zimmerman. during the braves game, they will auction off four tickets to the jonas brothers july 13th, a verizon concert and tée meet and greet. check out the dream foundation kiosk before the en of the 6th inning and place your bid to win. proceeds benefit the children's national medical center in d.c these guy ares just about the hottest thing going right now. 2 balls, 2 balls and no strike. these guy does not want to pitch to jordan zimmerman. he is 2-for-21 with his two knocks today. by the way, our really good stage manager slashstatistician down, hands us a note. nationals pitchers have two hits more than the numbers 1 and 2 hitters.

>> rob: yeah, 1, 2 are 1-for- 202 in this series with eight strikeouts. pitchers only struck out once. come on, how does that happen? >> rob: craig stammen has two rbis last night. our man zim had an rbi single today. >> bob: 3-2. we have reached the 2 0-0 hour here at land shark stadium in south florida. thousands of campers having a great time at the ballpark today. marlins 2, nationals 1 as we play in the top of the 6th inning. another 3-22 pitch here and they're going to get him on the

corner. that's okay. >> rob: we'll get one of those fans for him. >> bob: see if willie harris can get it going here. johnny holiday and ray knight with the post game xra. it's been a hard time for ryan zimmerman here at the corners. braves coming in. nationals beat the braves in a thee-game series in d.c. earlier this year after being swept by atlanta on a first road trip. 2-0. willie harris on base three times today. he came in with an onbase

percentage of .351. this someone skied to the right side. gload and uggla. second baseman has the best angle for that foul ball and the nats are gone in the top of the 6th inning. it is still a 2-1 game a long way to go. whether that's building more certified green buildings than anyone on earth. creating online banking tools for the next generation. or making a 10 year, $100 million investment in kids. it's how we've always done business. and will for a very long time to come. pnc. leading the way.

 .  >> bob: let's if to the bottom of the 6th and the aflac trivia question. you took kevin brown and you are correct. >> rob: whooo hoo. >> reporter: one base runner from a perfect game. how nasty was this guy with that 90-plus sinker. >> rob: great teammate. you see the breaking ball. you see the sinker going away. out. >> bob: there is the only base runner, he hit the man. >> rob: you see the sinker. yeah, he was one of my favorites. talk about a serious man. he could strike out 17, give up a hit and come in and tear up the clubhouse. >> bob: and, of course, hitters loved to hit certain days at candle stick park. that place was nasty.

>> rob: browny, he would turn his back to the hitter and then he would come in and spin around and throw a 93 mile-per- hour sinker on a righty's hand. guys were coming up with all kinds of hail and miss on the day that kevin brown throws. >> bob: hanley ramirez batting with the bases empty. he would love to drive himself in. 12-for-his last 18 with 15 rbis going back two series encompassing six games at tampa bay and here against the nats. how about that? he is very talented. that's a good pitch. a real good pitch. >> rob: 1-1 pitch track right

here. this is just gasoline. gets called. >> bob: 2-2 now. nothing wrong with that one. >> rob: not at all. >> bob: for a guy who is feeling cozy and comfortable. >> rob: it's about time to make those guys a little uncomfortable. >> bob: we only had to wait until july 1st to see that pitch in the ballpark here. and he just missed away. >> rob: he is a little bit gassed. >> bob: the bullpen not throwing yet. >> rob: i'm surprised. he is at 90 pitches. >> bob: do sometimes they pay too much attention to what they see in the radar gun and maybe not enough of what you are actually seeing from the guy out there. >> rob: steve mccatty is an excellent pitching coach and manny acta. they know the kid. we just get a little bit more close-ups of his face and some

of his mannerrisms. you can tell he is a little bit tired out there, this is where they do all their conditioning. this is one of those days. now it's up to sean burnett, the newest national. >> bob: there he is. >> rob: we got action down there, bob. >> reporter: manny acta says he will most probably appear in the bullpen today. >> you want to get his feed wet in a new uniform. and a ball popped up left side. it will go out of play. jordan zimmerman started this pitch at 91 pitches.

