Bullpen Leads Nationals to Victoryover the Tigers

The Washington Nationals relied on their bullpen this afternoon, sending a total of six

pitchers to the mound in a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The Nats won four and lost two in their six-game road trip to St. Louis and Detroit. They’ll

finish the year at home starting Friday with a three-game series against the Mets.

Today’s game was scoreless through the first five innings before Washington pushed a few

runs across in the top of the sixth. Andrews Chaparro led off with a single to center and

went on to second base when Brady House followed with a single of his own. CJ Abrams

drove in Chaparro with a third straight single, but was thrown out while trying for another

base. With two outs Yohandy Morales hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, to

center field. 3-0 Nats.

The Tigers finally scored in the bottom of the sixth when Ben Malgeri led off with his fifth

home run to left field. 3-1 Washington.

Washington scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Nasim Nunez singled to

center field and then proceeded to steal both second and third base. James Wood’s

ground out allowed Nunez to cross home plate. 4-1 good guys.

Detroit tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth. With one out Jace Jung singled to right field.

Kevin McGonigle followed with another single sending Jung to second base. With two outs,

Ben Malgeri singled to right scoring Jung.

But that’s where the rally ended. The Nationals hold on for a 4-2 victory.

Washington also went with something they’ve gotten quite proficient at implementing: the

Bullpen Strategy.

Six relief pitchers combined for today’s win. Richard Lovelady started with an inning and a

third giving up just one hit. He was followed by Brad Lord who lasted three and a third

innings, also surrendering a single hit while striking out three. Will Dion was next. He

completed two innings giving up three hits and one run while striking out four. Dion was

credited with this afternoon’s victory. Next up was Jack Sinclair who retired the only batter

he faced. Erik Tolman then set down the next two batters. Yohandy Cruz pitched the final

inning and a third giving up a run on three hits while striking out two. Cruz did end up with

his first career save.

Nasim set a team record with his 48th and 49th stolen bases of the year. That team record

goes back to the latest reincarnation of the Washington franchise when they returned to

the nation’s capital in 2005. Congrats, Nasim…

The Nationals’record now stands at 75 and 84. Better than expected at the beginning of

the season but still disappointing in many ways.

We’ll finish up the year back home with three games against the Mets. The first contest is

this Friday at 6:45 ET.

I thought this was interesting. Today I read that part of Cade Cavalli’s new contract

includes a $4 million signing bonus just in case there is a work stoppage before next season

begins. The collective bargaining agreement expires this December, and there’s a great

deal of speculation floating around concerning a possible strike. This all goes back to

some of owners wanting to push toward a salary cap. Pretty smart, Cade, but also quite

disconcerting for us fans of the game. Can’t we just all get along?

Dave’s Dime…. Playoff teams still not decided… Now this Dime won’t make much difference to you fans who just follow the Nationals and that’s it. But I’ll bet most of us enjoy the game of baseball in general, and not just one particular team. To me, that’s what make the Major League Playoffs so exciting. We’ve talked about this before, how six teams from both the American and National Leagues make the post-season. Some complain that’s too many teams.

And I can see their point. There’s even a decent chance that one of the twelve teams participating in this year’s post-season could have a losing record. I heard some guy on “Pardon the Interruption” complaining about that today. But I don’t care. Yes, this does happen from time to time. That’s a risk these major sports take when they keep expanding the number of teams who qualify for the playoffs. But I still feel it’s a good thing. It makes those long seasons meaningful to more teams. That leads to more playoff games, more money earned for both the owners and the players, and more games sitting in the stands covered with snow.

I always take into consideration the weather of the cites who end up in the playoffs. With so many games stretching deep into October there’s bound to be a few games played in rough weather. If all series go as far as they can and the World Series needs a seventh game, that final game would take place on October 31st . Boo! So far, we have the following cold weather teams who’ve qualified for the post-season: Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs, and Brewers…brr! Milwaukee’s new stadium does have a retractable roof, so I guess they don’t count anymore as a cold weather team. Unless the roof breaks. With that in mind, and four games left in the season, all the playoff teams have not been decided.

And that, my friends, is why there are now so many playoff spots. The last week of the season is still important to quite a few teams. So, let’s see what has and has not been decided: In the American League the Tampa Bay Rays have clinched the East. The Yankees and Red Sox have locked in the top two wild card spots. In the Central division, Cleveland is one game ahead of the White Sox. Whoever ends up in second place should be the third wild card. The American League West has a tie for the top spot. Both the Astros and Rangers are sitting at 78 wins and 79 losses. Seattle has an outside chance to tie for that lead by the end of the season.

But it’s a long shot at best. In the National League the Braves won the East, Milwaukee took the Central, and the Dodgers ran away with the West. Three teams are tied for the first wild card spot. That’s wild for sure! The Cubs, Phillies, and Padres all sit with 87 wins and 70 losses. Arizona is four games back with only a slim shot at the playoffs. I’m watching the scores come in while I’m typing. This is just so dang exciting! I love this stuff… We’ll know by this coming Sunday who the playoff teams are and where and when they’ll play their next games. You guys have a good weekend,