THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010
KLMNO BASEBALL
EZ SU
D3 Maxwell’s grand afternoon lifts Nationals
Bases-clearing homer is all the offense Washington needs
BY ADAM KILGORE
atlanta — The odds were against Justin Maxwell. Had to be.Maxwell hadcometo the plate with the bases loaded three times in his career and already hit two grand slams. Even that simply doesn’t happen.Betweenthem, in 315 at-bats with the bases loaded, Derek Jeter and Pete Rose have two.
But on Wednesday afternoon,
there was Maxwell, a player sent to the minors six times the past two years, rounding third with three Washington Nationals teammates starting at him from home plate. Maxwell’s improbable grand
slam gave him a lasting memory from a trying season and lifted the Nationals to a 4-2 victory and a series win over the Atlanta Braves. In front of 19,237 at Turn- er Field, the Nationals embraced their spoiler role and dampened the Braves’ postseason hopes. Before last weekend, the Na-
tionals had not won a series on the road in 17 consecutive tries. Now they have won two in a row, including one against a team fighting for its playoff life. The Nationals’ offense vanished after Maxwell’s rocket, but John Lan- nan allowed two runs in six in- nings, Sean Burnett recorded five critical outs out of the bullpen and Drew Storen slammed the door with a nine-pitch save. As the Nationals packed for
their flight to Philadelphia, they felt happiest about Maxwell’s huge hit. Maxwell has shuttled between Class AAA Syracuse and Washington three times this year, but his potential and his likable manner make him an easy player for teammates and coaches to root for. “Maxey is such a class individu-
al,”Manager Jim Riggleman said. “He’s a guy that you pull for and you have patience with because he’s all about the team. He goes through struggles. Anything you call on him to do, he’s got a great frame of mind.”
turned on the pitch and laced it down the left field line. The Na- tionals in the dugout lurched to the top step and watched the ball zip into the seats. The Nationals had a 4-0 lead. “I’mso happy for him,” Lannan
said. Lannan made Maxwell’s slam
stand up. He submitted his sixth quality start in his last eight outings, pitching around eight hits and two walks in six innings. His biggest jam came in his final inning, when, with the Nationals clinging to a two-run lead, he faced David Ross. Lannan relied on his newest
ally: the strikeout. He whiffed Ross swinging at a 74-mph curve- ball in the dirt, his sixth strikeout in six innings. Since Lannan re- turned from Class AAHarrisburg on Aug. 1, he has struck out 6.63 batters every nine innings. Before the Nationals demoted him, his career rate was 4.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Once Lannan exited, the Na-
tionals survived a harrowing sev- enth inning. Riggleman replaced Lannan with Joel Peralta, who induced a pop-up to shallow cen- ter from pinch hitter EricHinske. Nyjer Morgan charged, called off the infielders and then lost the ball in the sun and let it drop. Hinske wound up on second.
JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
JustinMaxwell, who has been sent to the minors six times the past two years, celebrates his grand slam. But Maxwell, an Olney native
and Maryland alum, has been unable to thrive in the majors.He takes early batting practice with hitting coach Rick Eckstein near- ly every day, trying to find the position that will allow him to shorten his swing and reduce swings and misses. Maxwell en- tered Wednesday hitting .132 with 31 strikeouts in 76 at-bats. “He possesses all the tools of a
player you want on your ball club,” Eckstein said. “He’s got the ability. He’s willing to work for it. He has that. Now it’s time to put the package together. I think he’ll do it. He’s smart enough. He works hard enough.” Maxwell’s dreary performance,
Nationals Journal Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal
Burnett becomes bullpen’s ‘staple’ Sean Burnett, perhaps the
most underrated player on the Nationals’ roster, entered Wednesday’s game with one out and EricHinske on third base, the two best hitters on the Braves coming up. The results helped theWashington secure a 4-2 victory and showed how Burnett has become, in Drew Storen’s words, “the staple for our bullpen.” The first hitter Burnett faced
was JasonHeyward, a fearsome left-handed batter. Burnett made it his goal this offseason to improve against right-handed batters, to ensure the stigma of “lefty specialist” never attached itself to him. It had worked, but somewhere along the way he started struggled with lefties. EnteringWednesday, lefties were hitting .287 against him, righties only .188. WithHeyward, Burnett’s
main goal, he said, was to “keep the ball in the ballpark.”He was only half-joking. TheNationals led by two, andManager Jim Riggleman had emphasized the importance of keeping the lead, even if it meantHinske scoring. Burnett threwan inside
sinker and turnedHeyward’s bat into splinters. The result was a soft liner to second baseman Danny Espinosa. “Every left-handed hitter that
I get out right now means a lot,” Burnett said. “It was big part of the game. I was fortunate enough to get a pitch in on him and jam him and get that out.” Up next wasMartin Prado.
