SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2010
KLMNO BASEBALL
Nationals Journal
Excerpts from
washingtonpost.com/ nationalsjournal
Zimmerman’s injury
couldendhis year TheNationalswill be
“conservative”withhowthey treatRyanZimmerman’s strained rib injury, andit ispossiblehewill notplay againthis year,Manager JimRigglemansaid. Zimmerman,who sat out for
the thirdstraight game Saturday, saidhis strainedribmuscle feels the “same,”notnecessarily better. Zimmermantook light swings in the batting cage, buthewasnot available eventopinch-hit, Rigglemansaid. It isunlikelyZimmermanwill
returnSunday—“I’dhave tohear something very encouraging fromhim,”Rigglemansaid—and there is a chance, according to Riggleman, thatZimmerman, withsevengames left after Saturday,hasplayedhis final game of the 2010season. “That’s apossibility,”
Rigglemansaid. “Buthemight play [Sunday]. Itdepends on whathe tellsmehere today. It couldbe twoweeks andhe’s still feeling it. Ithas to be thathe’s got no issues. “We’re just going to be really
conservative aboutwhenweput himback out there.We’re just really concernedthat—what I don’twant tohavehappenis that heplays ina game, swings and hurts it, andnowit’s amonthinto the offseasonthathe’s got to rehab the injury.That’snot the way youwant aplayer going into the offseason—beforehe’s got to get ontrackwithwhathe’s got to do to get ontrack fornext year, firsthe’s got to rehab aninjury. If we canavoidthat,wewill.” Zimmermanis batting .307
witha .388 on-basepercentage andan.899 sluggingpercentage, numbers that,pairedwithGold Glovedefense, couldearnhim fringeMVPsupport onthe lower half of the 10-place ballot. Zimmerman,who alsomissed time inlateAprilwithtwo hamstring tweaks,hashit 24 home runs in142 games.
Morganreturns NyjerMorganreturnedfrom
his eight-game suspensionand enjoyeda largelyuneventfulday intheNationals’ 5-0loss to the Braves onSaturday. Morganwent 1 for 5 andmade
all threeplayshehada shot at in center field.Morgan,whohad beentaking battingpracticewith theNationals, saidhe feltno rust andconcentratedonhisnew mantra of “slowing the game down.” “I felt really good,”Morgan
said.
Coxwillbehonored OnSunday,BobbyCoxwill
managehis final game in Washington, another stoponhis goodbye tour aroundtheNational League.TheNationalswill begin a ceremony at roughly 1:15p.m. that includes a video tribute anda presentationto theBraves’ manager.
—AdamKilgore ANN HEISENFELT/ASSOCIATED PRESS Starter YuneskyMaya was stung for four runs in the sixth inning of Washington’s 5-0 loss to Atlanta.
Sixth inning dooms Maya as Braves shut out Nats
BY ADAM KILGORE The questions attached to the
heralded arrival of Yunesky Maya have rapidly yielded to more questions. He came from Cuba largely unknown aside from superlatives and past awards won and scouts’ whis- pers. How would he pitch against major leaguers? The Washington Nationals know now his fastball zips in the low- 90s. He overpowers no one. He walks fistfuls of batters. He pitches like most of their other starters, only, so far, not quite as effectively. AfterMaya’s fourth start, a 5-0
loss to the wild card-chasing Atlanta Braves on Saturday be- fore 22,834 at Nationals Park, a new question surfaced: Is this all? On Saturday, Maya allowed five runs— four earned— in 51/3 innings on eight hits, three walksandonestrikeout, spoiling his promising beginning with another big inning, the four-run sixth. Nonetheless, the Nationals
are encouraged that Maya — now 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA, 10 walks and eight strikeouts — will become the pitcher they hoped he would be when they signed him to a four-year, $6 million contract. There is more there, they say, ready to emerge onceMaya adjusts to his newlife and his newleague.He is not lost in translation, just momentarily stuck. “He’s got to try and play catch-
up,” pitching coach SteveMcCat- ty said. “The culture shock, ev- erything that he’s been through to get to this point, it’s been a lot.
