"Which one?" -- Manny Acta, in response to the question "How bad did Guzman's error hurt?" in the post-game conference, July 7, 2009.

THE RESULT: The Washington Nationals lost a perfectly winnable game last night due to a veteran pitcher that couldn't throw a strike, infield errors too numerous to count, a backup outfielder falling down on the base paths, and eight runners left on base with the Nats going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Oh, and the winning pitcher for the Colorado Rockies didn't throw a single pitch.

It was a fairly normal game until the eighth inning. Sure, Jordan Zimmermann wasn't sharp, giving up seven hits and four walks in just four innings. And he certainly would have fared better if Willie Harris, starting again at second base, hadn't tried to field a ground ball in the fourth inning with his, um, private area.

But as it was, the game was tied entering the top of the eighth.

With two outs, forgotten man Austin Kearns pinch-hit for reliever Sean Burnett (two innings, one hit, no walks).

Kearns laced a single through the hole on the right side. Colorado manager Jim Tracy called upon veteran left-hander Alan Embree to face Nyjer Morgan. Kearns broke on a steal attempt, and instead of throwing home, Embree went to first. Kearns then, incredibly, just fell down in the middle of the base path and was tagged out after a short run down.

So then to the bottom of the inning. Julian Tavarez struck out Chris Iannetta to start off, but then gave four straight balls to rookie Carlos Gonzalez, hitting all of .197. Seth Smith pinch-hit for Embree, and drew a five-pitch walk. Acta had seen enough.

"I am very patient, but my patience runs out when there's a veteran run who's not throwing strikes," Acta said later.

Joe Beimel came in, and on his second pitch he got Ryan Spilborghs to bounce back to the pitcher for a tailor-made, inning ending double play.

Only Cristian Guzman, who earlier failed to field a ground ball that hit his shin, was late getting to second base, and Beimel double-clutched, sending the ball to Harris, who was in short center field backing up the play. All hands were safe, and the next batter lofted a run-scoring sacrifice for the game-winner.

THE TAKEAWAY: I blame Bob Carpenter. Earlier in the game, he noted how the team defense was much better "due to better starting pitching," whatever that means. Regardless, Cristian Guzman was absolutely terrible last night, committing his 12th error of the season and contributing to Beimel's throwing error in the pivotal eighth.

Gotta hand it to thet Nats, though. It wasn't boring.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. Actually, it was a mixed bag for Zim, as he hit his 14th home run of the year, a three-run shot, that put the Nats up 4-1 at that point. But he also ground into two more double plays, giving him 14 of those on the season as well.

THE BAD: Adam Dunn. 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

THE UGLY: Julian Tavarez. He's now 3-7 on the season.

NEXT GAME: Today, the finale of the three-game series with Colorado, at 3:10 pm EDT. Ross Detwiler (0-4, 5.81) tries to play stopper against Jorge De La Rosa (5-7, 5.14).

NOTES: Jesus Colome rejected his outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse and elected free agency. Via con dios, Jesus.

"I would give back every single home run if we could be whatever our record is, but flip-flopped. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Winning is everything in this game. Period." --Adam Dunn, on the occasion of his 300th career home run, July 4, 2009.

THE RESULT and BOX SCORE

ATTENDANCE: 23,708

RECORD: 23-55-1

THE TAKEAWAY: Dunn started and ended the rally with his mammoth home run, his 22nd of the season, and RBI single that made the score 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

But major kudos have to go to starting pitcher John Lannan. He didn't have his best stuff, and put plenty of men on base yesterday, but benefited from four double plays. He kept his team in the game, pitching through the eighth, and he stuck around long enough to earn the victory.

For all the times in his brief career that the offense let him down, finally they came through for him after a gritty performance.

And props to Nyjer Morgan, who executed a perfect sacrifice in the the pivotal eighth inning. Good situational baseball, something that hasn't always been evident in Nationals Park this season.

THE GOOD: Adam Dunn. 2-for-3 with a walk, solo home run and two RBI. I expect him to be named the Nationals all-star representative later today.

THE BAD: Cristian Guzman. 0-for-4 with a called strikeout in the sixth spot in the lineup.

THE UGLY: The bullpen carousel stops for Jesus Colome. Colome was DFA'd after the game, making room for Jason Bergmann's third trip to the bigs this season.

The 31-year old right-hander was 1-1 with an 8.40 ERA in 15 relief appearances with the Nationals this season.

Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

NEXT GAME: Today, at 1:35 pm, against these same Braves.

