THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
KLMNO BASEBALL
Nationals Journal
Excerpts from voices.
washingtonpost.com/ nationalsjournal
Morse gets used to
playing every day At one point this season,
MichaelMorse askedManager Jim Riggleman to stop telling him if he would be playing the next day.Morse wanted to walk into the clubhouse, scan the lineup and be surprised.Morse thought that made him sharper, more alert, than knowing. These days, he pretty much
knows. Since Josh Willingham played his last game before season-ending knee surgery on Aug. 15,Morse has started 28 of 33 games and appeared in three others.He always wanted to be a regular—“I knewI could play every day,”Morse said—and for just more than a month, he has been one. In 100 at-bats during that
span, while serving as the primary right fielder,Morse has hit .320 with a .389 on-base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage. That .899 OPS ranks best on the team during that span by 129 points; Ian Desmond is second. The absolute ceiling forMorse has always been as a JaysonWerth-type late bloomer, and his season has done little to dissuade that best-case scenario. “I feel like I’ve settled in,
especially in the field,”Morse said. “I feel like I do belong as an everyday player.”
Significance of win No. 63 TheNationals on Tuesday
night ensured they will not lose 100 games, which, depending on one’s perspective, is a meaningful signpost or an unimportant sidenote. The cosmetic significance of winNo. 63 means theNationals don’t have to stare at triple digits in their loss column. The real significance? “There’s none,” reliever Tyler
Clippard said. “It’s a non- successful season regardless if you lose 100 or 95 or 90. It doesn’tmatter. If you’re in last, it’s not good. So it has no significance, really.” On the other side is John
Lannan.He’s been through two 100-loss seasons, and even a measly 63 wins is already four more than last year. It’s not good, but even a small step is a step. “It’s cool just to see progress,”
Lannan said. “Even though it’s small, we’re progressing. Our bullpen’s done such a great job. We’ve got guys stepping up. And our starting rotation is starting to take a little bit of form. So just a little bit of improvement, we’re still a young team, and we’re going through some growing pains and it’s not going to happen overnight. This not getting 100 losses is pretty big for us.”
The difference between 100
and 99 is the same as, say, 98 and 97, but it’s also not. There is a certain stigma to losing 100. Given theNationals’ 20-15 start, it took some putrid baseball to wait this long for their 63rd win. But at least that much will save them from extra infamy.
Hagerstown stays in Low-A
TheNationals have a two-year agreement to keep Class A Hagerstown as their affiliate in the Low-A South Atlantic League. With the announcement, theNationals finalize their minor league affiliates, changing only their rookie ball team: Class AAA: Syracuse Chiefs Class AA:Harrisburg
Senators Class A (High): Potomac
Nationals Class A (Low):Hagerstown
Suns Class A (Rookie): Auburn
Doubledays (Previously Vermont LakeMonsters)
—Adam Kilgore EVAN VUCCI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Houston’s JasonMichaels, right, appears to disagree with home plate umpire Tony Randazzo who called him out on strikes.
EVAN VUCCI/ASSOCIATED PRESS Ryan Zimmerman, left, pats Ivan Rodriguez on his back after theNationals won their second in a row over theAstros. Espinosa breaks out of slump nationals from D1
Dunn left in the seventh inning, two innings after he was hit by a fastball fromAstros starterWan- dy Rodriguez in the right elbow. Dunn called it “the worst pain
I’ve felt in baseball,” and said he lost feeling in his right hand.He remained in the game, but made an off-target throw because of the injury and realized he need- ed to leave. Manager Jim Riggleman said
he will make out two lineups for Thursday, one if Dunn can play and one if he cannot. Dunn, who rarely sits out, vowed he would play. “It’s good,” he said. “I’ll be in
there tomorrow.” While trying to salvage what
they can of this season, the Na- tionals are also trying to lay a foundation for the next. Last year, they broke in Ian Desmond, whohad started the year inClass AA, rose to Class AAA and, upon his ultimate promotion, never went back to the minors. Des- mond understood the impor- tance of his first month in the majors, the same opportunity Espinosa can now seize. “Hopefully, he realizes the
