SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010
KLMNO
BASEBALL
NATIONALS 4, METS 3
Washington
C.Guzman 2b
Morgan cf
Zimmerman 3b W.Harris 3b-lf Dunn 1b
A.Kennedy pr-1b Willingham lf
Alb.Gonzalez 3b Desmond ss I.Rodriguez c Taveras rf Lannan p Clippard p Morse ph Capps p
Totals
New York
Jos.Reyes ss Cora 2b
D.Wright 3b Bay lf
Francoeur rf
Matthews Jr. cf Igarashi p Feliciano p Castillo ph Barajas c Tatis 1b
H.Blanco c
Catalanotto ph Mejia p
O.Perez p Pagan cf
Totals
Washington New York
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
5 0 0 0 0 0 .150 4 0 0 0 0 1 .273 3 0 0 0 0 2 .211 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167 3 1 0 0 1 1 .143 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 3 1 1 0 1 0 .375 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 1 1 0 2 1 .308 2 1 0 0 2 0 .400 4 0 2 4 0 1 .333 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 1 0 1 0 0 0 1.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 .167 0000 0 0 ---
31 4 5 4 6 8 — AB R H BI BB SO AVG
4 0 1 0 0 1 .250 4 0 1 0 0 0 .188 3 0 1 0 2 1 .294 4 2 0 0 1 2 .263 4 1 2 0 1 1 .444 2 0 0 0 1 1 .200 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0000 0 0 --- 1 0 1 0 0 0 .182 1 0 0 0 0 0 .294 3 0 1 1 0 0 .273 2 0 0 1 0 1 .000 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- 2 0 1 1 0 0 .500 2 0 0 0 0 2 .333
33 3 8 3 5 10 —
020 200 000 —452 020 010 000 —382
E: Dunn (1), Desmond (3), Jos.Reyes (1), D.Wright (2). LOB: Washington 6, New York 12. 2B: Francoeur (3). 3B: Taveras (1). RBI: Taveras 4 (4), Tatis (3), H.Blanco (1), O.Perez (1). S: Cora, Tatis. SF: H.Blanco.
Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Lannan (W, 1-1) Clippard
O.Perez (L, 0-1)
Igarashi Feliciano Mejia
Capps (S, 2) 1 1 0 0 2 1 21 0.00
New York
5 6 3 3 3 2 99 8.31 3 1 0 0 0 7 40 0.00
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
5C 4 4 4 4 6 101 6.35 1B 1 0 0 0 1 21 0.00
1 0 0 0 2 1 20 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 3.00
Inherited runners-scored: Igarashi 2-0. IBB: off Feliciano (Desmond). HBP: by Lannan (Jos.Reyes). WP: Igarashi, Feliciano. T: 3:13. A: 33,044 (41,800).
HOW THEY SCORED
Nationals second: Dunn struck
out. Willingham singled to left. Desmond struck out. I.Rodriguez walked, Willingham to second. Taveras tripled to center, Willing- ham scored, I.Rodriguez scored. Lannan struck out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Nationals 2, Mets 0.
Mets second: Bay walked. Fran- coeur doubled to right, Bay to third. Matthews Jr. walked on a full count. Tatis fouled out to first baseman Dunn. Blanco hit a sac- rifice fly to center fielder Morgan, Bay scored, Francoeur to third. O.Perez singled to left, Francoeur scored, Matthews Jr. to second. Reyes popped out to shortstop Desmond.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Nationals 2, Mets 2.
Nationals fourth: Dunn walked.
Willingham popped out to short- stop Reyes. Desmond infield sin- gle to shortstop, Dunn to second. I.Rodriguez walked on a full count, Dunn to third, Desmond to second. Taveras singled to center, Dunn scored, Desmond scored, I.Rodriguez to second. Lannan popped bunt into a double play, third baseman D.Wright to short- stop Reyes, I.Rodriguez out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Nationals 4, Mets 2.
Mets fifth: D.Wright singled to
center. Bay grounded into field- er’s choice, shortstop Desmond to second baseman Guzman, D.Wright out. Francoeur singled to center, Bay to second. Matthews Jr. struck out. Tatis singled to left, Bay scored, Francoeur to third. Blanco struck out.
1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Nationals 4, Mets 3.
