Washington Nationals

A scouting report on the Washington Nationals heading into Saturday night's game against the San Diego Padres and veteran left-hander Eric Stults would surely have noted the defending NL East Champs' .194/.268/.299 line vs LHP, which had them dead last in the National League in each of the three team stats. The Nats' offense produced like one that struggles against left-handed pitching, getting no-hit through five before Kurt Suzuki singled to center in the first at bat of the Nationals' sixth. Washington managed just four hits and one run against San Diego on Saturday night, and they lost 2-1 in spite of a strong start on the part of right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who surrendered seven hits and two runs, one earned, in eight innings pitched over which he threw just 85 pitches, 60 of them strikes. Stults threw 89 pitches, 62 of them for strikes over eight innings. Zimmermann induced nine ground balls outs and struck out six of the 30 batters he faced. Stults struck out five and got 11 groundouts from the 28 Nats' batters he plowed through. The Padres' manager was impressed with Zimmermann's work on the mound in Petco Park. "I thought today, more than what we've seen just in video in [Zimmermann's] past games, the use of the changeup came into play." - Bud Black on Jordan Zimmermann vs the Padres "He was efficient," Bud Black said, "both pitchers were really efficient. You look at the ball-to-strike ratio [for] both guys. Zimmermann was outstanding in that regard, so was 'Stultsy'. I thought today, more than what we've seen just in video in [Zimmermann's] past games, the use of the changeup came into play. He's got a nice, tight slider, no doubt about it, but I thought the use of the changeup, especially early in the count to our guys, was something that we didn't project going into this game and he used it to his advantage." Zimmermann told reporters it was an adjustment he made in-game in reaction to the Padres trying to jump on his fastball early in the count. "I'm going to throw strikes and get ahead," Zimmerman said, "and I noticed the first couple innings they were bouncing on my first pitch fastball, so I mixed up some offspeed and got them to roll over and I think I had like a five or six-pitch inning mixed in there so that's going to help the pitch count." "He pitched very well," Black continued, "You know, this guy's a bulldog. You look at his internal numbers, [they] are outstanding. Look at his record, his ERA, this guy has come into his own after his Tommy John surgery. He's a guy, there's no doubt about it, he's one of the best pitchers in the Nationals League. And to beat him in a low-scoring, tight game. Kudos to our guys." Your browser does not support iframes. "We're not hitting very smart," Johnson said, "I mean, we're swinging at his changeups around the knees or in the dirt. We're not making him throw the ball over -- you know, it's a sign of some inexperienced hitters at times - Davey Johnson on Nats' offense vs Stults Nats' skipper Davey Johnson was impressed with both starters, but bothered by the fact that his hitters didn't take advantage of what the scouting reports told them about Stults. "We're not hitting very smart," Johnson said bluntly, "I mean, we're swinging at his changeups around the knees or in the dirt. We're not making him throw the ball over -- you know, it's a sign of some inexperienced hitters at times. And you've got to be more patient than that against a guy like this. And that's... we're still growing. We're still growing as an offense. And some young guys just need to be a little more patient. Don't try to hit a pitcher's pitch. And that's been some of the problems all year offensively." "[Stults] didn't have a very good fastball," Johnson said, "But you don't look for the junk because he's going to throw the junk out of the zone and have you chasing it. Make him throw it over, make him get it up, and we, all night long we're swinging at... we'll learn

