"We're playing the game the right way.  Hopefully, we're going in the right direction." -- Pete Orr, Oct. 1, 2009.

THE RESULT:  Pete Orr's one-out single to left field drove home Ryan Zimmerman, who opened the ninth inning with a double, and the Washington Nationals eked out a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves before 38,237 at Turner Field.

The Braves found out earlier in the day that they had been eliminated from the playoffs by a Colorado Rockies victory.

Washington won its fourth in a row and improved its record to 56-103.

Nats starter Garrett Mock, who has lost six consecutive decisions since his last win on Aug. 25, gave up one run on five hits and four walks in six innings. He battled Braves rookie of the year candidate Tommy Hanson.  The 23-year old went seven innings and gave up just one earned run on five hits and two walks, striking out nine.

Tyler Clippard (W, 4-2, 2.78) got the win in relief of Mock by throwing two and two thirds innings, allowing three base runners (one hit, two walks) and striking out four.  Mike MacDougal got the final out for his 19th save, a grounder to third that Zimmerman (2-for-4, one run, one RBI) made a terrific dive and throw from his knee on  to get a force at second.

Atlanta closer Rafael Soriano (L. 1-6, 3.05) allowed the winning run.

THE TAKEAWAY:  Mock, in his final start of 2009, still allowed way to many runners, but limited Atlanta to just one run, on a solo shot by Nate McLouth.  He's got to get his walk totals down if he wants to pitch consistently well in the major leagues, but he did well to keep the Braves off the scoreboard when they got runners on.

Though none resulted in a double play, he got 12 ground ball out and only one fly ball out.  That's the stuff Mike Rizzo wants to see out of his starters.

THE GOOD:  Ryan Zimmerman.  His two hits were both solid drives to the gaps for a double, so he's really seeing the ball well right now.

THE BAD:  Adam Dunn.  0-for-3 with a BB and K.  He's struggling, and the average is down to .266.

THE UGLY:  Mike Morse.  0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the five-hole.

NEXT GAME:  Tonight at 7:35 pm against Atlanta.  Livan Hernandez (8-12, 5.48) faces Derek Lowe (15-9, 4.55).

"I thought it was a good time to go. I figured [McDonald] wasn't really worried about me after us moving the runner on the bunt." -- Jason Maxwell, on stealing third in the ninth with one out, Sept. 23, 2009.

Pete Orr, with a walk-off sac fly, beams as he's surrounded by his teammates after 5-4 win over L.A.

Photo © 2009 C. Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

THE RESULT:  The Washington Nationals scored runs in the eighth and ninth innings, taking a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, before 18,635 at Nationals Park.

The win staves off loss No. 100 for at least one more night, and prohibited L.A. from clinching a playoff spot, again, for at least one more game.  The Nats are 52-99 for the season.

Justin Maxwell started the ninth inning rally with a single down the left-field line off reliever James McDonald.  Alberto Gonzalez sacrificed Maxwell up to second, and the lanky center fielder easily stole third on a curveball from McDonald (L, 5-5, 3.99), who was not paying much attention to the base runner.

Jorge Padilla, inserted for defense in the top of the inning, drew a five-pitch walk, setting up a potential double play.  But pinch-hitter Pete Orr lofted a ball deep enough to right field for the game-winning sacrifice fly, triggering the fireworks from the roof of Nationals Park.

For most of the game, it didn't look like the Nats had much of a chance.  L.A. starter Chad Billingsley, despite being rocked his last six outings, was unhittable into the sixth inning.  But with two outs and Cristian Guzman aboard on a fielder's choice, Adam Dunn drew a walk, bringing  Ryan Zimmerman to the plate.

The Nats' lone all-star blasted Billingsley's up-and-in, first-pitch curveball into the Dodgers bullpen in left-center for his 31st home run and 100th RBI of the season.

Washington starter Ross Detwiler, looking for his first major league win, pitched well, but did not factor in the decision.  He went five and two-thirds innings, and allowed three earned runs on six hits and three walks.  He did not strike out a batter. 

 

Saul Rivera (1-3, 6.21) got the win in relief, escaping a ninth inning jam.  Cristian Guzman made two throwing errors in the top of the ninth, leading to a Dodgers run.  But Sean Burnett struck out Andre Ethier and Rivera retired Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp to end the threat.

 

THE TAKEAWAY:  The Nats got just five hits and made two errors, but escaped with the win.  Orr said it best after the game.  "It was bizarre, but at the same time, you've got to win those games," the utility player said. "Those are the games that if that slips away from us and we don't win right there, it's a pretty big downer."

