GB&U: Eliminating the Fish

RESULT: Nats beat Marlins 9-4, eliminate Florida from the playoffs.

GOOD: Shairon Martis! First major league win, hopefully of many. 5.1 IP, 3 ERs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. And a cream pie in the face for dessert. The Attorney General! Alberto Gonzalez went 4-for-5 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs. The Man with Two Last Names! Anderson Hernandez went 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs from the lead-off spot. Lastings! 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs! ZIM!!! 2-for-5, Homer (#14) and 2 RBIs.

BAD: Not much. Hanrahan gave up a solo tater closing things up. Other than that, a good all-around win.

UGLY: Paul LoDuca got a pinch-hit at bast in the 7th and was roundly booed by the sparce crowd before the at bats, and after he singled. Grudges make good baseball fans!

NEXT GAME: Tonight, Game Two of the three-game series. Tim Redding looks for his eleventh win against Josh Johnson (6-1) for Florida.

Martis' Big Night Leads Nationals Over Marlins, 9-4

by Anthony Amobi and Dave Nichols

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the 2008 season comes to a close, teams in the second division such as the Washington Nationals have nothing to play for but pride and the chance to see youngsters and role players compete for jobs next year. Last night, rookie Shairon Martis – who at 21 years old is youngest of the young on the squad – earned his first Major League victory as the Nats officially knocked Florida out of playoff contention, defeating the Marlins 9-4.

Martis (W, 1-3, 5.89) was good, but not particularly spectacular, as he went five and one-third innings and gave up three runs – all earned – on five hits. He struck out five and walked two. Meanwhile, his opponent on the mound, Scott Olsen (L, 8-11, 4.23), took the loss as he went five innings and gave up four runs – three earned – on eight hits, while striking out two and walking one. Martis' teammates came in huge for him, as Ryan Zimmerman belted his team-leading fourteenth home run, SS Alberto Gonzalez had four hits, three runs and two RBIs, and Lastings Milledge went 3-for4 with three runs driven in.

Florida took a 1-0 early lead in the very first inning as Mike Jacobs plated Hanley Ramirez with a two-out single. In the bottom of the frame, the Nats would come right back, as 2B Anderson Hernandez (2-for-5, two runs, two RBIs) reached base with a single before Zimmerman slammed a two run home run to deep left field off of Olsen and Washington took the lead, 2-1.

The Marlins tied the game at two in the top of the second inning as Josh Willingham took Martis deep with his thirteenth home run of the season. Undaunted on this evening, Washington would regain in the lead in the bottom of the third inning as Lastings Milledge hit a sacrifice fly that plated Alberto Gonzales – who had singled to start the frame and advanced to third – for a 3-2 lead.

In the fifth inning, Washington would take a 4-2 lead as Alberto Gonzalez hit a one-out double and advanced to third on Zimmerman's single. Milledge knocked in Gonzalez with a sacrifice; however, the inning would come to end and the Nationals failed to do any more damage as OF Elijah Dukes grounded out and Aaron Boone struck out looking.

Florida added another run to come with one of tying in the sixth inning as Martis walked Jorge Cantu and Mike Jacobs in succession. Manager Manny Acta decided at that point to lift Martis and hand things off to the bullpen. Dan Uggla singled off Stephen Shell to plate Cantu, but Shell induced a ground ball double-play ball from Josh Willingham to quash the rally and finish the frame.

Washington added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Walks to Willie Harris and pinch-hitter Pete Orr were sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt by Wil Nieves, and Hernandez ripped his third hit of the night off Marlins’ reliever Jesus Delgado to center to put the Nationals up, 5-3.

The Marlins became unglued in the eighth inning and Washington took the opportunity to rip them for four more additional runs late in the game. Willie Harris again walked to lead off the inning, and advanced to second off a Nieves sacrifice bunt. Reliever Eulogio De La Cruz walked pinch hitter Roger Bernadina and then he and Harris executed a double-steal without a throw. Hernandez came through again and plated both Harris and Bernadina with a single to center to put the Nationals up, 7-3.

After Hernandez advanced to second off a wild pitch by De La Cruz, Gonzalez drove him in with a single to center. Minutes later, Lastings Milledge capped off the inning by singling up the middle to score Gonzalez – who had advanced to third off a passed ball by catcher Jeff Baker – putting Washington’s ninth and final run on the scoreboard.

