Last Night In Woodbridge
Strong pitching? Check.
Decent offense? Check.
Solid defense? Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
The Potomac Nationals closed out their seven-game homestand with a 4-3 mark and a 7-4 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks to earn a series split.
Trevor Holder pitched into the eighth inning for the second time in his last three starts and did not issue a walk while striking out six, tying a season high. The veteran righthander now leads the staff in wins and has the lowest ERA, WHIP, and FIP among the starting pitchers.
Donning their red alternates for good luck, the P-Nats posted a picket fence in the first three innings, scoring on a wild pitch (1st), two-out single by Kevin Keyes (2nd), and a solo HR by Rick Hague (3rd). They broke through with three in the fourth when Randolph Oduber smacked a triple into the LCF gap and
came in when the relay made its way into the Blue Rock dugout.
As the lede suggests, the defense was porous — three errors in the first five innings, which, if you’ll recall is even worse than it looks when you consider that most minor-league scorekeepers (read: I’ve seen this tendency elsewhere across multiple levels, not just the Pfitz) have a hazy idea as to what “ordinary effort” means in Rule 10.05(3).
Despite taking a line drive to the gut in the 5th, Holder would retire eight of the last nine batters he faced and was lifted with two outs in the eighth after throwing 106 pitches, 72 for strikes, and gave way to Adam Carr.
This time out, Carr looked more comfortable and much more like his old self — especially when he dialed up to 94 to strike out the first batter he faced (Wilmington cleanup hitter Brett Eibner). The 28-year-old then set down the Blue Rocks in order for his first save of the 2012 season.
Potomac now hits the road for a pair of three-game series against the Salem Red Sox and the Carolina Mudcats before returning home for the annual Fourth of July festivities (you know, in case you hadn’t heard ;-).
I hadn’t really noticed Holder before this year, but he seems to be emerging as a solid starter. Does he have any chance to become a late blooming real prospect?
With pitching, unlike hitting, you just never know. Seee Moyer, Jamie
Speaking of pitching, where is McGeary? He hasn’t pitched at all this year. I know he was being held back in extended spring training, but why? He pitched late last season, so why didn’t he start this season in the full season leagues? Also, when is Purke coming off the DL?
The Nats are like the Pats when it comes to injuries: You have to basically talk to the player face-to-face to get any information, and even then, I strongly suspect they’ve been instructed to say as little as possible, Anthony Rendon not withstanding.
This culture of secrecy has become more popular lately, with some teams taking it to ridiculous extremes.
It also doesn’t help that lately, everybody has been using the DL as taxi squad, with such blatant disregard to its intent, that we (the fans) can, do, and will continue to mock and disbelieve any player as actually being hurt unless we actually witness the injury. I feel bad for the players, but the fault is not ours but in the organizations that choose to foster an atmosphere of mistrust (seriously, how hard is it to rename it the Inactive List and drop the pretense?).
Finally… Last I was able to discern, McGeary is still in Florida, presumably working with the coaches in Viera. As for Purke, I suspect he’s been hidden down there, too.
it’s hard for me to understand this cloak and dagger approach to injuries. it’s not like they would ever trade a player and conceal an injury, so what’s the point?
Thanks Luke. But what exactly does “working with the coaches” mean? Did Mcgeary’s mechanics go so completely out of whack that he can’t pitch in live games? He is still hurt and the Nats are trying to save face? It seems he’s been in Florida for way too long considering that he did get into some games last year. Same for Purke, is he still hurt?did he “lose” his stuff? ( Sorry for badgering you, i know how hard it is to get this info., just thought maybe you “heard” something from other sources)
From our perspective, it means he’s not getting into games. Otherwise, it’s the day-to-day throwing and instruction.
I don’t have any spies in Viera so I really can’t comment on McGeary. My guy in Hagerstown was less than impressed with Purke in his sole appearance there earlier this month, but with only one game to go off of, there’s no way of telling how his stuff has deteriorated or not.
This does, however, reinforce my decision to drop injured pitchers from the watchlist until they prove themselves to be fully healthy again.
Thanks Luke. It’s a shame, i was really looking forward to seeing how these two were going to perform this year. Oh well, let’s just hope Giolito arm’s problems don’t lead to a repeat of this scenario come next year (if he signs that is.)