TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 TENNIS
KLMNO
EZ SU BASEBALL
Espinosa, Nationals enjoy a grand time at the park
nationals from D1
Silver Elvis wig awarded to the star of the game. “I try not to think too much of it. I just try to go out there and play hard every day. But to have this kind of start, it’s just unbelievable. It’s an un- believable feeling.” During a postgame interview
in front of the Nationals’ dugout, John Lannan slammed a pie in Espinosa’s face, a redux of what happened to Stephen Strasburg after his debut. Fans can argue who had the better introduction at Nationals Park. Espinosa started his onslaught
with his at-bat in the third in- ning. A switch-hitter, he batted left-handed against Mets right- hander Mike Pelfrey. Espinosa lined a 1-2, 95-mph fastball straight down the left-field line. The rocket tucked just inside
the foul pole. “I’ve never seen that out of
MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
In amatch of contrasting styles, CarolineWozniacki defeated Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-4, to reach theU.S. Open quarterfinals.
Wozniacki playing like a worthy No. 1
U.S. Open top seed is no household name, but she’s got game
BY LIZ CLARKE
flushing meadows, n.y. — Fromthemoment theU.S.Open draw was unveiled last month, there was pervasive skepticism about Caroline Wozniacki’s worthiness as theNo. 1 seed. The 20-year-old Dane only
inherited the top spot because world No. 1 Serena Williams had withdrawn days prior to recover fromfoot surgery. And had it not been for the
myriad injuries and ailments afflicting women’s tennis, it’s likely a past champion or more recognizable name would have taken her place alongside Rafa- el Nadal as the favorite to win the season’s finalmajor. But since striding onto Ar-
thurAsheStadiumCourt forher first-round match last week, Wozniacki, the tournament’s 2009 runner-up, has done noth- ing but validate her status as best in the women’s field, sur- rendering only three games in her first threematches. Monday, Wozniacki did one
better—stormingintothequar- terfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 thump- ing of former world No. 1Maria Sharapova. The match offered a terrific
contrast of strategy and style, with Wozniacki playing the in- defatigable retriever and the shrieking Sharapova attacking at every opportunity. The final statistics under-
scored the stark reality: While Sharapova’s competitive fire is as fierce as ever, her shot-mak- ing and serve, in particular, have lost their bearings. Sharapova blasted twice as
manywinners asWozniacki (32 to 16), but committed three times as many double faults (nine to three) and more than three times as many unforced errors (36 to 10). “I knew she was going to try
to attack me from the begin- ning,” Wozniacki said. “I knew she was trying to be aggressive. . . . I knewthat I had to fight for every point. I knew that she wasn’t going to go away.” Earlier Monday, American
Mardy Fish couldn’t muster a comparable fight against third- seeded Novak Djokovic, who did nearly everything well in advancing to the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. The loss leaves Californian
SamQuerrey the loneAmerican in the men’s draw. He’ll face Switzerland’sStanislasWawrin- ka, who toppled fourth-seed AndyMurray, on Tuesday. Fish praised the 6-foot-6
Querrey, noting his rare agility for such a big man, his strong serve and his quickly evolving net game. “If he were a stock, I’d buy,
big-time,” Fish said of the 20th- seededQuerrey. Fish, who shed 30 pounds
after undergoing knee surgery last year, had won 19 of 21 matches since Wimbledon (withone of those losses coming at Washington’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic). But he slogged through two five-setmatches to
reach the U.S Open’s fourth round. And the toll showed against the equally lean and exceptionally fit Djokovic, the 2007U.S.Open runner-up. “He’s [among the] top three
fastest guys, as far as his move- ment is concerned, on the tour,” Fish said of Djokovic. “It’s very hardtowrong-foothim. It’s very hard to [hit] a winner from the baseline. It’s very hard to get himsort of on defense.” Djokovic next faces Gael
Monfils, 24,who dispatched fel- low Frenchman Richard Gas- quet, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5, in a match marked by artful shot-making on both players’ part and the jaw-dropping athleticism of Monfils. The challenge for Monfils,
ranked 19th in the world, has been consistency. And though Djokovic haswon their last four meetings, he expressed tremen- dous respect for the French- man, whom he has competed against since childhood. “It’s no secret in our games,”
Djokovic said. “He’s kind of flashy. If he starts playing well, he can beat anyone, you know, because he’s so fast and so ath- letic andstrong thathe canget a lot of balls back.” Also advancing to the quar-
terfinals: No. 2 seed Roger Federer, who has yet to drop a set and beat JurgenMelzer, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Federer next faces Robin Soderling, who ousted Albert Montanes of Spain, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Even with Montanes’s loss,
Spain still has five players among the final 12 in the men’s draw — a remarkable achieve- ment for a country traditionally noted for its prowess on clay courts. The source of Spain’s success here has been an ongo- ing discussion. Fish, among those queried
Monday, was asked whether he could pinpoint a common char- acteristic among the Spaniards. “They’re all in unbelievable
shape,” Fish offered. “You won’t come across a top-50 Spaniard who isn’t afraid to take his shirt off in practice, you know, and looks good doing it.” Earlier Monday, 2004 U.S.