same thing,” Desmond said. “Next month could open the door for the rest of your life.” For Espinosa, the month in- cludes mastering his new roller-
NATIONALSONDECK
VS.ASTROS Thursday,4:35(MASN)
VS.BRAVES Friday, 7:05(MASN) Saturday, 1:05(MASN) Sunday, 1:35(MASN)
VS.PHILLIES Monday, 7:05(MASN) Tuesday, 7:05(MASN) Wednesday, 7:05(MASN)
Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM)
coaster profession. After getting called up, Espinosa immediately went 9 for 16 with three home runs and 10 RBI in his first four games. He went hitless in his next 14 at-bats. The Nationals tested him by keeping him atop the lineup, with Manager Jim Riggleman scrawling his name everyday.He was going to hit his way out of his slump. He started in the third inning,
when he smoked a triple to right-center field off Rodriguez, then scored on Desmond’s sin- gle. The Astros would tie the score in the fourth, and the Nationals would retake the lead whenMichaelMorse hit the 12th home run of his season in the fourth. Nationals starter Jason Mar- quis exited after facing one bat-
ter in the seventh, yielding Jason Michaels’s rocket to the left field fence. He had allowed one run and six hits prior to the double, andMarquis exited in line for his third win of the season. After Doug Slaten walked the only batterhefaced,Clippard entered and eventually yielded a two- run, lead-losing single to Angel Sanchez. The game-winning rally be-
gan when JustinMaxwell drewa leadoff walk in the seventh. Al- berto Gonzalez bunted him to second, and right-handed reliev- er Jeff Fulchino replaced Rodri- guez as Espinosa walked to the plate. Fulchino threw a 1-0 fastball
to Espinosa, and he blasted it to right field. He sprinted as the ball soared toward the seats. The ball clanged on the railing that runs along the top of the score- board in right. Espinosa looked at the second base umpire as he circled the bases — yes, he was told, it was a home run. TheNationals saved the game
with Joel Peralta and Sean Bur- nett, Peralta recording four outs and Burnett the final two on a double play. Desmond flipped to Espinosa, and Espinosa fired to first. Espinosa pumped his fist and quickly hugged Desmond. His slump was over, and the future could wait.
kilgorea@washpost.com
NATIONALS4,ASTROS3 HOUSTON
Bourgeois cf ................ 4 0 2 Ang.Sanchez ss........... 4 0 1 Keppinger 2b............... 4 0 0 Ca.Lee lf ...................... 3 0 1 C.Johnson 3b............... 3 1 0 Wallace 1b................... 4 0 1 Michaels rf .................. 4 1 3 Ja.Castro c................... 2 0 0 A.Hernandez ph .......... 0 1 0 Quintero c ................... 1 0 0 W.Rodriguez p ............ 3 0 0 Fulchino p.................... 0 0 0 Abad p ......................... 0 0 0 Melancon p.................. 0 0 0 Blum ph....................... 1 0 1
TOTALS WASHINGTON 33 3 9
Espinosa 2b................. 4 2 2 Desmond ss................. 4 0 2 A.Dunn 1b ................... 2 0 1 Mench ph..................... 1 0 0 Jo.Peralta p................. 0 0 0 S.Burnett p.................. 0 0 0 Zimmerman 3b............ 4 0 1 Morse rf ...................... 3 1 1 W.Harris rf .................. 0 0 0 I.Rodriguez c ............... 4 0 1 Bernadina lf ................ 4 0 0 Maxwell cf................... 2 1 0 Marquis p .................... 2 0 0 Slaten p....................... 0 0 0 Clippard p .................... 0 0 0 Alb.Gonzalez ph-1b..... 0 0 0
TOTALS 30 4 8
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 0 1 0 .247
2 0 1 .278 0 0 1 .288 0 1 1 .249 0 0 1 .323 0 0 1 .208 1 0 1 .250 0 0 0 .204 0 1 0 .179 0 0 1 .232 0 0 0 .194 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
0 0 0 .262 3 3 7 —
AB R H BI BB SO AVG 2 0 1 .229
1 0 0 .280 0 0 1 .264 0 0 0 .143 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
0 0 0 .307 1 1 2 .295 0 0 0 .185 0 0 0 .272 0 0 1 .253 0 1 1 .143 0 0 1 .100 0 0 0
0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 .270
HOUSTON................ 000 100 200 — 3 9 WASHINGTON......... 001 100 20X — 4 8
4 2 7 — 0
0
LOB: Houston 7, Washington 6. 2B: Michaels (10), Zimmerman (32). 3B: Espinosa (1). HR: Morse (12), off W.Rodriguez; Espinosa (5), off Fulchino. RBI: Ang.San- chez 2 (23), Michaels (26), Espinosa 2 (13), Desmond (62), Morse (35). SB: Bourgeois 2 (10). CS: Desmond (5). S: Alb.Gonzalez.
DP: Washington 3 (Maxwell, Espinosa, A.Dunn), (Des- mond, Espinosa, A.Dunn), (Desmond, Espinosa, Alb.Gonzalez).