 

Added Zimmerman:  "Are we at 99?  We just try and win every game. I think we made some strides in the second half. The young guys that have come up in September have looked pretty good and I think that's more important than anything. All of us are obviously disappointed in this season, but we're excited about what we have coming in the future."

 

At least they are still trying.

 

THE GOOD:  Zimmerman.  Hitting in the cleanup spot, he did what interim manager Jim Riggleman put him there to do: to make teams pay for walking Dunn. 

THE BAD:  Willie Harris.  0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the leadoff spot.  He's hitting .222.

THE UGLY:  After making a couple of nice plays Tuesday night, "Bad-D Guz" showed up last night.  Two throwing errors in the ninth almost gave that ball game away.  Thought to be fair, on the throw to the plate that seemed to draw Josh Bard off and allowed the run to score, it seemed the umpire might have blown the split-second call.

NEXT GAME:  Tonight at 7:05 pm.  J.D. Martin (5-4, 4.21) faces Vicente Padilla (11-6, .52). 

"He decided to bunt. That kind of took everybody by surprise. So that being the case, he just didn't bunt it where he wanted to bunt the ball." -- Jim Riggleman, on Livan's bases loaded bunt attempt, Aug. 31, 2009.

BOX SCORE AND GAME RECAP

THE RESULT: The Washington Nationals were held to eight hits and one run by journeyman starter Tim Stauffer, and lost to the San Diego Padres 3-1, before 19,867 at Petco Park.

The Nats had some chances against Stauffer, but htey left eight men on base and hit into two double plays, including a costly 1-2-3 double play that started when Nats starter Livan Hernandez thought it would be a good idea to bunt with the bases loaded.

The bunt went straight back to the pitcher, who underhanded to the catcher to start the rally-killing DP.

The middle of the Nats' order, Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham, combined to go 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. Leadoff man Willie Harris also went 0-for-3, lowering his average to .223 for the season. He is 3-for-17 (.176) with just one run since taking over the leadoff spot Aug. 27.

Hernandez (L, 7-9, 5.26) might have made a mistake hitting, but he was golden on the mound. He pitched an eight-inning complete game, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out five.

THE TAKEAWAY: The Nats must have left their bats in Chicago. Since scoring 15 runs Aug. 25, the Nats have averaged just 2.8 runs per game, including the last two where they scored just one run in each game.

It's probably no coincidence the team-wide slump comes after their catalyst, Nyjer Morgan, went down for the season with a broken bone in his lefthand.

Harris' troubles were detailed above. Zimmerman is three for his last 18, Dunn's troubles go back two weeks and is 6-for34 (.176) over that span, and Willingham is seven for his last 45, a .156 clip.

THE GOOD: Swingin' Pete Orr. Meet your semi-regular second baseman for the next four weeks! He went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and is hitting .533 since his call-up.

THE BAD: Wil Nieves. He had a rough night. In the seventh he was thrown out trying to stretch a single to the right field corner into a double, and in the ninth, bounced into a 4-6-3 double play after Bard led the inning off with a single.

THE UGLY: Gotta be the bunt play with the bases loaded with one out in the fourth. I appreciate Livo thinking he doesn't want to bounce out into a double play, but he's better off striking out there than even attempting a bunt in that situation. So many things have to happen perfectly to pull it off, and as a result, the Nats make still more outs on the basepaths.

NEXT GAME: Game two of the three game series is tonight at 10:05 EDT in San Diego. J.D. Martin (3-3, 4.85) takes on Clayton Richard (7-4, 4.79).

NOTES: Justin Maxwell was recalled before the game. He will share some time with Harris in centerfield. He hit .244/.344/.396 with 13 home runs, 42 RBI and 35 stolen bases in 448 plate appearances with Triple-A Syracuse this season.

The press release:

The Washington Nationals today placed outfielder Nyjer Morgan on the 15-Day Disabled List with a fractured left hand, selected the contract of infielder Pete Orr from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and transferred right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann from the 15- to the 60-Day Disabled List. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Orr was batting .245 with 13 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, 50 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 120 International League contests for Syracuse. Orr earned the promotion by hitting .297 with three homers and 17 RBI in 26 August contests for the Chiefs.

The 30 year-old Orr is a career .261 (116-for-444) hitter with 14 doubles, two home runs, 25 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 320 big league games with Washington (2008) and Atlanta (2005-07). He has twice represented Canada in the World Baseball Classic. Orr will wear uniform No. 24 for Washington.

