Nats strike early but can't hold lead

By Mark Selig / MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- At a press conference earlier this week, interim manager Jim Riggleman mentioned that opponents frequently approach him and ask how the Nationals lose so many games, given their personnel.

For the first half of Saturday's 6-5 loss against the Cubs, the Nationals certainly did not resemble a club that entered the game 37 games under .500.

Nats strike early but can't hold lead....

Chi Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Fukudome, CF-RF 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .258
Theriot, SS 5 0 1 2 0 1 2 .294
Lee, D, 1B 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 .285
Ramirez, A, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .317
Bradley, RF 4 0 1 0 0 3 3 .239
Johnson, Re, CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
Soriano, A, LF 4 1 1 3 0 3 2 .234
Heilman, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Gregg, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Fontenot, 2B 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .236
Hill, K, C 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .220
Wells, R, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
a-Baker, Je, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .171
Guzman, A, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Marshall, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
Marmol, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Fuld, PH-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .368
Totals 37 6 11 6 1 10 15

a-Grounded out for Wells, R in the 6th. b-Lined out for Marmol in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Hill, K (4, Zimmermann, J), Lee, D (16, Zimmermann, J).
3B: Theriot (3, Zimmermann, J), Fukudome (4, Bergmann).
HR: Soriano, A (15, 6th inning off Zimmermann, J, 2 on, 1 out), Fontenot (7, 8th inning off Bergmann, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Fukudome 4; Theriot 3; Lee, D 2; Ramirez, A; Bradley; Soriano, A 4; Fontenot 5; Hill, K 3.
RBI: Theriot 2 (34), Soriano, A 3 (36), Fontenot (29).
2-out RBI: Fontenot.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ramirez, A.
S: Wells, R.
Team RISP: 2-for-8.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
CS: Bradley (1, 2nd base by Bergmann/Nieves).

FIELDING
E: Bradley (2, fielding).
Pickoffs: Hill, K (Johnson, N at 1st base).


Washington AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Morgan, CF 5 2 3 1 0 0 2 .290
Johnson, N, 1B 4 1 3 1 1 0 0 .307
Zimmerman, R, 3B 3 0 1 2 0 0 1 .285
Dunn, A, LF 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 .262
Willingham, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 .287
Beimel, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Harris, W, 2B-RF 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 .241
Gonzalez, Al, SS 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .325
Nieves, C 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .267
Zimmermann, J, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .148
Burnett, S, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Kearns, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .195
Bergmann, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Belliard, PH-2B 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .190
Totals 33 5 10 5 6 1 20

a-Walked for Burnett, S in the 6th. b-Walked for Bergmann in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Morgan (10, Wells, R), Dunn, A (17, Wells, R), Nieves (6, Guzman, A).
TB: Morgan 4; Johnson, N 3; Zimmerman, R; Dunn, A 2; Nieves 3.
RBI: Zimmerman, R 2 (55), Dunn, A (63), Morgan (30), Johnson, N (40).
2-out RBI: Morgan; Johnson, N.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Harris, W; Nieves; Morgan; Gonzalez, Al 2; Willingham 2.
S: Zimmermann, J.
SF: Zimmerman, R 2.
Team RISP: 4-for-13.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: Johnson, N (2, 2nd base off Wells, R/Hill, K).
PO: Johnson, N (1st base by Hill, K).

FIELDING
E: Harris, W (3, fielding).
DP: (Nieves-Harris, W).


Chi Cubs IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Wells, R (W, 5-4) 5.0 7 4 4 1 1 0 3.00
Guzman, A (H, 8) 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.48
Marshall (H, 6) 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.88
Marmol (H, 21) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.45
Heilman (H, 7) 0.1 1 1 1 2 0 0 4.40
Gregg (S, 18) 1.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.25

Washington IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Zimmermann, J (L, 3-5) 5.1 6 5 4 1 8 1 4.63
Burnett, S 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.72
Bergmann 2.0 4 1 1 0 2 1 6.05
Beimel 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.38

HBP: Willingham (by Wells, R), Willingham (by Marmol).
Pitches-strikes: Wells, R 85-53, Guzman, A 22-15, Marshall 20-11, Marmol 14-6, Heilman 18-10, Gregg 29-17, Zimmermann, J 100-74, Burnett, S 8-6, Bergmann 37-25, Beimel 13-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Wells, R 5-8, Guzman, A 0-2, Marshall 2-0, Marmol 2-0, Heilman 0-1, Gregg 2-3, Zimmermann, J 5-3, Burnett, S 2-0, Bergmann 1-2, Beimel 3-0.
Batters faced: Wells, R 23, Guzman, A 4, Marshall 4, Marmol 3, Heilman 4, Gregg 6, Zimmermann, J 24, Burnett, S 3, Bergmann 9, Beimel 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Marshall 2-0, Marmol 2-0, Gregg 3-1.
Umpires: HP: D.J. Reyburn. 1B: Mike Estabrook. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Gary Darling.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, L to R.
T: 3:15.
Att: 36,014.
July 18, 2009