FRANK FRANKLIN II/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Nationals’ Nyjer Morgan, left, celebrates with teammates Willie Harris, center, and Willy Taveras, right, after Harris made a sliding game-saving catch in their win over the Mets on Saturday.
Harris’s spectacular catch saves Washington’s victory
nationals from D1
On a day when Mets shortstop
José Reyes played baseball for the first time in 11 months and Ryan Zimmerman left early with a hamstring injury, Harris stole the headlines. “I don’t think any of us are sur- prised when he does that stuff anymore,” Zimmerman said, “He can do everything.” Harris’s catch ended a game
packed with improbable twists. The Nationals had a lead for Har- ris’s catch to save thanks to Willy Taveras, who knocked in all four Nationals runs. Taveras crunched a two-run triple to left-center in the second inning and flared a two-run, bases-loaded single to center in the fourth. Taveras, in 646 career games, had never be- fore driven in three runs in a sin- gle game, let alone four. Last year, Taveras knocked in his fourth run in his 97th at-bat. After starter John Lannan al- lowed three runs in just five in- nings, Tyler Clippard struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced, blazing through the Mets with remarkable dominance during the sixth, seventh and eighth in- nings. He allowed just a single and, in 40 pitches, produced 12
swing-and-misses from the over- whelmed Mets. He allowed the Nationals to hold a one-run lead when Capps, who turns the ninth inning into an adventure, walked through the bullpen gates. Reyes singled to center to lead off. Alex Cora pushed him to second with a sac- rifice bunt. The heart of the Mets’ order beckoned, and on second base stood baseball’s fastest man. Capps walked David Wright, struck out Jason Bay and walked Jeff Francoeur on four pitches to load the bases. Up came Barajas. Bench coach
John McClaren motioned the outfielders to play Barajas to pull. Harris was one of them only because Manager Jim Riggleman had decided to replace Josh Wil- lingham for defensive purpose, even though Zimmerman’s in- jury left him with one fewer body. The only bench player at the end of the game was catcher Wil Nieves. “I’m not Adam Dunn. I’m not
Ryan Zimmerman,” Harris said. “I’m not a franchise or a super- star player. When the game is on the line, it makes me feel good to know that my manager thinks, ‘We got to get Willie in there.’ That makes me feel really good.”
When Barajas hit the ball, Har- ris made an instant decision. He could have played it safe, let the ball bounce and try to ensure Wright did not score the game- winning run from second. “I don’t roll like that,” Harris said. “I got after the ball first. If I realize I can’t catch it, then I go to Plan B. Once the ball came off the bat, I made mind up. ‘Willie, you got to catch this ball.’ I took it upon myself. It was pretty much a gamble.” “Fearless,’ Riggleman said. Harris bolted, hell-bent. Later, he said his confidence in making the catch was “7 out of 10.” Zim- merman thought the ball was a hit from the way the Mets an- nouncers shouted. Harris slid on his chest, grabbed the ball and held it up. Nyjer Morgan ran from center and bumped shoul- ders with him. The rest of the Na- tionals ran toward Harris, too. “Every time I’ve played against
the Nationals, whatever team Willie Harris is on, he always makes a good play,” Barajas said. “He’s always around the ball. That’s just who he is. Anybody else on the team, there’s a good chance that ball is falling. They put him in the right spot.”
kilgorea@washpost.com
S
D5
Nationals Journal
6Blogging at washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal
Hernández will take
someone’s spot
Sometime Saturday
afternoon, Liván Hernández was to fly from Florida to New York, his arrival and subsequent start Sunday signaling the end, for now, of someone’s major league tenure. Almost certainly, that Nationals player will be one of their eight relievers. Which player to send down was to be decided by “probably recent performance as much as anything,” Manager Jim Riggleman said. Riggleman was to meet with pitching coach Steve McCatty and General Manager Mike Rizzo on Saturday and give their decision on Sunday. The Nationals are considering two or three options. The four pitchers ingrained in the bullpen are Matt Capps, Brian Bruney, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard, meaning the odd man out will probably be Miguel Batista, Jesse English, Tyler Walker or Jason Bergmann. Only Bergmann is out of options, meaning he would have to clear waivers in order for the Nationals to keep him in their organization. It would come as a surprise, but the Nationals could go in another direction. They could choose to keep eight relievers by sending Garrett Mock, who struggled on Friday, to Class AAA Syracuse. They would not need a fifth starter until next Sunday, at which point the Nationals could call up one of the many Syracuse pitchers who has started in the majors before, most likely Scott Olsen. It seems unlikely the
Nationals would do that to Mock. Rizzo stated when the Nationals chose Mock as their final starter that they needed to find out if Mock could take his major league stuff and become a major league pitcher. The Nationals probably owe to themselves and to Mock to give him more time. How much, though, is up for
discussion. “He didn’t have a good
spring,” Riggleman said. “You don’t want to make too many rash judgments on his first outing of the year. But you [look] back into where Garrett just didn’t throw the ball like he’s capable of through the spring. There’s certainly some concern. What we do about it, I’m not sure.
