>> bob: nationals basebal masn brought to you by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by acura. acura advance. beautiful night in our nation's capital and an old time baseball game. it's 1-1 after six innings. each team a low hit total and all the pitchers, hitters, relievers, starters getting the job done. you and i talked about this several weeks ago. we were wanting to play games like this not 12-9 every night. >> this means you're into the ballgame. you're getting well-pitched innings out of your starters. now the bullpen is contributing. you're being shutdown by the opponent. this is how you win ballgames. you have to win one-run ballgames if you're going to be competitive in baseball. in general, this team wasn't playing very well. we were getting blown out and

always trying to chase down five-run, six-run leads. now we're in ballgames. more fun to watch and broadcast too. >> bob: the defense is better. this is baseball really. you know, we all dig the long ball and the doubles and the rbi's, but you can't go through a whole season playing like the nationals were because who is going to be able to pick their arm up over their shoulder by the first of all? -- august? >> and we talked about -- >> rob: and we talked about it the entire season. they were too talented to play the entire year the way they were playing. they were losing a lot of games because they were beating themselves. manny acta said that himself. we were just plain beating ourselves on defense and four in we're playing better defense getting better pitched innings by the staff. >> bob: top of the order, julian tavarez. tavarez, a third of the inning in new york last night getting a key out late.

marco scutaro 0-3. manny talked about this bullpen today. they brought in a lot of veteran guys. we saw a total transition from young to not so young as april turned into may and the results were not immediate but lately they've been much better. 2-1 from tavarez. zimmerman was playing shallow like do you on a leadoff guy. one out. >> rob: meet and hop, very nice. >> bob: julian tavarez, 36 years of age. dirk hayhurst throwing for the

blue jays. >> rob: what a great baseball name. hey dirk hayhurst. >> bob: and ron villone, that's a pretty good baseball name too. ron told me he really enjoyed going to yankee stadium this past series. grew up a yankee fan. his family actually from thebronx been they went to jersey. tap swing and a foul. aaron hill 1-3 with an infield hit off the glove of jordan zimmermann. one of the best hitters in the american league this year. 91 hits. if he gets another hit tonight, he'll have his 29th multihit game and nobody in baseball has had more. that's well hit, left center. dunn playing way off the line and that's great advance

scouting by the nats. adam dunn was playing 100 feet off the line. he's not. that's -- if he's not, that's a double. >> rob: as bob said, defense was setup perfectly by the advance scouting or whoever was checking out blue jays. adam dunn only had to run a few steps to pickoff that line drive. >> bob: we understand that was wade taylor for the series. >> rob: very cool. >> bob: a birdie told us. >> rob: nice job. >> bob: yeah, he's pretty good white did he say about the pitching? how are we supposed to hit them? [ laughter ] i'm just beating -- >> bob: whoa. >> rob: that's not good. >> bob: that's up and in to vernon wells. >> rob: vernon wells. >> bob: who had two hits tonight and down he went. that was not a breaking ball.

>> rob: this is just some chin music here. >> bob: wells has not been hit by a pitch this year. he's into the guy normally out there diving. unless nobody in the american league wants to throw inside anymore. >> rob: he does have a couple of hits tonight. he has not been swinging the bat really well. we don't want to wake vernon up. >> bob: yeah. he was a number one pick by jays back in '97 out of bowie high school, arlington, texas. pretty good career. >> rob: there's a little history. >> bob: these two have a history. don't they? >> rob: yeah, 7-16 with a home run. >> bob: wells helps by swinging at ball two. >> rob: watch how that pitch inside on the northrop grumman. watch this. that was all setup by the

inside pitch. >> bob: when you can read his jersey during the swing -- >> rob: yeah. >> bob: 2-2 here. dangerous hitter. >> rob: vernon has litup the nationals well. >> bob: i think i remember him wearing our guys out in those two series in toronto. '06 and '07. count 2 2-7b -- 2-2 with the bases empty and two outs. frick and frack. they don't do much when toronto is batting, do they? 2-2. got him on a hard sinker down and away! wells slamming his bat and helmet into the dirt.

seventh inning stretchtime at nationals park in our nation's capital. these guys are supposed to be impartial. and lower both your numbers. but how close are you to your goals? there may be more you can do. only caduet combines two proven medicines... in a single pill to significantly lower... high blood pressure and high cholesterol. in a clinical study of patients... with slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, caduet helped 48% reach both goals in just 4 weeks. caduet is one of many treatment options, in addition to diet and exercise... that you can discuss with your doctor. caduet is not for everyone. it's not for people with liver problems... and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. to check for liver problems, you need simple blood tests. tell your doctor about any heart problems... and all other medications you are taking... or if you experience muscle pain or weakness, as they may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. how close are you to where you want to be? ask your doctor if caduet can help you go... for both your goals.

