>> the following is a masn presentation. "this broadcast realtime captioned by becky lyon"." hi, everybody. time for nationals baseball here on masn. johnny holliday with ray knight. coors field and mile high city of denver, colorado. nats trying to even up the series at 1-1. what a pitching dual that was last night. jason marquis and our guy. >> defense not a lot of offense from us. we had some opportunities twice with the bases loaded in the 7th and 8th. well played game. quickly pitched ballgame. just came up a little short.

only the 8th 1-0 game in coors history. >> nats averaging six runs a game every time they go out there. >> yeah. little different ballpark. we had some research done, johnny, back in its heyday. 250 home runs a year at this ballpark. now it is down to 170. this year only 42 home runs have been hit in the ballpark and if you compare that to yankees stadium with 140, there is a huge difference now and it is not that type of ballpark that the ball flies out any more. >> you just saw highlights of pitching against this hard- hitting colorado ball club. one of five terrific young starters in this rotation right now. >> he is. a great young staff. the most important thing to me coming to the park every day now is watching these young pitchers grow. this is what he did last night. each inning how much pitches he had, johnny, we did some

research again. he has thrown 15.1 pitches per outing. lannan, that's excellent. 15 is a high water mark. olson 16.8. zimmerman at 17. he can afford to throw more pitches because is he a strikeout pitcher, power pitcher and they tend to throw a few more pitches per inning. but 15 is a real good spot because that gets you to the 7th inning with 90 pitches. that gives you a chance to maybe go out eight and pass that 100-pitch mark. >> i've got a sneaking suspicion when you were managing the since cincinnati reds if you had a guy like craig stammen on your ball club, you would probably still be there. >> i love young pitchers. they are honest. coachable. most part they are durable. and they listen.

and you can groom them. you can teach them how to pitch. these guys all have good stuff. all different. all different in the makeup. but they throw strikes. and they are using their fastball well. and talking about the curveball. last night craig stammen used the curveball. the start be staff is as good as any young staff in the league. last night the curveball that he was throwing, he -- as far as his fastball he went from a four seamer to a two seamer. with that he gained all kinds of confidence. we were talking earlier today about his ability to throw strikes then be very positive and not necessarily negative about his start but always critical in a way that he expects to do better. >> we did catch a comment last night from him. he was not happy. the fact he gave up five hits. he los angeles the ballgame 1 4- 7b 0. nice job, you get him next time. he was a little bit ticked off

he didn't get the win last night. >> well, great ones are that way. they expect to win. they expect to execute. they expect to make their pitch 2-2. he has done that for the most part this year. he has not been depressed from that he has grown from that and been able to go out and continue to throw better. last night he got through the lineup for the third time for i think the first time this season. maybe second time. that's not going to be a problem for him. got too good of control. once he finds what the weaknesses are he will throw to his strengths. >> the pitching coach for the nationals, starting pitcher's e.r.a. has gone down. nobody is more pleased with the starting rotation now than steve. >> they are going out, they are competing, they are aggressive. all the things you want to see from your starters and everybody for the most part have been doing a good job in trying to do what we want to do and that's go on the attack and

compete and make them put the bat on the ball. >> take a look at the numbers. hits 22 seven earned runs. seven walks. eight strikeouts. >> olson coming back pitching well the well that the nats that they will hope he would pitch when they acquired him. lannan. you see the numbers last night and little later on that zimmerman is putting up. we have got a power pitching staff. a couple guys that are power pitchers then the great finesse field type pitchers. >> can a pitching coach make that much difference? >> oh, yeah. not anything against randy st. claire but the team wasn't improving. mccaddie the key is he has worked with most of these guys in the minor leagues and it is

about trust and it is about being receptive to the direction that that pitching coach wants to take you, whether it is more fastballs, pitching away. moving the defense away. hitting coach is the same way. they obviously believe in steve mccad mccady. we will take a break and talk about jordan zimmerman. we will be back in just a moment. stay with us. hey mom i need some minutes.

i just gave you some at the restaurant. yea i know. i threw them out. they were old so...... old! they are rollover minutes. they're as good as new. ya know not everyone gets to keep their unused minutes. and these days we can't afford to be wasteful. saving minutes.....