MIKE STOBE/GETTY IMAGES
Despite his struggles on Friday, Garrett Mock will likely be given another chance.
NATIONALS ON DECK
AT NEW YORK METS
Friday: Mets 8, Nats 2 Saturday: Nats 4, Mets 3 Sunday, 1:10 (WDCW, MASN)
AT PHILADELPHIA
Monday, 3:05 (MASN) Wednesday, 7:05 (MASN) Thursday, 3:05 (MASN)
VS. MILWAUKEE
Friday, 7:05 (MASN) Saturday, 1:05 (MASN) April 18, 1:35 (MASN)
RADIO: WFED (1500 AM), WTOP (1050 AM), WXTR (730 AM), WZHF (1390 AM).
Injuries update
Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman may miss “a couple days” after leaving Saturday’s game in the sixth inning with a tight left hamstring, Riggleman said. Zimmerman plans to test his hamstring Sunday morning to determine if he’ll play. Zimmerman’s hamstring had been bothering him for a day or two, he said, and then he aggravated it charging a groundball early in the game on Saturday. . . . Mike Morse said his right
calf is getting “close” to 100 percent, but he still won’t be in the starting lineup for a few days. Morse can pinch-hit, but if he reached base he would require a pinch runner. The Nationals have not considered putting Morse on the disabled list.
— Adam Kilgore
Orioles shut down by Blue Jays journeyman, 3-0
Baltimore Sun
The good news was there was no ninth-inning implosion that left the Orioles lamenting an- other victory that got away. But in some respects, their 3-0 loss last night before 21,148 at Camden Yards was more galling because they were completely shut down by a well-traveled pitcher, who the Toronto Blue Jays acquired on the eve of spring training for cash considerations. Dana Eveland turned in 71
⁄3
JOE GIZA/REUTERS
Blue Jays second baseman Mike McCoy tags out the Orioles’ César Izturis on a stolen base attempt in the third inning at Camden Yards.
scoreless innings, allowing only five hits and four Orioles to reach scoring position the entire game. Ruining a solid start by David
Hernandez and an effective relief outing by Jason Berken, the Ori-
oles fell to 1-4 and will try to avoid starting their first homestand of the season with a three-game sweep.
Shut down for most of the game, the Orioles did make some noise in the ninth against Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor. But with two men on, Frasor fanned Matt Wieters on three pitches and then got Nolan Reimold to pop out to preserve Eveland’s victory. The 26-year-old, who is with
his fourth big league club, retired 13 of the final 15 Orioles that he faced after Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada both reached to start the fourth inning. He was removed from the game with one out in the eighth after Julio Lugo, who had two hits and a walk in place of the in-
PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
TRACEE HAMILTON
On Shanahan’s Redskins, discipline is in and Haynesworth may be out
hamilton from D1
time for a negotiated peace has passed, and the time for the big question is upon us. What if the Redskins can’t
trade Haynesworth? Does Shanahan have to swallow his whistle with a pride chaser and take the guy back? Or will the organization bite the bullet, pay what’s owed Haynesworth — the cherry on top of this worst-- investment-in-Washington-- sports-history sundae — and cut him loose? Tough as it may be to swallow,
my money’s on the cherry. Of course, it’s not my money,
it’s Dan Snyder’s, but that’s only fair. After all, the original deal wasn’t mine, or Shanahan’s, for that matter. If Shanahan and GM Bruce Allen — also not responsible for Haynesworth’s contract —want the owner to buy
the guy off, to get rid of a problem or send a message or whatever —will Snyder back the Dynamic Duo as part of his attempt at a more hands-off approach to ownership? Buying off Haynesworth would
likely stick in Snyder’s craw, as it should, but I don’t think it will set a precedent, simply because I think it will be a long time before anyone in this organization, including its owner, comes with a contract ridiculous enough to rival Haynesworth’s. It’s a big check to write, but if that’s what Shanahan wants, I believe that’s what he’ll get. And I’m not sure there are a lot of other options. If, let’s say, London Fletcher said he didn’t want to attend a voluntary mini-camp in April, that wouldn’t raise a lot of eyebrows in the locker room or among fans. Fletcher plays every down,
hard, and he arrives at camp every summer in better shape than the year before. He’s a bad example to use, however, because he’s also a team leader, which means he’d show up for a voluntary colonoscopy if a coach told him to. But it’s not London Fletcher
we’re talking about. It’s Albert Haynesworth. Has he earned a free pass after 12 (partial) games as a Redskin?
