Nats Win Again, 6-4
The offense churned out 10 hits and the bullpen survived a late charge as the Nats defeated the Tigers, 6-4 to win consecutive games for just the third time this spring.
Stephen Strasburg struck out five over four scoreless innings to get the “W.” The 26-y.o. gave up three hits and no walks while lowering his spring ERA to 3.18.
A.J. Cole went the next three frames but gave up his third HR in as many appearances. He finished with one run allowed on two hits and no walks and struck out his first two batters of the spring.
Matt Skole was the sole (hey, that rhymes!) prospect to start, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout while playing third base. The following players were among the notable minor-leaguers to come off the bench:
• Wilmer Difo subbed for Ian Desmond at SS and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 7th. He was 0-for-1 overall.
• Isaac Ballou followed Bryce Harper in RF but was 0-for-1.
• Cutter Dykstra scored as a PR on Difo’s flyball in the 7th and went 0-for-1 in relief of 2B Kevin Frandsen.
Yesteday, the Nats sent southpaws Felipe Rivero and Sammy Solis and outfielder Brian Goodwin to minor-league camp. The next major cuts will most likely come after Saturday’s split-squad games.
The Nats stay on the road tomorrow with a trip to Jupiter, FL to face the Marlins. The game can be heard on MLB Radio.
According to @Nationals, the team’s twitter feed, the Nationals have released Jeff Kobernus. I’m surprised that they made this move now, because it’s not necessary (they don’t have to add Gwynn or whoever to the roster until the end of ST, and by then there will likely be spaces available due to the players (Cedeno, Leon, and to a lesser extent Moore) who are out of options.
The only reason that I can think of to release Kobernus now is as a favor to the player, to give him a chance to hook on with another organization while he still has a couple of weeks of ST to show what he’s got. I do wish him well – and he’s already got a HR in the majors, so he can always tell his grandkids that even if he doesn’t make it back.