.....saves money. yea. (announcer) only at&t's family talk with rollover saves your family's unused minutes. and saving minutes saves money. get the lg neon from at&t, now only $29.99 after mail in rebate tonight another youngster for the nationals pitching staff jordan zimmerman. adam dunn in the cage.

taking some batting practice. zimmerman trying to snap the four-game winning streak that colorado has put together over the nationals and awfully tough to win a ballgame on the road but when you've got a young pitching staff like that at least these guys are keeping these guys within striking distance. >> giving up a little over two runs a game the last three outings have been brilliant. scattered throughout the last month and a half. we have had some great performances. our offense hasn't caught back up. we have had a lot of ballgames and in my estimation, 80% of the blames the -- ballgames -- >> never facing the rockies before. >> he hasn't. he just needs to do what he does. keeps the ball down so well. with that fastball that he elevates, working on his change-

up. he will be a whole lot for them to handle. last five starts. only giving up a total of seven runs in those five starts and going five and two thirds innings at least. struck out 75 as we mentioned in 75 innings. hasn't walked hardly anybody so he is settling down -- brought his e.r.a. down from high of 5.80 all the way down to mid-4s. >> i've got a good suspicion we are going to go out to a coors field right now an debbi taylor is right there with us and she has got with her jordan zimmerman. >> okay, thank you very much, johnny. jordan, your thoughts on pitching here at coors field. >> i heard the ball flies here. just got to keep the ball down and get a lot of ground balls. hopefully i don't give up too many fly balls. the ball just flies here so has

got to work down in the zone and keep pounding the zone like i have been doing. >> do you prepare any differently when you are facing a team you haven't played before and pitching in a new ball club. >> just go out and pitch my game and hope for the best. >> what's worked best for you this season. >> i think i have been getting a lot of hitters a lot and throwing a lot of strikes. that's the biggest thing for me. getting myself in trouble. just been getting ahead of guys and i have been having a pretty good year so far. >> it seems too the starting pitchers have been able to contribute a little bit with the bat and you got two hits in your last start. what does that mean to you to be able to do well at the plate as well? >> it is great when pitchers can hit and there are so many times that i have already come up this year with guys in scoring position. they get the job done and if the pitchers can get out there and get a hit every once in a while and guys on second and

third, it helps us tremendously. >> dexter fowler creates havoc. >> try to get him out. if he gets on, watch at first. just got to keep a close eye on him. if you do that should be fine. >> having a guy like morgan playing behind you does that give you more confidence on the mound. >> you know he is out there and will be running them down and he is really, really fast and he can close in on a lot of balls and even take away some base hits that are bloopers. he is a get player and i'm excited to have him behind me. >> jordan zimmerman thank you very much. let's go back to the studio. johnny, ray? >> debbi taylor, thank you very much. >> there you see jordan's

numbers. 29 two third innings. 2.12 e.r.a. 23 hits. only walked seven. 28 strikeouts. one thing about jordan he has given up one home run his last five starts. >> he doesn't throw too many balls up. when he does he has got so much juice on it people can't get their hands up on the baseball. i suspect when he gives a home run up it will be more a slider that doesn't break. that may happen here as he adjusts to the air in coors field much the breaking ball does tend not to have flight to bite just a little shorter. not as much depth. jordan has a get slider. and that may be his biggest adjustment tonight. >> do you see any competitive difference the juices flowing between a craig stammen and jordan zimmerman. >> they are different people but i think they have the same mind sext they are warriors thinking they have a chance to win. they believe, johnny, in