66 strikes. basically two out of three pitches in the zone. >> rob: you know, he is tired, mclemore mick's off a little bit. just don't want anything to happen to this young man. he is a great young man. you know, he is having a great game. only two runs. >> bob: he got victimmized by three consecutive hitters earlier in the game. rookie leaders in inning pitched, shairon martis is way up there. it will stay the same for a while. >> rob: i love that rookie, kawakmi. >> bob: line drive, hernandez and out. nick johnson did a little ballerina act at first base and

hernandez just launched that throw. got it behind him. >> rob: that was the texas two- step. anderson is in, look at him set up. boom, quick reaction. i thought it hit ramirez but nick johnson, watch him stay in here. beautiful job. that was a beautiful job. >> bob: that's a pitch safer. bases empty, two outs and here is uggla. zimmerman, if this is it, can just go pedal to the metal and go with it. 1 ball, 1 strike.

dan uggla 0-for-2 today and 1- for-8 in the series. he will foul it straight back. >> rob: he is now a little bit tired. a little bit laxed -- relaxed. he is now at 95 -- 97. >> bob: he is young. >> rob: he is vibrant. >> bob: uggla's bat went 90 feet and the ball went into left field. >> rob: that might be it, though. young lefty, sean burnett up. >> bob: nowhere near the spot in your line-up where you have to make the double switch. manny can choose to go with him now. >> rob: looks like they are doing it. >> bob: there may be another element, how do you deal with a ballpark like this because you

play these guys nine times down here every year and if he is going to be with our ball club for a while, he is going to be pitching here from time to time. >> rob: you have to suck it up some days. >> bob: and i'm sure they are away of our bullpen graphic that we showed earlier and we talked about the series. manny may not be that eager to go to his extra guys. willie harris is there. if that's it for jordan zimmerman, he pitched well today. a couple of pitches he would hike to have back but all in all, pretty solid. 

 .  >> bob: hanley ramirez, two- run single third. i can't wait to hear what you have to say. >> rob: jordan zimmerman real good and a solid effort and you take away three hitters. by the way, it has started to rain now as we go to the top of the 7th. >> rob: then i will do my thing quickly. the practice baseball are manufactured in china yarks game balls manufactured in costa rica. >> reporter: what's the difference? other than the shipping charges?

>> rob: they mass produce the practice balls. they are made differently. >> bob: it is raining hard, folks. as cristian guzman steps in in the top of the 7th. >> rob: cost efficiency. >> bob: we are outsourcing everything? >> rob: absolutely. >> bob: i find that a little sad. >> rob: hey, we want the chinese people to be our friend. they make our baseballs, that's cool. >> bob: guzman, bonifacio grabs it, robs one. no business make that go throw and we are getting real close to having the teams pulled off the field. they are calling for the ground crew right now. this is crazy. it's going to be a rain delay at 2:15 eastern time. i mean an immediate monsoon. i don't know if the kids are screaming out of fear or

absolutes delight. they have to love this. >> rob: they are all jumping around. they want to go out there and play. >> bob: we counted 70 seconds last night it took the crew to get the tarp on the field. these guys are used to this drill the way weather continues to just come in and out, it leaves, comes back, returns, it's crazy. >> rob: so like with a pitcher throwing to home plate, are we going by when they open it up, when they started it rolling it on the field. >> bob: i say when they start rolling it. >> rob: i started when they started rolling it out. >> bob: here we go. what's the split for getting the tarp off the roller? >> rob: their split was 30 seconds off that roller. >> bob: here they go. left side having some issues, got to get some air underneath it. >> bob: get some air in between those layers. >> rob: that cost them some time, the german judge is not

happy with that. >> bob: they ought to have a judge from the amazon forest. he knows as much as everybody. >> rob: 55 seconds. could be a new world record. >> bob: they did okay, 1 minute and 2 or 3 minutes. we'll send you back to our alternate programming, espn news. we'll bring you back to land shark stadium when we are ready for more baseball. hang in there, folks.

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>> the blazerrers are looking to land one of the top free agents, turkoglu. hedo is expected to return to portland on thursday. the blazers have money, projected to have eight to nine million in cap space. >> chris, turkoglu has been contacted by the blazers and at least three other teams have called just minutes into the free agency period. what are the chances he can remain in orlando? >> those chances are very, very slim. toronto is one of the teams that contacted him. maybe detroit. but portland can offer him a long-term deal start at

