Washington Nationals Countdown To Spring Training: 9 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
16 Days
15 Days
14 Days
13 Days
12 Days
11 Days
10 Days

Single digits! Today we will look at the number nine, and well, let’s look at some of the best nine inning performances in franchise history.

Aug. 29, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson (right) talks with bullpen coach Jim Lett (left) during infield practice before a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We will start with pitching. The franchise has had four no-hitters, including Dennis Martinez‘s perfect game. However, none of those games have the best Game Score in franchise history. That belongs to Bill Stoneman, but not in one of his two no-hitters. It occurred on June 16, 1971 in a 2-0 against the San Diego Padres. Stoneman went nine innings allowing one hit, one walk and striking out 14. He only faced two over the minimum.

Here are how the no-hitters stacked up:
Dennis Martinez (July 28, 1991) 0 BB, 5 K (92)
Charlie Lea (May 10, 1981) 4 BB, 8 K (91)
Bill Stoneman (April 17, 1969) 5 BB, 8 K (90)
Stoneman (October 2, 1972) 7 BB, 9 K (89)

Best Game Scores since the team moved to Washington:
John Patterson vs LA (August 4, 2005) CG Shutout, 4 H, 13 K (92)
Pedro Astacio vs ATL (August 15, 2006) CG Shutout, 2 H, 5 K (88)

And now the best offensive performances in franchise history.

Three players have three home runs in a game: Adam Dunn, Alfonso Soriano, Tim Wallach, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Larry Parrish who did it three times. None of the other players did it more than once.

Rondell White had the most hits in a single nine inning game. In a 10-8 win over the San Francisco Giants on June 11, 1995, White went 6/7 hitting for the cycle (2 1B, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) with five runs scored and three RBI.

And something fun: The best offensive performance (by total bases) from the ninth spot in the batting order is by Livan Hernandez on April 19, 2006. Hernandez went 3/4 with three runs scored, two doubles, and a home run. The Nationals lost the game 7-6.

Players to wear 9 with the Expos/Nationals: Mack Jones, Barry Foote, Casey Candaele, Graig Nettles, Marquis Grissom (also as a coach for the Nationals), Lee Stevens, Vinny Castilla, Bernie Castro, Lenny Harris, Jim Lett