Results tagged ‘ Jayson Werth ’
Preaching Patience
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Following Tuesday night’s 8-1 loss in Atlanta, Ian Desmond spoke up, saying that the team needed to start playing more cohesively, that each player needed to stop trying to win all by themselves. While Desmond brushes off the idea of being a clubhouse leader, per se, his solid play on the field has helped support his ever-growing role as a vocal presence on the team.
Perhaps as a result, on Wednesday, Davey Johnson granted Desmond an opportunity to do something he has never done before in the Major Leagues – hit in the cleanup spot. In the shortstop’s 487th career game, he will bat fourth for the first time, helping fill the void left by the ailing Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth, who will sit out a second straight game with a hobbled ankle and hamstring.
Ian Desmond has collected 15 extra-base hits, third-most in the National League.
Desmond will have a tough assignment, but in many ways a fitting one when it comes to Wednesday’s opposing starter. He and a different looking Nationals lineup have drawn the perfect opposing pitcher to test a team-first attitude in the softer-tossing, location-first game plan of Paul Maholm.
“Work the count, get in hitter’s counts, and when you get your pitch, don’t miss it,” said Steve Lombardozzi, who will hit and play second Wednesday night, about his approach. “I saw that a little bit from his last start. I’m not trying to do too much, just move the line.”
Lombardozzi wasn’t the only one studying video of Maholm’s last outing, in which he struggled against the Tigers. Tyler Moore, earning his second straight start in left field following a double and the Nationals lone run scored Tuesday, is looking to help Washington replicate Detroit’s patient approach to make it pay off once again.
“I saw some of his last start, where he struggled against Detroit,” he explained. “You just have to be very, very patient. Just get a pitch in your zone that you want to hit. Don’t hit his pitch that he wants you to hit.”
That may seem simple enough, but when the offense isn’t fully clicking, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much, of trying to hit the proverbial, mythical five-run homer. Just like Desmond, Moore recognized some of that leaking through in Washington’s approach Tuesday night.
“With Tim Hudson last night, he pitched well, but we chased some balls out of the zone,” he explained, but was quick to take personal accountability for the overaggressive approach. “I’m as guilty as anybody. You’ve just got to preach it and preach it and get the job done so we can get some runners on base.”
Just like Desmond said – if everyone does simply what they are capable of, perhaps the Nationals can find a win over both Paul Maholm and Atlanta, something that has been elusive so far this season.
What to Watch for: 5.1.13
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Washington Nationals (13-14) vs. Atlanta Braves (17-9)
RHP Jordan Zimmermann (4-1, 2.00) vs. LHP Paul Maholm (3-2, 3.30)
The Nationals turn to Jordan Zimmermann to turn the tide against the Braves, who have won nine straight in this series dating back to last season. Zimmermann is coming off of his first career complete game shutout, a one-hitter against Cincinnati last Friday night. The Braves will counter with Paul Maholm, who opened the season on a 25.1 scoreless innings streak, but has been touched up for 11 earned runs in his last 4.2 frames.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Lombardozzi 2B
3. Harper RF
4. Desmond SS
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Moore LF
7. Rendon 3B
8. Suzuki C
9. Zimmermann RHP
ALL OR NEARLY NOTHING
Washington is plating 5.8 runs per contest in 13 wins, but only 1.4 per contest in 14 losses to date. The Nationals have scored two runs or less in six of their 11 road games to date.
AGGRESSIVE APRIL
Bryce Harper established Nationals (2005-present) club records for home runs (9), RBI (18), extra-base hits (16) and OPS (1.150) in the month of April.
SEVENTH HEAVEN
Ian Desmond has hit safely in seven straight games, going 10-for-26 (.385) with two doubles, a triple, three RBI, four runs scored and a walk. Desmond (April 5-12) and Jayson Werth (April 6-13) previously posted seven-game hitting streaks for Washington, so with a hit tonight, Ian’s streak would reach a team season-high eight games.
