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 >> bob: football stadiu the marlins have played baseball many years. against the nats, they play very well as we go 1-1 foment of the fourth inning -- on to the fourth inning. craig stammen. >> rob: steve mccatty talking about just throw strikes. his first strikeout of the night was the pitcher. thank god, marlins got rid of the awful teal uniforms. it's a different marlins organization. these young, nationals pitchers are throwing they can battle even some of the best competition in the league.

>> bob: former marlin josh willingham in the top of the fourth. josh flied to right his first time up. >> rob: if you look around at this marlins ball club, too, bob, a lot of their team is made up of guys traded for older, really talented guys that were arbitration eligible and they couldn't afford to pay some of them. obviously, guys like miguel cabrera who signed a huge deal with the tigers and dontrelle willis ultimately signed a huge deal with the tigers. the return on some of those good players helped this team win 84 games last year. hanley ramirez, josh beckett, mike lowell go to the red sox and help them win a world championship. at the time, you were getting a minor league player in return. hanley ramirez is one of the most talented players in the major leagues today. it was pretty good for the

florida marlins. >> bob: made a mark on the wall behind detwiler and olsen. you know, the dugouts here are so close. i'm sitting in one of those dugouts, i might be tempted to wear a helmet. it is really, really close here. >> rob: you'd get laughed at for that. >> bob: i know i would, but at least i'd be an alive guy getting laughed at. >> rob: they're not pitching tonight. there you go. willie harris grabbed a glove. which will slow playing a little d. in there. >> bob: you can't keep willie out of the lineup. >> rob: the pitcher can go down to the bullpen if they don't want to sit that close. >> bob: good at-bat by josh willingham fouled off a couple. let's see what willie did here. >> rob: playing a little second. i don't know if they're not keeping with willie in -- i think they're getting elijah some at-bats. he's reasoned. which will slow left-handed hitter and he doesn't have to face this kid. >> bob: that's willie. he's not in the game, but he's

in the game. he'll probably chew the end off of that draw string by the end of the night. >> rob: chewing on that draw string. >> bob: here is elijah dukes though singled solidly first time. dukes needed that. came into that at-bat 4-32 in 10 games. love to see him get a -- get a little elevation on a ball and see if this ballpark could hold him. i think willie harris will be an interesting guy. he might be a defensive player in transition. if morgan is going to play center field, willie harris could become an infielder and play -- dukes hits that ball so hard he got it through. willingham back in after making a big turn on cody ross, two on, nobody out. >> rob: you don't want to challenge cody ross' arm. >> bob: not with nobody out. >> rob: yeah, there's nobody out right here and this is ths a base hit up the middle. josh willingham has ideas of going to third. he thinks again and goes back to second base. a couple of singles already

tonight for elijah dukes. it's what you want to see elijah. >> bob: now the nats need good situational hitting by two guys who don't usually pull the guy or shouldn't and shouldn't hit the ball in the air. alberto gonzalez is first and then wil nieves. you have the pitcher coming up after that. you want a run scored by the time your number nine hitter gets up there. it's up to alberto to move them over or get them in and with that in mind, west tries to keep the ball in on him and misses ball one. >> rob: don't try to do too much f you're going to punch it to the right side, try to punch it out there for base hit. get at least one run in there as you said f you're wil nieves and get these two guys up to second and third, you've got to get them in before the pitcher gets up to it. >> bob: that's unlucky. he hit it hard. willingham no, chance to tag. one out. >> rob: he really didn't swing too hard. he tried to punch it. he tried to punch it to the right side. he just got a little too much of it and think right at ross.

>> bob: josh willingham i had a chance to talk with his wife, ginger, today. she said it's good to come back and talk to all the people they know. they know all the ushers and all the personnel. willingham family very popular here. it's good for them with everything they had to deal with to get back into familiar territory and see some of their oand old friends. fastball outside to wil nieves who bounced to third first time. slil hitting .262 in his starts since he was hurt. he's hanging in there. usually gets at least a hit per game and a gentleman with a

glove down below us makes a very fine play. wil has been good with runners in scoring position. look at that. all 12 of his ribs have come with runners at second base and/or third. he doesn't get cheated and debbi taylor, manny acta was asked today why wil nieves has been starting when josh bard swung the bat well lately. >> debbi: that's right. apparently, josh tweaked his groin over the weekend saturday against the orioles, so he will not be in the lineup until friday back home in dc. >> johnny: so -- >> bob, nieves will play a night game after a day game thursday. it was a shame because bard was really swing the bat well.