ATLANTA BRAVES (39-41, 4th in NL East -- 2.5 games back. One-game losing streak)

McLouth – CF
Prado – 2B
Jones – 3B
McCann – C
Escobar – SS
Anderson – LF
Diaz – RF
Kotchman – 1B
Lowe – P

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (23-55-1, 5th in NL East -- 17.5 games back. One-game winning streak)

Morgan – CF
Johnson – 1B
Zimmerman – 3B
Dunn – LF
Willingham – RF
Guzman – SS
Bard – C
Belliard – 2B
Olsen – P

STARTING PITCHERS

WAS: Scott Olsen (48.0 IP, 1-4, 6.56 ERA, 36 K, 18 BB)
ATL: Derek Lowe (101.1 IP, 7-6, 4.44 ERA, 55 K, 35 BB)

WEATHER

Cloudy, thunderstorms. Chance of rain 40%. High temp 80F.

"Couldn't get the ball down at all. Every one of them. They hit him pretty good." --Manny Acta, on Ross Detwiler's performance, July 3, 2009.

THE RESULT: Recap and Box Score

THE TAKEAWAY: Why are we still being subjected to Jesus Colome? In the top of the seventh, he walked the first man he faced, Yunel Escobar -- who has walked seventeen times all season for a .348 OBP. He got a sacrifice and a ground out, then walked the number nine hitter, Casey Kotchman.

With two outs, up stepped pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad, he of just 20 major league at bats. Of course, he hit a three-run home run -- the first of his big league career -- taking a tied game and turning into a 8-5 Atlanta lead.

Simply painful.

All I wanted to do was write about Nyjer Morgan's terrific defense, walk-stolen-base-run in the first, and the return of the offense. And Colome has to go and ruin it for everyone.

The record now stands at 22-55-1.

Nats starter Ross Detwiler has one of those night where he couldn't find his release point and left everything up. He was ineffective and got hit hard: 3.1 IP, 10 hits, two walks, five earned runs and just one K. Detwiler helped out offense though as he earned his first MLB RBI as he knocked in Willie Harris.

Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

THE GOOD: Cristian Guzman. Dropped into the sixth spot to accommodate Morgan at leadoff, Guz went 2-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth off Rafael Soriano that made things interesting.

Also, nice crowd tonight: 33,982.

THE BAD: Josh Bard. Unfortunately, with Guz representing the tying run at second, and having watched Soriano walk the first two guys he faced, Bard swung at the first pitch and bounced out to first to end the game. Bard finished 0-for-5.

THE UGLY: Colome. In 15 innings pitched, his ERA now stands at 8.40. It doesn't get any uglier than that.

NEXT GAME: Fourth of July matinee tomorrow at 1:05 pm. Wear your sunscreen. John Lannan (5-5, 3.45) faces rookie Tommy Hanson (4-0, 2.48).

"It's something that we're used to, but this seemed like a little more than usual." --Boston shortstop Nick Green, June 23, 2009.

THE RESULT: In their first game in Washington, DC since 1971 -- when Ted Williams was managing the Senators -- the Boston Red Sox took advantage of several fielding errors and mistakes and pounded five relief pitchers for eight runs, defeating the "home team" Washington Nationals 11-3, before a Nationals Park record crowd of 41,517.

The box score shows a big, fat "6" in the column for the eighth inning for the Sox, but more important to the outcome was the single run they pushed across in the seventh.

Starter John Lannan, on a night where he labored but kept his team in the game, struck out J.D. Drew for the third time to lead off the frame. Then, Julian Tavarez entered and Kevin Youkilis hit a routine ground ball to Ryan Zimmerman, who promptly slung a throw into the first at first that Nick Johnson could not scoop, and Youkilis was safe on the error.

That play typified both fielder's erratic defensive play this season.

But the Nats weren't finished yet. The next batter, Jason Bay (4-for-6, HR, 3 RBI), singled through the hole between third and short, and with Adam Dunn lumbering to the ball in left, Youkilis, the hulking first baseman, took off for third.

Inexplicably, and compounding his lack of effort with a lapse in judgment, Dunn threw to third with no chance to get Youkilis, and Bay advanced to second on the ill-conceived throw.

Tavarez (L, 3-5, 3.77) intentionally walked Mike Lowell to set up a force, but Jason Varitek instead lofted a fly ball to medium left field, where Dunn made the catch but also made no effort to even attempt a throw to home to get Youkilis.

Just like that, the Nats surrendered the lead, for the final time of the night.

Sure, the bullpen -- especially Kip Wells and Jesus Colome -- added gasoline to the fire. But the real reason the Nats lost this game had already transpired.

Lannan went six and one-third innings, and allowed three earned runs on nine hits and two walks. He threw 109 pitches, 69 for strikes and, atypically, allowed 10 fly ball outs compared to five grounders.

THE TAKEAWAY: The actions of the late-inning pitchers may carry repercussions for the relievers that authored the unwatchable frame. After the game, manager Manny Acta did not mince words when asked to describe his faltering bullpen once again, "Somebody has to step up out of those three guys," Acta said, referring to Wells, Colome and Hanrahan. "Because I can't pitch the same four guys."