A lot of people were eager to
see Jim Zorn leave after last season — among them, probably, Jim Zorn — and one reason given was the uneven treatment of players. There was a lot of talk from the players about guys skipping training camp practices or other gatherings that most were expected to attend. In the wake of Zorn’s departure, everyone — players, media, fans —agreed that the team needed
more discipline. Well, this is what discipline looks like. It’s not easy to watch, which is what makes it easy for tear-stained cherubs to pit parents against each other, and what makes it easy for fans (also perhaps tear-stained) to relax their principles and urge the coach to let it go, just this once. After all, it is a voluntary minicamp. But it’s a voluntary minicamp your new coach has made clear isn’t really voluntary. Unfair? Sure. But let’s say you just got a new boss, and the new boss suggested everyone come in for, I don’t know, a voluntary evening function so he could get to know his new employees. You might not like it, and you might not like the new boss, but still, he’s the boss. It would certainly be voluntary, in theory, but I’d attend, and I think most of you would, too. If not, I weep for the
American work force. In particular, I believe most of us would attend if we worked half a year. That’s six months, folks, and that’s using a generous accounting method for a non-playoff-making team. I suffer near apoplexy when I hear athletes — especially NFL players — moan about how minicamps cut into their time off, when they already have 50 percent of their time . . . off.
Of course, a lot of these guys
have never held a real job before. Maybe they had a part-time summer job; maybe they had a “no-work” or “no-show” job when they were in college. But most have never dragged themselves into a cubicle, day after day, and performed soul-sucking work and attended mind-numbing meetings and in-services and all the other dross that most Americans
endure every day. I’m not suggesting they should
have to, and their salaries mean most of them will never have to. Good for them. I don’t even begrudge them the money. I’d just like them to admit, for the love of Samuel Gompers, that working half a year is not that arduous. No such admission is
forthcoming from Haynesworth. He can’t spare three days to come to Ashburn. He can’t make the effort to mend fences with his new boss, or to learn his new system. He is adding another brick to the wall between him and his teammates with every refusal to participate in team activities. He seems to be saying he doesn’t want to be with the Redskins. It’s time for the Redskins to grant his wish.
hamiltont@washpost.com
jured Brian Roberts, singled to left.
Scott Downs came in and got Adam Jones to hit into a double play to end the eighth. Eveland has now pitched 142
consecutive scoreless innings against the Orioles, who were also dominated by the lefty last May when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics. Hernandez, 24, had a made 20
appearances for the Orioles last season, including 19 starts, but he was given very little chance to make the club when he arrived in Sarasota, Fla. for spring training heading into this season. Young right-hander Chris Till- man had been all but billed as the No.5 starter, and the Orioles had so many other pitchers battling
⁄3
for relief roles that Hernandez didn’t figure to fit in the bullpen picture either.
But while Tillman struggled to
find consistency, Hernandez made the most of his limited op- portunities until it became clear that he had surpassed his more- heralded teammate on the depth chart. Hernandez had a 3.00 ERA in the spring, and struck out 20 and walked only three in 15 in- nings.
When Orioles Manager Dave
Trembley announced that Her- nandez had won the fifth starter spot, he cited all the improve- ments that the right-hander had made, specifically in improving his fastball command and with the quality of his secondary pitches.
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