Matt Chico pitched an excellent game tonight against The Atlanta Braves.
Tim Hudson was even better.
While Our Number 47 made one crucial mistake--A two out, first pitch fastball--that Atlanta's Yunel Escobar slammed over the right centerfield fence for a Home Run in the 6th inning. Their Number 15 minimized every opportunity for Our Washington Nationals. Hudson didn't beat himself.
Youth lost to veteran experience this evening. You can't fault Matt Chico for arguably his finest 8 inning stint of his short Major League Career. Our "Former Starter In Training" pitched well. And just one pitch ruined his excellent effort. Besides--his teammates couldn't score a single run for him--anyway.
Tim Hudson is a battler. He goes after each and every hitter. Something I would love to see more of--from Our Pitching Staff.
And Our Washington Nationals hitters were mighty quiet tonight. Nothing hit hard--no spark from anyone in the lineup. Hudson is tough--no question about it--but some batters stepped to the plate with seemingly no game plan--but to swing at the first pitch. Jesus Flores--who I have wanted badly to play more--one of the worst culprits. Our Number 3 had ZERO chance against Hudson. He looked terrible--going down on strikes twice.
Bring on Wily Mo Pena!!
Big Jon Rauch does not look good--almost uncomfortable out on the mound. "The Wookie" could not find the plate on many of his off speed pitches in the 9th. His control lost and it cost him dearly--giving up two runs after loading up the bases with no outs. Yet another time where, during the early season--Our Bullpen gives up late insurance runs--putting a close game--out of reach.
Bring on "The Chief"!!
A spark needs to be found.
Matt Chico did his part this evening--and Our Hitters let him down at New Nationals Park.
A 3-0 loss to The Atlanta Braves. The 8th straight loss.
Can we please get a Win?
2008 is looking a lot more like early 2007--when Our Washington Nationals struggled mightily losing 8 of their first nine out of the gate--then followed that bad string by getting beat 8 more times in a row during the first week of May.
Game Notes & Highlights:
Matt Chico went 8 full innings giving up five hits and one walk. He was solid. If Our Number 47 could consistently pitch like that--Chico would be one dependable starter--because one these days--his teammates are going to score some runs for him. So, did he grow up tonight? If Matt learned and can improve on this performance--all was not wasted this evening in the 3-0 loss to Atlanta.
A decent sized crowd for Friday Night--28,051--although not too vocal. Sohna and I didn't hear the Tomahawk Chop Chant all night long--which was a big relief. Car Traffic was brutal getting to DC from Virginia. Combined with The Washington Capitals first playoff game at Verizon Center and a couple long standing accidents surrounding RFK Stadium--cars where backed up all the way down I-395 to Seminary Road in Alexandria. We left our house at 5:30PM and DID NOT step into New Nationals Park until 7:15PM. Normal time to RFK Lot 8--25 minutes.No concessions report tonight--as we brought our food to the ballpark.
Finally--Our Section 218 Friends Kay & Jim surprised us with their latest Nats Gear--this one permanent--Curly "W" Red Tattoos. Jim stating: "If we ever got a team, I was going to get a tattoo to show my support. We have a team and I am sticking to my word." The Curly "W" tattoos looked good.Tonight's InGame Photo of Matt Chico-(AP) Manuel Balce Ceneta
1 comment:
TheSpouse and I listened to the game over Gameday Audio. We were really happy for Chico - I said "guess Manny was right from the start to insist he stay in the line-up!", but man this is getting depressing...
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