vo: geico powersports >> bob: early this afterno josh willingham in the batting cage taking some cuts. welcome back, josh willingham from bereavement. great to have you back. tonight, the nationals trying to run their winning streak to 4, facing the blue jays.

i'm johnny holiday along with mr. baseball in d.c., phil woods. great to have you with us. and a great crowd on hand as the nats extend a winning streak. happy you are along with us tonight to enjoy this ball game on a perfect night in washington. and there is a great buzz in the city about this ball club. they won three straight. we can't say they have quite turned the corner yet but they are closer to that point than they were a month ago. >> johnny: hard to believe, last night, the first extra ening victory for this ball club after going 0-for-8. when you talk about heroics, how about the 11th inning the way they battled and battled to get that run across. >> cristian guzman comes to bat in the 11th anding and knocks the ball back to the pirchtion

nothinging his glove off. and then bases loaded, dunn comes up and he shows you he does not always hit a homerun. looks like a world series 7 game with the celebration. they were 0-8 in extra innings, 0-7 here in washington. they get that monkey off their back. >> johnny: if you look at the wins and losses, the average, the extra base hits, some interesting numbers as you take a look there, phil and then drama if i canly a change from last night's win. >> you take a look at the batting average prior to last night's average, you need a magnifying glass to see it. they had no extra base hits but they didn't need it last night. quite frankly, if not for the fact that you only need one run to win the game, that was probably a double by dunn in that last inning. >> johnny: for those of you keeping scores, 14 pitchers were used in the ballgame. 388 pitches were thrown in last

night's 11-inning affair. the nats stranded 16, the blue jays stranded 13. >> you want to know why this is such a great game? it's the 16 men left on base, the fact that they made three errors last night and still won the ballgame. none of the errors hurt them last nike where it seemed like every other misplays this season cost them a win. >> johnny: and jordan zimmerman pitched himself a terrific game. adam dunn pointed out specifically what a terrific competitor this young guy is. >> that goes to show that he wants to win bad. you don't normally see pitchers run down the line like that. he knew the big situation and, you know, he beat it out. that's a great play. >> i mean, i was just looking for something over the middle. i knew he was going to throw strikes and i just tried to lift the ball and hit it on the ground and had to run pretty hard to get to first and not get into a double play.

>> debbi: does that affect you afterwards when you have to run like? >> i was pretty tired the next inning. fortunately, i got some quick outs and was able to get back in and rest. >> johnny: that was potential double play ball. >> that was a terrific run. he had long legs and was able to beat it out. the fact is he recovered quickly, was able to throw strikes and get those two quick outs in the following inning. >> johnny: we talked and talked about the terrific young pitching staff these nationals have this year with the young arms. and you nolan man and dwilt detwiler and things will get better and better. >> there is reinforcement on the way. >> johnny: major league baseball and people magazine seen recognizing all stars,

doing things their community. debbi taylor is standing with two such all stars here. >> debbi: this is such a great campaign by people magazine seen and major league baseball. i want to talk to you about two people. >> i run an organization called most valuable kids. we work with teams and private donors at venues and we get unused sporting events to get to under privilege kids and active military and their dependent. >> debbi: what does it mean for you to be honored. >> it is inspiring, humble. it inspires me to do more in the communities. there are a lot of people doing wonderful things and it's nice to get this recognition and be able to get the word out. >> debbi: another person doing a lot in the community is ryan. tell us a little bit about your work.

>> i work for wounded warrior project which is a non-profit project that provides service to wounded service members from the global war on terrorism. i actually manage the warrior short program assisting with employment and then also the alumni program. i'm making sure that the warriors stay together after they have transitioned to the outside. >> debbi: i know you are a big baseball fan, bob feller is one of your hero? >> it certainly is. having a guy that knew he needed to give back to the country and join the war time effort and put away a big time career to go and do that. >> debbi: okay. great job. twoft finalists doing outstanding work in the community and back to you, johnny, for more on this great program. >> johnny: it certainly is. congratulations to people magazine seen for putting together the program. those two recipients will be honored on the field atabout 6:48 tonight. lots more coming your way and

notice extra pre-game. wil nieves will be doing the catching tonight. he still has some time to sign some autographs as you can see. ♪

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. >> johnny:  well, phil, eve starter for the toronto blue jays has been injured this year. in fact, they are going with four rookies. we will see one of those tonight. he has some local ties with dematha, university of maryland, bret cecil. >> phil: i'm sure he is a johnny holiday fan,being in college park. last time out he allowed 8 hits, 4 runs in a loss to boston. otherwise, his e.r.a. is 2.38 on the season. ross detwiler, last time up, pitched well, until the 6th

inning. he didn't have command of his fastball. he is pinning better at home this year. >> johnny: and bret cecil was scheduled to go against baltimore a couple of weeks ago and he had about 100 relatives coming to the ballgame. i imagine he will have the same kind of support here. but the five homeruns that he gave up against the boston red sox, that tied a blue jay record. >> phil: they will see pitches over the plate from the left hander from dunkirk, maryland. >> johnny: and ross detwiler trying to get his first win. >> phil: remember, stammen just got his first. >> johnny: is there a trend? >> phil: well, could be.

