>> fisher looking. fisher puts up the three. tied the game. de >> bob: interleague play is upon the washington nationals again and the key from d.c. as they face a tall order. they will be going through the vaunted a.l. east facing off against former world series champions, cy young winners. today, they are heading to tampa bay. 25-year-old craig stammen takes the mound for the nats in search of his first major league win, here on masn 2. ♪

>> hi, everybody, happy friday night to you. happy to have you along with us. johnny halladay with the si ver fox, ray knight. great to have you along for baseball. tonight, interleague play for the next two weeks, 15 games. you go to tampa bay tonight and then to the yankees for a series, back them against toronto and back home again the boston red sox and nice way to go on the road, ray, with a big come-from-behind win over your former ball club, the cincinnati reds, 3-1. >> yeah, buddy. >> it was a great comeback win. >> it was a great comeback win. we threatened a lot. we came back after the rain delay. still, we talked about having character. after the harris pinch hit and hernandez pinch hit, and zimmerman grounds and phillips throws the ball away. but look at the takeout fly at second base by gonzalez.

we talk about little things win ball games, as well as the big thing. the pressure he put on that second base man is key. then joe beimel comes and puts the side back out. we have not been able to board too many leaps this year and feel real good about the flight. >> uh-huh. >> how about beimel, only throwing eight pitches and gets his first save of the year. you know, lost in that 8th inning was the fact that zimmerman really hustled down the line to get to first base and keep the inning going, too. >> and manny said -- they play hard. the team plays hard. just because you maker reports and, sometimes, you don't cover the bases, those are mental mistakes. those guys go out and give total effort, no doubt about it. styles, i think they are trying too hard but when you hit a ground ball with the bases loaded, if there is also going to be a time where you bust your tail, today is the time. >> i think there was a great

article about manny acta. they fight, they scrap, they don't give up and there has to be good things just around the corner for this club. you've got to like the hustle of the young guys, the pitching staff has come along. so a great article by boswell this morning. >> yes, it was. now, we are seeing young pitchers keep us in ball games, close ball games. the bullpen has now been pull together after eight, ten changes. you have young guys coming up here and throwing the ball well, keeping us in the game through six innings. now we have to get offense, a little bit better situational hitting and then you start to win some ball games and series. >> in the 8th inning, willie harris comes up as a pinch hitter. he finishes 1-for-1 in the afternoon against the reds in that 3-2 comeback win. they say, yes, the win is nice but there is still work to be done. >> it definitely is a plus for us, especially going to tampa

and then new york. this is not going to be an easy ride for us. no ride is easy, but the last couple of games, our pitching has been tremendous. we have not been able to score runs. lannan, he pitched well. the last couple of times out, he has been pitching well. the bullpen, pitched well. we have to get those runs in from third with less than two outs, that will be huge for us. >> in the series at tampa bay, the nationals will not get to david price. he won't pitch against the nats. he was the number 1 pick for tampa bay in 2007 and byron kerr filling in for debbi taylor had a chance to catch up with the tampa bay. >> if you want to see a post at how things will be like for stephen strasburg, here is david price. he was the number 1 pick for tampa bay. we'll take you to the first day just like stephen strasburg

felt. how did you feel that day you were drafted. >> that was a big day. there was a bill lull between the day i got drafted and the time i got signed. i wasn't going to go play because i had a long season in college, so i had a lot on my hands and a lot of time to rest up. >> what do you think about stephen strasburg from san diego state? >> i hear he is the real deal. i heard nothing but good stuff about him. so that's good. >> what kind of advice do you have for him as he goes through what you went through? >> just enjoy it. take your time. don't rush it. if he opens up in the big league, good luck to him. that's a big dinse, going from that 7 days to 5 days, that's the big thing for me. you can feel it on your arm every time you go out. during the course of the season where you go 30 to 35 starts whereas in college, you make 15

to 16. >> you are saying, 2008, work in the minor league, not working hard on your arm really helped you for this year? >> absolutely. it's all about the long run. everybody wants to win this year but everybody wants a tradition of winning year after year. that's what the rays have done. >> what was it like winning those games? >> that's awesome. that's dream come true. it was a blessing. >> to have a good team to play on, too, did that take a little bit of pressure off? >> this is a young team, very young team. so i fit right in from day 1. guys made me feel like i belong. that was huge. that was huge for my confidence to go out and have early success. >> you feel like you guys are starting to turn things around here, too, you got to the .500 mark? >> oh, absolutely. you know, our team lost peqa,