It’s a tough adjustment. He’s changing his whole idea how to pitch. Learning in the big leagues can be a tough thing to do. You get exposed fairly quick- ly.”
When Maya arrived with the
Nationals, he thought of himself asanaggressive, strike-throwing pitcher. The experience of pitch- ing in international baseball dif- fers wildly from the major leagues. There are expanded strike zones and hitters more willing to chase pitches just out- side the edges of the plate. After his third minor league
start and first at Class A Poto- mac, he reacted with surprise at how patient hitters were — and in Class A, “you can get away with so much crap down there,” McCatty said. Those Class A hit- ters, patient in Maya’s eyes, would be shockingly free swing- ers by major league standards. And so inMaya’s major league
starts, his strike-pumping style has translated to apparent nib- bling and deep counts. This week, McCatty spoke to Maya, with bullpen catcher Nilson Robledo interpreting, about working fasterandpitching with more aggression. “You’ve got to trust yourself to make pitches,” McCatty told him. Maya under- stood and agreed. On Saturday, Maya showed progress. In the first inning, he began with eight consecutive strikes and retired the Braves in order on 11 pitches, nine strikes. “I felt like myself,” Maya said through catcher-turned-inter- preter Wil Nieves. “I felt like I was pitching back home.” The Nationals offered little help as the Braves snapped
Washington’s first four-game winning streak of the year, gath- ering six hits all game as Derek Lowe shut them out for five innings. Circumstances outsideMaya’s
control led to the Braves’ first run. Lowe led off the third with a double. With one out, Ian Des- mond lost JasonHeyward’s pop- up in a treacherous sun. Two batters later, with two outs, Bri- anMcCann grounded to the left side, and “McCann doesn’t hit groundballs to the left side of the infield,” Manager Jim Riggle- man said. Alberto Gonzalez made a diving stop and then an awkward throw from his knees, which Adam Dunn could not corral, allowing Lowe to score. Maya has provided stretches
of success in all of his starts, only to come undone in one inning. On Saturday, it was the sixth. With Atlanta leading, 1-0, Mar- tin Prado walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Derrek Lee doubled with one out, and Nate McLouth reached on an infield single. Alex Gonzalez roped the first pitch he saw, a hanging slider, deep into the left field seats. That was it forMaya. TheNats trailed, 5-0. “I’mnotmadat thehomerun,”
Maya said. “I’mmad at the walk. Throw him a strike, make him hit the ball.Homers will happen. Walks, I can control that.” Maya’s postgame reaction
provedheis listening toMcCatty. Still, it will take time before he is a finished product. Before the game, bullpen coach Jim Lett turned to McCatty and re- marked, “Six months ago, he was pitching against Turkey or Hol- land. Today he’s pitching against
SOCCER ROUNDUP
Manchester City blemishes Chelsea’s undefeated start
ASSOCIATED PRESS Chelsea’s perfect start to its
title defense ended with a loss at Manchester City on Saturday, Arsenal was beaten byWest Bro- mwich Albion, and Liverpool sal- vaged a draw with Sunderland after taking the lead on a conten- tious goal. Carlos Tevez’s solo strike
clinched City’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea, which had won five successivematches before falter- ing in its first big test of the Premier League season. Arsenal’s unbeaten streak was
ended when Peter Odemwingie and Gonzalo Jara scored within two minutes of each other to lift West Bromto a 3-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium. Liverpool, which drew 2-2
with Sunderland, went ahead through Dirk Kuyt after Fernan- do Torres pounced on a loose ball,which Sunderland’sMichael Turner had appeared to be roll- ing back for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to take a free kick. West Ham recorded its first
win of the season by defeating Tottenham, 1-0, andwas replaced at the bottomof the standings by
Everton, which drew 0-0 at Ful- hamand remains winless. Blackburn midfielder Brett
Emerton scored in the third minute of stoppage time to se- cure a 2-1 victory over Blackpool, while Birmingham was held to a 0-0 draw byWigan. l UNION 3, CHIVAS USA 0:
AlejandroMoreno and Fred each scored first-half goals, and host Philadelphia defeated Chivas USA. It was the second consecutive
shutout at home for the Union, both registered by goalkeeper Brad Knighton. Philadelphia beat Chicago, 1-0, on Sept. 11. l EARTHQUAKES 3, TORON-
TO FC 2: ChrisWondolowski had a hat trick to lead visiting San Jose to a victory over Toronto FC. Dwayne De Rosario and
Maicon Santos scored for Toron- to, which hurt its playoff hopes with the loss to San Jose. l CREW 2, REVOLUTION 2:
Columbus scored two second- half goals to earn a draw against New England. Pat Phelan scored in the sec-
ond minute to give the Revolu- tion a lead that was doubled in the 56th minute on Shalrie Jo- seph’s penalty kick.