Morgan, 29, injured his left hand while stealing third base on Thursday afternoon at Chicago (NL). Morgan is batting .307 with 42 stolen bases for the season, but since being acquired by Washington on June 30, he hit .351 with nine doubles, two triples, one homer, 12 RBI and 24 stolen bags. Morgan’s well-chronicled range in center field also stabilized the Nationals’ outfield defense as a whole.

Pete Orr appears for the Nationals in August of 2008.
Photo © Cheryl Nichols, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

According to Mark Zuckerman at The Washington Times, Pete Orr will be returning to the Nationals.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.

From the Washington Nationals this afternoon:

NATIONALS OUTRIGHT THREE PLAYERS TO SYRACUSE, ANNOUNCE WILY MO PENA HAS EXERCISED OPTION ON 2009 CONTRACT

The Washington Nationals today announced they have outrighted right-handed pitcher Chad Cordero, right-handed pitcher Ryan Wagner and infielder Pete Orr to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. All three players elected free agency. The Nationals also announced they have rejected a $5 million club option on outfielder Wily Mo Pena, who subsequently exercised a $2 million player option for the 2009 season. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcements.

Pena, 26, has batted .241 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 32 RBI in 101 games with the Nationals since being acquired from Boston on August 17, 2007 in exchange for a player to be named (first baseman Chris Carter). He is a .253 hitter with 77 home runs and 225 RBI in 560 big league games spanning seven seasons with Cincinnati, Boston and Washington.

The 26 year-old Cordero pitched in only six games last season and had season-ending right-shoulder surgery on July 8. Cordero’s 128 career saves rank second on the franchise’s all-time list behind only Jeff Reardon (152). He departs having pocketed 113 of the 157 saves recorded by the Nationals since 2005.

Wagner, 26, did not pitch in the big leagues in 2008 while working his way back from June 5, 2007 SLAP repair surgery on his right shoulder. He is 11-9 with 30 holds and a 4.79 ERA in 148 games with Cincinnati and Washington.

In 2008, the 29 year-old Orr batted .253 with seven RBI in 49 games in
his only season with the Nationals.

BOTTOM(FEEDER) LINE: This was totally predicted. Cordero couldn't return to the team for any kind of guaranteed money with his injury, and after Bowden told the media before Cordero about their intention to non-tender him, Cordero certainly wasn't going to do any favors for the team. Hopefully he gets healthy and someone gives him a fair shot, but I think it'll be into the season, just like Freddie Garcia this year, before someone signs him.

Wagner never fully recovered from his labrum surgery, like most who have it done. I will be shocked if he's ever a useful MLB player again. Orr will sign somewhere for organizational depth.

Pena, however, is another story. The Nats are stuck with him, and he with them. If it really was the injury keeping him from producing last year, the $2M salary won't look so bad. Then, the Nats will give him a two-year, $5M per deal just like Young and Guzman. I kid. Seriously though, if he still looks terrible in spring training, it'll be interesting to see if the Nats eat his salary, since outfield is one place on the team that they actually have some talent, and it'll be tough to carry Pena's dead weight all season, unless they hide him like they did Meathook this summer.

Photos (c) C. Nichols 2008.

RESULT: Marlins beat Nats 9-4. Nats stand one shy of 100.

GOOD: Emilio! went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pete Orr went 2-for-4 with and RBI. Wil Nieves went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

BONUS GOOD: Roger Bernadina's diving catch in left field was as good as you'll ever see, and rightly earned him the Web Gem on ESPN's Baseball Tonight last night.

BAD: Roger Bernadina. He went 1-for-4 with a strikeout and stranded four base-runners.

UGLY: Tim Redding. Here's a guy that really wanted to end the season on a good note, after all the decent pitching he's done this year, and he just got roughed up last night. Only made it through 2.2 IP, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits and 2 BBs, 4 Ks and 1 HR allowed.

BONUS UGLY: The weather for tonight's game, the last home game of the season. Does not look promising. Let's hope they don't wash the whole thing out. I know, what's one more game? But it's the last one!

NEXT GAME: Tonight, weather permitting, at 7:10 pm from Nationals Park. Collin Balestar (3-6, 4.83) faces Anibal Sanchez (2-5, 5.57). Sanchez has a tweaked hammy though, so if they play in the rain it's questionable if Florida will allow him to go out there on the wet field.