$9 million a year. toronto can get around that number as well. and orlando just can't come anywhere near that. they offered him almost 9 million a year and he rejected it. now they add ed vince carter who has a huge salary, along with rashard lewis and tight howard, they can't come close to that number anymore. he is going wind up in either portland or toronto. >> in mean-time, jason kidd meeting with the knicks this morning. how strong of a pull there is to keep him in dallas? >> very strong, and this knicks meeting is going to be a nice little get-together but it's not going to amount to anything. mark cuban trumped the meeting by flying to new york this morning to meet with kidd at 12:01. he met with kidd in new york. and actually made an offer three years, a deal that is worth

about $9 million a year. for three years. the knicks can't come anywhere near that. they can only offer the mid-level exception, 5.6 million. maybe even only for one year. jason does like new york but he is going stay in dallas. >> he did mention in january he certainly wouldn't mind signing with that team but classic mark cuban. celtics pushing hard for wallace. where do you think him signing? >> boston is a possibility. i think san antonio is another possibility. all the contenders know that getting rasheed wallace can put them over the to but i think san antonio and boston are the two front runners. both of those teams have a lot of veterans, a coaching staff you have to respect. so they both got good shots. i'm going to say san antonio. rasheed is very close with larry brown, who is obviously close with greg pap o'victim, and he would have a great shot at winning there, and starting

there. alongside tim done can. so i think san antonio but boston has a great shot. >> what's the latest on the piston's search for a head coach. >> joe dumars spoke to avery johnson last night. if a and i collins are the two names on the short list. i think avery is probably the front runner, but it's going to be interesting to see how this works out because he has two years at $4 million each left with his dallas contract. so, it will be interesting to see if they can move him out of retirement. >> thank you. here are as the list of many of the free agents available. two keys the the lakers championship, ariza and odom, artest, iverson, kidd, and the news out of detroit has been ben gordon, and charlie villanueva

visiting detroit. finding the best homes for the best free agents means matching skills and systems. we look at the top 20 free agents available. >> here's what is happening in the baseball world this afternoon. it's the marlins leading the nationals, 2-1. adam dunn has a double. ryan zimmerman has an -- i believe ryan zimmermans. jordan zimmermans on the mound. ramirez trying to get at least one run in nine consecutive games. the marlins have been 22-3 against washington since the start of last season. blue jays and rays. rays won seven straight. hottest team in baseball but they trail here. scutaro has an rbi in that one.

they trail 2-0. red sox and orioles. boston, the story really coming from last night where they blew a nine-run lead. the biggest comeback since the orioles moved from st. louis. pedroia now 2-2, he has driven in a run so the two-run deficit is down to one. beckett needs a little help from the bats. >> former boxing champion arguello fought the government in nicaragua in the 1980s when it seized hit property and bank accounts. years later he joined that party, ultimately running in and winning a controversial election in november in managua amade allegations of voter fraud. today the 57-year-old was found dead with a gun slot to the

chest. a spokesman called the news heartbreaking, quote, he was a champion of the poor. election -- alexis arguello, one of six boxers to win in three classes. he was elected mayor of his home town just last november. >> coming up here on "espnews." the orioles overcame the largest deficit since their move to baltimore. josh beckett charged with making that a one-night wonder. and roger faces dr. ivo. could the champ come over the sport's biggest curiosity? that's coming up.

you know what i like about tennis are the rankings. i like to know exactly where you stand at all times. yeah, it works for us. yeah. hey, if they ranked "sportscenter" anchors, where do you think i'd be ranked? - i don't know. - come on. i'd rather not get into it. come on, pick a number between one and 10. well... i'm not sure you'll be in the top 10. i'm in the top 10, roger. ♪ >> headed to big mac land. gone. >> hammers it to left. he has done it again. >> not since alex rodriguez had 30 at the all-star break and ended up with 50 homeruns has

albert gone to 30. what are we watching here? ,. >> we're watching how everyone else in the lineup hits around him. ludwick getting healthy, derosa being in the lineup now. that's what is important. albert is so consistent. he is going to do exactly what he is going to do he is the best hitter in in the game and he shows up the same every single day. what he needs is somebody out in front of him and somebody to produce behind him. >> i'm not surprised. i have seen albert work and he practices after practice. this is a guy that continues to do the same things over and over again. with his wide stance, very balanced. all swings at strikes, not balls, and has power from line to line. he can pepper you to each line and with a ton of power but it comes from hard work and his hand-eye coordination though ball, very quick. >> the hard work, and the fact that everyone -- a lot of guys get there because they're great