SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010
KLMNO BASEBALL
EZ SU
D5 Sanchez continues to keep Nats’ bats silent
Washington clinches fifth straight losing season
BY ADAM KILGORE Eleven days ago, late at night in
the visiting clubhouse at Sun Life Stadium after another loss to the FloridaMarlins, oneWashington Nationals player took stock of Anibal Sanchez, the buzzsawthat had just sliced through their line- up. The hitter muttered, “I never want to face Sanchez again.” And now here he was Saturday
afternoon, once more chucking aspirin tablets at the Nationals. The Marlins possess an entire staff of pitchers who baffle the Nationals, and no one causes them more torment than San- chez. After shutting them out in
their last meeting, Sanchez domi- nated again, sending the Nation- als to a 4-1 loss before 17,941 at Nationals Park. As Sanchez spoiled another strong start by JasonMarquis, theNationals lost for the ninth time in 10 games against theMarlins. The latest loss stood out, not
because it looked or felt much different than so many others, but because it doubled as a mile- stone thatguaranteed the inevita- ble: The Nationals, now 60-82, will finish the season with a los- ing record for the fifth straight season. “It’s disappointing, but the fu-
ture is bright here,” shortstop Ian Desmond said. “I don’t foresee that much in the future. I think we’ve got a good chance to com- pete. Even this year, we had a good enough team to win.We just haven’t got it done. Simple as that. Hopefully, next year we’ll have a little better attitude and be ready to compete.” Sanchez retired the first 14
batters he faced Saturday after- noon, his perfect game lasting until Michael Morse doubled down the left field line with two outs in the fifth. The Nationals didn’t score until a sudden, short rally with two outs in the eighth, when Wilson Ramos drilled a double off the center field wall and scoredNyjerMorgan.
MARLINS4,NATIONALS1 FLORIDA
Bonifacio 3b ..................5 1 2 Morrison lf ....................5 0 1 H.Ramirez ss.................4 0 1 Uggla 2b ........................3 0 0 Tracy 1b.........................4 1 2 Stanton rf .....................4 1 1 Maybin cf ......................3 1 1 B.Davis c .......................4 0 0 Ani.Sanchez p ...............3 0 0 Veras p..........................0 0 0 Cousins ph.....................1 0 0 Hensley p ......................0 0 0
TOTALS WASHINGTON 36 4 8
Espinosa 2b...................3 0 0 Desmond ss...................4 0 0 Zimmerman 3b .............4 0 2 A.Dunn 1b .....................4 0 0 Bernadina lf ..................4 0 0 Morse rf ........................3 0 1 Morgan cf......................3 1 1 W.Ramos c....................3 0 1 Maxwell pr ....................0 0 0 Batista p .......................0 0 0 Clippard p ......................0 0 0 Marquis p......................1 0 0 Alb.Gonzalez ph............1 0 0 Stammen p....................0 0 0 Balester p......................0 0 0 W.Harris ph...................1 0 0 Nieves c.........................0 0 0
TOTALS 31 1 5
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 2 0 1 .306
1 0 1 .311 0 0 2 .301 0 1 1 .281 0 0 0 .250 0 0 3 .244 0 1 2 .237 0 0 2 .255 0 0 2 .118 0 0 0
0 0 0 .375 0 0 0 .000
3 2 14 —
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 1 1 .310
0 0 0 .282 0 0 0 .300 0 0 2 .266 0 0 1 .259 0 0 1 .297 0 0 0 .257 1 0 0 .250 0 0 0 .133 0 0 0 .125 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 .111 0 0 0 .282 0 0 0 .237 0 0 0
0 0 0 .190 0 0 0 .208
FLORIDA................... 000 020 011 — 4 8 WASHINGTON ......... 000 000 010 — 1 5
1 1 5 — 1
2
E: Ani.Sanchez (4), A.Dunn 2 (10). LOB: Florida 7, Washington 4. 2B: Bonifacio (6), Morse (10), W.Ramos (2). 3B: Maybin (3). RBI: Bonifacio 2 (8), Morrison (14), W.Ramos (3). SB: Bonifacio (8), B.Davis (1).
DP: Florida 1 (Uggla, H.Ramirez, Tracy); Washington 1 (Zimmerman, A.Dunn, A.Dunn, Desmond).
FLORIDA
Ani.Sanchez..............7.2 4 1 1 0 4 100 3.35 Veras.........................0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Hensley........................1 1 0 0 1 1 21 2.45 WASHINGTON
Marquis........................6 5 2 2 1 8 99 6.60 Stammen.....................1 2 1 1 0 2 22 5.39 Balester .......................1 0 0 0 1 2 21 3.09 Batista......................0.1 1 1 0 0 0 Clippard.....................0.2 0 0 0 0 2
9 4.00 9 2.98
WP: Ani.Sanchez (12-9); LP: Marquis (2-8); S: Hensley (2).
