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Nats to begin May with three-game win streakMay 1st, 2008
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The Washington Nationals stylishly finished April by taking a two-game set against the Atlanta Braves, their division rival whom they now trail by only 1.5 games.
The team that endured a nine-game losing streak through April 13 now has won six of its last eight games and is riding a three-game winning streak as the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town for both teams’ first four-game set this season.
Several obvious positives have emerged and they are impossible to ignore.
They have solid starting pitchers, one of whom is working on a scoreless inning streak. They have stumbled upon a solid closer who notched his fifth save Tuesday night when the Nats beat the Braves 6-3. Their lineup has some potent bats that can turn on the ball with ease. And the whole team how shown it can excel when playing late- and extra-inning ball.
On Wednesday, the Nats answered the Braves’ one run in the top of the 12th inning by scoring two runs and securing a 3-2 walk-off victory, their second since Friday night, when back-up catcher Wil Nieves stroked an opposite field two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Chicago Cubs. Nieves’ first career home run propelled the Nats to a 5-3 win.
On Tuesday night, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman busted out with a 3-4 night, hitting his third home run and doubling in two runs in a 6-3 victory over the Braves. First baseman Nick Johnson also homered, his fourth of the year. Centerfielder Lastings Milledge also doubled in two runs
On Sunday, Wily Mo Peña knocked in the only run the Nats would need to secure a series win against the Cubs, who led the NL Central and were one of the hottest teams in Baseball. Peña then came around and scored the second run in the 2-0 win.
On Thursday night, the Nats were losing 3-0 to the Mets when they evened the score in the bottom of the third. They scored four runs in the sixth, then three more in the bottom of the seventh, resulting in a 10-5 victory.
Righhanded reliever Jon Rauch has converted five of seven save opportunities, the most recent coming Tuesday night against the Braves. He also saved Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the Cubs. His most recent appearance was Wednesday afternoon, when he pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a game the Nats won in the twelfth.
Rauch has stepped up while ersatz reliever Chad Cordero has stepped back. Cordero is expected to miss up to six weeks with a tear in his right shoulder, an injury that does not require surgery but will require a stay on the disabled list, according to the Nationals.
In six appearances, Cordero had been unable to recapture the glory, and re-harness his heat, from previous seasons. In 4.1 innings of work, Cordero has registered neither a save nor a win. He also has not been charged with a loss, to his credit. He left Tuesday night’s game in the ninth inning while facing a hitter. An MRI on Wednesday revealed the tear.
Lefthanded pitcher John Lannan, over his three most recent appearances, has gone 19-straight shutout innings through Sunday, when he threw seven innings of four-hit ball to notch his second victory, pulling even at 2-2.
Exactly like the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres in the NL West, through Thursday morning the Nats’ 11-17 record translates to a winning percentage of .393, the National League’s lowest. Yet the Nats’ numbers represent a marked improvement from the .250 earlier in the middle of April.
The Pirates are slightly higher than the Nats, sitting on an 11-16 record for a .407 winning percentage. They too occupy the bottom of their division.
The first Nats-Pirates tilt features two lefthanded starters: Odalis Perez (0-3) for the Nats’ will face Zach Duke (0-2) as both southpaws go for their win of 2008.
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