Struggling United can’t finish Dynamo
populate tough 3-1 loss BY STEVEN GOFF
D.C.Unitedcrashedtoanother
gutting defeat Saturday night, spoiling a brilliant goal by 17- year-old midfielder Andy Najar and equaling the club record for losses ina season. United was cruising along
nicely until the middle of the second half, when the Houston Dynamo, MLS’s second-worst team, scored twice in four min- utes en route to a 3-1 victory in front of 13,828 atRFKStadium. Devon McTavish’s own goal
and Geoff Cameron’s header in the 66th and 70thminutes over- turned the Dynamo’s deficit and helped drop United’s record to 5-18-3, its highest loss total since 2000. Thematch ended in turbulent
fashion: Both coaches, D.C.’s Ben Olsen and Houston’s Dominic Kinnear,wereejectedafteraside- line commotion; Dynamo goal- keeper Pat Onstad was bloodied in a collision with a teammate; and Dominic Oduro scored on a breakaway in the 10th of an as-
Najar’s offense shines, but near-misses
tounding 11 addedminutes. Olsenmade two lineupchang-
es:McTavish replaced rookie Jor- dan Graye on the back line and BrankoBoskovic returnedtocen- tral midfield in place of Stephen King. The Dynamo (7-14-5) arrived
inWashington fromKansas City, where it surrendered a two-goal lead Wednesday and then was beaten in the sixth minute of added time, 4-3, for its fourth consecutive loss and sixth set- back insevenoutings. Entering the RFK encounter,
United andHouston had a 3-19-6 record in their past 28 matches combined—a spectacular down- fall for pastMLS Cup champions unaccustomedtobeingoutof the playoff chase. UnderOlsen,who took charge
in early August, United has played with energy and passion. The club continues, however, to lack menacing presence around the penalty area, so all of its hard work in the early stages against Houstonwaswasted. Inthe29thminute,Najar tem-
porarily eradicated that deficien- cy. Santino Quaranta served a long, high ball fromthemidfield line toNajar instride justbeyond the penalty area. His first touch was heavy, drawing defenderAn-
drew Hainault toward the ball. But Najar was too quick for the Houston player, pulling the ball back and accelerating to his left withHainault inpursuit. Here is where Najar distin-
guished himself from most MLS players in such a position. In- stead of a hasty bid that Onstad surely anticipated, Najar turned his shoulders and hips ever so slightly to give the appearance of a cutback or shot. Hainault bought it, sliding
into what he thought would be the ball’s path. Retreating de- fender Adrian Serioux overcom- mitted, allowing Najar to retain control, take two touches and sting an 11-yard shot into the right side of thenet. It was his fifth league goal,
equaling the club’s rookie record shared by Quaranta (2001) and Freddy Adu (2004). Najar also scored twice in the U.S. Open Cup, and since mid-June in league play, he has four of Unit- ed’s eight goals to surge into the conversation for MLS rookie of the year. United seized the initiative
after halftime against the tiring Dynamo, but the final touch was off themark. Danny Allsopp was ruled offside when converting the rebound of Onstad’s diving
NED DISHMAN/GETTY IMAGES
Abrilliant goal by AndyNajar wasn’t enough asUnited tallies its highest loss total since ’00.