themselves. i don't think they have to have a lot of coddling. i think we have had pitchers here in the past that needed someone to pat him on the shoulder. there is a difference between supportive like mccaddy. every time you make a bad pitch, what did you think about that pitch? am i throwing good? is my curveball good. you can't have that attitude. you've got to come back to the bench, feel good enough within yourself that when you make a pitch and it was a good pitch you know it was a good pitch. pitching coach says what happened? look, i made my pitch. he was better than me right there but i will get him next time. >> one thing about the colorado pitching staff. we will meet another guy tonight they have improved their pitching tremendously and jason hammel towing the hammer tonight. his e.r.a. is up. >> he is a guy in the minor leagues for eight years with tampa bay. fifth starter down there. went to the bull pen. now his major league career is 17-15 with 27 starts. this year has been pretty

solid, johnny. last five outings he has got a 2.40 e.r.a. and able to go at least six innings. big guy. 6'6", 220. i don't know anything about him. didn't see him pitch last year and just saw a snippet of him earlier today. >> he is coming off a dispersed career complete game against the dodgers and lost it 1-0. that's his last start. >> pretty good hitting ball club. i don't think he is as good as our guy because i think our guy is as good as any pitcher in the league and our guy is four years younger. they keep coming up with good pitching. ever since the ballpark has gotten bigger. one thing that happens, the ball does get through the infield quickly, gets into the gaps quickly just not carrying the way it wants to when it is in the air. >> one thing the nats have to do tonight which was obvious in last night's ballgame when you get guys in scoring position you've got to get them across the plate. twice. 7th inning, 8th inning, nationals had the bases loaded

could not get anyone across home plate. >> there is no word to describe it but brutal in those situations. those are just automatic r.b.i.s. we call them ducks on the pounds fnlt you got them out there you've got to figure out a way to do whatever you have to do. then in the 8th, same situation. fastball up. fly ball to right field. that would have been nice the inning before with a runner on third base but it didn't happen. we have been atrocious in that situation. 2.86. runner in scoring position as far as batting. the deal -- when the game is on the line and the runner is out there, somebody has got to get a base hit. >> what's amazing about this because it is a hitter's ballpark out there. we mentioned earlier the nats had been averaging every time they got there a little over six runs a ballgame. kind of a little blip in the radar screen maybe? >> blip in the radar was jason marquis. he is on the all-star team. he had great stuff last night. put the ball where he wanted to

put it and when he was in situations he made a great pitch to belliard. he was behind him 1-2 in the count and threw him a slider down and chased it. he was able to make pitches when he had and always that battle between pitcher hitter but the hitter has to learn to get a ball early in the count that he can drive to get a fly ball. >> we had our opportunities and we just couldn't get that big hit. seemed like when we did get that big hit it was too hard to score the runner. we really -- that was our inning to make it happen and we didn't do it. >> don't you love adam? don't you love his honesty, ray. >> he is just so unassuming, johnny. and he takes a tremendous amount of weight on his

shoulders. cincinnati they struggled. had a couple good years there. but he was supposed to be the franchise guy that was going to bring them back. didn't happen. here he has done a great job. he is everything that the nats have hoped for and there is nobody better in the clubhouse. nobody. >> nobody knows baseball than mr. baseball here in washington. that would be my friend and your friend phil woods coming your way as nats xtra pregame continues. nationals in colorado against the rocks tonight. your final boarding call. all passengers... each with an average speed of 590 miles per hour. almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. starting august 16th, fly southwest airlines from bwi airport to boston logan for just $49 one-way. bags fly free on southwest so our low fares stay low. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com.

>> manny acta's starting lineup. willie harris back in the starting lineup at second base. average of 247. four homers. 15 driven in. over the last 14 games he played he is hitting .325. six home runs, five r.b.i.s. nick johnson. first. adam dunn in left tonight. josh willingham.