We could very well see the likes of Tyler Clippard, Saul Rivera, Jorge Sosa or even Marco Estrada very soon in a Nationals uniform.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. He hit the ball hard, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Nice to see the contact again.

THE BAD: Adam Dunn's defense. His lackadaisical approach and lollipop throws to the infield are atrocious, and he even managed to cut in front of his center fielder last night to make a catch. It's painful to watch.

THE UGLY: Ladies and gentlemen, the Nationals Bullpen is back. Tavarez faced four batters and gave up a run on a hit, walk and sacrifice. Ron Villone surrendered a run on a hit and a walk in one-third of an inning. Kip Wells got one out and walked two batters. Both scored. Jesus Colome managed two outs and didn't walk anyone, but gave up four hits and three earned runs.

Not to be outdone, Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth inning and gave up a run on two hits.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 7:05 pm, for game two with Red Sox Nation. Craig Stammen (1-2, 4.76) takes one Jon Lester (5-6, 4.69).

Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

Posted by Cheryl Nichols, Contributor and Photographer for Nats News Network

Welcome back Tyler Clippard. Clippard had two starts for the Nationals in 2008 (1-1). Tyler moved from the rotation to the bullpen this year with good results in Triple-A Syracuse (37 2/3 IP, 4-1, 1 save, 0.96 ERA, 41 Ks, 15 BBs). The ERA is not a typo. Glad to see Clippard getting a well deserved shot with the big team again.

This transaction does not indicate who is moving, but most likely it will be Jesus Colome, who came out in the 11th inning of Saturday night's game with a strained right quadriceps muscle. After game he was listed as day-to-day.

Yesterday, the Nationals reinstated Josh Willingham from the bereavement list and optioned Corey Patterson to Syracuse. Patterson's bat did not help much (2-for-15), however, his defense and speed (2 SBs) were welcomed.

Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The Washington Nationals today selected right-handed pitcher Jesus Colome and recalled catcher Josh Bard from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League, placed catcher Jesus Flores on the 15-Day Disabled List (retroactive May 10) with a right shoulder contusion and designated right-handed pitcher Logan Kensing for assignment. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

I don't think any of this was all that unexpected. Flores hasn't even sniffed the field since taking the fastball off his shoulder. That has to hurt. I would expect a fairly straight platoon with Bard and Nieves for the next 10 days.

Hard to imagine Colome being a welcome addition, but here he is. He had three saves in nine games with Syracuse, with nine Ks against two walks. Good tidings, Logan Kensing, we hardly knew ye. If you get cut from the Nats bullpen, where do you go from there?

In other news, the Nats returned Rule 5 draftee Terrell Young to Cincinnati after he was activated from the DL. Guess there wasn't a certain former-GM around to insist he be activated to the major league roster to uphold some handshake agreement he had with the player.

All Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

RESULT: Nats shut out by Brewers 5-0.

GOOD: Not much. Lastings Milledge went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Jesus Flores went 2-for-4. They combined for four of the team's five hits against Brewers starter C.C. Sabathia.

BAD: There weren't a lot of hits, but Milledge and Flores were able to get on base. Ronnie Belliard, hitting in the line-up directly behind the two however, went 0-for-3 and left 4 men on base.

UGLY: Jesus Colome. Seems like every time he pitches he gives up a run. No different last night. 2 IP, 2 BBs, solo home run to J.J. Hardy.

NEXT GAME: Tonight vs the Brew Crew at 7:05 eastern. Tim Redding (8-6, 4.44) against Ben Sheets (10-5, 3.14).

RESULT: Nats lose to Phillies 12-2.

GOOD: Um, wait a minute, let me think...ah yes: Jesus Flores went 3-for-4 with another double, his 5th on the season. Even better news, there are signs that even GM JimBow might be starting to get it. In the WaPo notebook yesterday, Bowden said that even once Lo Duca returns, "it's going to be extremely hard to take [Flores] out of the lineup if he plays like this." Unfortunately, JimBow also backed Lennie Harris in the same interview. And something about farting. Go read it to believe it.

BAD: Matt Chico and Chris Schroder. They were each merely bad last night. Chico gave up 4 earned on 7 hits and a walk, allowing 4 homers. Schroder, his rear end sore from riding the Columbus Shuttle, gave up 3 hits and 4 walks in one single inning, but only two managed to score.

UGLY: Ugly is spelled C-O-L-O-M-E. He struck out the first guy he saw, and then allowed the next seven to reach. He gave up six earned in one-third of an inning, turning a 4 run lead into an insurmountable 10 run lead. The Nats may not score ten runs this week!

Honorable mention (UGLY variety): Meathook tried to lazily scoop Dukes' relay throw in the sixth, allowing it to go into the third base camera well and two runs scored. Ugh.

NEXT GAME: Off tonight. Mike Cameron and the Brewers come to town this weekend. Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.34) against Jeff Suppan (2-3, 4.78) on Friday.