FRONT OFFICE UPDATE: In a response to yesterday's Sporting News article about unrest at the top, Nats President Stan Kasten vehemently denied rumors of his demise to Bill Ladson at MLB.com. Reassuring to hear it straight from the horses mouth. Still, can't help but feel Monday will be an interesting day in Nats history.

FUN STUFF: If you haven't seen it yet, here's video shot by BF Staff Photographer Cheryl Nichols (alias: diehardnatsfan) of the radio guys, Charlie, Dave and Jack, dancing to Wil Nieves' batting song. It's fairly hysterical and Charlie couldn't stop laughing when she showed it to him after Tuesday night's game! We'll still trying to track down the song title and artist so you too can add to your iPod.

Game Photos and Video (c) C. Nichols 2008.

RESULT: Nats lose to Mets 9-3. Sweep. Seven-game losing streak.

GOOD: Pete Orr. Pinch-hittin' Pete comes through with a triple to make things interesting for a little while. Good for you, Pete. It's nice to see him have a little reward for sacrificing his shot at playing for the Canadian Olympic team to stay with this terrible, almost historically bad last place team.

BAD: Collin Balestar. Mama said there'd be days like these. 6 IP, 5 ERs, 4 hits, 5! BBs, 3 Ks, 2 HRs. For the season he's 2-5, 5.06. He looked good first time through, but lost something the second time through the line-up. Granted, the Mets can hit. But you can't expect to have success walking Argenis Reyes (.239) and Fernando Tatis three times!

UGLY: Mets fans. They apparently invaded the Ladies' Night tent pre-game last night, then committed a fan interference taking a David Wright foul ball from in front of Austin Kearns in the RF corner. And I don't know about the upper deck, but the lower bowl was crawling with them. I know it's an inherent problem in DC, but it still sucks.

INJURY: Guzman sat with lingering soreness in the bad thumb. Flores had a tummy ache. Gonzo finally put on the DL, with Boone returning from injury purgatory.

NEXT GAME: Tonight against the Rocks. Tim Redding (8-7, 4.61) hosts Jorge de la Rosa (5-6, 6.28) in game one at 7:35 pm from Nationals Park. See you there. Not too many Rockies fans in DC.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.

Washington -- Brian Schneider and Carlos Delgado each hit home runs off Washington Nationals starter Collin Balestar, and the New York Mets took a one-game lead in the N.L. East over the Philadelphia Phillies as a result of their 9-3 victory over Washington Thursday night before 31,058 patrons at Nationals Park. Washington managed only six hits against Mets starter Oliver Perez and a trio of relievers. It was Washington's seventh straight loss.

Balestar was not sharp at all last night, as he allowed five earned runs on four hits and five walks in six innings. This is the second night in a row that walks have really hurt the Nationals' starters, as Jason Bergmann allowed six walks in Wednesday's start. Balestar took the loss, lowering his record to 2-5 and raising his ERA to 5.06. Balestar has yet to reach the seventh inning in any of his eight starts for the Nats. Last night was a season high for him in walks, and tied a season high in earned runs allowed. He also allowed five earned runs against Cincinnati on July 6, his second start.

The Washington rookie cruised through he first three innings, allowing no hits and just one walk, but the wheels came off in the fourth and things just got worse in the fifth. Mets OF Argenis Reyes led off the fourth inning with a single to left center field, and David Wright followed with a double to left that moved Reyes up to third. Carlos Delgado grounded to SS Ronnie Belliard, starting in place of Cristian Guzman, who was a late scratch with lingering soreness in his left thumb, and Reyes scored. Carlos Beltran drove a sacrifice fly to center that scored Wright on the next play, and the Mets took a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, OF Fernando Tatis walked on four straight balls, and Schneider drilled a 1-0 fastball to left center for his third home run of the season.

"This is the big leagues and guys make adjustments," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "That second time through the lineup, it looked like they made adjustments."

The Mets picked up another run in the sixth, as Delgado hit his 26th home run to straight-away left field, and the Mets held a 5-0 cushion.

Washington attempted to make a fight of it though. In the bottom of the seventh they finally got to New York starter Oliver Perez (W, 9-7, 3.91). Austin Kearns led off with a soft liner to center, but was erased on Aaron Boone's force out. C Wil Nieves walked, moving Boone up to second. Willie Harris fouled out for the second out, and Acta called for Pete Orr to pinch-hit for reliever Garrett Mock. Orr has been making the most of his time with Nats recently, and he has every right to relish his time with the team as he sacrificed a spot on Canada's Olympic team to remain with the last-place Nationals. Orr came though again last night, as he tripled to right field, driving in Boone and the slow-footed Nieves all the way from first base. Orr then scored on Emilio Bonifacio's bunt single -- not quite a suicide squeeze, but close enough -- and the Nats had cut the lead to 5-3. Unfortunately, that's as close as they could get.