What to Watch for: 4.27.13
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Cincinnati Reds (13-11) vs. Washington Nationals (12-11)
RHP Mike Leake (1-0, 3.81) vs. RHP Dan Haren (1-3, 7.36)
Washington is coming off consecutive one-hit performances in the first two games of this series, which have helped the Nationals get back over the .500 mark on the season. Dan Haren looks for his second home win of the season as he squares off with fellow right-hander Mike Leake, who started the lone game the Nationals won in their recent series at Cincinnati.
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1. Span CF
2. Espinosa 2B
3. Harper LF
4. Werth RF
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Desmond SS
7. Rendon 3B
8. Suzuki C
9. Haren RHP
ONE HIT, ZERO TOLERANCE
Washington blanked the Reds, 1-0, on Friday night at Nationals Park as Jordan Zimmermann posted the first shutout of his career. Zimmermann one-hit the Reds with Xavier Paul’s third-inning single serving as his lone blemish, walking one and struck out four. In the 4th, Bryce Harper tripled and scored the game’s lone run one batter later via Jayson Werth’s RBI-single.
CATT’S MEOW
Nationals starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or less in 10 of the last 11 games. During this 11-game span, Steve McCatty’s starters have compiled a stingy 3.20 ERA (25 ER/70.1 IP).
APRIL POWER BRINGS MAY FLOWERS
With four games remaining in the month, note that the Nationals have already hit 26 home runs and could challenge the team mark for April home runs (30 in ‘06). With 26 in the bag, the ‘13 Nationals have already secured the second-most powerful Opening Month in the club’s nine-year history.
Highlights: 4.26.13
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4.26.13 – Nationals 1, Reds 0
Stat of the Game: The Nationals conspired to throw their second straight one-hitter, the first time a Washington team has achieved the feat since August 10-11, 1917.
Under-the-Radar Performance: Bryce Harper‘s one-out triple led to the only run of the game, as Jayson Werth singled him home with one of his two hits on the night.
It Was Over When: Jordan Zimmermann woke up Friday morning. The righty needed just 91 pitches to record his first career shutout and his second complete game this season.
Highlights: 4.24.13
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4.24.13 – Cardinals 4, Nationals 2
Stat of the Game: Jayson Werth mashed his fourth home run of the season, giving him the second most on the team behind only Bryce Harper (seven).
Under-the-Radar Performance: After a three-run first inning, Stephen Strasburg allowed just two baserunners over six scoreless frames the rest of the way.
It Was Over When: Washington could not capitalize on a pair of threats with the potential go-ahead run on base in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Werth Factor
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The video below is a supplemental bonus feature for the cover article The Werth Factor, from Issue 3 of the 2013 Inside Pitch. Beginning this season, we will provide links, text shortcodes and QR codes to digital features like this one throughout Nationals Magazine and Inside Pitch.
What to Watch for: 4.12.13
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Atlanta Braves (8-1) vs. Washington Nationals (7-2)
RHP Julio Teheran (0-0, 9.00) vs. LHP Ross Detwiler (0-0, 0.00)
The Nationals take on the division-rival Braves for the first time in 2013 after finishing off their second consecutive home sweep to key a 6-0 record so far at Nationals Park. Washington went 10-8 vs. Atlanta last season, including a 5-4 mark at home.
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. Detwiler LHP
TOP HEAVY
During the Nationals three-game sweep of the White Sox, the top three hitters in Davey Johnson’s lineup – Denard Span, Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper – combined to hit .471 (16-for-34) with a double, two home runs, seven RBI, four walks, two stolen bases and 11 runs scored.
ATTENTION SPAN!
Denard Span’s .475 on-base percentage is noteworthy beyond the fact that it ranks fourth among all MLB leadoff hitters. As recently as 2011, Washington ranked dead last in MLB with a .285 OBP from the leadoff slot. Last year, the Nationals improved to 18th in MLB with a .325 OBP from those batting first in Davey Johnson’s batting order.
GRAND-IOSE OCCASION ON THE HORIZON
Ryan Zimmerman has played in 999 career games. Zimmerman will become the first National to play in 1000 games in tonight’s series opener vs. Atlanta.