"I feel like I haven't changed anything all year, or changed anything from last year," then-(7-1), 26-year-old Washington Nationals' starter Jordan Zimmermann told reporters after the Nats' 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers this past Tuesday night in Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. Zimmermann was asked what was different this time around that could account for his early-season success. "It's just the way the ball is bouncing right now," Zimmermann said, "And I'm pitching to contact, throwing strikes and I feel if I keep that up I'm going to have a lot more quality starts." If there was one difference, Zimmermann said it was the offense the Nationals had generated in his starts. "It's just, getting a lot more run support this year," the right-hander said, "which is always good." So, of course, Zimmerman threw eight innings on 85 pitches Saturday night in San Diego, and lost 2-1 to the Padres on a pick attempt gone wrong that moved the eventual winning run into scoring position after he and his teammates managed just four hits and one run off left-hander Eric Stults over eight innings in the second-longest start of the Padres' 33-year-old, seven-year veteran's major league career. "It's baseball," Zimmermann said after the one-run loss in the third game of four with the Padres. "We're not going to hit every night and tonight was one of those nights. Their guy threw great and we just couldn't quite get to him." "We're not going to hit every night and tonight was one of those nights. Their guy threw great and we just couldn't quite get to him." - Jordan Zimmermann on 2-1 loss to Padres The Padres scored the second of the two runs they needed to beat the Nationals in the bottom of the eighth when Alexi Amarista botched a sac bunt attempt, but reached first safely, took second on Zimmermann's errant throw by first on the aforementioned pick attempt and scored on a line drive single to center by Everth Cabrera. The other run of the two the Padres scored came in the bottom of the second when 26-year-old San Diego slugger Yonder Alonso hit his fifth home run of the year and just the third Zimmermann's surrendered in 66.2 IP this season into the Petco Porch in right field. "I just made two mistakes," Zimmermann told reporters after the loss, using a variation of the cliche which was actually true in this case. "The home run to Alonso, it was a good pitch. It was up. You can't really complain about that. But the throwing error by me, down the line is what cost us." - Jordan Zimmermann on "two mistakes" he made in loss "The home run to Alonso, it was a good pitch. It was up. You can't really complain about that. But the throwing error by me, down the line is what cost us. I mean, if I don't make that, we're still out there playing." The Nationals' starter said he just pulled the throw to first as he attempted to check the runner and it got by the Gold Glove of Adam LaRoche and into foul territory. When he was throwing the ball toward home, Zimmermann was at the top of his game again tonight. He finished eight innings on 85 pitches, induced nine ground ball outs and struck out six of the 30 batters he faced, retiring ten in a row at one point. The Padres' hitters were aggressive all night, which Zimmermann liked. "That's perfect for me," the pitch-to-contact advocate said, "I'm going to throw strikes and get ahead and I noticed the first couple innings they were bouncing on my first pitch fastball, so I mixed up some offspeed and got them to roll over and I think I had like a five or six-pitch inning mixed in there so that's going to help the pitch count." Zimmermann was being modest, or just honestly didn't know, but he actually had a four-pitch inning in the fourth, and was at 41 pitches after four in Petco Park. He followed that up with an eleven-pitch fifth, an eight-pitch sixth, thirteen-pitch seventh and twelve-pitch eighth that had him up to 85 after eight. Did he think Davey Johnson would have sent

With his three-run home run off Burch Smith in San Diego on Friday night, Adam LaRoche extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games. Another blast a couple innings later confirmed what had been apparent for a week: LaRoche was back to the form that won him a Silver Slugger award in 2012. LaRoche was awful over the first month of the season, posting a .176/.208/.257 line. He was basically hitting like Dee Gordon in a slump. Forget hitting his own weight, he barely slugged his own weight. His numbers in April were actually worse than they were 2011, when he was playing with one shoulder. But after the rough start, LaRoche has bounced back in May, hitting a robust .365/.443/.635 to go along with four long balls. His .452 wOBA in May ranks fifth in the NL--a substantial turnaround after ranking second from the bottom in April. Let's take a look inside the numbers to see how he turned things around. When looking at the 33-year-old's numbers, the thing that immediately jumps out is the difference between his plate discipline stats in April and May. LaRoche is making more contact in and out of the zone. He's also swinging more often despite the percentage of pitches he's seen in the strike zone dropping from 46.3 in April to 40.5 in May. But he's not just hacking at everything; he's swinging at pitches out of the zone at about the same rate he did during April and swinging more often at pitches in the zone. His discipline profile in May is nearly identical to his numbers in 2012, suggesting LaRoche is starting to get more comfortable in the batter's box. His improved approach at the plate has translated into improved walk and strikeout numbers. After posting a 32.6 percent strikeout rate and 9 percent walk rate in April, LaRoche struck out in only 26 percent of his plate appearances while walking in 13 percent of them. In April, LaRoche was taking a lot of hittable pitches but chasing poor ones. Over the first half of May, he's improved in that regard. In the chart below (h/t to Texas Leaguers), you can see how many pitches LaRoche took in April that caught the heart of the plate (Left) compared to his takes during his hitting streak (Right). (Click to enlarge) LaRoche's improved batting eye has led to more favorable hitting counts as well. In April, about 15 percent of the pitches LaRoche saw came in counts in which he was ahead. In May, that number has spiked to 30 percent. Over his career, LaRoche has hit .320/.481/.590 when he's ahead in the count, a situation he's been seeing more often lately. It's also helped that he's seeing less first-pitch strikes--which has a low year-to-year correlation meaning that batters who see a disproportionately high number of first-pitch strikes are unlucky. LaRoche fell behind 0-1 over 66 percent of his at-bats over the first month of the season. During May, that number has dropped to 54 percent, thus helping him to get ahead of pitchers more often. In 2-1 and 3-1 counts, LaRoche doesn't have to worry about breaking balls and off-speed stuff, letting him focus on timing fastballs. He's whiffed on just 1.1 percent of the four-seam fastballs he's seen in May after missing on 11.4 percent of them in April, according to TexasLeaguers.com. Take a look at how much more comfortable he is in this .GIF of his first home run on Friday night compared to his swing-and-miss on a Shelby Miller heaterback in April. There's a lot less wasted motion in the first one and notice how he turns over on his front ankle and loses his balance in the second one. Also, compare two screen shots taken right before the ball crosses home plate in those at-bats. I'm not a hitting coach, but you can see in the home run picture that his top half and bottom half are working together while his hand stay inside the baseball. In the other picture, his bottom half has opened up while his top half remains closed as he flails at the ball. To go along with a smoother swing, luck has finally landed on

