Results tagged ‘ Gio Gonzalez ’
Highlights: 4.25.13
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4.25.13 – Nationals 8, Reds 1
Stat of the Game: Gio Gonzalez allowed just one hit over eight innings of work, striking out seven to earn his second win of the season.
Under-the-Radar Performance: While Danny Espinosa homered and plated three on his 26th birthday, Denard Span also had three RBI, collecting three hits as well.
It Was Over When: Espinosa’s two-run shot in the third opened up a 6-0 lead from which Washington would never look back.
What to Watch for: 4.25.13
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Cincinnati Reds (13-9) vs. Washington Nationals (10-11)
RHP Bronson Arroyo (2-1, 3.54) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (1-1, 5.85)
The Nationals and Reds open up a four-game weekend set as southpaw Gio Gonzalez takes on veteran righty Bronson Arroyo Thursday night. Gonzalez is 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA (2 ER/19.0 IP) in three career starts against the Reds, including his stellar Nationals home debut last year, in which he twirled 7.0 innings of two-hit, shutout ball.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Lombardozzi 3B
3. Harper LF
4. Werth RF
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Desmond SS
7. Espinosa 2B
8. Suzuki C
9. Gonzalez LHP
BUZZARD’S LUCK
The Nationals currently rank 14th in the National League and 24th in Major League Baseball in batter BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) at .273. By excluding all homers, free passes and K’s produced by the offense, BABIP measures the percentage of batted balls that fall for hits and is a product of team speed, how hard a team hits the ball, the efficiency of the defense and random luck. With the addition of Denard Span, the ‘13 Nationals are likely faster than the ‘12 squad, which ranked fourth in the NL and fifth in MLB with a .308 BABIP. Washington’s drop off (-.035) in BABIP from 2012 to ‘13 is the largest in MLB.
FOR STARTERS
After Stephen Strasburg allowed just 3 runs on 5 hits in 7.0 innings on Wednesday, Nationals starting pitchers have now allowed three earned runs or less in eight of the last nine games.
GOOD COMPANY
Ian Desmond’s NL-leading 12 extra-base hits (eight doubles, one triple, three homers) are tied with the Yankees’ Robinson Cano and Oakland’s Jed Lowrie for the MLB lead among middle infielders.
What to Watch for: 4.20.13
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Washington Nationals (9-7) vs. New York Mets (8-7)
LHP Gio Gonzalez (1-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Jeremy Hefner (0-2, 7.20)
The Nationals dropped the series opener Friday night in Flushing and are an even 2-2 on their current six-game road swing with two games left to play. Gio Gonzalez, who was 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA in four starts vs. New York in 2012, looks to get back on track as he matches up with Mets righty Jeremy Hefner, who was 0-3 with a 5.29 ERA in three starts against Washington last season.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Werth RF
3. Harper LF
4. LaRoche 1B
5. Desmond SS
6. Tracy 3B
7. Espinosa 2B
8. Suzuki C
9. Gonzalez LHP
ERRATIC BATS OF LATE
After taking two-of-three at Miami thanks to 10-3 and 6-1 victories, the Nationals plated just a single run on four hits in dropping Friday’s series opener at Citi Field. In its last six games, Washington has scored two runs or less four times and tallied just four hits in a game thrice. The Nationals have averaged 6.0 runs per game in their nine wins this season and only 1.6 runs per contest in the season’s seven losses.
PLUSES AND MINUSES
At present, Washington is the only team in MLB with both a winning record (9-7) and a negative run differential (-13). The defending World Champion Giants (10-7) come close, however, having both scored and allowed 77 runs.
DON’T WALK
Nationals starting pitchers rank third in Major League Baseball, having issued just 1.98 walks per 9.0 innings. Only the starting staffs of the Mariners (1.70) and Brewers (1.85) have been stingier with the free pass.