could be into let's take a look at what the starters have done for this ball club. jordan zimmerman had that strikeout pitch going and he was on fire against the jays. >> phil: jordan threw a lot of pitches last night. he struck out adam lind and then his opponent, brian tallet. he was sharp last night. had a no-decision but kept his team in the ballgame and that's what it's all about. >> johnny: when you talk about getting the job done, six homeruns allowed, 48 strikeouts and only 37 walks. >> phil: again, there is room for improvement with the walks but the point is that the walks have not killed them. that's the main thing. they have gotten a lot of double plays this month and while defensively, they still have their problems and they are still making errors, they still have the double plays helping the pitchers out night after night. >> johnny: people say, it takes a while for young guys to

get acclimated. is there a projected time that you give a young guy where he's going to finally get it as he progresses? >> >> phil: nobody has a specific, you know, date that they're going to get it. i think it cops down to the experience they are getting on the major league level which they might not get otherwise with a better club. that's what it comes down to, really. when you are drafted by a club that has a below .500 record that has struggled, your chances of getting to the major league level are much, much better. when a guy will get to the point where he can give you six to seven ins every night, these guys have not gotten there yet. the path is clear. this club has got, i think, a richness of arms throughout the system between here and aaa ball. >> johnny: you have to love manny acta's demeanor. you have to love the way he handles this ball club, the way he is on an even keel.

one word came to word when he was asked about the pitching performance of his pitching staff and his bullpen. here is his answer. >> it's refreshing. refreshing, yeah. is that good? refreshing? refreshing. to have five guys that young going out there every day. we spoke about, in spring training, if we get three out of them and now we have the five guys and we have a couple more guys lined up in aaa that could end up pitching here. it's just nice into into this pitching staff has allowed only one run in 20 innings, only three runs in the 29 innings. >> phil: and against good clubs like the yankees and the blue jays. while a lot of people want to give steve mccaty a lot of credit, this was turned around in the series against the pirates when randy st. clair was still the pitching coach.

>> johnny: we'll come back with a nice interview with first base coach marquis grissom. back after this. don't go away. - oh, it's on. - it's on. it's on. - it's on. - oh, it's on, all right. - it's on. - it is totally on. jimmy, it's on. it's on. oh, yeah, it's on. pilot: affirmative, it's on.

. >> johnny:  some nats fans taking in the game at the ballpark. and right there in the gray shirt celebrating his 11th birthday. he has driven in -- eight-game hitting streak, a couple of homeruns and 6 rbis. he went 1-for-4 last night against this tough nationals pitching staff. the rest of the blue jay also go this stay. marco scutaro, shortstop. aaron hill at second, wells in centerfield, linked lipd in left field. ken millar handles the duties at first base, raul chavez behind the plate and bret cecil, from dunkirk, maryland, gets the start tonight with a

team batting average of .238. that is second in the american league. nick johnson had a great night. 3-for-3, has had 19 multi-hit games, 10 straight ball games has hit safely. here is the rest of the line- up.  nats' patting am as a tea .257 tied for 9th in the national league. we are lucky to have a terrific first base coach with us and that's a legendary ballplayer who made his name with about six different ball clubs, just retired a couple of years ago. i had a chance to visit earlier with first base coach marquis

grissom. interesting that marquis grissom is getting his first coaching job in the major league after retiring only three years ago after 17 great years in the major league. you are doing something. you are giving back to the game like you gave back to the kids in atlanta. >> that's right, johnny. that's a great opportunity for me to get to that next level. after i retired, i went home and started my own foundation and i wanted to give some kids an opportunity like i had, coming up as a kid with all the great coaching and the mentors that really cared about you and your life and your career. so i had the opportunity to do that on a smaller scale back home in the community and come back to the major league and be able to coach some of the kids that we talked about earlier, that's a great situation for me to be? >> johnny: when you came out of florida a&m, you became a member of this franchise back when they were in montreal? >> ray: that's right. back in 1989. it was a great school in florida a&m. >> johnny: the ratlers.