josh bard catching. jordan zimmerman on the mound. willie harris .326 career against colorado. eight home runs for troy since june the 8th tied for second in the ball club at 37 walks, had 38 total last year. dexter fowler leading off for jim tracy's ball club. ian stewart. chrischris iannetta. driving over to our lovely masn studios tonight the word rocky

popped into my head. did you ever have a favorite rocky you could relate to? is this rocky in bull winkle. >> that's the worst i have ever heard. i'm not good at all that stuff. >> how about, there he is. how about rocky badboia. just a couple of rockies. but there are some other rockies that have made a name for themselves in dc. indeed it is true, john. >> thank you. nats playing the rockies this week, some years back. nats actually played rockies of their own as we approach the all-star break looking back in the 1958 game played in baltimore where the senators were represented by shortstop named everett lemar rocky

bridgette. came over, took the regular shortstop job batting a robust .228 but 47 runs batted in in a last place club. .263 average upped. traded to detroit after the season. keep in mind in 1958 the senators had the defending american league home run champion in roy seavers. bridges was chosen as the all- star representative. williams. 1958 mvp jackie jenson. so went for infield depth but didn't matter because rocky didn't get to play an inning. washington's other rocky infielder with the senators. bob rocky johnson. taken from the athletics in 1960. became an everyday player in 1962. he was nicknamed rocky.

johnson hit 288 and 12 home runs. not a very good club and decent numbers. that was the first year they played baseball in what was called dc stadium. johnson's home run was the first ever hit in the ballpark. homered with a man on against the tigers left-hander in front of a full house included president kennedy. traded to the orioles that winter. part of their 1966 world championship team. but two shortstops named rocky well worth remembering. >> i remember rocky bridges. >> face stained from tobacco drool. >> i remember that. >> absolutely. >> phil woods from diamond dust. just for men hair color. joe beimel. had nine. this. just as joe beimel keeps the nats in the game you too can stay in the game with just

for men hair color. middle game of three. jordan zimmerman loosening up at coors field in denver. going to take a break and come back with more johnny holliday and ray knight with you. on nats xtra pregame here on masn. there's having it done. then there's doing it yourself and saving. it's about sawdust in your boots. paint in your hair. - and no holes in your wallet. - ♪ whew... we've lowered over a thousand prices, giving you all the tools you need. and the bragging rights you deserve. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, the exclusive american standard 4" symphony faucet is only $78.

>> farm last night for syracuse. dukes. >> he got off to a good start for us just getting righted down there. dukes can hit home runs. little different league. >> a couple of r.b.i.s. did not walk anybody and struck out five. you may have heard jesus colome rejected the assignment. he now is a free agent. so stick around. we hope you'll enjoy tonight's ballgame. we will be back after the game on nats xtra post-game to talk about a nats win tonight over the colorado rockies. for ray knight, i'm johnny

holliday. getting set to go in the mile high city. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me. (announcer) switch to verizon fios tv, phone and internet today and get an ultra-sleek compaq mini netbook. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crisp? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

now that college is a few years behind me, it seems i've got three times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money bar, i can move my money around instantly, so when there's more bills than usual, it's no problem. and i use the wish list to put any extra money aside for anything i want. being in control of my money feels good. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money.

pnc. leading the way.  >> the following is a masn presentation. >> craig stammen allowing just one run on five hits. but all-star jason marquis was a bit better. eight innings no runs. will the starters steal the spotlight again tonight or will it be offense taking center stage this time around? let's go. 

 >> when? >> now. "this broadcast realtime captioned by becky lyon." >> it has been a sizzler in colorado today. temperatures up near the 90- mark. maybe the ball flies out of coors field even more than it usually does. up to the pitchers to keep that from happening. bob carpenter. we haven't even seen jordan zimmerman yet. >> he could be the best of the bunch. i know these guys are going out there and doing their best but lately they have been on a roll. look at lanan's start 8 innings. olsen. craig stammen pitching his heart out but last night it all came together and did a great job. jordan zimmerman now has to follow them. how good has the 22 year old been? 28 punchouts and a .211 batting

average. doing a great job against some of the best lineups in baseball. mets back in april had everything working. you would see the breaking ball and fastball right by carlos beltran and struck out wright a couple times to boot. then some of the best all-star hitters in the major league. some guys that were in the world series last year and then the boston red sox. he was justin mastersonerful. american league mvp going down on strikes. just blowing him away. 22 year old having fun. don't change a thing, bob. go out and be yourself and challenge the hitters. >> manny says first pitch strikes and keeping it from the heart of the plate have been good for zimmerman lathely. john lannan got all this defense started on saturday with four double play balls. continued sunday at home and again in colorado last night. defense now. when we come back we will talk some offense.

