District on Deck

Lineups: Duke Makes First Start of Season In San Francisco; Harper Returns

Andrew Flax — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:44:50 +0000

Remember when I said some matchups against the Dodgers were ones you should not look to for offense? This game is the exact opposite. With Bryce Harper‘s return today, the Nationals will only be missing Jayson Werth on offense, and perhaps will have some semblance of run-scoring. Aiding the Nationals’ offensive quest will be Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong, who has struggled nearly as much as the Nationals’ starter. He has an 8.06 ERA and has allowed the most runs in baseball. It could be worse for him too: in his last outing, he allowed eight runs in two innings, but only three were earned. Some have suggested that another poor performance could see him removed from the Giants’ rotation, so the Nats’ bats may be attempting to DFA him. Interesting fact: He has yet to allow fewer than three runs in a start, and the Nationals are 20-3 when scoring three or more runs. Zach Duke may be in a similar situation. He has an 8.40 ERA as the long relief man in the Nationals’ bullpen, and is making his first start of the year in place of Ross Detwiler. If he gets shellacked, he could very well be waived too. The pressure is on for both starters to not get lit up, while the offenses are salivating. Here are tonight’s lineups:

May 17, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) prior to his at bat during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Washington

Denard Span CF

Steve Lombardozzi 2B

Harper LF

Ryan Zimmerman 3B

Adam LaRoche 1B

Ian Desmond SS

Roger Bernadina RF

Jhonatan Solano C

Duke LHP

San Francisco

Angel Pagan CF

Marco Scutaro 2B

Pablo Sandoval 3B

Buster Posey C

Hunter Pence RF

Brandon Belt 1B

Andres Torres LF

Brandon Crawford SS

Vogelsong RHP

Moments That Mattered: Hitting Surprises, But Pitching Does Too

Andrew Flax — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:30:25 +0000

Source: FanGraphs

In today’s lineups post, I said: “Tonight’s lineup doesn’t look poised to score a ton.” Let me be the first to say it: I was wrong. Four runs is definitely a ton by Nationals standards. Coming into today, the Nationals were 20-2 when scoring three or more runs, so scoring four is not worthy of criticism. Unfortunately, everything that was not the offense went wrong. Dan Haren got lit up, and the Padres stole five bases. They were 8-8 on stealing bases in the series, and Kurt Suzuki has thrown out two of 27 attempted base stealers this season. It’s hard to draw massive conclusions off of two games or with two of the team’s best hitters injured, but no World Series-caliber team would ever be in a situation to start three batters hitting under .200.

Most Important Nationals Hit: Ryan Zimmerman‘s two-run home run (+16.3%)

May 17, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) is congratulated by third base coach Trent Jewett (44) after a solo home run during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When the top of the third started, the Nationals had a 16.2% chance of winning, already trailing 3-0. But a Steve Lombardozzi single, one of three on the day for him, set up a two run second-decker by Zimmerman that cut the Nationals’ deficit to one. The homer was Zimmerman’s second of the series, but only his third of the season.

Most Important Nationals Pitch: Carlos Quentin‘s RBI double (-11.5%)

The Padres jumped on Haren early. After a single, stolen base, and walk, the Padres had runners on first and third with one out. Quentin, hitting just .182 coming into the game, laced a double to score Cabrera and move Headley to third. The Padres did not have any momentously large offensive outbursts, instead choosing to score their runs mainly through strings of hits, which is why their largest WPA play was not so large.

Champ of the Game: Including the home run, Zimmerman (+10.2%) was 2-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. San Diego’s Jedd Gyorko (+15.6%, pronounced “jerk-o”, really) was 2-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and two walks.

Chump of the Game: Haren (-46.1%) struggled mightily. He allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings, pumping his ERA back up to 5.54. Only two Padres had a negative WPA, and two of them tied for Chump at -3.1%. Tim Stauffer allowed two hits and a run while recording no outs, while catcher Nick Hundley was 0-4 with an RBI.

Week in Review: May 12th-18th

Andrew Flax — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:45:22 +0000

While staying up for every 10pm game on this road trip has obliterated my sleep schedule, my late nights have not been wasted. The week was a mixed bag in terms of outcomes, but has certainly not been without excitement. If you want to relive it all, here’s this week in review:

Sunday, May 12th

May 17, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Washington Nationals players celebrate after a win against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Nationals won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Strasburg Falls Apart As Cubs Wallop Nats, 8-2

Moments That Mattered: No One Does Much Of Anything Too Well

Chicago Cubs At Washington Nationals Lineups, May 12, 2013

Bullpen Blows Lead For Gio Gonzalez: Nats Lose 2-1 To The Cubs

Monday, May 13th

Moments That Mattered: Gonzalez Returns To Form, Bullpen Doesn’t

Week In Review: May 5th-11th

Lineups: Nats Head West To Face Reeling Dodgers

Tuesday, May 14th

Nats Win, Harper Hurt

Bryce Harper Avoids Concussion, DL After Scary Collision With Wall

Moments That Mattered: Offense Sputters To Life Early