Nationals Lose to Cardinals 7-3, Drop to 0-10 in Games That Don't Matter

The guy they all came to see, righthander Stephen Strasburg, once again did not disappoint, as he ran his spring training stats to five scoreless innings.

Unfortunately, after he left the pitchers that followed him forgot how to throw strikes, as the Nats hurlers issued 11 free passes today.  Combine that with two more errors, one hit by pitch, a wild pitch and a passed ball, and you've got the recipe for a 7-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Albert Pujols-less St. Louis Cardinals today in sunny Viera, FL.

WINNERS AND LOSERS:

Winner:  Stephen Strasburg.  He went three innings, throwing first pitch strikes to seven of 11 batters faced.  He gave up two hits and walked one, striking out two.

Loser: Livan Hernandez.  He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in three innings pitched.  In other words, a typical Livan Hernandez outing.

Winner:  Brian Bruney.  He had a 1-2-3 outing, granted against minor leaguers, in the ninth inning.  No walks, no hits.

Loser:  Tyler Clippard.  Ouch.  One and a third innings, five runs on one hit and five, yes five walks.  Terrible outing.  I posed the question on twitter today that no one wanted to answer.  What happens if Clippard and Sean Burnett return to pre-Nats effectiveness?  How bad will the pen look at that point?

Winner:  Adam Kennedy.  1-for-3 with a triple, RBI and run scored.  He's the offensive hero for the day.

Loser:  Nyjer Morgan.  0-for-3, lowering his average to .143.  When do you get concerned?

There you have it, the anatomy of the tenth consecutive spring training loss.

After the game, several Nats issued proclimations saying that there's no need for concern, that the Nats aren't playing their regular guys, there are players out there in Nats uniforms that aren't going to make the team.

Wonder if they were referring to Strasburg, who has shown by far and wide he's the best pitcher on this team already.

Before the game, GM Mike Rizzo went out of his way to tell reporters that money would play no part in the formation of the 25-man roster that heads north for opening day.  It will be interesting to see if he lives up to those words.