GB&U GAME 75*: Olsen Effective, Bullpen Not

"I'm not Jamie Moyer. I can't really be hugely successful throwing 82-83. I need to be up around 90." --Scott Olsen, June 29, 2009.

THE RESULT: In his return from the disabled list, Washington Nationals LHP Scott Olsen was effective, with his velocity obviously up from his pre-injury starts. Unfortunately, his opponent, Ricky Nolsaco of the Florida Marlins, was equally effective.

That left matters in the hands of the respective bullpens. And as the case has been all season long, Washington's did not come through when it mattered most, and another win slipped through their fingers.

The Marlins scored two in the bottom of the eighth against Ron Villone and Julian Tavarez, two of manager Manny Acta's go-to guys, and Florida escaped with a 4-2 victory before 10,623 at Land Shark Stadium. No kidding, Land Shark Stadium.

Villone (L, 3-5, 2.78) surrendered the lead, as he allowed a leadoff double to pinch-hitter Wes Helms. Pinch-runner Alajandro De Aza was promptly sacrificed to third by rookie Chris Coghlan, and scored on Emilio Bonifacio's sacrifice fly to center field.

Tavarez then entered and on his first pitch to Hanley Remirez, the likely all-star shortstop clubbed a double to left field. Tavarez then issued three consecutive walks on just 14 pitches, and the Fish had their insurance run.

The Nats got two runners on in the ninth, but they died on the base paths when Josh Willingham flied out to center with two outs.

Olsen looked like a different pitcher than the one that left for the disabled list in early May with a 7.24 ERA. It was just his second start all season that he had as many strikeouts as innings pitched (7), and he did not walk a batter.

What's more, the velocity on his fastball was a tick above 89 MPH, up from his pre-injury average speed of 87.5 MPH, and he hit 91 on occasion as well. He also threw the fastball more, throwing the heater on two-thirds of his 94 pitches, 66 of which went for strikes.

The Nats got their runs on a Ryan Zimmerman solo shot (13) and an infield RBI by Wil Nieves.

THE TAKEAWAY: Well, who was that out on the mound last night for the Nats? Cause that sure didn't look like the Scott Olsen that got pushed around all April. Maybe the tendinitis in his pitching shoulder had been troubling him all along and he didn't want to voice that to his new team.

Either way, he was economical, effective and in control. He only had one inning where he had any trouble at all-- the second, where he gave up extra base hits to Brett Carroll and Bonifacio, which led to two runs.

THE GOOD: Scott Olsen. 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 0 BB.

THE BAD: Willie Harris. 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the leadoff spot, and he took a funny route on Bonifacio's triple.

THE UGLY: Julian Tavarez. He lost all command in a spot where he just need to hold the game at one run. He wasn't even close on some of those pitches, and he was lucky to get out of the inning just giving up the single insurance run.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 7:05 p.m. against these same Marlins, the team that the Nationals are now 0-7 against this season. How is that even possible? Florida is an even .500 (39-39), yet are 7-0 against the Nats. Hardly seems possible.

Craig Stammen (1-3, 5.49 ERA, 20 K, 10 BB in 39.1 IP) takes the hill against fellow rookie Sean West (3-2, 3.38 ERA, 24 K, 18 BB in 40.0 IP).