carlos. you know, this is a good team, good demeanor in the clubhouse. that's huge. >> you see what david price did. in 2008, he worked in the minor league and then now he is here in 2009. talking to mike griswold, he said he had a great relationship with scott boras. five of the nats are boras clients. that should help in the relationship. >> i think we all anticipate the negotiations over the next couple of months, until august 15th. >> yes, for sure. i feel good about it getting done. there is no way that it's not going to get done, johnny. you take a guy no who is going to fit for somewhere in the slot. he will probably get $8 million. you can ask for the $50 million if you are scott boras. it's going to be $10 million or

less to signing him. >> doesn't the silver fox still wish he was still playing, for the kind of money they are getting. >> rob: for a lot of reasons, not just -- >>not just for the money. >> bob: the game against the ray's first pitch tomorrow night. we're going to join the game already in progress at about 7 0-0 on masn 2 and you can follow the game on masnsports.com. ♪

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>> johnny: well, this is nats pre-game. adam dunn comes into the ballgame holding the club

league in homeruns, on pace to hit 47 homeruns. this would mark the 6th consecutive year adam will have done that if he keeps on pace with his 17 homeruns. here is starting line-up. cristian guzman leads off at short. the dh, of course, huge in interleague play. for tampa bay, they come in tonight with a team batting average of .2272 and a guy who is awfully speedy on the base pads carl crawford. here is the rest of the line- up.

. >> johnny: speaking of interleague play and speaking of baseball and speaking of defense, let's talk a little bit about the nationals defense but also overall in major league from mr. baseball, phil wood. >> well, thank you, ray and john. the only one categories that the nationals are leading the league in are categories where they don't want to lead. and they have something to do with each other. error and losses. in the late 1970s, i corresponded with the late smoky joe wood who would be a likely hall of famer if not for

arm trouble that shortened his career. even wall tore johnson thought that smoky joe was faster than he was. i asked him what he thought was the difference. he said the players caught the ball then. now, today, the gloves catch the ball. after ray knight is modeling the glove for us here. this is the wilson kent kelner professional glove. kelner played. imagine making a diving play with that. >> i can't imagine. >> ray: i better make shoe that i catch it in the palm. look at how worn out this fall is. >> why did it take so long for glove makers to we have the fingers together. >> ray: i don't know.

that's a big glove. >> for the great players of the past, you see some enormous error totals for honus wagner, ty cob. the point is, you don't know how good the fielders of 350 years ago w the glove is not doing everything but it sure beats trying for catch a ball with a seat cushion. i now understand why grandfathers used to yell "use two hands", because they had to. >> you also get prop pay for doing this, you know. thanks so much, phil. we'll come back and continue. noticec pre-fame. the first of a big weekend series in tampa bay against the rays we'll talk about the starting pitchers coming up tonight. it will be craig stammen for the nationals against matt garza. hey. don't move.

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into tonight is the first of 3 against tampa bay. because of major league blackout, we'll join the game in progress at 7:05 on masn 2. you can follow the game on masnsports.com. >> he takes that one to left field, warning track, wall and good-bye, homerun. >> he just muscled that ball out of the ballpark. >> and how about another homerun? elijah dukes makes it 4-0. a no- doubter line drive to left. >> that baby got out of here in a hurry. into elijah dukes coming back home to tampa, drafting by the rays in the 2002 draft. he only hit .190 when he played down here but i think he was just beginning to scratch the surface of what is going to be a big career. you know he has to be thrilled to go back to tampa. >> ray: i'm sure he is,

johnny. it's hard sometimes to play at home with a lot of people making demands, asking for tickets. he hit for average, power, run, throw and field. he's really got on this ball club that fits that. zimmerman is close. he just can't run quite as well as elijah. >> johnny: and we have seen in centerfield elijah loping to those balls like did i imagine quo, mays. >> ray: he can become a true centerfielder if his legs hold up. he has had some problems with his knees over his his career, and his leg. if he is able to keep these lotion strong, he can develop into a strong centerfielder.