save and Onstad disrupted Na- jar’sdangerous cross. Typical of the season,United’s
faulty finishingwas costly. In the 66th minute, goalkeeper Troy Perkins flailed at a high cross. Alone on the back side, Brad Da- vis’s volleywaswell off target but struckMcTavishandskippedinto the emptynet. United’s collapse continuedin
the 70thwhenCameron’s 12-yard glancing header off Davis’s long free kick beat Perkins to the near corner. Perkinsmade two quality stops before Onstad’s foot save denied Najar’s potential equaliz- er inthe 87thminute.
goffs@washpost.com
EZ SU
D3
BRAVES5,NATIONALS0 ATLANTA
O.Infante 2b................ 4 0 0 Heyward rf .................. 5 0 1 Prado 3b ...................... 4 1 1 McCann c..................... 4 0 1 D.Ross c....................... 0 0 0 D.Lee 1b ...................... 2 1 1 Freeman pr-1b ............ 1 0 0 McLouth cf .................. 3 1 2 Ale.Gonzalez ss........... 3 1 1 Me.Cabrera lf .............. 4 0 1 D.Lowe p ..................... 1 1 1 Hinske ph .................... 1 0 0 Moylan p...................... 0 0 0 Venters p..................... 0 0 0 Conrad ph .................... 1 0 0 Kimbrel p..................... 0 0 0 Wagner p..................... 0 0 0
TOTALS WASHINGTON 33 5 9
Morgan cf.................... 5 0 1 Bernadina lf ................ 4 0 1 Bisenius p.................... 0 0 0 Balester p.................... 0 0 0 Mench ph..................... 1 0 0 Desmond ss................. 4 0 0 A.Dunn 1b ................... 3 0 0 Morse rf ...................... 3 0 0 A.Kennedy 2b.............. 3 0 0 W.Ramos c .................. 4 0 1 Alb.Gonzalez 3b .......... 4 0 2 Maya p......................... 2 0 0 Stammen p.................. 0 0 0 Maxwell ph-lf.............. 1 0 1
TOTALS 34 0 6
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 1 0 .329
0 0 3 .281 0 1 1 .306 0 0 0 .274 0 1 0 .274 1 2 0 .258 0 0 1 .118 0 1 0 .188 3 1 1 .260 0 0 1 .255 0 0 0 .157 0 0 0 .254 0 0 0
0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 .235 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 7 8 —
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 0 1 .258
0 0 1 .256 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 .130 0 1 2 .278 0 1 1 .265 0 1 1 .296 0 1 0 .251 0 0 0 .256 0 0 2 .269 0 0 1 .167 0 0 0 .237 0 1 0 .147
ATLANTA................. 001 004 000 — 5 9 WASHINGTON......... 000 000 000 — 0 6
0 5 9 — 2
1
E: D.Lee (7), McLouth (2), Alb.Gonzalez (5). LOB: Atlanta 9, Washington 12. 2B: D.Lee (30), D.Lowe (4), Morgan (16), Maxwell (5). HR: Ale.Gonzalez (6), off Maya. RBI: D.Lee (74), Ale.Gonzalez 3 (38). S: D.Lowe.
DP: Atlanta 1 (Prado, O.Infante, D.Lee); Washington 1 (A.Kennedy, A.Dunn).
ATLANTA IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
D.Lowe........................5 5 0 0 1 4 103 4.07 Moylan........................1 0 0 0 1 1 15 2.95 Venters .......................1 0 0 0 2 2 27 1.81 Kimbrel .......................1 0 0 0 1 1 16 0.53 Wagner .......................1 1 0 0 0 1 12 1.38
WASHINGTON IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Maya ........................5.1 8 5 4 3 1 92 6.43 Stammen .................1.2 1 0 0 0 1 24 5.15 Bisenius ......................1 0 0 0 2 3 22 2.25 Balester ......................1 0 0 0 2 3 22 2.12
WP: D.Lowe (15-12); LP: Maya (0-3). WP: Kimbrel, Maya. T: 3:04. A: 23,824 (41,546).
HOWTHEY SCORED BRAVES THIRD
D.Lowe doubled to left. O.Infante grounded out, third baseman Alb.Gonzalez to first baseman A.Dunn. Hey- ward infield single to center. Prado fouled out to first baseman A.Dunn. McCann infield single to shortstop, D.Lowe to third, Heyward to second.OnAlb.Gonzalez’s error, D.Lowe scored, Heyward to third. Heyward was out advancing, pitcher Maya to catcher W.Ramos, Heyward out.