1-2 to wil. he'll pull it. it's in a good spot. it's under ramirez! ramirez will -- wimg willingham will stop. bases are roaded with craig stammen coming up. so, nats use the hard infield here to get a couple of top spin ground balls to go through. >> rob: with the pitcher coming up right here, i would have challenged the throw. sneaks right through there. willingham off with the pitch. it was a bad throw on top of it. >> bob: see if stammen can put the bat on the ball. he's had a perfect night with a walk. now, how about that first career rbi?  

he misses low. sometimes pitchers will aim the ball against other pitchers. there's our base bunch. willingham walked. he's at third. dukes singled. nieves singled. so, nats have something going here as they try to take the lead in the top of the fourth. stammen goes to right center! that will drive in a couple! willingham and dukes come home! over to third, nieves! the nationals lead 3-1 on craig stammen's first two major league rbi's. >> rob: well, i stand corrected. paint me stupid. stammen goes up there and rips a single for his first two major league rbi's. he gets behind on first pitch. he has to come back with a fastball and stammen is all over it. great job by the pitcher to help himself and help the nationals out right there. >> bob: for a change, nats get a break because that ball was

not hit right at the center fielder. when he had to move over, that gave dukes a chance to score easily, plus it got nieves to third so the nats are building a big inning here. they lead by two. they have cristian guzman coming up and burke badenhop is getting ready. >> rob: the pitching coach is out there reading him the riot actment you should have got ahead of the pitcher. you gave up two runs on the one swing of the bat to the nine- hole hitter. that's one thing about the luxury in the american league that you don't have here with the pitcher hitting, they have the professional hitter in the nine hole -- nine hole. a lost times, it's a leadoff contact-type guy or a guy who really knows how to handle the bat. that crow is tasting mighty good right now. >> bob: cristian guzman has not had two good at-bats tonight. this would be a time for one. pretty much got himself out last time. >> rob: well, grounded to short. this time right here,th really

put the nail in it is a nice, deep fly ball. don't want to hit into a flay double play. you have the pitcher on first. hit something you can drive. >> bob: that's hard hit. runner coming home. can they turn two? yep. the nationals hit more ground balls with the bases loaded than they ever should. that's a rally killer. they still get two. you really need it these days. how come? well if you're hurt and can't work it pays you cash... yeah to help with everyday bills like gas, the mortgage... ...and groceries. it's like insurance for daily living. so...what's it called? uhhhhh aflaaac!!!! oh yeah! that's it! aflac. we've got you under our wing. a-a-a-aflaaac!

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 >> bob: nationals baseball on masn brought to you b southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by firestone, a tradition of innovation. a little action on south beach tonight. someplace to eat or have a cold one on every block, and then you come on out here northwest of miami, southwest of lauderdale and that's where you find land shark stadium. here comes trivia. ludwick is with us tonight. >> aflac. >> bob: why is she talking over josh willingham? >> rob: i don't know, he was trying to bite josh. >> bob: josh, all nine of his homers are solos, right? which has the most all solos in a single season? who knows? >> rob: joe morgan played on the big red machine.

>> bob: they always had runners on base. >> rob: i don't know. you had bench, perez -- >> bob: that would be a stat for a leadoff guy who hit a lost home runs. >> rob: i think it's joe morgan. i'm going to say joe morgan. singleton was on those exoa and orioles teams. -- expo and orioles teams. mark grant owned me, but didn't have a lot of solo home runs. >> bob: gantt is a middle of the order hitter. >> rob: it's not saying a lot of home runs. it's saying most home runs all solo. so mike grace could have hit 12 home runs and most all were sole yoa. he played with sandberg, hall of famer, jody davis. sean dunston. there's a lot of guys that just steal your rbi's. >> bob: bonifacio a-base hit tonight. stolen base and a -- and a run.

