Converted Chicago reliever Jeff Samardzija dueled Washington lefty Jordan Zimmermann to a near standstill on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley, but the Cubs were able to salvage a 4-3 victory. Samardzija’s outing was epic: he threw into the ninth, stifling Nats’ hitters and providing Chicago with a much needed win at home. In all, he allowed four hits and one home run — and only left the game after torrid Nat Adam LaRoche put his last offering into the right field seats.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched well — if not as spectacularly. He gave up six hits and struck out four in seven complete innings of work. Shortstop Ian Desmond continued his good start, accumulating two hits in four at bats, raising his average to .385 in the young season. Three games in, the pattern now seems set: the Nationals will get good pitching, but their bats need to come alive.

The Nationals almost rallied for the win with two out in the 9th inning, when Starlin Castro’s errant throw to first put Ryan Zimmerman on base. Adam LaRoche followed with his home run, which brought on Carlos Marmol in relief. Marmol, who’d come in for heavy fan criticism following his indifferent relief outings in the first two games against the Nats, walked Jayson Werth before Xavier Nady popped out to Starlin Castro near the third base line.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Nats fans got a good eyeful of what ails the Cubs — suspect starting pitching (Samardzija was stellar, to be sure — but he’s new to the starting rotation) and teeth gnashing relief. Cubs fans are more impatient than ever, booing the otherwise popular Kerry Wood after his second in-game collapse on Saturday and greeting Dale Sveum’s decision to bring Marmol in on Sunday with a near riot . . .

It didn’t help that Marmol dismissed his poor outing on Saturday as “just one game,” and hardly emblamatic of last year’s version of the Pathetics. “Last year is over,” he told reporters. “It’s a new year. You see a lot of new (players) here, huh? That’s what it is. Last year is over. Next question.” And with that, Marmol returned to his locker — cranking up Bob Marley on the clubhouse stereo as he did . . .

What the Cubs have is a solid second baseman (Darwin Barney), a rehab job at third (Ian Stewart, who hit .156 last year for the Rockies), an experiment at first (the absolute definition of “late bloomer”), and an outfield that is a rollercoaster: a defensive adventure in left (Alfonso Soriano), an aging veteran in center (Marlon Byrd), and a short-term fill-in in right (David DeJesus). We’re tempted to say that “these aren’t your daddy’s Cubs,” but then your daddy’s Cubs weren’t exactly your daddy’s Cubs either . . .

Then there’s Starlin Castro, a potential All-World perennial All Star at short who’s worth the price of admission. Chicago can’t stop talking about Castro, albeit in large part because he’s the only thing they have. The Dominican speedster (he stole four bases against the Nats) is that rarest of rare Cubs: he’s a home grown product. He was an All Star last year, at age 21, and is already ripping the cover off the ball in the 2012 campaign: he registered five hits in 13 at bats against the Nats in three games. If he could pitch, the Cubs might go to the playoffs . . . er . . . maybe not . . .

It’s not like Cubs fans haven’t noticed. Bleed Cubbie Blue loves Castro, recoiling from criticizing him for nearly throwing away the game today. BCB has a point: Bryan “Minors Phenom For Life” LaHair probably should have scooped up the errant throw. Then too, as we are quick to note, Castro has such range that he can get to balls that most shortstops can’t touch. He saves runs . . .

The View From The Bleachers points out that Castro has a fourteen game hitting streak, carrying over from last year, when he hit .307 and had more hits than anyone else in the National League. He was an All Star at 2011. In the midst of the hand-wringing over the plight of the Slugs, VFTB points out that the Nationals obtained Jordan Zimmermann with the compensatory draft pick they got when Soriano signed in Chicago . . . we had not remembered that . . . Good God that must be hard to swallow . . .

Ian Desmond’s ninth inning shot to right field scored Brett Carroll with the go ahead run, and the Washington Nationals went on to beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Opening Day at Wrigley Field. With the wind blowing in, this was a pitchers’ tussle, with both Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth launching bombs that, on any other day, would have gone out of the park. But the game was a beaut, with the Nationals notching their first victory, and their first come-from-behind victory of the season.

If the Cubs had won the squeaker, Ryan Dempster would have undoubtedly garnered all the headlines, taming the Nationals with 7.2 innings of two hit, ten strikeout baseball. And while Washington ace phenom Stephen Strasburg piched well, Dempster outdueled him through seven. Washington’s hitters finally stood up, waiting out pitches from reliever Kerry Wood, and tying the game on three successive walks (to Zimmerman, LaRoche and Werth — in the 8th) , allowing uber set-up man Tyler Clippard to notch the win and closer Brad Lidge to nail down the save.