Cody Ross homered off Joel Hanrahan in the ninth inning to score Florida’s fourth run, but by then, the game was more than over.

With only five games left in the season – including the final two games in the inaugural season of Washington's Nationals Park– the Nats are eagerly trying to avoid the 100-loss plateau, the ultimate mark of a disastrous season. They need to win four of their last five to do the trick, but at least got started on the quest last night.

A scant crowd of 20,657 came out to Nationals Park on a autumn evening and left home happy, but not fulfilled in any sense of the imagination considering how long the season has truly been for even the most loyal and ardent fan.

Tonight's game is at 7:10 pm, game two of the three-game series with the Marlins. Tim Redding (10-10, 4.67) hosts Josh Johnson (6-1, 3.65).

Stock Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.

Homers, Knight Too Much For Nats

Washington -- Carlos Beltran hit two home runs, 33-year old rookie Brandon Knight was strong through five innings, and the beleaguered bullpen held on -- barely -- as the New York Mets salvaged game three of a four game series with the Washington Nationals, 9-7, in front of 25,019 bi-partisan fans at Nationals Park. The Nats tried valiantly to come back against the imploding Mets bullpen, scoring in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings but it was just not enough in the end, as former Nat Luis Ayala got the last out of the game to record his eighth save since joining the Mets last month.

The Mets jumped all over Nats rookie starter Shairon Martis early. All-star SS Jose Reyes belted a home run to right field on the game's fifth pitch, and Carlos Delgado followed suit three batters later to take a 2-0 lead before most of the crowd had settled into their seats or taken a bite of their chili dog. Washington got one back in the second when Kory Casto doubled in Lastings Milledge, who had reached on an infield single. But Martis' trouble would continue in the top of the third.

Reyes walked to lead things off, and LF Dan Murphy sent a screaming line drive to right center, scoring Reyes without a throw and Murphy sliding into third with a triple. A batter later, Delgado delivered Murphy home with a single, and Beltran followed that with his first home run of the evening, a no-doubt-about-it shot into the bleachers in right field. Martis would get the final two outs of the inning, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the third, ending his shortest stint in his brief major league career. His final numbers were pretty ugly: three innings, six earned runs, five hits, two walks, three home runs and four strikeouts. Martis, 21, is now 0-3 in three starts with a 6.23 ERA.

The Mets added solo runs in the fourth and sixth innings to take an 8-1 lead before the Nats bats woke up and began the comeback against a parade of Mets relievers. In the bottom of the sixth, facing Ricardo Rincon, pinch hitter Alberto Gonzales singled home 2B Emilio Bonifacio, who had earlier doubled. Elijah Dukes crushed a two-run home run off Brian Stokes down the line in left field in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 8-5. Beltran his second of the night, his 26th of the season, in the eighth off reliever Charlie Manning, making the score 9-5. Aaron Heilman actually held the Nats scoreless in the eighth, although he gave up a double and single to start the inning, and the Nats found themselves down four starting the ninth.

Manager Jerry Manual called on side-arming Joe Smith to open the ninth against Milledge who found himself safe at first on David Wright's throwing error. Dukes drew a walk, putting two on with no outs. Manual lifted Smith in favor of Pedro Feliciano to face Anderson Hernandez, and Feliciano induced a hard ground ball to first baseman Delgado, who made a nifty back-hand stop to get the speedy Hernandez by half a step for the first out. Were the ball two feet more to Delgado's right, he never would have touched it and we might have witnessed a different ending. But they say baseball is a game of inches, and that axiom was no more applicable than last night.

Feliciano went on to get Bonifacio to tap a come-backer to the mound for the second out, and the Nats found themselves with backs to the wall once again. But catcher Wil Nieves was undaunted. After taking two strikes, he settled into the batter's box and found a pitch he finally liked, and he drilled it to the gap in right center, scoring Milledge and Dukes from second base, giving Nats fans a few more gasps of air and bringing the tying run to the plate.