nats haven't come close all year from throwing inside on this guy. >> rob: i'm going to stick with nyjer morgan. >> bob: ok. >> bob: there's a pop-up. breaking back, now coming in, adam dunn. plenty of time. one out. that's an important man to keep off bathe base in front of hanley ramirez. to me, the least obvious of those four would be ron gant. i'll take gants. >> rob: ok. >> bob: i'm pretty sure ron probably struck out five times as many as he hit home runs that year. avenues good hitter. kind of an all or nothing guy. here is hanley ramirez. hot shot to zimmerman first time. reached on the error when zimmerman knocked the ball down and then ryan threw it away. 7-8, the only bethlehem irbil uggla's base hit. he was gunned down trying to go to second on a sing toll left

center. elijah dukes, his 10th assist of the year. not often when the nats played the marlins have they scored runs and then just shut them down for several innings. see if stammen can do something like that tonight. it seems like whenever manny's team has gotten ahead of this ball club, they have an immediate answer. that's on the outside corner. tim welke gives you the call and the count. >> rob: when you list ton debbi taylor tawkt talk, i looked back. he wednesday to mepts mets, giants, mets again, tampa bay rays, yankees and now this lineup. come on, he's from ohio.

he's a tough kid. >> bob: he's a dayton flyer. >> rob: dayton flyer. well, we won't tell people that. >> bob: so best times i had visiting different campus around the country at the u. d. arena. that's a great campus, great place for basketball and athletics. right on ed win moses boulevard. here is jorge cantu who popped up to nick johnson first time up. stammen got ahead of him and overmatched him with a nice breaking ball loewer low and away. count is even, 1-1. phillies in atlanta now tied 1-1 bottom of the fourth up in georgia. >> rob: i am blown way by thatstatisticment one home run his last 187 at-bats. you said last night you would think he'd run into at least a

few. >> bob: yeah. >> rob: run into a couple especially at this ballpark. 330 four-foot wall in left field down in the corner you think at least one or two of those down in there. >> bob: on further investigation, atlanta scheduled to throw qualm tonight according -- kawakami according to my source. derek lowe is pitching there tonight, phillies-braves. cantu way out ahead. this guy hit -- look at willie harris. now he's the ball boy. willie probably wants to be wired tomorrow with olsen. >> rob: he's right next to mr. happy, ronnie belliard. smile for us, ronnie. >> bob: that's fair. cantu will hook it down the line. needs to retrieve it and get it to third base.

it gets by him. cantu was not running hard. if jorge cantu vunning hard, he might have been able to go to third base. >> rob: agreed, bob. he kind of just was jogging into second base and by the time he learned that adam dunn was kicking it around in the corner, watch him come out of the box. goes to -- goes down the line. adam is going to have trouble picking this ball up. it's like a track right there. he slips on the wet track. it's been raining all day. watch cantu. just going to mike gonzalezy on -- >> bob: that's embarrassing. >> rob: tried to kick it into gear a little too late. embarrassing for them. god for us. we like it when cadillac it into second like that. got a double. >> bob: now stammen has to get hermida. nats lead by two. it would be nice to lead by at least two for several innings, but this is exactly the point i brought up a moment ago. the marlins have always had the answer this year when the nats

get ahead. it usually doesn't take too long. that's a good basketball just above the belt. one ball, one strike. that will do it for the inning. nicely right to gonzalez and a very important zero on the board for craig stammen and the nats. probably because i've never had much. but now that i'm making more, it's time to be a little smarter about how i manage it.. with the calendar, i can schedule all my payments. and when funds are low, danger days help me stay out of the red. i can also transfer money with just a click and a drag. so maybe i'm better with money than i thought. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money.

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 >> bob: good for cr one unearned run, three hits over his first four innings tonight. it will be johnson, zimmerman and dunn for the nats in the top of the fifth. let's play aflac trivia. ludwick is in a hurry this time. which player has the most homers all solo in a single season. josh willingham has nine this year. ken singleton with 15 of them in 1975. >> rob: joe morgan had 14 in 1975. >> bob: that was a year for lonely home runs. >> rob: no, i'm just making that up. it sounded good. see, you've got to sell it. >> bob: yeah, fooled me. >> rob: i said, guys in the truck have too much time on their hands, so we're going to