Welcome to the New Age
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There was a time, not long ago, when Ryan Zimmerman represented one of the only true threats in the Washington lineup. He trailed only Adam Dunn in intentional passes during the latter’s two-year stint in The District, and still led the 2012 Nationals in that category. Considering that, the thought of a player – any player – being intentionally walked to get to Zimmerman would seem almost farcical.
And yet, that’s exactly the situation in which the Nationals found themselves Thursday night, with Chicago White Sox Manager Robin Ventura electing not to pitch to Bryce Harper and face Zimmerman instead with two on and two outs in the fourth inning of a game Washington led 4-3 at the time.
Ryan Zimmerman is surrounded by a lineup chock full of talent.
Unsurprisingly, the plan backfired. Zimmerman kept his head down and extended through a pitch low and away from White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod, sending it darting through a steady wind and over the head of right fielder Alex Rios for a two-run double to break the game open. What may be much more surprising is that the pitch driven by Zimmerman was Axelrod’s 103rd of the night, after the starter had recorded just 11 outs.
The difference in this year’s Nationals lineup from those of years past is both its balance and its incredible patience, the tendency for every batter to grind out each plate appearance, making the opposing starter sweat for each and every out. Consider the first inning Thursday night, in which Washington scored just once, but forced Axelrod to throw 40 pitches to just six total batters, an average of nearly seven pitches per plate appearance.
With Zimmerman moving to the fourth spot in the order this season, opposing starters have to contend with a prototypical leadoff man in Denard Span, the active Major League leader in pitches per plate appearance Jayson Werth, and the dynamic, unpredictable Bryce Harper before ever even getting to The Face of the Franchise, Mr. Walk-off himself. Thursday night, that meant 20 pitches – six to Span, 10 to Werth and four to Harper.
The outfield trio of Span, Harper and Werth wreaks havoc on opposing pitchers.
“That’s the point of the left-right-left-right in the lineup,” said Zimmerman, referring to the symmetrical balance achieved in the offseason by the addition of Denard Span. “There’s really not anyone in our lineup you’d rather pitch to. There really aren’t any breaks anywhere in our lineup.”
Given the many ways Washington’s batting order is capable of hurting opponents, it’s only fitting that no White Sox starter survived the sixth inning in the series, the three hurlers combining for just 14.1 total innings. That’s what happens when a group of players learns that they don’t have to try to be the hero – if they are pitched around, the guy behind them will pick up the slack.
“That’s their decision,” said skipper Davey Johnson with a wry smile after the game, about the White Sox choice to walk Harper to get to Zimmerman. “I’m glad I don’t have to make those decisions.”
The decision to walk anyone in front of Zimmerman is not one that had crossed opposing managers’ minds in quite a while. In fact, only one batter had been intentionally handed first base in front of Zimmerman since 2009, when on September 3, 2011, Roger Bernadina was intentionally walked by Mets reliever Bobby Parnell to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, as New York clung to a 7-6 lead. In that instance, Zimmerman delivered – what else – a two-run hit to right field, as the Nats walked off to an 8-7 victory.
What to Watch for: 4.10.13
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Chicago White Sox (4-3) vs. Washington Nationals (5-2)
RHP Gavin Floyd (0-1, 3.00) vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (1-0, 1.50)
The Nationals and White Sox match up in the middle contest of a three-game set, after Washington rode four home runs to an 8-7 victory in the series opener Tuesday night. Last night’s victory marked the first ever win at home over Chicago’s American League ballclub at Nationals Park.
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. Zimmermann RHP
TRIPLE DOUBLE
Adam LaRoche collected his first two hits of the season last night, as he homered in each of his final two at-bats. With the multi-homer game, LaRoche becomes the third National in just seven games this season to turn the trick, joining Bryce Harper (April 1 vs. Miami) and Wilson Ramos (April 6 at Cincinnati).
POWER PACKED
The Nationals have blasted 14 home runs in their first seven games of the 2013 season. That is a 10-homer increase on the initial seven games of last season. In fact, Washington’s previous homer high in the first seven games of a season was 10 in 2006.
I WOULD WALK 500 MORE
Jayson Werth notched his 500th and 501st career RBI last night, thanks to a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Werth is also closing in on half a thousand in another counting stat, as he needs just 23 more walks to reach 500 for his career.
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.
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