What to Watch for: 4.14.13
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Atlanta Braves (10-1) vs. Washington Nationals (7-4)
LHP Paul Maholm (2-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (1-0, 0.82)
Washington looks to wrap up a winning homestand as the Nationals try to salvage the final game of a three-game set with Atlanta Sunday afternoon. In a battle of undefeated southpaws, the Nats send Gio Gonzalez against Braves lefty Paul Maholm.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Werth RF
3. Harper LF
4. Zimmerman 3B
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Desmond SS
7. Espinosa 2B
8. Suzuki C
9. Gonzalez LHP
FOR STARTERS …
The Braves have handed the Nationals a pair of losses here the last 48 hours despite strong efforts on Friday from Ross Detwiler (7.0 innings, one run allowed) and on Saturday from Stephen Strasburg (6.0 innings, two unearned runs allowed). Collectively, Washington’s two starters have posted a 0.69 ERA (1 ER/13.0 IP), a 4.0/1 K-to-BB ratio, and a .191 batting average against in the two losses.
MASHING MEANINGFULLY
Bryce Harper team-best fifth homer in the first inning on Friday provided Washington an early 2-0 lead. Four of Harper’s five homers this year have either tied the game or given the Nationals the lead.
EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The Nationals pace the NL as 41.6 percent of their hits this season have gone for extra bases. In ‘13, Washington’s 89 hits include 18 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs. The Mets rank second in extra-base hit rate at 39.4%.
Guess Your Players’ Pups
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In honor of our first Pups in the Park of 2013, we’re sharing photos of some of our players’ dogs with you. But which pup belongs to which player? Vote below, then check the comments for the answers!
If you weren’t able to make it for today’s Pups in the Park, we’ve got three more dates scheduled for 2013, so get your tickets now before they’re gone.
Second Chance To Make a First Impression
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You remember Gio Gonzalez’s first start of last year, right? Who could forget when the charismatic southpaw took the Nationals fan base by storm, delivering seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball, and introduced an adoring crowd to his trademark grin when he delivered his first Major League hit in the home opener? First impressions can go a long way to establishing relationships between players and fan bases.
Dan Haren gets his first shot in front of the home fans tonight.
Except, of course, that wasn’t Gonzalez’s first start as a National. That less-than-memorable occasion actually occurred at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field on April 7, 2012, when he allowed four runs on seven hits, failing to make it out of the fourth inning. Gonzalez’s first outing was quickly overshadowed by the lefty’s success in his initial opportunity in front of the home fans five days later. He used that success to shoot out to a 7-1 start en route to a Major League-best 21 wins and a third-place finish in the National League Cy Young voting.
All of this should provide solace to Dan Haren, who makes his home debut Thursday night in Washington. With three times as many Major League wins (119) and All-Star appearances (three) under his belt as Gonzalez had entering last season, the veteran righty doesn’t have anything to prove. But a return to the form that saw him compile a 2.81 ERA and 41 strikeouts to only five walks over his last eight starts of the 2012 season would go a long way toward further endearing him to the home crowd here in The District.
Haren’s teammates have done everything in their power to set the stage. With Wednesday night’s 5-2 victory over the White Sox, the Nationals moved to 5-0 at home to begin the season and 6-2 overall for the 2013 campaign. The bats continued to deliver, as Ian Desmond led the charge with a trio of extra-base hits. Since suffering their first loss of the year, a shutout last Friday night in Cincinnati, the Nats offense has scored 25 times over the past four contests, plating no less than five runs in each game in support of their pitching staff.
If Haren can accomplish what Gonzalez did last year, Nationals fans will no doubt welcome him with open arms as the newest member of K Street.
The Boys of Lumber
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The calendar may have read April 10, but there was the distinct feeling of summer in the air as the Nationals began their second homestand of 2013 Tuesday night. With a first pitch temperature of 81 degrees, baseballs were flying out of Nationals Park more the way they tend to do in summertime than in spring. Or, rather, more the way they did when the Washington lineup finally returned to health last summer than the way they did with the depleted, early-season edition.
Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos are showing early signs of returning to their prior power numbers.
It can be easy to forget, what with the team’s offensive success in the second half, just how much the Nationals struggled to score runs at times while key members of their lineup were missing. Even once the team was mostly healthy, Jayson Werth’s wrist remained at less than 100 percent strength, while Wilson Ramos would not play again until Opening Day this year.
But look at this lineup right now – there are no breaks, no easy outs. Not just that, but every hitter, one through eight (and even nine, as Gio Gonzalez would have you know), can take a mistake and deposit it over the wall. Werth slugged 20 or more home runs every year from 2008-11, blasting a career best 36 in 2009. Ramos swatted 15 out of the park in less than 400 at-bats two seasons ago before his 2012 was cut short. Considering the three through seven hitters between them combined for 122 homers in under 2,800 at-bats last season (roughly one per 23 at-bats), the current Nationals lineup may well be the most daunting they’ve ever put on the field as a franchise.