have to call chris glass and say you're not working them hard enough. >> bob: come on, now. those things have a way of coming back at you. they get last word down there. they have the plug they can pull. nick needs base hit. 1-23 last. >> rob: not happy with the whole stump the analyst here. former alum that won world championships kind of questions. >> bob: i know you're one of them. >> rob: karl pavano is another one. that would be an easy lay-up. i feel good about myself. singleton -- [ indiscernible ] makes you think how did i not get this manning breaking ball

on this 2-2 pitch. ties him up inside. >> bob: i was thinking if it was out over the plate a little more, here is zimmerman 1-2 with a base hit. >> bob: rob, being a broadcaster is a lot like being a closer. you're going to have to. reinstate that short memoryyou used to have. >> rob: trust me. i have a very short memory. >> bob: ryan, 91 hits on the year. >> rob: i told you i don't get mad. i get even. >> bob: i get mad, then i forget what i got mad about. [ laughter ] >> bob: they're having fun in

baltimore tonight. red sox, nine. orioles, one. fourth inning. >> rob: who started that for the orioles? >> bob: there's zimmerman hooking one beautifully. that's going to the scoreboard. this could be a play at second base. he needs to hurry. he slides n"a double. ryan zimmerman, 2-3 tonight and > rob: done today was the 70th anniversary of the famous speech in. >> bob: i heard you talking about that on your radio show today? >> rob: yeah, we had curt schilling on thas at is out in forefront of als. >> bob: good for him. >> rob: yeah. >> bob: adam dunn is 1-2 with an rbi night. kn you anwere touched. we were at yankee stadium

during our marathon rain delay watching ode old yankee videos when we saw mcmillan mickey mantle stand in the same spot telling the fans he now understood what lou gehrig meant. three champions lost before their time. now. adam dunn launches one! see you later! that's number 20 for dunn and the nationals lead 5-1. the big boys, number three and four in the lineup, have come through tonight. >> rob: that's what i'm talking

about. i'm talking about shark. number 20, halfway to number 40. give him six straight years of 40 home ns. see him miss location terribly and done dunn makes him ayo told you before the game, he is a fly ball pitcherment you saw nick johnson miss the hanging breaking ball to strikeout. well, dunn gunn did -- adam dunn did not miss that one. >> bob: josh willingham thought he was getting first-pitch fastball, half swing, missed it. dunn's rbi total, three tonight and 56 on the year. when that boy hits them, they are no doubters. >> rob: anderson hernandez, like he hit it. puts his arms up. >> bob: that's when the little guys gie walks up to the big guy and says that's a great feeling, isn't it? >> rob: absolutely. >> bob: you know, for me personally, i haven't seen home runs like this since mcgwire in st. louis 11 years ago.

>> rob: -- >> bob: there aren't many guys who just hit the towering shots that you know are gone the moment contact is made. it's amazing. >> rob: well, here is the 1-1 pitch right here by sean west to adam dunn. fastball inside. he's all over it. if i didn't have a bad groin, icould probably hit it that far. >> bob: he had ron villone smiling in there. i've been told by a lot of ex- players that hitters get real talkative in the dugout after they come back after doing something like that. >> rob: adam i don't think is one of those guys. adam is a very humble young man. >> bob: i'm not saying bragging. >> reporter: i know, bragging. -- >> rob: i know, bragging. me and jim palmer were talking about lou never got one. i asked adam on the plane, did you get that one? he said, yeah. >> bob: the one in baltimore? >> rob: yeah. >> bob: he centered that one as well. willingham 0-1 with a walk

tonight. josh, did he hold up? yes, he did, says ed rapuano. the count goes full, 3-2. 80 pitches in 4 1/3 for sean west. >> rob: that's amazing right there. hitting behind adam dunn, it's -- >> bob: yeah, that will clear the bases. i don't think josh minds. >> rob: no. >> bob: that's walk number three. >> rob: the better josh does, ever since he came back from his brother's funeral, he has just been on a mission. he couldn't be happier for him. better professionally he does, more better pitches adam dunn is going to see which means ryan zimmerman is going to see better pitches. they all hit. that's going to be it for mr. west. leroux. >> bob: it's going to be christopher leroux. nats knock out sean west. goes beautifully with a lot of ethnic spicy foods.