Open Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Dominka Cibulkova, the second-best player in Slova- kia, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4). “I played againstmyself, not against her,” said Kuznetsova, who came out flatanddouble-faulted10times. Seventh-seedVeraZvonareva
breezed pastGermany’s Andrea Petkovic, 6-1, 6-2. And Kaia Kanepi of Estonia upset Yanina Wickmayer, 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1. In first-round action of boys
singles, Junior Ore of Gaithers- burg fell to Filip Horansky of Slovakia, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. In the wee hours of Monday,
Australia’s Samantha Stosur polished off Russia’s Elena De- mentieva, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) for a quarterfinal showdown with defending champion Kim Cli- jsters. Itwas the latest finish for a woman’s match in U.S. Open history, ending at 1:35 a.m. SaidDementieva: “Itwas dif-
ficult to push yourself forward all the time because I was feel- inglikeabit sleepyinthematch. It was not about playing a per- fect game; it was all about win thismatch.”
clarkel@washpost.com
anyone,” Rodriguez said. “He hit an opposite-field, down-the-line home run.He’s amazing.” It was only the start. In the
fourth, Espinosa blasted a flyout to thewarning track in center.He added a bounding, RBI single up the middle in the fifth. In the sixth, facing reliever Ryota Iga- rashi, Espinosa came up with the bases loaded. Just have a good at-bat, he told himself. He crushed a 1-0, 93-mph fastball into the first row in the upper deck hanging over the Nationals’ bullpen. Espinosa flew around the bas-
es. Teammates engulfed him on the top steps of the dugout.
Rodriguez pounded his back and himforced back onto the field. “That moment, you cannot
miss,”Rodriguez said. “You’ve got to enjoy thatmoment.” Espinosa doffed his helmet, a
curtain call in his first home game. “That’s the last thing I could
have ever expected,” Espinosa said. “Itwas awesome. Itwas just a huge rush, a whole bunch of adrenaline going through my body. I was so excited.” Espinosa’s explosion led the
Nationals’ latest offensive out- burst. For the third straight day, oddly, the Nationals batted around and scored five runs in the fourth inning. They have scored 85 runs in their past 11 games, the highest output over an 11-game span since baseball returned to Washington. During the span — which, remarkably, includes a shutout loss — the Nationals are 7-4. ScottOlsen pitched four no-hit
innings of relief for the win. Jordan Zimmermann started, which added to the day’s prom- ise.He allowed three runs— just one earned — in four innings while pitching around an error by Espinosa at shortstop. Zimmermann’s third outing
since returning from Tommy John surgery and Espinosa’s ri- diculous start underscored the significance to the final month. Shortstop Ian Desmond is on a tear at the end of his rookie season. Catcher Wilson Ramos will share time with Ivan Rodri- guez. Third baseman Ryan Zim- merman, 25, is one of the best
players in baseball. A blowout victory could let the Nationals appreciate their future starting to take shape. “It’s one of those days where
you feel really good about the direction of the organization.” Riggleman said. “It’s a good day. It’s a statement for the organiza- tion that there is light at the end of the tunnel.” Said Zimmerman: “For the
past few years, we’ve been hear- ing about all these guys. To have actually have them up here per- forming, it’s good.” No one performed better than
Espinosa, whom the Nationals drafted in the third round out of Long Beach State in 2008. He began this season at Class AA Harrisburg, hoping he’d receive a call-up, that his dream would come true. After hemade adjust- ments midseason, staying more patientwith his swing, his season took off.Hewas promoted first to Class AAA Syracuse, then to the majors. “That was always his dream,”
Dan Espinosa said. “He just kept going.” In the third grade, Espinosa
wrote a report about how he wanted to grow up to be a professional baseball player. He played youth tournaments all over the world — Arkansas, Florida, Taiwan, Brazil— and his parents followed him every- where. On Monday, his family fol-
lowed toWashington. “This,”Dan Espinosa said, “has been the ultimate trip.”