Via Fangraphs (click to embiggen) Another wasted CG: Jordan Zimmermann (-1.0% pitching, +10.3% hitting) goes 8 IP, fanning 6 and walking none, giving up a single ER. Too bad the losing unearned run got in scoring position from his errant pickoff throw. He also singled and reached on error on a sac bunt. Hero/not-hero: Steve Lombardozzi (+2.0%) drives in the tying run in the 6th (+16.5%), as well as GDPing to squelch a first-inning rally (-7.2%), and gets caught stealing twice, including the back end of a strike 'em out, throw 'em out in the 9th (-12.6%). Streaking: Adam LaRoche (+4.6%) is 1-3 with a walk. Kurt Suzuki (+6.0%) is 1-2 with a walk. More unhelpful people: Denard Span (-23.2%) hits into a fluky circus-baserunning DP after bouncing a line-drive off the pitcher to defuse a runners 2nd/3rd scoring chance in the 3rd (-16.5%). Ryan Zimmerman (-16.9%) is 0-3 with the front of the 9th-inning K+CS DP (-10.3%). Ian Desmond (-16.6%) is 0-4. Not the worst today! Danny Espinosa (-8.3%) is 0-3 with 2 Ks.

Jordan Zimmermann and losses are two things that haven't been paired together too often this year. But on a night when the Nationals right-hander lowered his already-stellar ERA from 1.69 to 1.62, he absorbed just his second loss of the season, snapping a personal four-game winning streak with a 2-1 defeat against the Padres. Zimmermann (7-2) pitched his major league-best third complete game of the year, but was burned by his own error - a pickoff throw that got past first and put speedster Alexi Amarista on second in the eighth. Amarista came around to score on a single that same at-bat. But even with that, you can't fault Zimmermann for this one. He held the Padres to one earned run on seven hits. He fanned six and walked none. Zimmermann has now permitted just four earned runs in 39 2/3 innings over his last five starts for a 0.91 ERA. Even though the result wasn't the same, the quality of Zimmermann's pitching was. He has now pitched at least into the eighth in four of his last five starts. The Nats only provided minimal support, however, managing just four hits, all off Padres starter Eric Stults, who matched Zimmermann with eight strong innings. Stults gave up one run, walked two and fanned five.