Braves, 1-0 BRAVES SIXTH
Prado walked on four pitches. McCann popped out to second baseman A.Kennedy. On Maya’s wild pitch, Prado to second. D.Lee doubled to left, Prado scored. McLouth infield single to shortstop. Ale.Gonzalez homered to left on a 0-0 count, D.Lee scored, McLouth scored. Stammen pitching. Me.Cabrera lined out to center fielder Morgan. Hinske pinch-hitting for D.Lowe. Hinske grounded out to first baseman A.Dunn.
Final Score: Braves, 5-0 NATIONALSONDECK
VS.BRAVES Sunday, 1:35(MASN)
VS.PHILLIES Monday, 7:05(MASN) Tuesday, 7:05(MASN) Wednesday, 7:05(MASN)
ATMETS Friday, 7:10(MASN) Saturday, 1:10(MASN) Oct.3, 1:10(MASN)
Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM)
the Atlanta Braves.” It seems unlikely Maya has
been able to unveil his full tal- ents, even aside from the differ- ence in pitching style. He has spent less than a year in America and is living without his family, which remains in Cuba. Maya keeps photographs of them in his locker, including a picture of himself sleeping next to his small child. He wants to learn English, but at the moment he speaks practically none. “He’s gotten better each time,”
Riggleman said. “I thinkwhat he shows us is what he is. It’s going to work.” SaidMaya: “I have a lot more
toshow, to prove here.This is the best baseball in the world. Every day, I feel more comfortable. There’s always room for im- provement.You’ve got to be posi- tive. I believe I can be successful up here.”
kilgorea@washpost.com
--- ---
Overbay’s home run in 11th inning defeats O’s
---
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Toronto’s 5-4 triumph fueled by four homers
BY DAN CONNOLLY
toronto—With one swing, Toronto’s Lyle Overbay deliv- ered the seemingly inevitable Saturday, another Blue Jays’ home run and another victory over theBaltimoreOrioles. Overbay deposited Mark
Hendrickson’s second pitch of the 11th inning over the right- fieldwall to give Toronto a 5-4 win that marks its 13th- straight victory over the Ori- oles atRogersCentre. It was the Blue Jays’ fourth
solo homer on the afternoon, and their 33rd longball in 17 games versus Baltimore this season. The Orioles have gone deep
just eight times against the Blue Jays and only once Satur- day despite a 19-mph wind that swirled around the open roof. “I went out to the mound
andthewindjustaboutpicked you up and [took] you out,” Orioles Manager Buck Show- alter said. “The ballwas flying out ofhere,whether [the roof] is opened, closed or sideways andtheydon’tneedhelp.They certainly have enough power as it is.” The Jays lead the majors
with 241 homers, but Over- bay’s 20th of the season was just the second game-ender by Toronto this season. Baltimore (61-93) is 3-14
against the Blue Jays (79-75) and has dropped 22 of its past 24 games in Toronto, despite taking an early 3-0 lead. De- spite the loss, the Orioles are 13-4 inextra innings. Starter Jeremy Guthrie al-
lowed seven hits,walked none and struck out six in 6 1/3
in-
nings, but three of the hits left the ballpark: Aaron Hill hit a home runinthe second,Travis Snider in the third and Edwin Encarnacioninthe seventh. “A couple mistakes I made
onmypart,whereI shook[off] the pitches and didn’t execute themwell enoughandallowed themtocreepbackinthegame slowly,” said Guthrie, who didn’t earn a decision for the first time in 12 starts dating to July 17. The only other run Guthrie
allowed came in the sixth on anOverbay sacrifice fly,which was set up by a single, a hit batsmanandaninfieldhit that third baseman Ty Wigginton got a glove on but couldn’t snag. After completing a perfect
fifth, Guthrie became the first Orioles pitcher since Mike Mussina andSidneyPonsonin 1999 and 2000 to reach the 200-inning mark in consecu- tive seasons. Guthrie threw an even 200
in 2009, which was a career high.
—Baltimore Sun
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