kilgorea@washpost.com
NATIONALS13,METS3 NEWYORK
Pagan cf .........................4 1 1 O.Perez p........................0 0 0 Lu.Hernandez 2b-3b......4 0 0 Carter rf .........................2 2 1 N.Evans ph-rf.................2 0 0 D.Wright 3b ...................1 0 0 J.Feliciano cf..................1 0 0 I.Davis 1b.......................2 0 0 Duda lf............................3 0 0 Thole c............................2 0 1 J.Arias 2b.......................1 0 0 R.Tejada ss ....................3 0 0 Pelfrey p.........................2 0 0 Valdes p .........................0 0 0 S.Green p .......................0 0 0 Misch p...........................0 0 0 Hessman ph...................1 0 0 Igarashi p.......................0 0 0 Nickeas c........................1 0 0
TOTALS WASHINGTON 29 3 3
Morgan cf.......................5 1 2 A.Kennedy 2b.................4 1 1 Zimmerman 3b..............4 0 1 Maxwell pr-rf.................0 0 0 A.Dunn 1b......................3 2 1 Alb.Gonzalez 3b.............0 0 0 Bernadina lf ...................3 3 1 I.Rodriguez c..................2 1 1 Nieves c..........................1 0 0 W.Harris rf.....................1 0 0 Morse rf-1b....................3 2 1 Espinosa ss....................5 2 4 Zimmermann p..............1 0 0 Mench ph .......................0 1 0 Olsen p...........................1 0 0 Desmond ph...................1 0 0 Balester p ......................0 0 0
TOTALS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 0 0 .295
0 0 0 .111 0 0 0 .292 0 0 0 .265 0 0 1 .143 1 1 0 .292 0 0 0 .271 0 2 0 .255 0 1 2 .050 2 1 0 .291 0 0 0 .200 0 1 1 .189 0 0 1 .098 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0
0 0 0 .250 0 0 1 .143 0 0 0
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 1 0 0 .258
0 0 0 .252 2 1 1 .300 0 0 0 .135 0 2 1 .271 0 0 0 .281 0 2 1 .266 3 1 0 .270 0 0 0 .208 0 0 0 .188 1 1 0 .301 6 0 0 .563 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 .133 0 0 1 .083 0 0 1 .289 0 0 0
34 13 12
NEWYORK.................201 000 000 — 3 3 WASHINGTON...........001 515 10X — 13 12
D5
--- ---
0 0 1 .000 3 6 7 —
---
13 8 5 — 1
1
E: Pagan (5), Espinosa (1). LOB:NewYork 6,Washington 8. 2B: Carter (7), Morgan (14), A.Kennedy (16), I.Rodri- guez (17), Espinosa (3). HR: Espinosa (2), off Pelfrey; Espinosa (3), off Igarashi. RBI: D.Wright (91), Thole 2 (13),Morgan(23),Zimmerman2 (82), I.Rodriguez 3 (44), Morse (30), Espinosa 6 (10). SB: Pagan (33), Bernadina (14). CS: D.Wright (10). S: Olsen. SF: D.Wright, I.Rodri- guez.
NEWYORK IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Pelfrey.......................3.2 5 6 6 3 1 83 3.96 Valdes........................0.1 1 1 1 1 0 16 4.89 S.Green......................0.2 1 0 0 1 0 14 5.40 Misch.........................0.1 0 0 0 0 0
1 4.91
Igarashi ........................1 2 5 5 3 1 33 8.42 O.Perez.........................2 3 1 1 0 3 28 6.65
WASHINGTON IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Zimmermann ...............4 3 3 1 4 2 79 3.86 Olsen ............................4 0 0 0 2 3 52 5.58 Balester........................1 0 0 0 0 2 11 4.15
WP:Olsen (4-8); LP: Pelfrey (13-9). Valdes pitched to 1 batter in the 5th.