"We had momentum for a little bit," Orr said. "But they did a good job of shutting us down the next three innings."

The Nats got two walks from Lastings Milledge and Austin Kearns in the bottom of the eighth, but Boone struck out and Nieves grounded out to end the inning without further incident. Milledge went hitless, ending his career-best 14-game hitting streak.

New York added four runs in the top of the ninth against closer Joel Hanrahan on a Damion Easley RBI single and errors on ground balls by Belliard and Bonifacio. Only two of the four runs charged to Hanrahan were earned.

Friday night Washington hosts the Colorado Rockies for the start of a three-game set. Tim Redding (8-7, 4.61) squares off with Jorge de la Rosa (5-6, 6.28) in game one at 7:35 pm from Nationals Park.

NATS NOTES: The loss drops Washington to 44-78 and are 21.5 games behind now division-leading New York, who move to 65-56 with the win. The Nats are now two games ahead of the Seattle Mariners and three ahead of the San Diego Padres for the worst record in the Major Leagues.

As of this post, the Nats have still not signed their first round selection from this year's Amateur Draft, RHP Aaron Crow from University of Missouri. Crow's agent, Randy Hendricks, issued a statement yesterday that Crow had signed a contract with the Independent League Fort Worth (TX) Rock Cats and will play there this season if their demands for an over-slot bonus and a Major League contract are not met. It is believed that Crow and Hendricks are looking for a bonus in the $5MM - $8MM range. MLB recommended slot bonus for the #9 pick is $2.15MM.

SS Cristian Guzman (thumb) and C Jesus Flores (stomach virus) were scratched from Washington's lineup. Guzman was originally listed with the starters but was a late scratch.

The Nationals activated INF Aaron Boone from the disabled list and placed SS Alberto Gonzalez on the DL. Gonzalez had lingered on the Nats bench for eleven games with his glut injury before finally being relegated to the DL.

Photo of Balestar (c) C. Nichols 2008.

RESULT: Nats lose to Phillies 8-4. That's nine in a row. If they continue, I'm gonna have to write a book about 2008.

GOOD: Pete Orr was 3-for-4. Rhymes and everything. Mock and Colome cleaned up without adding to the mess. Wonder how Mock likes pitching out of the pen?

BAD: Austin Kearns. 1-for-5 with four left on base. He's the clean-up hitter hitting .212.

UGLY: Ryan Zimmerman's right hand. Did you see him at first base after he got hit? HIs hand blew up like a cartoon, and was varying shades of purple. The Nats said nothing was broken and he's day-to-day (aren't we all). Great, now the Nats entire left side of the infield have hurt hands and not going on the DL, limiting Manny to a two-man bench. Bad and short-handed (pun intentional).

INJURY UPDATE: Guzman DNP, still day-to-day. Seriously, why not bite the bullet and get a body up here?

NEXT GAME: Tonight against the Griffey-less Cincinnati Red Legs. Odalis Perez (3-8, 4.387) faces Homer Bailey (0-4, 6.52) for the Reds. Game time is 7:35 pm.

RESULT: Nats beat Angels 5-4.

GOOD: Lastings Milledge. 2-for-4, home run (7), two RBIs. Dukes was 2-for-3 with two walks. Flores has the game-winning hit after going 0-for-4 with 3 Ks. Redding gave up two earned in six innings. There was a lot to like last night.

BAD: Luis Ayala. One-third of an inning, two runs on two hits. He's just not getting it done right now. He's given up more runs than innings pitched three of his last six appearances. Yuck.

UGLY: Pete Orr. Another defensive replacement assignment. Yet another error. Sorry, he's just not a major league player.

NEWS: Shawn Hill placed on the 15-day DL today. After meeting with the doctors, the prescription was rest and therapy. I guess it's wait and see with Hill.

NEXT GAME: Friday at Nationals Park against the Baltimore Orioles, in for a three game set to FINALLY wrap up interleague play. Odalis Perez (2-5, 4.09) will come of the disabled list to face Daniel Cabrera (5-3, 4.46).

Photo courtesy of MLBAM.