Jordan Zimmermann has been doing an exceptional job keeping opponents in the ballpark of late, which made Yonder Alonso's blast to start the second so striking. Alonso's fifth homer gave the Padres a 1-0 lead over the Nationals, making him the first player to clear the fence against Zimmermann since April 21. The Nats right-hander pitched 36 2/3 innings and four full starts in between homers allowed. Zimmermann came into the game as hot as can be. Overall, he started the year 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA, but he's been even better recently. He went 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA (three earned runs in 31 2/3 innings) over his four starts coming into Saturday. The Nats have the right man on the mound as they look to secure their third straight win and lock down the four-game series against the Padres. But they'll need to come from behind to do it with San Diego out to a 1-0 lead. The Nats are threatening right now, however, with runners on second and third with one out in the third after a fielding error by Jedd Gyorko at first. Update: The Nats were unable to take advantage in the third after a bizarre sequence. Denard Span hit a liner off starter Eric Stults, and the ball went to first. But that awkwardly froze Kurt Suzuki between third and home with Zimmermann trying to advance from second. Suzuki was officially ruled out at home, after the Nats essentially were caught with two players on the same bag. Update II: Zimmermann appears well on his way to another long start, needing just 52 pitches to get through five innings. He has held the Padres to one run on three hits while striking out four. Zimmermann has pitched at least seven innings in each of his last four starts and in six of seven. He isn't getting much help from his offense, however. The Nats have yet to record a hit against Stults as the sixth gets under way. Instant Update: Just had to open my mouth. Suzuki led off the sixth with a single to right for the Nats' first hit and is now on second after Zimmermann's sac bunt. Now let's see if Span or Steve Lombardozzi can bring the catcher home. Instant Update II: Lombardozzi got it done, knocking an RBI single the opposite way to right, scoring Suzuki and tying the game at 1-1. Update III: After starting the night 0-for-2, Adam LaRoche extended his career-long hitting streak to 15 games with a single to right in the seventh. During the streak, he's gone 20-for-51 (.392) to raise his average from .129 to .228. Update IV: The Padres threatened to take the lead in the seventh, putting two men on with no outs against Zimmermann. But thanks to two baserunning blunders by Chase Headley, the teams head to the eighth still tied 1-1. After Headley started the inning getting hit by a pitch, Alonso singled to right. Headley could've easily made it to third on the play, but stopped at second. Zimmermann then induced a couple of flyouts, and with two outs, Chris Denorfia singled deep to the hole at short. Ian Desmond tracked the ball down with a dive, and made a heads-up play to end the inning. Headley wandered a bit past the third base bag and Desmond threw behind him to start a rundown. Instead of a bases-loaded situation, the Nats escaped the jam to maintain the status quo. Update V: The Padres didn't waste their chance in the eighth with the help of the Nats' major league-leading 36th error. John Baker singled to start the frame before pinch hitter Alexi Amarista grounded into a fielder's choice, where Suzuki cut Baker down at second. With Everth Cabrera batting, Zimmermann fired an errant pickoff throw past first, letting Amarista move up to second. Cabrera then drove in the speedy Amarista with a single to center, giving San Diego a 2-1 lead. The Nats head to the ninth with Lombardozzi, Ryan Zimmerman and LaRoche due up. If they can't come through, the Padres will hand Zimmermann his first loss since April 21. Update VI: Zimmermann's winning streak has been snapped at four despite another strong start from the rig