Inherited runners-scored: Valdes 2-1, S.Green 1-1,Misch 2-0. IBB: off Zimmermann (I.Davis). HBP: by Valdes (A.Kennedy).WP: Igarashi.
T: 3:10.A: 20,224 (41,546).
HOWTHEYSCORED METSFIRST
Pagan infield single. Pagan stole second. Lu.Hernandez fliedout.Carter safe at firstonEspinosa’s error,Paganto third. D.Wright hit a sacrifice fly, Pagan scored. I.Davis walked, Carter to second. Duda walked, Carter to third, I.Davis to second. Tholewalked, Carter scored, I.Davis to third, Duda to second. R.Tejada grounded into fielder’s choice,Duda out, Thole to second.
Mets, 2-0 METSTHIRD
Carter doubled. Morse in as right fielder. D.Wright flied out. I.Davis was intentionally walked. Duda struck out. Thole singled, Carter scored, I.Davis to third. R.Tejada fouled out.
Mets, 3-0 NATIONALSTHIRD
Espinosa homered to left on a 1-2 count. Zimmermann grounded out. Morgan popped out. A.Kennedy grounded out.
Mets, 3-1 NATIONALSFOURTH
Zimmerman grounded out. A.Dunn walked. Bernadina walked, A.Dunn to second. I.Rodriguez doubled, A.Dunn scored, Bernadina scored. I.Rodriguez to third. Morse singled, I.Rodriguez scored. Espinosa flied out. Mench pinch-hitting for Zimmermann.Mench walked,Morse to second.Morgan singled,Morse scored,Mench to second. On Pagan’s error, Mench to third, Morgan to second. Valdes pitching. A.Kennedy was hit by a pitch. Zimmer- man walked,Mench scored,Morgan to third, A.Kennedy to second.A.Dunn lined out.
Nationals, 6-3 NATIONALSFIFTH
N.Evans in as right fielder. Bernadina singled. S.Green pitching. Bernadina stole second. I.Rodriguez walked. Morse grounded into fielder’s choice, Bernadina to third, I.Rodriguez out. Espinosa singled, Bernadina scored, Morsetosecond.Olsensacrificed,Morsetothird,Espino- sa to second.Misch pitching.Morgan flied out.
Nationals, 7-3 NATIONALSSIXTH
Igarashi pitching. A.Kennedy doubled. Zimmerman grounded out. On Igarashi’s wild pitch, A.Kennedy to third. A.Dunn walked. Bernadina walked, A.Dunn to sec- ond. I.Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly, A.Kennedy scored, A.Dunn to third. Morse walked, Bernadina to second. Espinosa homered to right on a 1-0 count,A.Dunn scored, Bernadina scored,Morse scored.Olsen struck out.
Nationals, 12-3 NATIONALSSEVENTH
NICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Danny Espinosa cleans up after getting a celebratory pie in the face for his two-homer, six-RBI day. Nationals Journal Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal
Morgan: ‘I’mstill the same person’ Days removed fromthe
controversialweek that capped his difficult season,NyjerMorgan has a newway to viewhis year. “I’mgetting tested,”Morgan
said. “Can I handle it, or amI going to break?” Morgan veered away from
controversy and returned to simply baseball thisweekend in Pittsburgh,where hewent 3 for 12with twowalks, one sensational diving catch and one caught stealing,which upped his league-leading total to 16.He jokedwith former teammates and he blended in, a refreshing change fromaweek inwhich he became one of the central figures in the sport. Morgan receivedwidespread
national attention for awell- documented, ugly spate of incidents that concludedwith a bench-clearing brawl and an
eight-game suspension,which he is currently appealing, heaped on to an earlier seven-game suspension for interactionwith fans in Philadelphia,which he is also appealing.Morgan has pleaded innocence in all cases and,Monday, he defended his battered reputation. Hemaintained thatwhile his
play regressed, he is the same person as hewas last year.He bristled at the growing perception around baseball that he has changed. “It’s just frustratingwhen
people perceive you thewrong waywhen you play the game hard,”Morgan said. “I guess it’s basicallywhatwe
signed up for. I think it’s like a good buzz.All buzz is good buzz, inmy eyes. I’mstill the same person. It doesn’t changeme. This year is just one of those years, you know?Things just happen for a reason. It’s just going tomakeme a better player
and a better person, too.”
