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welcome back, everybody. "nats xtra" here on masn. ronny belliard will be in the nationals line-up tonight. he's only got two base hits this month, looking to break out of a 4 for 35 slide. his 17th start and first since june 10 against cincinnati. the rest of the nationals line- up tonight will go this way. cristian guzman will be the dh. in the number two hole tonight, ryan zimmerman at third, then adam dunn, then willingham.

belliard will be at second, and austin kearns goes to right tonight. ronny belliard's first start since june 10. now for the orioles who clobbered the nationals last night 11-1, leading off will be brian roberts, hitless the last couple ballgames, after a six- game hitting streak, leads the american league in doubles, he's knocked out 25 doubles this year, he drove in a season high four runs against the phillies one week ago. the birds line-up goes this way, roberts leads off at second with a .288 batting average, then comes adam jones, he had three hits last night, as did nick markakis, aubrey huff at first base batting in the cleanup spot. nolan reimold also three hits last night. luke scott will be the dh for the o's, gregg zaun will be catching and robert andino will be batting ninth. the nationals trying to even up

the series tonight at camden yards against baltimore. one of the questions i think everybody's asking, ray, as we go to nightly notes, knightly. >> the k is silent. >> yes, the k is silent. let's touch on the problems of joel hanrahan. we know he can pitch. he's proven that before, when he's on, he's very good. when he's not on, there's problems. >> we've got a tape here, we just, you know, he's got a great fastball. probably the best fastball in our ball club. he's got a devastating slider, but sometimes he doesn't command either one of them. when he does command, we're going to show you how effective he can be. last year seven saves. as he was able to throw the fastball and elevate it. when you get a fastball number this area and you're throwing 97, hitters have to cheat. they're going to chase that pitch. you're going to see where he throws a back door breaking ball. it's kind of a hanger, but it's located in a good spot. he was able to do that. when things are going well and you're mechanically sound, those things happen.

look at that. that ball is just going right there and drops down almost to the bottom of the shin guards. that is the breaking ball that we are looking for. you throw it somewhere in the strike zone, it drops out of the strike zones and hitters have to chase it. then he comes with a slider on the hard part of the plate, the inside part of the plate going down again. hitters just can't do anything. they get out in front. their bat angle changes and that's why he was so devastating. this year it's been a tale of two cities, different story. we have a graphic of how he's done in the past. he's thrown, as you see last year, the 26 innings and 19 hits, the 2.08 earned run average, opposition batting average just .196. that's unreal. this year, 4.42 over his last seven ballgames. he's just not throwing enough strikes to stay ahead. the key to getting people to make outs when you throw a

breaking ball, your first breaking ball can't be the best breaking ball you throw. if you're going to throw three more or two more in that sequence, the last one has to be just as good, sharp and deep, as the first one. hanrahan has a tendency to throw the first breaking ball very well. but when he has to repeat, it's not as sharp. now, the hitter's already seen a breaking ball with quickness, depth and sharpness. now they see one that's not quite as good, that's what happened with the base hits last night with mora to right field. he'd already seen a breaking ball. it wasn't quite as gas breaking ball before. i think this kid's going to be successful. you have to put together a lot of good outings in order to believe that yourself. i know he has the stuff, just got to get in that mind of his that he belongs up here in that late inning role. >> ray, let's break down last night. he comes in out of the bullpen last night, only goes 1/3 of an inning, gives up three hits, allows four earned runs and the

video doesn't lie. the video will tell you exactly what happened when joel came in last night. >> see the breaking ball, it just stays there. it starts to break and it just stays right over the heart of the plate. then here's the breaking ball was really nice. that's what he used to do. there's another breaking ball, it broke a little bit but it stayed up with no depth. then he overthrows, then that was the breaking ball referencing to, threw one before that. that was a pretty good pitch in my estimation. you sometimes got to give the hitters the credit. but the first breaking ball does this right there. then the next one comes in and it has a little less break to it, a little tighter, a little shorter, the ball hangs, and hitters after having seen the pitch, we always talk about muscle memory. you remember the last thing you saw as a hitter. if it's not quite as nasty, you're always generally able to put the bat on the ball. >> one thing is for sure, ray, the nationals need joel

hanrahan to be effective coming out of the bullpen. he's shown that he can do it. the thing is to get him back on track so he can be productive the second half of the season. >> just got to keep running him out there and hope the positive things happen. >> okay, we're going to -- going to take a break. jim hunter will sit down and talk to a couple of very familiar names with matt wieters of the orioles and the nationals ross detwiler. ?