The Washington Nationals entered tonight's game against veteran lefty Eric Stults with a National League low .194 AVG against left-handed pitchers. The Nats' .268 OBP was the NL's lowest as well. The .299 SLG was the 15th of 15 as was their .247 BABIP as a team. They got a leadoff walk by Denard Span to get off to a good start in the third game of four with the San Diego Padres this weekend, but a 6-3 DP and swinging K followed in what ended up being a 13-pitch inning Stults, a 33-year-old, seven-year veteran and one-time Dodger, Rockie and White Sock. Luckily for the Nationals, they had Jordan Zimmermann on the mound, who's done to hitters on both sides of the plate what lefites have done to the Nats so far this season. Opponents had a .197/.232/.272 line and a .230 BABIP (5th lowest in the NL) against the Nats' 26-year-old right-hander before tonight, and Zimmermann threw a quick, 10-pitch, 1-2-3 first in Petco Park, collecting two Ks along the way. Stults needed nine pitches to retire the Nationals in order in a quick, 1-2-3 top of the second. The second pitch of the Padres' second was crushed. San Diego slugger Yonder Alonso got hold of a 1-0 fastball up high inside from Jordan Zimmermann and hit what was just the third home run this season off the Nationals' starter to give the Padres a 1-0 lead in Petco Park. Alonso's fifth. Mark Kotsay singled to center in the next at bat, but a flyout to center and a 5-4-3 DP ended the bottom of the inning after just 10 pitches. 20 overall for Zimmermann after two. Danny Espinosa K'd looking to start the third, leaving him 1 for 18 with 10 Ks so far on the Nationals' west coast road trip. Kurt Suzuki walked with one down and then went first-to-third™ on Jordan Zimmermann's sac bunt attempt when Eric Stults' throw to first went through Jedd Gyorko's wickets. #5Hole. Second and third with one down, but a line drive back to the mound bounced off Stolts' leg and right to first base where Yonder Alonso made the play, looked Suzuki back and stepped on the bag before running over to third where Jordan Zimmermann and Suzuki were both caught at the base. A brief, sort-of-rundown ensued that ended with the Nats' catcher being tagged out for an inning-ending 1-3 DP. Everth Cabrera battled for six pitches before singling to center after Jordan Zimmermann had quickly dispatched the first two Padres in the bottom of the third. Will Venable grounded into a force at second in the next at bat, however, and the Nats' right-handed starter was through three on 37 pitches after a 17-pitch frame. The Nationals went down in order in a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth that had Eric Stults at 50 pitches overall after four innings in which he hadn't allowed a hit. Jordan Zimmermann got the first out of the Padres' fourth with one pitch to Chase Headley, who grounded weakly to first. Five groundouts for Zimmermann in 3.1 IP. Yonder Alonso flew to center on a 1-0 change after crushing a fastball the first time up. A groundout to second by Mark Kotsay ended a four-pitch inning that had Zimmermann at 41 overall after four. The Nationals went down in order in an 8-pitch, 1-2-3 fifth that had Eric Stults at 58 pitches overall after five innings in which he hadn't allowed a hit. Danny Espinosa entered the bat-throwing competition and got a nice toss in as he K'd swinging to end the inning and leave himself 1 for 19 with 11 Ks on the road trip. A groundout to third by Jedd Gyorko and a fly to right on a 3-1 fastball by Chris Denorfia had Jordan Zimmermann through 4.2 on 47 pitches. John Baker battled for five pitches before he went down swinging on the Nats' starter's 52nd pitch of the night. Still 1-0 Padres. The Nationals went down in ord... actually Kurt Suzuki singled to start the Nats' sixth. Jordan Zimmermann successfully bunted Suzuki over again this time up, and Yonder Alonso made a successful throw to first this time where Stults had erred. Denard Span flew to center for out no.2, however, and Steve Lombardo

With Ross Detwiler's back a concern, the Nationals will turn to long reliever Zach Duke for Monday's start, according to multiple reports from San Diego. Detwiler was forced to leave Wednesday's start after three innings because of spasms in his lower back suffered when reaching for a throw covering first base. An MRI revealed some "irregularity," so the left-hander will miss at least one start. Detwiler has been one of the Nats' most consistent pitchers, going 2-4 with a 2.76 ERA in eight starts. Duke has struggled with the transition from starter to reliever, pitching to an 8.40 ERA (14 earned runs in 15 innings) in eight appearances out of the bullpen. The left-hander will be making his first start since July 10, 2011 with Arizona. As for today's game, Bryce Harper is again out of the lineup, marking the third time he hasn't started in five games since running face-first into the right field wall at the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is not yet known why Harper isn't in the lineup. Update: Harper is sitting out tonight because of a sore left knee, according to reports. Without the 20-year-old, the Nats have Tyler Moore in right and Steve Lombardozzi in left. Jordan Zimmermann takes the mound looking to extend his personal winning streak to five in a row. The right-hander is in the middle of a remarkable run in which he has pitched at least seven innings in four straight starts and in six of his last seven. For the Nats CF Denard Span LF Steve Lombardozzi 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond RF Tyler Moore 2B Danny Espinosa C Kurt Suzuki RHP Jordan Zimmermann For the Padres SS Everth Cabrera RF Will Venable 3B Chase Headley 1B Yonder Alonso LF Mark Kotsay 2B Jedd Gyorko CF Chris Denorfia C John Baker LHP Eric Stults

Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth, who has already missed 16 days on the disabled list, visited a specialist in Chicago to further diagnose his strained right hamstring, Manager Davey Johnson said. The Nationals long expected Werth to return today, but after … Continue reading →

Nationals left-handed reliever Zach Duke will replace Ross Detwiler on Monday in San Francisco, becoming the first rotation replacement the Nationals needed this season. The Nationals are awaiting results of a third MRI Detwiler underwent this afternoon on the right … Continue reading →