Surprisingly, it was Ian Desmond who provided the offense for the Nationals, going 3-5 and getting the game winning RBI. But Adam LaRoche struggled against Dempster, whiffing three times in three at bats (nailing down his bad-for-April tag),  and leaving five on base. Chad Tracy came off the bench to provide a solid ninth inning at-bat, stroking a double into right field to set up the winning run. The Nats are happy with the win (of course), but they dodged a bullet. A sharply hit grounder in the ninth might have scored Chicago’s Joe Mather, but Ryan Zimmerman got him at the plate. It was all Lidge then, as he put down Marlon Byrd on strikes.

In the aftermath of Chien-Ming Wang’s steady and powerful outing against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, Davey Johnson faced the Washington baseball press. In light of Wang’s performance against the Braves, he was asked, would he recommend that the righty be offered a contract for 2012? Johnson didn’t hesitate: “No doubt about it,” he said, and then repeated it. “No doubt about it.”

Washington fans might rise to applaud this statement, particularly in light of Wang’s recent outings. The righty, signed by Mike Rizzo while still recovering from a blown out shoulder, has proven to be a good gamble. Wang has pitched no fewer than five innings in each of his last ten starts, and has pitched six complete in his last two — which includes today’s four hit 4-1 spectacular against Atlanta.

Johnson made it clear — he would have left Wang in to complete the game, but the bullpen needed work, and performed to their usual standards, with Gorzelanny, Clippard and Storen combining to hold the Braves to two hits in three complete innings of work. Drew Storen notched his 41st save on the season, and it’s probably not his last.

Wang made it look ho-hum-easy. He threw 85 pitches, 51 of them for strikes. His sinker looked as good as, or even better than, normal — a fact mentioned by Johnson, who said that the more Wang’s pitched, the more progress he’s made. His teammates in the infield agree. “He works quickly and he knows what he is going to do,” second sacker Danny Espinosa said. “When he has such a good plan like that, you stay active in case a ground ball [comes your way]. It keeps you in the game.”

Wang was even able to help his own cause at the plate. In the bottom of the 4th, he singled past first base into right field — scoring Espinosa. It was his first hit as a National, and his first in the majors. The crowd stood and roared its approval. “I had a bad record before,” Wang said of his hit. “All I wanted to do was just swing the bat, make contact, and I was kind of lucky. It was a line drive.

In notching their 77th win of the season, the Nationals put the Tomahawks in a squeeze — the Bravos needed a victory in their race for the Wild Card, and are now just two games ahead of the Musials. “We’ve got to win ballgames,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. “It’s nice to watch the scoreboard and all of that. But we’ve got to win the games that are in front of us.”

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: There was an ovation for Chien-Ming Wang among the section’s regulars — and for Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, who might have been making his last start (or his last appearance) in a Nationals uniform. That fact was not lost on Davey Johnson, who noted that the Hall-of-Fame bound catcher has remained a positive force in the clubhouse. “He’s just fun to watch,” a section-mate added . . .

(more…)

Veteran righty Javier Vazquez, who has done much to retrieve an otherwise poor season, pitched the Florida Marlins to a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Friday night. Vazquez held the anemic Nationals to just five hits, notching a win over Washington lefty John Lannan.

The Marlins’ victory ended a five game winning streak from the home town nine, quieting a line-up that had scored ten runs in its last outing against the New York Mets. “You have to tip your hat — Vazquez pitched a heck of a ballgame,” said Nationals manager Davey Johnson. “I thought we had a chance to get to him. He was coming right after us. He threw a lot of fastballs. We hit a couple of balls hard but couldn’t mount anything.”

Nationals starter Lannan was not sharp, but seemed to get stronger as the game went on. He ended up pitching six innings of eight hit baseball, but took the loss — which brought his record to 9-13. Lannan’s ERA, meanwhile, remains more than just respectable — at 3.68 for the year. Craig Stammen pitched well in relief, thus putting himself in the running for a slot out of the bullpen in 2012. Stammen’s ERA now stands at a wizard-like 1.35.

The Marlins seem to have the Nats’ number. They are 25-8 against the Nationals over the last four seasons, and always play them tough. “We didn’t play badly,” shortstop Ian Desmond said of the loss. “Vazquez just pitched well. They were ready to go, and we were a little less.”

You Want To Hear Intenseness? You Can’t Handle Intenseness: Mets manager Terry Collins blew up at his team in front of the press on Thursday — following the Madoff’s 10-1 loss to the Nationals in New York. “Perception is reality in our game and the perception I have right now is we’ve folded it up,” Collins said. “You want to see intenseness? You want to see me be intense? You guys are going to see it . . . Our fans should be upset. I don’t blame them one bit.”

(more…)

Ahead Of The Mets In The N.L. East: The Washington Nationals scrubbed the New York Madoffs at Citi Field this afternoon, 10-1 — thereby notching a four game sweep of their division rivals. The win featured a pitching gem from rookie September call-up Tom Milone, and a 5-6 day at the plate from shortstop Ian Desmond. This was the first sweep of a four game series by the Nationals since they swept the Braves in four games in 2009.