>> john lannan. seven innings of shutout ball. 

 nationals baseball on masn brought to you by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by land rover designed for the extraordinary. downtown denver has been a beautiful day. beautiful couple of couple of days here and the real rockies in the distance. the baseball rockies awaiting the nationals here tonight. adam dunn is also awaiting the rockies. since coming to our ball club this year he has had a dramatic effect on the nationals run production and, rob, not just home runs. >> affected everybody in the lineup there. we moved up five places. slugging we are up to 9th. outfielders were third in the national league and he has done a great job, what's been expected of him, a lot of home runs, a lot of r.b.i.s. he has done that. he has also drawn a ton of walks but he has a lot of levity in the clubhouse. the big man with everything as

advertised and then some. >> by the way you're seeing all 22 of the home runs this year ending with number 300 against the braves and curtain call on saturday. he is on pace for his sixth consecutive 40 home run season and it is something that i guess they would call it up here rarified air. >> rarified air. just a great job done by adam dunn. very humble. doesn't want to talk about it. wants to do his job. rather get a win than a home run. >> another fellow in front of him too. ryan zimmerman. .293 average. 13 homers and 47 r.b.i.s, top six in hits and runs. no coincidence with adam dunn hitting behind him. 

 >> bob: rockies take the field here at coors field where they are just a couple of games over 500 this year. 19-17. overall they are four over and nine games back of the dodgers. josh bard really hitting the ball well. 350 batting average. ten r.b.i.s in his last 21 games. add onto that a .443 on base average. and the guy who went to high school right here in denver and lives here really doing a nice job. gets another start tonight in

front of friends and family. jason hammel might be one of the steals of the year when it comes to trades made in the major leagues shoo got traded from the braves over here for a minor leaguer and jason hammel doing a tremendous job. ended up as the fifth starter on this colorado team. scouting report on him. 14th start for the rockies. been on a great run. last seven starts the rockies have won all seven of those not counting the dodger loss where they lost 1-0 but that was an excellent outing by him also. 24. just been a great addition to this team. and then getting to know you. never faced the nationals lineup. so he will get to know our lineup up close and personal. >> bob: shortstop.

right fielder brad hoff. not many teams run on him any more. after he had 16 outfield assists in one season three years ago. they call him tulo. this is an organization that has done a great job of scouting, drafting, signing, developing ball players and getting them to the big leagues through their organization. we are right on time here in colorado. first pitch of the ballgame. misses a little bit outside. still pretty warm. 84 degrees. partly cloudy skies. highs were near 90 today. morgan hitting .276 as a nat 4-15. >> rob: second lowest earn run average but at home a 7 .12 e.r.a. >> bob: do you like that 22%

humidity? >> rob: i love it. >> bob: it is a dry heat. >> bob: on a pitch up he slaps it foul. 28-year veteran. crew chief randy marsh has the plate tonight. it will be interesting to watch the strike zone early in the ballgame. hernandez had a high one last night. every umpire brings his own interpretation. on a pitch up. bounced in front of the plate. they have got to hurry. well played by chris iannetta. if he doesn't throw a fastball to first, morgan is safe. >> rob: as bob said this has to be a perfect play by chris. comes out, does a 360 and just fires. watch it again from this angle.

morgan hustling down the line. >> bob: upstairs to nick johnson. nick is struggling. he has managed somehow to keep his on base percentage over .400. he is at .402 but only 6 for his last 44. and there is a high strike. nick had a base hit hi last time up last night in four trips. nationals stranded five runners in the 7th and the 8th in a 1-0 loss. >> rob: turned that one over. of that the straight change. >> bob: this kid has got a good fastball. over the top curve. and i was told by george frasier, the change-up has made a big difference for him. there is another one but he misses up and away with it.