>> ray: right. the rat willers. two wonderful guys taught me the skills of the of game and that was a great innuance. >> johnny: who mentorred you when you were going to high school or college. you hit well, you hit homerun, you drove in runs, stole bases. you did the whole package. >> . >> you know, growing up as a kit, you know, hank aaron was right there in atlanta and the things he accomplished and he endured doug the game, which set me apart from, i think, other players. but to add on to that, people like willie mcgee, rickey henderson, her eric davis, andy van slyke. i wanted to to carry myself that way. i really respected those gees.

when i see those guys playing baseball, they had a lot of fun, a lot of enthusiasm and they love what they are doing. >> johnny: when you look at the people in the major league, guys give back to the community. no question about it. but nothing has done it the way you have and the way you have done it here in washington, d.c. it takes funds, takes money to back up when you are trying to do. >> definitely. that's the most important thing. to give a kid that opportunity to go out and excel, they have to get the proper education and that's where i fall into problems where i get into the proper people, proper coaching, things that they need as far as equipment and the management on the field. i really didn't know how important or how costly baseball was once i started redoing pitching mound and putting grass on the infield, building dugout, batting cages, things of that nature where it takes a lot of funds, and get the proper equipment for kids to go back out on the field into i hope that, sooner or later, we will have a marquis grissom foundation here in this

city. >> i hope so, too, johnny. >> johnny: you talk about credentials, how about four gold gloves, a world series ring with the atlanta braves, m.v.p. of the alcs. he would love to get a foundation here in d.c. to help the kids in the area. >> phil: he is a solid guy. fans will remember the homerun he hit in the alcs against balls more that broke their back. >> johnny: how much pressure is there on a kid like bret cecil here. he is only taking roy halladay's spot in the rotation. pressure? no, forgot it. >> johnny: an all-star pitcher, right, no less? >> right. bret cecil is just getting his career underway. i hope, for his sake, that he

is not too pumped up tonight with so many friends and family in the friends. >> johnny: so ross detwiler still trying to get his first win. it will be interesting. the nationals have not had a winning streak longer than 7. you have to go way back to august 26th of last year, through september 1st when they rolled off seven straight. how sweet would it be to take this one tonight and make it 4 in a row. >> phil: four in a row. if they can roll out a streak of 8 out of 10 or 10 utah of 15 and show that what you saw earlier in the season was not the real washington. >> johnny: we want to stay in the game hole tft day as you look at ross detwiler brought to you by just for men hair color. joe beimel, 7 2/3 innings pitched, e.r.a. 0. julian tavarez, 6 2/3 innings pitched. 0 e.r.a. 1-0. ron villone, on the mound for 7 1/3 innings, his e.r.a. is the highest, one hold.

and just as these relievers come out of the nationals bullpen to keep washington in the game, you, too, can stay in the game with just for men hair color. the pitching staff is getting it done, starters and relievers. we'll take you to look at matt chico on the mound. @@pp÷÷

. >> johnny: we are back on a beautiful night for baseball here in the nation's capital. joby holiday along with phil wood. this is just the middle game of the three-game set against the jays. right back at you tomorrow night at 2 0-0. and then the red sox come into town and then next weekend against the orioles in baltimore. we'll be on masn 2 for that series against baltimore. tonight, the fashion us that try to make it 4 in a row.

let's bring the folks kinds of up in date of what's happening notice minor league with matt chico. then we'll talk about another young man that i'm sure the young fans will be familiar with quickly and that's drew storen. >> phil: matt chick yo is on assignment in the minor league and this is a guy who will come in handy. they're going to need guys in the game because some of these younger guys will reach their inning limit for the season. thick yo allowed 11 hits in six inning, eight strikeouts, but most importantly has walked no one down there, throwing strikes and that's what they are looking for from matt chick yo. >> johnny: that's what he went to work on, work on the control? fill that and getting back into shape for a regular turn in the five-man rotation. this is a guy who really -- to a lot of people, it seemed like

he was out of the picture because it was kind of out of sight, out of mind. remember, this is a guy that came over from arizonawith mock in a trade with livan hernandez. both of them are still in the system and still have a future with the washington nationals. you look at chico, if he comes up throwing strikes and the ball moves, he will have some success. >> johnny: and drew storen made his professional debut against the blue claw. >> phil: yes. blue claw are a phillies farm team. his first pitch was hit for a homerun. luckily he didn't hurt his neck watching the ball. the cub was a knee buckler. he pitched one inning, threw 12 pitches, two hits and a one run. >> johnny: so storen makes his

debut and chico continues to get betterment for phil wood, i'm johnny holiday. thanks for joining us here. bob carpenter and rob dibble. fans set to enjoy what hopefully will be the nats' fourth consecutive win. ♪ ♪ who's watching? ♪ tell me who's watching. (muffled music) ♪ who's watching... (announcer) it's right here. it's easy. ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ it's the money you could be saving with geico. times may be tough today, but the things we all look forward to haven't changed. like owning a home. watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence.

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