Milone’s first win of the year was well-deserved. The young lefty gave up just three hits in 5.2 innings, while striking out four. “I think he had everything working for him,” Nats’ manager Davey Johnson said after the victory. “He had them all messed up. They were talking to themselves. He jammed a lot of guys, who missed by a mile. It was a really fun game to watch. He was totally in command.”

Desmond, meanwhile, moved his batting average into the respectable range — an improvement of some thirty points since the All Star break. Desmond gives Davey Johnson credit for turning him around: the manager said that Desmond has enough power not to attempt to hit everything to right field, and now Desmond is pulling the ball more. “Everybody has been able to give me good advice,” Desmond said following his 5-6 outing. “I’ve been able to take the things that are successful and disregard the things that aren’t and go from there.”

The Nationals scored in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings, but they piled it on in the 9th, which began with yet another fielding error by David Wright (his 19th of the year) to lead off the inning. Danny Espinosa doubled, Chris Marrero followed with a sacrifice fly (that scored a run), Wilson Ramos scored Espinosa, Roger Bernadina singled, and Ian Desmond doubled — scoring two. In all, the Nationals scored four runs in the ninth.

Washington Nationals rookie Brad Peacock pitched five complete innings, shutting down the New York Mets — and giving the Nationals a 2-0 shutout win (their fourth victory in a row) at Citi Field in New York. Peacock, one of a passel of arms in Washington’s pitching-heavy farm system, threw 94 pitches, 61 of them for strikes in his first start, and his first win, in the major leagues.

“To tell you the truth, I thought I was going to be nervous, but just like my last outing, once I made that first pitch, I was fine,” Peacock said, following the victory. “I made sure I took deep breaths out there. I settled in nicely.” Nats’s skipper Davey Johnson praised the young righty’s approach. “I was real impressed,” Johnson said. “He showed a lot of poise. He didn’t get flustered.”

The Nationals scored their only runs of the game in the top of the 3rd inning on a fielding error from David Wright. With Ian Desmond on first, Ryan Zimmerman was given a free pass, after which Michael Morse and Jayson Werth singled. Desmond and Zimmerman scored in the inning. That was all that Washington would need.

The Washington bullpen was again impressive. Former starter Tom Gorzelanny shut down the Mets in two complete innings, Tyler Clippard registered his 34th hold, and Drew Storen came on in the ninth inning to notch his 37th save. Gorzelanny was particularly effective, and has been so over the last ten games, lowering his ERA from 4.50 to 4.13.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Peacock throws a knuckle curve, though it’s reportedly more of a “spike” curve of the type thrown by Cliff Lee and Dan Haren, than a knuckling curveball that was used by Mike Mussina. But Peacock throws it more regularly than either Lee or Haren. The knuckle curve creator (though there is strong disagreement on this point), was Chicago’s Burt Hooton, back in the early 1970s . . .

(more…)

The Washington Nationals broke out the lumber at Nationals’ Park on Sunday, spraying twelve hits and hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs to down the visiting Houston Astros, 8-2. The hit parade was led by Ian Desmond, who was 3-5 with two RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman, Chris Marrero and Danny Espinosa claimed two hits each, with Rick Ankiel, Jayson Werth and Laynce Nix each collecting one. The win meant that the Nationals took the series, two games to one.

“I think the nicest thing about all that is we finally had the lead,” Desmond said following the victory. “All series and the last two series, we have been behind and defensive. So today, we all wanted to make sure that we stayed aggressive. We weren’t so passive, giving a pitcher a strike, whatever it may have been. We wanted to make sure we were in the driver’s seat all day. That worked out for us.”

The Nats’ win dampened the headlines that were sure to be dominated by Stephen Strasburg, who pitched three innings — but was taken out by Davey Johnson after throwing 57 pitches. Johnson noted that Strasburg had thrown a lot of pitches in the first inning, and he didn’t want to extend him further: ” I explained to him, ‘I don’t want to [take you out during an inning]. As far, as I’m concerned, it’s like your second time out in Spring Training. That’s enough for me. You are not going to go five.’”

The Nats home run trifecta took place in the third inning, when Ian Desmond hit his eighth homer, Rick Ankiel followed with his ninth and Ryan Zimmerman followed with his 12th. The back-to-back-to-back home runs were the first time the Nationals had accomplished that unique feat since 2009. Once again the Nationals bullpen was superb: Tom Gorzelanny, Sean Burnett and Henry Rodriguez held the Astros scoreless, with Doug Slaten giving up an unearned run in the ninth.

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: The by-now traditional end-of-year conversation dominated the talk of the section, nearly from the beginning of the game — determining who would (and who would not), be with the Nationals next year. The yakking started with Rick Ankiel. “Definitely gone,” one opinionated fan said. “What? Seven, eight home runs? We can do better.”

(more…)