Gorzelanny seems like he's back in the saddle, again. Photo: Ed Wolfstein
Cycle #16 was perhaps one of the most eventful (and weird) periods in Nationals history, with Jim Riggleman‘s ill-timed resignation, a 3 game series in Chicago that featured a game that the bullpen blew no less than three times and still managed to win, and the naming of a new manager. How will the Davey Johnson era play out?
Good
- Livan Hernandez struck out a season-high 9 guys en route to his 5th win on the season in the Chicago series finale on 6/26 (box/gamer). Livan continues a pretty amazing streak of pitching for this club, combined with continued timely and excellent hitting to make the team the hottest in the majors.
- Jordan Zimmermann continues to be one of the hottest (and best) pitchers in the NL, throwing 8 fantastic innings in Anaheim on 6/29 (box/gamer). 8 ip, 4 hits, 1 run (unearned), 4ks and 1bb on 93 pitches. That’s a great game. Too bad the Angel’s Dan Haren was better, helping to shut out the Nats and take the 1-0 victory. Zimmermann’s 2.63 era is now good for 10th in the entire league. Its hard not to be optimistic but it really does seem he’s growing into an “Ace” style pitcher.
- Tom Gorzelanny pitched another excellent game on 7/1 (box/gamer), going 7 complete with 6 hits, 1 walk, 8 Ks and just one unearned run allowed. Since a rough first start back (he was probably rushed back off the DL since Maya was pitching so badly), he’s put in two excellent starts.
Bad
- John Lannan, pitching in new manager Davey Johnson’s first game, got absolutely peppered by the Angels in Anaheim on 6/27 (box/gamer). He gave up 11 hits and 2 walks in 5 2/3’s inning but amazingly just gave up 3 runs. Three doubleplays behind him helped, as did a severe lack of timely hitting by the Angels (they left no less than 25 men on base as a team, an astounding figure). Still, Lannan was far too hittable on the night and this is a severe change in form for the lefty.
- Jason Marquis labored through 5 innings (and 100 pitches), his fielders labored behind him (FIVE errors on the night), and the bullpen allowed 7 runs in 4 innings to cement the loss on 6/28 (box/gamer). Marquis’ line: 5ip, 8 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Early in the game Marquis definitely seemed to have good sink and good fastball movement, but the umps seemed to squeeze him on the inside corner and cost him here and there.
Starter Trends (last 5).
Lhernandez good,bad,great,bad,good
Marquis good,good,bad,great,bad
Lannan good,good,good,good,bad
Zimmermann good,great,good,great,good
Gorzelanny soso,bad->dl,bad,good,good
Relievers of Note and Other News
- Chien-Ming Wang made his first rehab start, and his first professional appearance for this team after two contracts and several million dollars, in Hagerstown on 6/27. Adam Kilgore reported on the important appearance at the NatsJournal blog here, saying that he showed decent speed (86-88, topping at 90), with good movement and his sinker working (6/1 go/ao ratio). Hmm. This actually sounds pretty promising.
Overall Summary
For the first time I can ever remember, all 5 regular starters for this team possess ERAs under 4.00 and ERA+’s above 100. The pitching staff is on a pace to allow 120 less runs this year than last, a fantastic improvement over where this staff was last year and an even more unbelievable improvement over the 2009 debacle. Kudos to Rizzo for putting together such a great pitching turnaround.