>> bob: it's the seventh stretch at nationals park for a young and no so young even big brother. tomorrow, 7:00 on masn 2, brett cecil, another lefty from done kirk, maryland. age -- dunkirk, maryland, age of 22. then another lefty. southpaw, ross detwiler, still looking for another major league win. nats are winless in his starts, six of them. we'll get you going at 6:30, johnny holliday and phil wood, "nats xtra". >> rob: i've been told cecil went to dematha high school in the area. >> bob: home to one of the greatest basketball programs to the long time brilliance of

morton wooten. dirk hayhurst. >> rob: now pitching, dirk hayhurst. >> bob: did you do any p. a. announcing? you sound like you have. >> rob: only in the shower. >> bob: no singing? >> rob: now getting into the shower, rob dibble, dibble getting into the shower. >> bob: ah, look at that. i love seeing families at the ballpark. is she adorable? >> rob: yep. >> bob: wow. here we go, bottom seven. top of the order. guzman has been first-pitch swinging all night. he takes one a foot high. >> rob: just a little late with the feeding one time and see how quiet that baby is. [ laughter ] >> bob: babies are just like

managers. they just want be to be on time. [ laughter ] >> rob: very nice. >> bob: on time and get your work done. guzman has hit the ball in the air three times tonight. he haddite quite a series in new york. cristian guzman, 6-14 in the series scoring a couple of runs playing really good defense. maybe the best sequence of defense we've seen him -- ee we've seen from him this year. 2-1. nick johnson, perfect night. a walk and two singles. by the way, nick with 19 multihit games on the year now. zimmerman to follow. maybe adam dunn here. guzman, right side. overbay to the pitcher! he's late!

guzman is safe. hayhurst did not beat guzman to the bag. >> rob: i think he forgot to get over there. >> bob: and cito gaston doesn't like the call. >> rob: cito gaston is going to argue this, but i don't think he has much of an argument. watch dirk not get off the mound. i forgot to get over there. the ball hit to the right side. you've got to field your position. does not beat cristian to the bag. well, he got to the bag first. here is our x-mo camera. >> bob: guzman beats him. >> rob: just by a bite. >> bob: that's a great replay, guys. if i was cito gaston, i might have a word to my pitcher on the way back to the dugout. >> rob: it's a brain cramp right there by a pitcher. you deliver it. you're like, i got him to hit the grounder.

oops i got to get to first base. you have to know if your first baseman is playing deep on that play. >> bob: that could be -- >> rob: overbay was behind the bag. >> bob: that could be the defining moment this have game depending on what the nats do now. >> rob: i hope so. >> bob: leadoff man, bottom seven aboard in a 1-1 game. >> rob: make it game. >> bob: johnson started the night at .306. he's at .312 now. nick johnson has 73 hits this year. with nearly 100 games left, he's on a wonderful pace. 1-1.

 >> bob: that's a brea really good play by rod barajas. that was filthy for the catcher to deal with right there. >> rob: barajas was part of the championship team with arizona in 2001. caught curt schilling. caught randy johnson. very good defensive catcher.

>> bob: nick johnson deep to center. how far is this one going? off the wall! guzman to third. it will be second and third, nobody out. >> rob: all right. >> bob: carom played perfectly by vernon wells and nick johnson jabs one 400 plus. it will be second and third with the big guns coming up. nick johnson's 3-3. >> rob: you watch how smooth this swing is right here and he hits the barrel of the bat perfectly, but he doesn't try to overswing and hate home run. he just tries to hit line drives and that ball jumps off his bat 400 feet from home plate. no reason to try to score with no outs. second and third in the mid -- and in -- and the middle of your order coming up. great job by nick. >> bob: this will be interesting to see how they pitch to zimmerman. righty-righty matchup. infield in. not all the way in.

a little bit deeper on the left side. with rolen and scutaro. zimmerman has hit a fly ball to every outfielder tonight and looking for his 44th rbi, maybe more. chance for the nats to take charge of this game in the seventh. fastball, sinker inside.  >> bob: let's, nats - go, nats, they're chanting. a slider chopped foul. everywhere i went in the ballpark today, people were stopping me talking about those two games in new york. it makes me wonder how many more are in this crowd tonight

that might have stayed home had the nationals not made a great showing at yankee stadium. signs popping up. fans having fun. there was just a different feeling down on the field today. debbi agrees with me for batting practice. you could feel it after the nats won two straight games over the yankees. >> rob: do you agree with them? i thought he was lying again? >> bob: yes. i'm not make this go stuff up. >> rob: come on. >> bob: you can't make this stuff up. >> rob: i still don't believe vernon wells played in the cfl. >> bob: ryan zimmerman, breaking ball taken 2-2. >> rob: what team? >> bob: if it was the toronto argue thoughts, that would really be -- argonauts, that would really be ironic. i'll have it do more research. >> rob: is it the calgary stampeders? >> bob: i used love to the

montreal alouettees. >> rob: the rough riders. >> bob: zimmerman. they're not going to throw them a -- throw him a fastball down the middle. blue jays do have another left- hand her in their bullpen. he's someone we know pretty well. >> rob: rod barajas is a very wide man, and you see him lean the chest forward, keep it in front. it would be hard to get it by that man. >> bob: b.j. ryan is not warming up right now. it's shawn camp, right-hander. >> rob: sometimes we refer to the catcher as a beck stop. that man is definitely a backstop right there. >> bob: zimmerman is going to be called out on strikes on a breaking ball that caught the outside corner according to brian gorman. now they could walk adam dunn. >> rob: no, this is a filthyslider right here.

