Scoreless Bullpen Leads Nats Past Cards 7-4

Posted by Dave Nichols | Friday, March 26, 2010 | , | 0 comments »

With spring training winding down, and a couple of position battles still playing out, several players are still trying to impress and get their names added to the list of players that will go north with the team.

Today, the Nats showed errorless defense, a come-from behind offense, and scoreless bullpen work to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4, before 4,370 at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL.

The Nats are still undecided who will get the bulk of playing time in right field, but a couple of the candidates were in action--to mixed results.

And Cristian Guzman, being pushed by Ian Desmond at short, played in the first of back-to-back games.  If he plays Saturday, it will be the first time he's played in consecutive games this spring.

John Lannan was roughed up a little bit in the effort, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks in five and two-thirds innings.

The team continued a trend of being victimized by the strikeout again today.  Cardinal pitchers whiffed nine hitters and the Nats drew only one walk.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Winner:  Roger Bernadina.  He went 2-for-4 with a run, RBI and two stolen bases, giving him four SBs this spring.

Loser:  Willy Taveras.  0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Winner:  Willie Harris.  Although it's hard to understand why he played third base today when it seems like he's going to get the bulk of his playing time in right field (a position he's played exactly twice in his career for a total of 10 innings), he went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Winners:  The bullpen.  Jason Bergmann, Tyler Clippard and Brian Bruney all pitched a scoreless inning.  Bergmann rebounded from a couple of rough outings to strike out two without giving up a hit or a walk.

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