District Daily: Ryan Zimmerman’s Impact on Infield, More
By Kenny DeJohn
Apr 21, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Tanner Roark brought home a 4-1 victory for the Washington Nationals on Friday night, and the team will look to continue its winning ways against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. Read below for the latest news leading up to the action.
Rizzo proud of tested Nationals’ perseverance
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With the non-waiver Trade Deadline on Thursday, MLB.com caught up with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo to get his take on the team.
MLB.com: What do you like about the 2014 Nationals?
Mike Rizzo: I like everything about them. They are a group of guys that have come together. We had some adversity throughout all the trials and tribulations. We’ve had a positive attitude. We’ve had good camaraderie and good chemistry in the clubhouse. That’s never wavered. That’s the way we constructed this team. I really like the fact that throughout all the injuries that we had, we have the depth and personnel to persevere and get through it.
MLB.com: On May 24, the Nationals were 24-25. In your mind, were you worried? Read full article here.
With loss of Zimmerman comes infield moves
CINCINNATI — Nationals manager Matt Williams had nothing new to report on Ryan Zimmerman‘s right hamstring strain other than to say that Zimmerman will rest this weekend before seeing the team doctor on Monday.
Williams declined to classify the grade of Zimmerman’s strain, which would indicate how many games Zimmerman would miss.
“There are ways to look at it,” Williams said. “They will put a grade on it, but it doesn’t matter at this point. He’s two weeks [away], and we’ll re-evaluate after that. He pulled his hammy pretty good. We have to see how he reacts to it, so I don’t have a grade on it right now other than it’s pretty sore.” Read full article here.
Reds put hopes in Cueto to stop steep slide
CINCINNATI — The Reds will try to avoid a post-All-Star break run of futility they haven’t endured in 23 years when they take on the Nationals at Great American Ball Park on Saturday afternoon: losing eight straight to start the second half.
The last time Cincinnati lost eight in a row immediately following the Midsummer Classic was in 1991, and the last thing the 2014 club wants is to end up like the ’91 squad. That team was 44-36 in the first half, and after losing the first eight after the break, went on to finish 74-88, in fifth place and 20 games out of first.
“It’s a stretch in the season. We’re going to get back,” Reds manager Bryan Price said before Friday’s 4-1 series-opening loss. “We’re going to have other stretches where we play better than we have here. What we need is to play well enough to get ourselves to the top of the division and into the playoffs, and hopefully be one of the hotter teams going into the playoffs so we can do more than we’ve done in the past few opportunities.” Read full article here.