Washington Nationals Countdown To Spring Training: 5 Days

The off-season is almost over. Less than three weeks until Washington Nationals pitchers and catchers report to Viera. To celebrate this fact, we here at DistrictOnDeck will commence a countdown of sorts pointing out interesting facts about numbers.

18 Days
17 Days
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6 Days

Yesterday, we took a look at the best pitchers in franchise history and the most six inning starts. Today, the opposite. Let’s take a look at the pitchers who had the most starts of five innings or less.

May 29, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson (5) during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Rogers again leads this list, but with a much smaller lead. When you lead the franchise in starts, it’s not too big of a surprise. He had 60 starts of five innings or less. The second spot on the list is held by Tony Armas Jr. Armas had 58 starts of less than five innings and he had a lot less starts  (151) than Rogers.

The rest of the top five had Bill Stoneman (47), Steve Renko (45) and Javier Vazquez (41). The sixth spot was held by Mike Thurman. John Lannan holds the mark  (38) for most starts by someone who only played for the team since it moved from Washington.

The best performance from a hitter in the five spot in the batting order was once again Larry Parrish who seems to have a knack for big games. He had a 4/6 game with a double and three home runs for 14 total bases on July 30, 1978. Rondell White‘s cycle game on June 11, 1995 brought him 13 total bases. Four Nationals came in fifth spot with 10 each from the fifth spot: Adam, LaRoche, Mike Morse, Josh Willingham, and Elijah Dukes.

Notable players to wear 5 with the Expos/Nationals: Jamey Carroll, Michael Barrett, Sean Berry, Pete Mackanin, Ty Cline, Carlos Baerga, Davey Lopes, Kory Casto, Jim Riggleman, Davey Johnson