welcome back, everybody. from missouri state to the nationals minor leagues to the major leagues, there's a fastball right down the middle for his first major league strikeout. batting 7th, the catcher number 15 matt wieters. >> his first major league hit is a triple. >> a 2-2 pitch now.

ross detwiler fans it. >> popped him up, wieters, and a big out. >> called strike three and roberts knew it. >> and the 2-2, looked like a change-up away and he couldn't get it. >> let's go back out to the ballpark now. jim hunter has more on a couple of guys involved in that 2007 draft. >> in the 2007 draft, ross detwiler and matt wieters could have gone anywhere from 1 through 10 and the orioles and nationals are happy that they fell to their spots. guys, i'm curious, what was it like on draft day knowing that obviously you were going to go very high in the draft, but not knowing exactly what spot. >> it was, you know, really had no idea. it was kind of nerve-racking. you never know where you're going to go, so i was happy to go where i went and with the nationals now. >> was it anxious for you that day sitting around waiting. >> those 20 minutes where you had to wait five minutes for each pick were probably the longest 20 minutes of your

life. no, it seemed like you would try to make those picks a little earlier in the clock. excited to get drafted by baltimore and excited to get playing. >> last year you spent the entire year at potomac, matt was half a year at frederick. knowing this each of you very high prospects and highly regarded by the organizations, what was it like facing each other in a-ball. >> it's one of the things where you look at the line-up and you see his name in there, it's one of the guys you want to go after and hit. i think i gave him a first pitch fastball and he hit it right off the wall. >> yeah, it's something where you know the kind of stuff that he has. you are looking for something early and especially being a first rounder, it's something when you get something to hit, you got to try and hit it hard. >> this team is all about competition. what is it like now that you're at this level and day in and day out, even the worst major leaguers one of the best players in the world. what is it like for you to go out there and try to compete and continue to get better. >> i think it's kind of

relieving. now it's everybody's just going out there and you're playing against each other trying oh get wins. i think it could be kind of relaxing is to go out there and try and get a ballgame. >> now you're here, you're just one of the five starters. >> absolutely. it's great being here learning. you know, being here, you can't take any hitters off. you know, you take a hitter off, you get hit pretty hard. you know, you really have to bear down every single pitch. >> what about blending in with your teammates? >> we have a great bunch of veterans here, they'll make sure they keep the game fun for you, especially guys like aubrey huff and guys like that. they're going to make it fun in the dugout and in the locker room. so it's pretty easy getting along with those guys. >> absolutely, it's the same. you have a guy like adam dunn, he's a great guy. he jokes around like that. makes the game fun. >> finally before we let you go. give mae scouting report on matt, then i'd like you to give a scouting report on ross so we have an idea what the hitter

sees against the pitcher. what do you see when matt's up there? >> last night i walked him twice on -- >> are you afraid of him? >> on eight terrible pitches. no, like i said, my first time i faced him was in potomac and i tried oh just give him a fastball, get ahead. it was in and up and he put it off the wall. in right center. so, you know, i think you keep the ball up, like with any hitter, he's going hit it hard and he's going to hit it far. >> what about ross. >> ross is a guy who has a plus fastball from the left side so it's something where you've really got to get the bat head started and really you want to try and get that fastball early for a strike, and try and get to him early, because when he gets tough, he can go to his change-up and go to his slider and he has so many more options. >> with you in baltimore and you in washington, i'm sure you're going to follow each other throughout your careers. best of luck. now that the interleague is

over, go get that first win. >> okay. >> thank you very, very much. jim hunter with matt wieters and ross detwiler, a couple of young stars on the horizon. there you see the numbers of these guys. >> yeah, matt wieters, everybody over there is thinking he's going to be the next johnny bench. i don't know if he's going to have that power, but the thing that ross detwiler has done, his value has improved every time he's gone out there. they thought that he was going to be mired in double-a all year long and he's come up here and thrown strikes. >> the nationals last hold against the orioles may 24th of 09 recorded by joe. and just as these relievers like to stay in their game with the game, you, too, can stay in the game with just for men hair color.

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m&t bank. understanding what's important. quick look at the starting pitchers for tonight. shairon martis will go for the nats, and jeremy guthrie will go for the orioles. >> guthrie's a guy that i love. he's 17-17 in his career in the big leagues, but good fastball, 93, 94, a nice slider. he comes at you. >> has his fourth start against the nationals tonight for guthrie. he's tied with brad bergesen for most wins on that orioles staff. they have five. >> thanks for joining us, everybody. wil nieves getting loose in the cage. he's going to try to crack into that line-up tonight if needed.

for ray knight, i'm johnny holliday, thanks for joining us. nats baseball coming up next. frost-brewed coors light.

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