>> johnny: let's talk about the pitchers. the national will send to the mound craig stammen, 0-2, looking for the first win of the year. >> ray: i expect he is going to be the first guy sent out when olson is ready. as a manager, i like the way he throws the baseball. his fastball at 93. matt garza, on the other hand, is just a beast. he comes at you with a fastball that's a four-saler, 95. he is 4-4 with 3.55. he won 11 games last year and lost 9. he doesn't throw anything soft. he comes right at you, relentlessly, in and out, up and down. nine of his starts have been quality starts so he is developing into a very fine pitcher. >> johnny: what scares you about this guy, when you rook

at the owe pope exhibit batting average, fourth in american league. >> ray: when he pitches 94, 95, we didn't see any breaking balls there but he has a good breaking ball that just turns down, starts about thigh high and works its way all the way to the ground. >> johnny: the same thing when i was pitching. time to talk to -- ben is down there in tampa. ben, great to see you again. let's talk about elijah dukes, back to where he went to high school there. good week for elijah. >> there has been a lot of attention on it, folks with the local media. it's been a big storely with him being here. he spent a couple of years with the rays and things ended a little unceremoniously but for him, that's a big thing for him to play in front of his former

team. i saw him greet joe maddon. >> ray: you have been around elijah now for two years. your evaluation of him as he has thrown into a mature young man? >> it's kind of a day-to-day thing. his struggles are well documented and they put a pretty good support system in place for him and he has done a pretty good job of responding to the support system they put around him, and he has responded well to guys like marquis grissom, willie harris. he has responded well to the examples. we were talking to stan before the game. he says that's one thing he does not get enough credit for, learning that position and centerfield is not easy. they would prefer him to be a

right fielder down the road but they don't have a centerfielder right now and they need him in there and he jumped in there and stan looks at that as a sign of maturity. >> as always, the hot corner for the washington times. elijah, of course, with the rookie from kansas city the only two to hit 10 10 homeruns. how about joe beimel? he pitched 7 games with tampa bay in 2005. he has 62 career holds, 7 this season. just as joe beimel keeps the team in the game, you, too, can stay in the game with just more again hair color. ray and i will step out and come back in a moment. craig stammen loosenning up. he will taking the mound

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understanding what's important. one more reminder tomorrow against tampa bay, first pitch at 6:08 in tropicana but due to major league blackout regulation, we'll join the game in process at 7:025 on masn 2. you can also follow the game at masnsports.com. >> it's food to see pitching carrying us. we have to do our part offensively. again, you know, i don't think we are over trying. i just think maybe a little bit of added pressure on everyone. you can see the frustration when people are trying so hard to get that big hit, you know, swinging at pitches that probably you wouldn't swing at. >> johnny: ray, i think you hit the nail on the head when

you said earlier, trying too hard. >> ray: when you are not doing well, you feel t when your teamates are not doing well, you try to pull for them, and we talked about hitting five- run homeruns. the pitching has been unreal. not just from the starters but the bullpen. hanrahan throwing better. you can't forget beimel. >> johnny: they have only given up only two homeruns. that's the fewest in major league. >> ray: i'm looking at that. fewest walks allowed. the earned run average is 7th in the national league in the last few days. the pitching has definitely turned around. so, you know, it's so weird how it's so hard to get all these things working together. and then we pitched terribly early, scored a lot of run, played brutal defense.

we are still not playing bad defense, but we are getting better. and fundamentally, we still are not bunting guys over to third and not driving them in with less than two outs. this year, they have a 31-31 record, for tampa bay. they have allowed 70 homeruns. last year, at this time, they only allowed 51. pitching is the key because at 31-31, they are four back. at 37-25, they are within two gain of the division lead. >> since may 13th, this nationals ball club has lost 11 games by two runs or less. >> ray: golly. >> johnny: that says to me, how does manny acta keep the ball club does? he does, some way, somehow.

we have the world series last year and lost in five to philadelphia. for ray knight, i'm johnny halladay, bob carpenter is back with rob dibble, coming up next. - it's on. - totally on. jimmy, it's on. - it's on. - oh, yeah, it's on. affirmative, it's on. announcer: southwest airlines announces new service out of bwi airport, with three daily nonstop flights to new york laguardia for just 49 dollars one-way starting june 28th. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com.

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