Washington has already hit 14 home runs through the season’s first seven games. With the traditional “small sample size” caveat, that puts them on pace for 324 this season, after setting a franchise record with 194 last year. Five players have hit more than one home run. Three – Bryce Harper, Adam LaRoche and Ramos – already have a multi-homer game.
Last year, the Nationals had just four combined homers through seven games, and didn’t hit their 14th until Game #24 on May 2, when Ian Desmond rocked J.J. Putz for a two-out, two-run, ninth-inning, walk-off blast.
That home run ignited the first wave of offense to support the stellar pitching staff. Consider this year’s lineup already ignited.
Weekly Review: 4.8.13
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It was an exciting first week of the 2013 season, as next year finally arrived. The Nationals opened their campaign as defending National League East Champs against the Marlins in Washington on Monday. Bryce Harper took no time building off last year’s Rookie of the Year campaign, homering in each of his first two at-bats of the season, backing Stephen Strasburg in a 2-0 victory in front of the largest regular season crowd in Nationals Park history. Despite the star power on display, the quiet return of Wilson Ramos may have been the most impressive storyline of the day.
After an off-day Tuesday, the Nationals shut out Miami again on Wednesday, with Gio Gonzalez doing it all himself, tossing six scoreless frames and homering for the game’s first run in a 3-0 final. Meanwhile, Roger Bernadina introduced a new term into the ever-growing Shark lexicon. On Thursday, Washington rounded out a season-opening sweep with a 6-1 win, becoming just the fourth team in Major League history – and the first since the 1979 Astros – to allow just one run over its first three combined games.
The first road trip of the year began inauspiciously, as Washington was blanked, 15-0, in the series opener Friday night in Cincinnati. However, the club responded in a big way, launching five home runs, including two in the 11th inning, to capture a thrilling, nail-biting, cardiac arrhythmia-inducing victory on Saturday. Kurt Suzuki got into the offensive act with a three-run shot in the Sunday finale, but the Nats dropped the game, 6-3, and the series to the defending NL Central Champs.
Overall Record: 4-2
What to Watch for: 4.4.13
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Miami Marlins (0-2) vs. Washington Nationals (2-0)
LHP Wade LeBlanc (0-0) vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (0-0)
Washington aims for a season-opening sweep as the Nationals face the Marlins in a rare, midweek mid-afternoon affair at Nationals Park. Miami has yet to score through the first two games of the season against the Nats pitching staff.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Werth RF
3. Harper LF
4. Zimmerman 3B
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Desmond SS
7. Espinosa 2B
8. Ramos C
9. Zimmermann RHP
LUCKY NUMBER 13
According to Elias, the Nationals became just the 13th team since 1900 to open the season with consecutive shutouts, blanking the Marlins 3-0 after a 2-0 Opening Day whitewash. It also marks the first time any team in Expos/Nationals history has accomplished the feat. The last MLB team to turn the trick was the 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks.
DEEP SIXED
Gio Gonzalez became the just the third pitcher in franchise history, and the second since the team moved to The District, to throw at least six scoreless innings and homer in the same game. He joins Floyd Youmans (6.8.86 vs. Philadelphia) and Livan Hernandez (9.14.10 at Atlanta) on the short list.
UNTUCK YOU TO SLEEP
Rafael Soriano closed out his second save in as many games, allowing a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning. In 12 career appearances at Nationals Park, the reliever has a 1.59 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) and has converted all seven of his save opportunities.
Highlights: 4.3.13
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4.3.13 – Nationals 3, Marlins 0
Stat of the Game: Gio Gonzalez outscored the Marlins on his own, launching his second career home run in the fifth inning while tossing six scoreless frames to earn the victory.
Under-the-Radar Performance: Ryan Zimmerman picked up his first two hits and first RBI of the season, tripling in the sixth, then singling home Bryce Harper in the eighth for Washington’s third and final run.
It Was Over When: Harper’s insurance run helped, but the Marlins weren’t done until Rafael Soriano got Justin Ruggiano – representing the game-tying run – to fly out to Denard Span for the final out of the game.
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