Stammen pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.
Inherited runners-scored: Veras 1-0, Balester 1-0, Clip- pard 1-0. WP: Balester 2. PB: W.Ramos. T: 2:52. A: 17,941 (41,546).
HOWTHEY SCORED MARLINS FIFTH
NICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida’s Brad Davis steals second during a 4-1 loss for theNationals on Saturday. At 60-82, theNats will endure a fifth straight losing season. The Nationals mustered noth-
“Each time I throw the ball
ing else on offense, unable to support another promising per- formance from Marquis, who al- lowed two runs in six innings to set his ERA over his past five starts at 2.67. Marquis gave up five hits and a walk while striking out eight, more than he had in all but six of his previous 241 career starts. It was “probably the best I’ve
felt since the surgery” to remove bone chips from his elbow, Mar- quis said. His sinker was sharp and his slider had the “north- south action that I want,” he said. Marquis, after a horrendous start, has laid a foundation for 2011 and removed most of the bitter taste from the injury-marred first month.
Nationals Journal Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal
Gems by Espinosa, Desmond open eyes Danny Espinosa has played
second base as a professional for less than one month, and now he is in the major leagues making plays that fewother second basemen can make, plays that drop jaws and steal hits. TheNationals’ 4-1 loss on
Saturday afternoon was a game until the end—Washington was able to send two batters to the plate as the tying run in the ninth inning. The biggest reason was Espinosa’s remarkable, bases-loaded play in the fifth inning. With two outs, Logan
Morrison rolled a ball up the middle, a sure single off the bat, he assumed. But Espinosa shuffled to his right, dove so his body was parallel with the
FRIDAY’SLATEGAME The Orioles shrug off miscue and top the Tigers BY JEFF ZREBIEC Reprinted from yesterday’s
late editions detroit – It was another oppor- tunity for the Baltimore Orioles to start feeling sorry for themselves, to remember all the miscues that often multiplied earlier in the season and resulted in lopsided losses. A two-run, sixth-inning lead
vanished Friday when catcher Matt Wieters dropped Johnny Damon’s foul popup, prolonging the at-bat longenoughforDamon to walk. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood then slipped as he was delivering a pitch to Miguel Ca- brera, who promptly lined it over the left field wall to forge a tie. Instead of folding, the Orioles continued to flip the script from the first four months of the sea- son, scoring thegame’s final three runs and getting some clutch work out of the bullpen to post a 6-3 victory over theDetroit Tigers in front ofanannounced28,575 at Comerica Park. “There’s a lot of competitive
fire flowing around right now,” said OriolesManager Buck Show- alter, whose team won for the 10th time in 12 series openers
ground and made an absurd backhanded stop. “You see highlight films and
all that stuff,”Manager Jim Riggleman said. “I don’t know how much further anybody can go to get a ball.” Espinosa jumped to his feet
and, with the arm General ManagerMike Rizzo described as “a cannon,” rifled to first for the out.Morrison was stunned— “that really [stunk],” he said later. TheNationals were out of the
inning. “That,” pitcher JasonMarquis
said, “was a hell of a play.” TheNationals provided an
encore in the next inning. After Hanley Ramirez led off the sixth with a single, DanUggla ripped a hard grounder to third. The ball took an abrupt hop and kicked up off third baseman Ryan
Zimmerman’s glove. Zimmerman stayed with it, leaping to grab the ball and then firing a side-armed throw across the diamond to first baseman Adam Dunn. The play was not over.
Shortstop Ian Desmond assumed that Ramirez would be running with the 3-1 pitch. “Out of the corner ofmy eye, I
sawhim not stop at second,” Desmond said. “I just knewto run to third. That’s the way they teach you to do it.” Desmond scurried to third,
and Dunn rifled back across the diamond to Desmond, a perfect throw. Desmond blocked the bag with one foot and slapped a tag on Ramirez for a slick, unconventional 5-3-6 double play.