Manager Manny Acta announced Luke Montz as the pinch-hitter for pitcher Garrett Mock, and Manual countered with his de facto closer, former long-time Washington National Luis Ayala. Acta called Montz back and got lefty-swinging Roger Bernadina off the bench to face Ayala. Bernadina worked Ayala into a 2-2 count, but the crafty veteran put one up in the zone that the youngster couldn't lay off, and when Bernadina swung through for strike three, Ayala pounced off the mound with a fist pump and beaming smile.

Ayala was no doubt proud about delivering the Mets a much needed victory against his former team and relief -- albeit temporary -- for their own relief corp.

The finale of the four-game set is Thursday night at 7:10 pm, in a match-up of squad aces. Tim Redding (10-9, 4.54) matches up with Johan Santana (13-7, 2.70).

NATS NOTES: Washington falls to 58-94, 27 games behind Philadelphia in the N.L. East. The Nats are ahead of Seattle and San Diego one-half game for the worst record in the majors. The Nats need to go 5-5 in their final 10 games to avoid 100 losses.

The team announced that RF Austin Kearns, C Jesus Flores, 2B Ronnie Belliard and 1B Dmitri Young will all be shut down and will not appear again in 2008.

GM Jim Bowden and Assistant GM Mike Rizzo will appear Friday at noon at the ESPN Zone in downtown DC for a Q&A with fans. Radio broadcaster Charlie Slowes will be the moderator.

GB&U: Close But No Cigar

RESULT: Nats lose to Mets 9-7.

GOOD: Wil Nieves. 3-for-5, two run single in ninth inning to bring up tying run. Elijah Dukes. Monster 2-run shot to left, his 13th of the year. Emilio! 2-for-5 with a run and RBI. Kory Casto with two hits and an RBI. Guzman had two more hits, raising his average to .315.

BAD: Zim, 0-for-4 again. Bullpen. Bergmann, Speigner and Manning each give up a run already trailing in the game. If ANY of them do their jobs, the Nats would have had a chance last night.

UGLY: Shairon Martis. I know he's just 21, and he was rushed into this here at the end of the year due to Bergmann's stinking up the joint (Fire Jim Bowden and I see opposite sides of this issue). But Martis was awful from the start. His fastball had no movement and his other pitches were just dull. He needs at least another full year in AA honing his other pitches so on the nights when he doesn't have his good stuff he can get hitters out. His line: 3 IP, 6 ERs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks, 3 HRs.

INJURY UPDATE: From the Nats Redundancy Department of Redundancy: Kearns, Flores, Belliard and Young all shut down for the year.

NEXT GAME: Tonight for game four at 7:10 pm. A match-up of "aces". Tim Redding (10-9, 4.54) faces Johan Santana (13-7, 2.70).

GB&U: Quiet 2-1 Loss

RESULT: Nats lose to Marlins 2-1.

GOOD: Shairon Martis. Five innings, two hits, three walks, one earned run, nine strikeouts.
Wee Willie Harris went 2-for-3 with a walk.

BAD: Cristian Guzman. 0-for-4, two left on base, and a throwing error that resulted in the winning run scoring.

UGLY: Fifteen individual runners left on base. Example A on why the Nats need a to get a slugger in the line-up. They just have trouble stringing base hits together to score runs.

NEXT GAME: Tomorrow. 7:10 pm from Dolphin Stadium. Tim Redding faces Josh Johnson.

GB&U: Shut Out Again

RESULT: Nats shut out by Braves debut pitcher 2-0.

GOOD: Ronnie Belliard. If indeed his groin injury shelves him for the rest of the season, he went out on a good note, going 3-for-3. For the season he is hitting .287/.372/.473 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 SBs. Shairon Martis. It may be his only start of the season, but it went pretty well, despite walking the bases loaded in the fourth. His line was 5 IP, 2 ERs, 4 hits, 5 BBs and 2 Ks. The bullpen. Mock, Manning, Shell and (gasp) Speigner combined for three innings of one-hit baseball.

BAD: Cristian Guzman. Even in a great year, you'll have a stinker. Guz went 0-3 with 3 Ks.

UGLY: Belliard's Injury. He's been very dependable this season, and a real trooper playing wherever Manny tells him. He may be the only player in the bigs this year to have player every infield position. Unfortunate his season has to end this way.