Burnett struck out Prado on a 79-mph slider that darted toward Prado’s shins and, to him, must have turned invisible by the time he swung. The inning ended withHinske stranded at third.
Burnett’s slider, when he is
able to bury it inside and low, has become a weapon for him against right-handers.He had never used the pitch in such a way until Ivan Rodriguez started calling it for him at the beginning of August. “Slowly, for the past month
and a half, it’s starting to be more successful against righties,” Burnett said. “I had never really thrown it to righties. It’s a good pitch if I can locate it.”
DUANE BURLESON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since the beginning of August,Nationals reliever Sean Burnett has allowed three earned runs in 181/3
innings, striking out 21. NATIONALSONDECK
ATPHILLIES Friday, 7:05(MASN2) Saturday, 7:05(MASN2) Sunday, 1:35(WDCW-50, MASN)
VS.ASTROS Monday, 7:05(MASN2) Tuesday, 7:05(MASN2) Wednesday, 7:05(MASN2) Sept.23,4:35(MASN)
VS.BRAVES Sept.24, 7:05(MASN) Sept.25, 1:05(MASN) Sept.26, 1:35(MASN)
Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM) Burnett breezed through the
eighth while allowing a single and striking out one more hitter.
When he left, his ERA for the season had dropped to 2.45 for the year. Burnett has impressed all season, but he’s been dominant lately. Since August began, he has allowed three earned runs in 181/3
innings,
striking out 21 and yielding four unintentional walks. “He’s not getting nearly the
credit that he should,” Storen said. “A lot of times, it’s kind of boring watching him pitch.He just does well every time.He goes in there and throws good pitches. It’s not flashy.He does his job. That’s something that’s great about him.He’s kind of not well known. And he should be for what he’s doing for us this year.”
—Adam Kilgore
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though, earned him near-con- stant spot on the bench. Before Wednesday he had started seven games since he joined theNation- als on Aug. 2. He had taken to studying bullpens and managing in his head, trying to guess which reliever he was most likely to face as a pinch hitter. SoMaxwell cherished his start
in left field Wednesday. He walked up to teammate Willie Harris before the game and said, “I’mjust swinging today.” “There’s always an incentive
when you get a chance to hit,” Maxwell said. “I got a bat and I’m up there. You just try to make the most of every situation. I don’t know when I’m going to get
them.” And in his first at-bat,Maxwell
stepped into a pivotal moment. MichaelMorse doubled with one out. Wilson Ramos followed with a screamer to left, a line-drive single hit so hard Morse re- mained on second base. Alberto Gonzalezwalkedto load the bases forMaxwell for the fourth time in his career. “He’s not afraid of the situa-
tion,” Riggleman said. “That’s for sure.”
With one out, Maxwell just
wanted to put the ball in play, drive in a run. Left-hander Mike Minor threw Maxwell a fastball for ball one. He followed with an inside, 91-mph fastball. Maxwell
He moved to third when Omar Infante dropped a sacrifice bunt. Infante would have been safe if one of the 6 billion people on Earth other than Ryan Zimmer- man was the third baseman. But Zimmerman charged, avoided a collision with Peralta and made an diving, off-balance bullet throw to first. Burnett escaped from there
and Storen took care of the ninth. The Nationals had completed a turnaround and cost the Braves playoff position in the process. Next up are the Phillies, the team ahead of the Braves in the NL East. “It’s not necessarily important
what their records are,” Storen said. “We’re maybe out of it this year, but we’re going to show, hey, we can do some things.” AfterWednesday’s win, theNa-
tionals poured from the dugout, lined up and shook hands. Start- ing pitcher LivanHernandez and pitching coach Steve McCatty
NATIONALS4,BRAVES2 WASHINGTON