>> rob: it is a third pitch and it is something more for the hitters to think about. doesn't have to use it too often. usually you use them when he is behind in the hit,'s cowbt and that will make him very effective when they thought you were just a two-pitch pitcher at one time. >> bob: and nick johnson will take the walk. by the way, this is game number 81 on the year for the nationals. halfway point. we have some game notes for you to have alike at as nick trots down to first base. slugging percentage. look at that. .480. big series against the dodgers and the diamondbacks previously. jordan zimmerman allowed one homer his last five starts. that's a great stat coming in here. and for some reason with two outs jason hammel is having a hard time closing out innings. his e.r.a. is 3.90 but his career earned run average after his time with

tampa bay 5.34. zimmerman four hits away from 100. 55 runs on the year. sixth in the league in both categories. nick johnson has a short lead. >> rob: and that >> bob: i was told today nick johnson was trying to find some sunglasses he could wear on the infield last night because the angle of this ballpark has the sunset directly in the eyes of the first baseman. there is todd helton. got his flip-downs on. maybe nick will tell him leave them on the bag so i can use them. >> bob: and zimmerman identifies the breaking ball on the 0-2 pitch. ryan has always hit well against colorado. guys like hitting here not only because the ball carries. it doesn't matter if you can't see the ball. now i don't know if i would have season tickets on the

first base side that's pretty rough over there. you better watch out for foul balls. but they feed the ball well here. it is a very good bat,'s eye. zimmerman ground ball. should be two. nationals continue to pound the ball into the ground with men on base. and the rockies who turned a big one last night put an end to the top of the 1st. ting got moved up. i need to change my southwest flight. woman over phone: no problem. you know, maybe other people are content to sit around and wait. wait for something to happen. for business to pick up. but for you, it's time to kick it in gear. time to get going. time to get tough. take control. you're not gonna run and hide. because backing down's not your style. grab your bag. it's on. ( ding ) i've never been all that great with my money. 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. pnc. leading the way. (tucci) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide. (announcer) get a nokia e71x the thinnest smart phone for 99.99 after mail-in-rebate.

 >> bob: looks like the skipper. how about that? >> rob: you mean the skipper from? >> bob: the skipper of the ball team. i think a lot of that came from the 2006 season when the rockies pounded the nationals and swept the season series eight games to none. jordan zimmerman will make his 14th major league start. and lead-off man is speedy dexter fowler. that one whistles right in there. the shadow of the grand stand starting right at the base of

the mound. pitcher is in the sun and ball gets shadowed very quickly right out of his hand. the ballgame ended last night at 8:53 local time and some of the locals were talking about the fact that the sun was still peeking into the ballpark when the game was over. 3-1. wonder what was wrong with that? lead-off walk. break him down. scouting report. the dust just settled. there was a stretch he was giving up five or six earned runs. not any more in the last five starts hasn't allowed more than two. don't change a thing. he has been on a role. 315 pitches. 220 for strikes. almost a 70 percentile. then follow the leaders. trying to do seven tonight. >> bob: here is clint barmes.

was doubled off on an infield line drive. good breaking ball by zimmerman. had him reaching. >> rob: 20 innings, five. nice job. >> bob: do you rub the lamp and think about a double play here early? that's a fastball up and in. the nationals have turned eight of them over the last three games. and the double play that happened in the first inning last night really got steve mccaddy's starter, craig stammen moving along of he was heading for a tough first inning until he got a twin killing in the bottom of the

1st. fowler showing no signs of running yet. you wonder if it is a problem for the base runner as well looking right into the sun trying to figure out whether the pitch is going home or not. they got him. nick johnson a run in towards second. guzman will run him down an tag him. on a 1-3-6. >> rob: the kids got to move. jordan zimmerman right here waiting, waiting. look at that. beautiful move by jordan zimmerman then cristian guzman. one throw, tag him out. perfect rundown right there. there you see nick ball up in the air. one throw. cristian guzman. bye-bye. >> bob: fly ball out of play to the right side. so we always talk about how the sun affects the first baseman. evidently the base runners have a hard time dealing with it.