Olsen dominant, upset Slumped in a chair in front of
his locker after his first bullpen appearance inmore than five years, ScottOlsenwas happy about two things.TheNationals won, and hismotherwas in town and got towatch himpitch.The four no-hit innings he threw brought himlittle joy. He had pitched as a reliever,
which is something he has positively no interest in doing. “I’d like to start,”Olsen said. “I don’twant to be a bullpen guy.” Much ofOlsen’s displeasure
with throwing out of the bullpen stems fromhowit alters theway hewarms up.He is accustomed to playing catch fromroughly 140 feet before starts to loosen up his arm,which he can’t do fromthe bullpen. “That’s not going towork,” Olsen said. “I’ve done it. I don’t
Lu.Hernandez inasthirdbaseman. J.Felicianoinascenter fielder.Arias inas secondbaseman.Nickeas inas catcher. O.Perez pitching. Morgan doubled. A.Kennedy grounded out,Morgantothird.Zimmermansingled,Morganscored. Maxwell pinch-running for Zimmerman. A.Dunn struck out.Bernadina struck out.
FinalScore:Nationals, 13-3
NATIONALSONDECK
VS.METS Tuesday, 7:05(MASN2) Wednesday, 12:35(MASN2)
VS.MARLINS Friday, 7:05(MASN2) Saturday, 1:05(MASN) Sunday, 1:35(WDCW-50, MASN)
ATBRAVES Monday, 7:10(MASN) Sept. 14, 7:10(MASN) Sept. 15, 12:10(MASN)
Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM)
get on themound unless I play long toss.That’s the biggest difference.”
Harris ‘okay’ after crash Right fielderWillieHarris left
thewin over theMets in the bottomof the second inning after crashing into the outfield fence. In the evening,Harris said over the phone that hewas “Okay.” During the game, a team
spokesman saidHarris left the game for precautionary reasons. —AdamKilgore
Matusz, Orioles top Yankees for third straight win BY JEFF ZREBIEC
new york — The Orioles have been waiting for years to develop young pitchers, who will not be intimidated by the heavyweights of the American League East and will relish the opportunity of fac- ing the New York Yankees and BostonRedSox. Rookie left-hander Brian
Matusz has only opposed those teams nine times in his career, far too small of a sample size tomake any conclusion. The early returns, however, couldn’t be any more encouraging for an Orioles team fed up with being punching bags
againstdivisional foes. Matusz pitched six solid in-
nings, and Brian Roberts had threehits anddrove intworuns as the Orioles won their third straight by defeating the Yankees, 4-3, on Monday before 46,103 at Yankee Stadium, where they had lost seven consecutive games, in- cluding all six this season. “Obviously, we are not in the
playoff run, but these teams are and it’s fun to be able to go out there and be a teamthat you can’t justwalkoverbecauseweareplay- ing good baseball right now,” said Matusz, who won his fourth straight start to improve to 8-12. Matusz allowed three runs, in-
cluding an Alex Rodriguez solo homer, in six innings, and then watched Roberts break a tie with anRBI single to right in the top of the seventh inning off A.J. Bur- nett. The Orioles’ bullpen got the final nine outs to preserve a one- run advantage with closer Koji Uehara — pitching for the third straight day— throwing a perfect ninth for his seventh save in as many opportunities. Matusz is now 4-3 with a 2.56
ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees and Red Sox. In each of his five starts against the Yan- kees, he’s allowed three runs or fewer. He’s also surrendered just six earned runs in 252/3
innings
(2.10 ERA) in four career starts at new Yankee Stadium, and has two of theOrioles’onlythreewinshere in 16 tries over the past two sea- sons. “Good pitchers play against
anybody and any team,” said Showalter. “He bent but didn’t break.He just kept giving himself a chance. . . . Obviously with the batting orders in the American League East, they are going to keep coming. One thing young pitchers have to do is they can never let their guard down. He doesn’t. He attacked each guy. He deserved to get that W today. I’m gladitworkedout.”
—Baltimore Sun
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