Dunn’s first base defense hasn’t exactly set the world on
between starts, I get more com- fortable with what I want to do,” said Marquis, who lowered his season ERA to 6.60. “I learn the action of the pitches again.” But since the Nationals were
facing Sanchez, it wasn’t enough. Sanchez allowed one run in 72/3 inningsonfour hits andnowalks. In four starts this year against the Nationals, Sanchez has allowed three earned runs in 252/3
innings,
striking out 22 while allowing seven walks and 18 hits. “As much as we see him, we’re
going to have to step up there and get him,” Manager Jim Riggle- man said. “We’re going to have to figure something out on him.” Formost of the afternoon,Mar- quis matched him. Only one of
thegame’s first 25 batters reached base, and that was when Adam Dunn booted a groundball by LoganMorrison. Marquis lost his no-hitter
when Chad Tracy shot a single through the middle to lead off the fifth, and he would soon lose his shutout. Mike Stanton followed with another single, and Camer- on Maybin walked to load the bases with no outs. Marquis needed a strikeout,
which on most days would doom him. He hadn’t struck out more than three batters in a game all season, and his rate of 4.68 strike- outs per nine innings ranked ninth-lowest in baseball since the start of the 2008 season. But this, for one day, was a differentMarquis. With the bases
NATIONALSONDECK
VS.MARLINS Sunday, 1:35(WDCW-50, MASN)
ATBRAVES Monday, 7:10(MASN) Tuesday, 7:10(MASN) Wednesday, 12:10(MASN)
ATPHILLIES Friday, 7:05(MASN2) Saturday, 7:05(MASN2) Sept. 19, 1:35(WDCW-50, MASN)
Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM)
fire, as two errors Saturday— one grounder he kicked away, one through the wickets - showed again. But one thing he can do is throw, and on the double play it paid off. “That’s the quarterback in
him,” Desmond said. “He’s actually got a really good arm and a really accurate arm. Beside one play, I can’t remember him making a bad throw.” —Adam Kilgore
Tracy singled. Stanton singled, Tracy to second. On W.Ramos’s passed ball, Tracy to third, Stanton to second. Maybin walked. B.Davis struck out. Ani.Sanchez struck out. Bonifacio singled, Tracy scored, Stanton scored, Maybin to third. Bonifacio stole second. Morri- son grounded out.
Marlins, 2-0 MARLINS EIGHTH
loaded, he first sat down Brad Davis looking, and then Sanchez swinging. With twoouts, the hard part was finished. Emilio Bonifa- cio came to bat, and all Marquis needed to do was retire him to keep the zero and the tie score intact. The crowd rose when the count evened at 2-2. “Iwasonepitch away,”Marquis
said. He threw a slider in the dirt,
ball three. Bonifacio fouled off the next pitch — 3-2 again. Finally, Bonifacio grounded up the mid- dle, scoring two runs and giving theMarlins a 2-0 lead. With Sanchez oppressing the
Nationals, thatwasmorethan the Marlins needed. The Nationals ensured a losing homestand and evened their 2010 record at Na-
Bonifacio doubled. Morrison singled, Bonifacio scored. Balester pitching. On Balester’s wild pitch, Morrison to second. H.Ramirez struck out. Uggla walked. Tracy fouled out. On Balester’s wild pitch, Morrison to third, Uggla to second. Stanton struck out.
Marlins, 3-0 NATIONALS EIGHTH
Bernadina struck out. Morse grounded out. Morgan infield single. On Ani.Sanchez’s error on a pickoff attempt, Morgan to second. W.Ramos doubled, Morgan scored. Maxwell pinch-running for W.Ramos. W.Harris pinch-hitting for Balester. Veras pitching. W.Harris grounded out.
Marlins, 3-1 MARLINS NINTH
Nieves in as catcher. Batista pitching. Maybin tripled. B.Davis safe at first on A.Dunn’s error, Maybin scored. Cousins pinch-hitting for Veras. B.Davis stole second. Cousins grounded out, B.Davis to third. Clippard pitch- ing. Bonifacio struck out. Morrison struck out.
Final Score: Marlins, 4-1
tionalsPark to 35-35. Inthedefeat that ensured another season of disproportionate losing, the Na- tionals could find a small victory. At least until next year, theywon’t face Sanchez again.
kilgorea@washpost.com
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 2.95
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
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DUANE BURLESON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Orioles’Matt Wieters hits a sacrifice fly to drive in Julio Lugo and give Baltimore the lead in the 8th. “It’s a relief to get the win,” said
under him, is now 22-14 overall under Showalter and broke a five- game losing streak at Comerica Park. “We don’t dwell on the negative inning. They turn the page and realize the other team is pretty good, too, and they’re try- ing to accomplish thesamethings as we are. “You play so many games and
there are so many opportunities through the course of a game where you can get a snowball
moving one way or the other. The negativity and the positive vibe can get flowing if you just give it a chance and don’t dwell on things.” Two innings after his error,
Wieters redeemed himself by hit- ting a sacrifice fly to deep right field off tough lefty Phil Coke to break the 3-3 tie. The next batter, Adam Jones, hit an RBI single and then Brian Roberts added a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
Wieters, who misplayed his sec- ond foul popup in less than a week. “It’s frustrating that I missed that popup and for Kevin not to get that win. But it’s some- thing where it shows a lot for this team where we’re able to come back, get guys on base and keep fighting. We were able to get the win and that’s the most impor- tant thing.”
—Baltimore Sun
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