INJURY UPDATE: GM Jim Bowden announced 1B Dmitri Young will rejoin the team Sunday and be in uniform Tuesday against the Mets, primarily as a pinch-hitter. He said that before Belliard's injury though. Still, expect to see a lot of Kory Casto down the stretch.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 7:35 versus the Braves in game two. Jason Bergmann (2-10, 4.83) takes on Jair Jurrjens (11-9, 3.59) from Turner Field.

Belliard Injured; Nats Shut Out by Braves 2-0

Atlanta -- Atlanta Braves rookie James Parr, making his Major League debut, threw six innings of two-hit baseball, and three Atlanta relievers did equally well against the suddenly anemic again Washington offense to defeat the Nationals 2-0 before an announced crowd of 18,708 at Turner Field. It was the 21st time the Nationals have been shut out this season -- leading the majors by a fair margin -- and most in the majors since the 1978 Atlanta Braves team matched the feat.

Parr did an excellent job in his big league debut, walking three and striking out three in addition to the two base hits, both by 1B Ronnie Belliard. Belliard doubled in the second inning with one out, but was stranded there as Elijah Dukes fouled out to first and Anderson Hernandez flied out on a well hit ball to center. In the fourth inning, Belliard reached on an infield single but was erased on a double-play grounder by Dukes. Belliard had another hit in the seventh inning, legging out another infield hit, but this one might have cost him the rest of his 2008 season. Belliard came up lame on the play and was replaced by pinch-runner Kory Casto. After the game, it was revealed Belliard strained his right groin, and was scheduled for an MRI Friday morning.

"I hurt it right then, as I was running to first base," he said. "It hurts." There was no timetable for his return. "He may be down for the year," manager Manny Acta said.

Nationals starter Shairon Martis also made his Major League debut, and was impressive in his own right. He went five innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and five walks, striking out two. The walks hurt Martis in the fourth inning, as he walked the bases loaded -- including the pitcher -- before allowing an RBI ground out to make the score 2-0. Martis, 21, pitched for the Netherlands in the Olympics and went 4-4 at Double-A Harrisburg this season with a 3.98 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 57 and walking 28 in 74.2 innings.

Besides Belliard's three hits, the only other Nats to reach via hit were Ryan Zimmerman, who doubled leading off the ninth inning and pinch-hitter Roger Bernadina in the eighth.

Mike Gonzales, despite allowing Zimmerman's lead-off double, recorded the next three outs for his ninth save of the season.

Washington faces Atlanta in the second of the three-game series Friday night at 7:35 pm. Jason Bergmann (2-10, 4.83) takes on Jair Jurrjens (11-9, 3.59) from Turner Field.

NATS NOTES: The loss moves the Nats record to 54-87, 25.5 games behind division-leading New York. The Mets have a three-game lead over second place Philadelphia and start a three-game series with the Phillies Friday at Shea Stadium.

C Luke Montz, recalled after Jesus Flores was injured earlier in the week, made his Major League debut as well, going 0-for-3 at the plate and throwing out pinch-runner Josh Anderson at second base.

RHP Shawn Hill was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery Friday morning on his troublesome right elbow by the renowned Dr. James Andrews. No details had been released when this article was published.

GM Jim Bowden issued a statement that 1B Dmitri Young would rejoin the team Sunday night and would be in uniform for Tuesday's game in New York.

GB&U: Taking Back Nats Park

RESULT: Nats beat dirty Phillies 9-7.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. Way to stick up for your teammate. Cristian Guzman! 8 multi-hit games in a row, three-run double to break the game open. ZIM! Third homer in 8 games, that's more like it.

BAD: Marco Estrada. Couldn't get anyone out in the sixth, allowing Howard's second two-run bomb.

UGLY: Joe Blanton. Usually I don't give out awards to the other team, but Blanton looked lousy last night. 4 earned in 4 inning son 6 hits and 3 walks. Pew. Hope he's not listening to sports talk in Philly this morning. BIG series for the Fightin's this weekend in Gotham.

INJURY UPDATE: Collin Balestar has a sore glut. He'll be pushed back to next Tuesday, prompting Martis to get the ball tonight and pushing another Bergmann shelling off until tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: Tonight in Hot-lanta. Shairon Martis makes his ML debut against Jo-Jo Reyes (3-10, 5.49).