HOUSTON
W.Rodriguez............6.1 6 3 3 2 6 114 3.67 Fulchino ...................0.1 1 1 1 0 0 Abad.........................0.1 0 0 0 0 0
5 2.40
Melancon ....................1 1 0 0 0 1 20 2.16 WASHINGTON
Marquis.......................6 7 2 2 1 2 96 7.18 Slaten..........................0 0 1 1 1 0
Clippard.......................1 1 0 0 1 2 25 2.84 Jo.Peralta.................1.1 0 0 0 0 3 14 2.00 S.Burnett .................0.2 1 0 0 0 0
9 2.37
WP: Clippard (11-6); LP: Fulchino (2-1); S: S.Burnett (3).
Marquis pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Slaten pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
Inherited runners-scored: Fulchino 1-1, Slaten 1-0, Clippard 2-2. HBP: by W.Rodriguez (A.Dunn), by Marquis (C.Johnson).
T: 3:05. A: 12,213 (41,546).
HOWTHEY SCORED NATIONALS THIRD
Espinosa tripled to center. Desmond infield single to shortstop, Espinosa scored. Desmond was caught stealing, catcher Ja.Castro to shortstop Ang.Sanchez, Desmond out. A.Dunn struck out. Zimmerman flied out to left fielder Ca.Lee.
Nationals, 1-0 ASTROS FOURTH
Keppinger grounded out, third basemanZimmermanto first baseman A.Dunn. Ca.Lee flied out to left fielder Bernadina. C.Johnson was hit by a pitch. Wallace singled to right, C.Johnson to second. Michaels singled to left, C.Johnson scored, Wallace to second. Ja.Castro popped out to third baseman Zimmerman.
Tied, 1-1 NATIONALS FOURTH
Morse homered to center on a 0-0 count. I.Rodriguez lined out to center fielder Bourgeois. Bernadina grounded out, second baseman Keppinger to first baseman Wallace. Maxwell struck out.
Nationals, 2-1 ASTROS SEVENTH
Michaels doubled to left. Slaten pitching. A.Hernandez pinch-hitting for Ja.Castro. A.Hernandez walked. Clip- pard pitching. W.Rodriguez flied out on a bunt to first baseman A.Dunn. Bourgeois walked on a full count, Michaels to third, A.Hernandez to second. Ang.San- chez singled to right, Michaels scored, A.Hernandez scored, Bourgeois to third. Keppinger struck out. Ca.Lee struck out.
Astros, 3-2 NATIONALS SEVENTH
Quintero in as catcher. Maxwell walked on a full count. Alb.Gonzalez pinch-hitting for Clippard. Alb.Gonzalez sacrificed, catcher Quintero to second baseman Kep- pinger, Maxwell to second. Fulchino pitching. Espinosa homered to right on a 1-0 count, Maxwell scored. Desmond flied out to right fielder Michaels. Abad pitching. Mench pinch-hitting for A.Dunn. Mench grounded out, second baseman Keppinger to first baseman Wallace.
Final Score: Nationals, 4-3
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 3.35
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5.60
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EZ SU GOLF
Kuchar grabs the spotlight in Atlanta
Top FedEx Cup seed is favorite at Tour Championship
BY DOUG FERGUSON Matt Kuchar is the face of
golf in Atlanta thisweekat the Tour Championship, just like he was 10 years ago. There’s one difference. Actually, there’s about 10
million differences. Kuchar is the No. 1 seed in
the FedEx Cup going into the final playoff event, which starts Thursday at East Lake. That gives him a slight edge in the race for the $10 million bonus, the biggest payoff in golf. It’s hard to believe that
Kuchar, perhaps the most cel- ebrated amateur golfer at Georgia Tech since Bobby Jones, wasn’t even sure he wanted to turn pro when he graduated a decade ago. He had won the U.S. Ama-
teur. He lit up Augusta Na- tional with his engaging smile and a game good enough to be the low amateur at the Mas- ters in 1998. Then came the U.S. Open at Olympic Club, where he held hisownagainst golf’s best and tied for 14th. Not long after that, a busi- nessman tossed out the idea of staying an amateur. “He said, ‘Nobody has real-
ly done it since Bobby Jones. There’s plenty of money to be made in the business world. It’s not that you have to turn professional to make money,’” Kuchar said. “So it was a neat opportunity.” Kuchar went to work for
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LibertyAssociates, a boutique investment banking firm in south Florida, a job that en- tailed plenty of golf with pro- spective clients, a chance to see how business gets done as efficiently on manicured fair- ways as in boardrooms. Chasing the amateur
dream, however, soon turned into a sprint. Kuchar played the Texas
Open on a sponsor’s exemp- tion in the fall of 2000 and missed the cut by one shot.He was furious with himself and wanted to tee it up the next week to prove he was better than that. “And it was then that I
knew I needed to really go week in and week out to see how good I could be,” he said. It took him time to find out.
