Road sweet road
Submitted by Jeff on Wed, 06/13/2007 - 6:28am.
- Nats hitters don't care much for pitcher-friendly RFK, and last night they reveled in the more hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Ryan Church, Ryan Zimmerman, and Brian Schneider each hit homers, and Felipe Lopez had a two-run double. Micah Bowie, though, wasn't intimidated by the unfriendly confines, allowing only a three-run homer through six innings; Chad Cordero came on in the ninth with the tying run on the plate and induced a game-ending double play. Nats win, 7-4. (Box score)
- To help shake Lopez out of his hitting funk, the Nats flipped him in the lineup with Cristian Guzman. "This is like a change of scenery for him," said Manny Acta. It worked: Lopez had three walks in addition to his double; he credits talks he had with his agent and his wife (!) for the improved performance on the plate.
- John Patterson threw a bullpen session Tuesday and felt good afterwards, although he declined to set a date for his return to the rotation. "If I said I will be back June 20, just to throw a date out there, and then I didn't make it ... it puts a lot of stress on you," he said. Patterson will make a rehab start Friday for high-A Potomac.
- Chad Cordero's save last night was the 100th of his career; he's the second youngest to reach that milestone. Cordero credits former manager Frank Robinson for giving him a chance as the team's closer. "He helped me get to where I am today. I can't thank him enough. He was great for me."
- While GM Jim Bowden wouldn't directly address reports that the team was interested in trading for Tampa Bay outfielder Elijah Dukes, he did say that "we want to have good people here with high character" when considering any trades.
- Last night Brandon Watson extended his Triple-A hitting streak to 39 games with a 3-for-4 performance for Columbus. His hitting streak is now three games shy of the International League record of 42 games, set back in 1912.
- Ryan Langerhans provides a first-person account of the trades that sent him form Atlanta to Oakland to Washington in a matter of just a few days.