hayhurst just breaks that right off over the plate. too close to not swing at. >> bob: yeah, that was 12:00, 6:00 there. >> rob: our guys have to start swinging when they've got two strikes on them not looking for walks especially the three, four, five guys. >> bob: and they have to walk adam dunn now. >> rob: yeah, and now you setup the double play to force because adam is not a speedy base runner. elijah dukes is going to do -- going to have to do some damage here. >> bob: it will be dukes 0-3. here is a freeze cam from coors light the world's most refreshing beer. it's frost brewed. >> rob: cristian guzman, nothing but hustle right here that gets them a base hit

beating hayhurst to the bag. let's freeze it there for the coors light freeze frame. got it just by a spike. that's your coors light freeze it. >> bob: wheels turning in the bottom of the seventh. nats still a great chance to take the lead thanks to nick johnson's three hits tonight. . - it's on. - it is totally on. jimmy, it's on. it's on. oh, yeah, it's on. pilot: affirmative, it's on. welcome to chili's. something new is on the grill. try chili's new fire-grilled quesadillas, starting at just $6.99.

like our bacon-ranch chicken quesadilla, flame-grilled tortillas layered with all white meat chicken, applewood smoked bacon, jack cheese, and ranch dressing. they're crispy on the outside, melted to perfection on the inside. you've never tasted quesadillas like this before. new fire-grilled quesadillas, starting at just $6.99. only at chili's. >> bob: nationals basebal masn brought to you by

southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by pnn -- pnc bank. pnc, leading the way. beautiful night at the ballpark and a great time for the nationals to muscle their way to a lead here. we'll see if they can do it against these blue jays one of the really good teams in the american league. shawn camp, 33-year-old right- hander, former kansas city royal, tampa bay ray in 40 games with toronto last year. a former george mason pitcher out of robinson high school in fairfax. here is elijah dukes that was a

slider. there they are. the whole family. >> rob: nowhere to put them. >> bob: guzman, johnson, dup aboard. zimmerman struck out. elijah dukes came into the game .300 this year with runners in scoring position. fastball runs right back to the outer half. >> rob: camp throws side arm. he'll bring this as a two-seam fastball. watch it sink back over the plate what we would kala raido. >> bob: this is a battle now. >> rob: got to be ready for

anything if you're elijah. >> bob: tried the same pitch. missed a little low and away with it. 1-1 game. nats outhit the blue jays. fighting another a. l. east team here. now the situation has turned itself around because camp does not want to go to 3-2. josh bard, switch-hitting catcher on deck. nationals want that scoreboard to change right here with one

out. got him on a front door slider. the nationals have made two outs this inning by not swinging at 3-2 pitches. that was nasty. >> rob: well, he comes around the side but gets on top of it really nice t comes back down and barajas actually has trouble with it. here is the grip. you see him get on top of it. look at this spin. barajas almost missed it. that was crazy. when you throw side arm, your ball will do a lot of different things t moves everywhere. not easy for a right-handed hitter. a little different with josh bard coming up there hitting left-handed. those balls that were going away and down from elijah dukes are really nice pickings for a

left-handed hitter. >> bob: josh bard 0-2 with a walk. that roundhouse breaking ball stays just off the backdoor. >> rob: actually, pitching coach for the los angeles arranges suggest mike move his fingers together when throwing that two-seam fastball that gives it that late break. >> bob: 2-0. that's way outside. the nats have scored one run on a fielder's choice grounder tonight. now it's a 3-0 pitch with the

bases loaded. >> rob: i think if you're bard right here, you've got to make him throw two strikes. if he just lays in another fastball, you just crush that thing you get a grand slam. >> bob: right. josh bard, one homer, eight rbi's this year. he's had a great month of june hitting nearly .320.  >> bob: 3-2. man, t moving, dipping fastball even to a left-handed batter.

well, there's been no contact here. there's been two outs made without a swing. that's going to be a strike on a fastball that was real close to being up and in! brian gorman calls him out. throw called third strikes. po

>> bob: that's disappoint top of the eighth inning. ballgame still tied at 1-1. julian tavarez still in the game for the nats. come out june 23, t-shirt tuesday. it will be the nats-red sox this coming tuesday. first 10,000 fans get a free patriotic curly w. t-shirt presented by hard times cafe. limited seating available. the tickets have gone fast for this one. drop by nationals.com. by the way, grandstand seating available day of game only at the team box store office starting at 4:35 p.m. you can call the nats at 888- 632-nats for more info. it is time to get your blue jays tickets and get them fast. scott rolen, top of the eighth. blue jays leaving after sunday's game. sox in for three tuesday, wednesday, thursday. rolen led off the sixth wing with a base hit to left. heor