He won his first PGA Tour event two years later at the Honda Classic, immediately went into a tailspin and didn’t emerge until hooking up with Chris O’Connell, a Texas- based coachwhotaught him a one-plane swing that was more about making a consis- tent swing than a perfect one. The plan has worked to
near perfection. No one has more than his 11
top 10s on the PGA Tour this year. His consistent play, cou- pled with a victory at The Barclays, has put him atop the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career, his first Ryder Cup team andNo. 10 in the world ranking. It’s also his first appearance
in the Tour Championship, a big goal for a Georgia Tech alum who used to play East Lake in college. “It’s definitely been a neat progression,” Kuchar said. “I think I was definitely well-cel- ebrated asanamateur,andit’s fun to take the steps forward. ... To make those steps, it’s a very rewarding feeling.” He has achancetobeFedEx
Orioles fail to close out sweep as Red Sox hammer Millwood BY JEFF ZREBIEC
boston — Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter has awell-earned reputation as a meticulous plan- ner and he’s undoubtedly already startedprioritizingwhatwillneed to turn around for his new club to become a factor again in the AmericanLeagueEast. His team’s inability to finish off
an opponent, to close out sweeps when given the opportunity, may not be on top of that list simply because just winning series, par- ticularly ones on the road, was a giant challenge for the Orioles in recent years. But for a manager that shud-
ders when he is asked after a loss about the satisfaction of still win- ning the series, theOrioles’ lack of a killer instinct will undoubtedly be something that is addressed. For thethirdtimeinthelast five
seriesandfor thefourthtimesince Showalter took over Aug. 3, the Orioleshadachancetocompletea three-game sweepandfailed.This time, theywere beatenby theBos- ton Red Sox, 6-1, before an an- nounced 37,729 Wednesday night asFenwayParkasKevinMillwood suffered his majors-leading 16th loss and the Orioles were shut downby JohnLackey. TheOrioles (61-91) led1-0head-
ing into the bottomof the fourth, thanks toTyWigginton’sRBI dou-
ble, butDavidOrtiz connected for a three-run homer in the inning off Millwood, and Boston cruised fromthere. Itwas just theOrioles’ fifth loss
inthe past 17 games and it thwart- edtheirbidtosweepa three-game series at Fenway Park for the first time since June 10-12, 1994. They alsowere forced to settle for split- tingthe seasonserieswiththeRed Sox, going an impressive 9-9 but failing to win it outright for what would have been just the second time since 1996. Millwood was touched for six
runs onsevenhits andawalk over five-plus innings.Ortiz startedthe barrage off the veteran starter withthe three-runhomer, andlat-
er addedanRBI single inthe sixth that gave theRedSox a 5-1 lead. It wasMillwood’s shortest out-
ing since July 5 ,when he lasted just one inning against Detroit and then was sent to the disabled list. Both Millwood and Lackey
didn’t allowahit for the first three innings, but Lackey was the one able to maintain it. He allowed just theone runonfivehits topick up his 13th win and improve to 10-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 career starts against theOrioles. Millwoodwas enjoying a resur-
gence of sorts in the last month, though his record certainly doesn’t indicate it. In his previous eight starts entering last night,
Millwoodhada 3.02ERA. EnteringWednesday,Millwood
received just 3.32 runs per game, the third-lowest run support of any pitcher in the American League. In his previous 11 starts, theOrioles scored28 runs. That trend continued lastnight
as Lackey retired the first 10 Ori- oles. The Orioles took a 1-0 lead, but
Boston answered in the fourth. With runners on first and second, Ortiz lined Millwood’s hanging slider over the right-fieldwall and into the visiting bullpen. The three-run shot was Ortiz’s 31st of the season, and the fourth of his career offMillwood. —Baltimore Sun
Cup champion with a $10 million bonus, perhaps enough for him to be voted tour player of the year, with the Vardon Trophy on the line for the lowest scoring average. The top five in the stand-
ings — Kuchar, Dustin John- son, Charley Hoffman, Steve Stricker and Paul Casey — determine their own fate. If they win the Tour Champion- ship, they win the FedEx Cup. Everyone else from No. 6 to No. 30 needs help to win. Defending champion Phil
Mickelson is No. 10, having slipped in the standings with mediocre results in the play- offs. He still has a chance, and
can get more than money. A victory would make himNo. 1 in the world for the first time. —Associated Press
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