Faith rewarded

Submitted by Jeff on Sat, 06/02/2007 - 10:43am.

The Nats looked like they were going to escape the top of the sixth with a 3-2 lead when former Nat Terrmel Sledge grounded a ball towards second—only to have the ball ricochet off an umpire, becoming an RBI double and prompting Manny Acta to exclaim, "Why us, Lord?" Well, perhaps He was just testing your faith. And if you stuck around to the bottom of the tenth, you were rewarded when pinch-hitter Ronnie Belliard grounded one through the right side of the infield, scoring Cristian Guzman and giving the Nats a 4-3 win over the Padres. (Box score)
Before the game Nick Johnson took live batting practice for the first time since his broken leg last September, spending about ten minutes swinging at pitches thrown by Acta. While the sight of Johnson swinging at pitches "was reason for optimism", Johnson looked rusty from the lack of activity. "It is a significant step because he swung the bat and didn't feel any pain or anything," said Acta.
During last night's 4-for-5 performance Cristian Guzman collected his 1000th career hit and demonstrated that he in better form than at any time during his tenure with the Nationals. "I feel a little more comfortable than a couple years ago," said Guzman, who is now batting .316.
Shawn Hill said that the Cleveland doctor who examined his elbow said that he has to wait until the slight labrum tear in his shoulder is completely healed before he can start throwing again, something that could take anywhere from two days to a month.
Luis Ayala made his first rehab appearance last night at Class-A Potomac, allowing a double but recording a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Ayala was on a 20-pitch count in his first appearance.
Jon Rauch, who pitched a scoreless tenth last night to get the win, appears to have bounced back from both his recent struggles and a foot blister. Rauch had sat for a week before Thursday night's appearance, in large part to let the blister heal.
MASN announced yesterday that it has added Don Baylor to its coverage of Nats games. Baylor will fill in for Ray Knight on "Nats Xtra" broadcasts when Knight is called up to cover the game. The release doesn't indicate how often that will happen.