me. I ended up having a chance. I'm going after it as if I have a play on it. I was going to try to catch it. As I got closer, I realized I had a chance."
In the ninth, with the Nationals winning, 5-4, Miles led off and hit a ground ball to Lopez's right. It looked like another hit, but Lopez dove, made the grab and threw Miles out for the first out of the inning.
"Outstanding. If you put the first man on in the ninth inning -- up by one run -- there is a chance the game may not be saved. That was a great play," Acta said.
Bowie, who started his second game of the season, didn't run out of gas after 50 pitches, like he did in the third inning on Sunday against the Orioles. On Friday, he pitched five innings and gave up two runs on four hits.
"The one on Sunday, I doubled anything I've ever done in [the last few years]," Bowie said about his pitch count. "Once you start stretching out a little bit, you have a little bit more endurance, and I got a little deeper today."
Bowie was able to pick up his first win as a starter since Sept. 23, 1999, when he was with the Cubs. It was his first overall victory since 2002, when he was a member of the Athletics.
"The guys played hard," Bowie said. "They did a great job defensively. I'm glad we were able to pick up a win out of it."
Bowie was given a 3-0 lead by the top of the second against Reyes. Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer and Guzman hit a sacrifice fly.
Bowie's only blemishes came in the bottom of the fourth, when he gave up solo homers to Albert Pujols and Edmonds.
In the eighth, reliever Jon Rauch started the inning and he couldn't get anyone out. He allowed the fourth run of the game on a Rolen single. Jesus Colome entered and put a stop to the rally as he struck out Edmonds and induced Yadier Molina to hit into a double play.
"I wanted to hold the game and try to make a good pitch," Colome said. "I didn't look for the strikeout. I looked only for the ground ball. I got lucky. I got the strikeout and I got the ground ball."
Washington has won four consecutive games, 11 of its last 15 games and improved to 20-29.
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070525&content_id=1985626&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=was