Espinosa 2b...................4 0 0 Morgan cf......................3 0 0 Desmond ss...................3 0 0 Zimmerman 3b .............4 0 0 Morse rf-1b...................4 1 1 W.Ramos c....................4 1 2 Alb.Gonzalez 1b............2 1 0 Jo.Peralta p...................0 0 0 S.Burnett p ...................0 0 0 W.Harris ph...................1 0 0 Storen p ........................0 0 0 Maxwell lf-rf.................3 1 1 Lannan p........................2 0 0 A.Kennedy 1b................1 0 1 Bernadina lf ..................0 0 0
TOTALS ATLANTA 31 4 5
O.Infante 2b..................3 1 1 Heyward rf ....................3 0 0 Prado 3b........................4 0 3 Glaus 1b ........................3 1 1 Freeman pr-1b ..............0 0 0 M.Diaz lf........................4 0 3 Ale.Gonzalez ss ............4 0 0 Me.Cabrera cf................3 0 1 D.Ross c ........................3 0 0 McLouth ph...................1 0 0 Minor p..........................1 0 0 Conrad ph......................1 0 0 Moylan p .......................0 0 0 Saito p...........................0 0 0 Di.Hernandez ph ...........0 0 0 Hinske ph ......................1 0 1 Venters p ......................0 0 0 Kimbrel p.......................0 0 0 McCann ph ....................1 0 0
TOTALS 32 2 10
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 0 2 .256
0 0 0 .258 0 1 2 .279 0 0 2 .302 0 0 2 .290 0 0 1 .261 0 1 0 .276 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
0 0 1 .186 0 0 0 .500 4 0 0 .139 0 0 1 .095 0 0 0 .251 0 0 0 .259
4 2 11 —
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 0 1 .340
0 1 1 .287 1 0 1 .314 0 1 0 .240 0 0 0 .077 0 0 1 .250 0 0 1 .263 1 1 0 .255 0 0 1 .274 0 0 0 .187 0 0 1 .000 0 0 1 .241 0 0 0
0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .111 0 0 0 .253 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
0 0 1 .275 2 3 9 —
WASHINGTON ......... 040 000 000 — 4 5 ATLANTA ................. 000 110 000 — 2 10
0 0
LOB: Washington 3, Atlanta 7. 2B: Morse (11), O.Infante (14), Prado (39), M.Diaz 2 (17), Hinske (21). HR: Maxwell (3), off Minor. RBI: Maxwell 4 (10), Prado (66), Me.Cabrera (41). S: O.Infante.
DP: Washington 2 (Lannan, Desmond, Espinosa, Alb.Gonzalez), (Zimmerman, Espinosa, Morse); Atlanta 1 (Ale.Gonzalez, O.Infante, Glaus).
WASHINGTON
Lannan .........................6 8 2 2 3 6 99 4.61 Jo.Peralta .................0.1 1 0 0 0 0
S.Burnett..................1.2 1 0 0 0 2 22 2.45 Storen..........................1 0 0 0 0 1
9 3.10 ATLANTA IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Minor ...........................5 4 4 4 1 6 77 5.84 Moylan.........................1 0 0 0 0 2 18 3.14 Saito ............................1 0 0 0 0 0 13 2.55 Venters........................1 1 0 0 1 0 21 1.83 Kimbrel ........................1 0 0 0 0 3 14 0.68
WP: Lannan (8-7); LP: Minor (3-1); S: Storen (4).
Inherited runners-scored: S.Burnett 1-0. HBP: by Ven- ters (Morgan). T: 2:53. A: 19,237 (49,743).
HOWTHEY SCORED NATIONALS SECOND
Zimmerman struck out. Morse doubled to center. W.Ramos singled to left. Alb.Gonzalez walked, Morse to third, W.Ramos to second. Maxwell homered to left on a 1-0 count, Morse scored, W.Ramos scored, Alb.Gonzalez scored. Lannan struck out. Espinosa struck out.
Nationals 4, Braves 0 BRAVES FOURTH
Glaus walked on four pitches. M.Diaz doubled to left, Glaus to third. Ale.Gonzalez fouled out to first baseman Alb.Gonzalez. Me.Cabrera grounded out, shortstop Des- mond to first baseman Alb.Gonzalez, Glaus scored. D.Ross grounded out, shortstop Desmond to first baseman Alb.Gonzalez.
Nationals 4, Braves 1 BRAVES FIFTH
Conrad pinch-hitting for Minor. Conrad struck out. O.Infante doubled to left. Heyward flied out to left fielder Maxwell. Prado singled to left, O.Infante scored. Prado was out advancing, left fielder Maxwell to catcher W.Ramos to second baseman Espinosa to first baseman Alb.Gonzalez, Prado out.
Nationals 4, Braves 2
joked on the middle of the dia- mond. OnMonday night, the Na- tionals languished in a six-game losing streak. On Wednesday af- ternoon, they were laughing their way to Philadelphia. Now what are the odds of that?
kilgorea@washpost.com
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA 8 2.11
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LOCALTEE TIMESINNOTIME. ©2010
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