i don't know how the rockies' players feels about these starting times but if you do this every night at home it's got some really unusual ramifications. two-base hit. nationals defense has been better lady. -- better lately. guzman and harris up the middle. willie harris in the lineup tonight.   josh willingham will play left field tomorrow according to manny moving dunn in an give nick a day off. struggling. may need a little breather. todd helton is 10th in the league at .317 and riding a

five-game hitting streak. >> bob: boy, there is a tight zone tonight. >> rob: yeah. >> bob: randy marsh is not giving the outside corner just yet. i thought the ball 4 to dexter fowler was good enough to be a strike. >> rob: jason hammel got a pitch up in the zone and down in the zone. yet to give a borderline call to zimmerman. just be consistent both ways. runner goes. then he goes back. josh bard was already out in front of home plate with the ball. todd helton took a long look down at the third base coach after the pitch. >> rob: sometimes that's a false break trying to throw the 22-year-old pitcher off. great for about three steps then go right back. >> bob: 1-2 count.

run, holding. fastball. high. 2-2. jordan zimmerman had, you might remember, a stretch of about four or five starts back in early may when he gave up a whole bunch of first inning runs. he has righted that ship recently. in his last four starts he has only given up a combined earned runs at tampa bay, at home against toronto and boston and then at florida. as rob mentioned, very good against some really good offensive ball clubs. 2-2. that's going to be a rather long first inning from a pitch count here standpoint. 16 already. only retired one man. todd helton doubled in the first inning last night for the game's only run. runner going. swing and a miss.

bard double. launches that ball into center field. and willie harris was trying to make the base runner think the ball had gone beyond him. josh didn't have a handle and that's why second basemen back up that play. >> rob: high pitch right there. so josh should have had a better handle on that but he couldn't get it. so once he didn't have control sort of just ate the ball. still trying. good backup by willie harris. >> bob: seventh steal of the year in 12 attempts. he got in on that one. here is brad hawpe. >> bob: jordan hairs to start working the ball down. throwing a lot of high pitches, a lot of high breaking balls. >> bob: can't pitch high in this park. >> rob: not in this park. >> bob: breaking ball. just missing. >> rob: good pitch. >> bob: and that zone is tight.

>> rob: yeah. >> bob: randy marsh wants a three-hour game, he is setting the stage for it here in this inning. brad hawpe 36 years of age. his sixth year with the rockies. he has been the best r.b.i. guy in right field in the national league in the last few years. right field. willingham has no chance. and the rockies lead. brad hawpe has more r.b.i.s as a right fielder in the national league over the last three years than jeff francoeur, corey hart and brian giles. >> rob: well, too much at the plate right there. hawpe doesn't try to do too much. takes that inside fastball an

hits it in between first and second. very first r.b.i. with two outs. >> bob: and troy tulowitzki is the next hitter. odds of this score holding up ast -- drifting with it. running out of room. couldn't make the catch. josh is claiming he had some interference. i wouldn't throw him the ball. >> rob: well, let's see. see what the rocky fans do over here. >> bob: looks like they may have missed it. that guy touched it.

right on his fipger tips. >> bob: looked like he deflected it. josh didn't argue it very much with marvin hudson. 2-2 the count. >> rob: josh has got to be watching the ball. he's not watching the fan's glove. >> bob: he definitely saw it change directions on the way down. very, very close. >> rob: kind of looks like that home run at city field. >> bob: the guy didn't act like his fingers were hurt by that ball. maybe he missed it. who knows. line drive to right. willingham. comes in and makes the catch. manny acta says better than expected. willingham in right field right now. fios guy! where ya headed?

ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me. (announcer) switch to verizon fios tv, phone and internet today and get an ultra-sleek compaq mini netbook. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities

 >> bob: fans sitting in the shade are quite comfortable here as we go to the top of the 2nd. rockies 1, nationals 0. let's look at adam dunn. steps in here in the top of the 2nd inning. fifth fastest to hit 300 home runs. every 13.8 at bats adam dunn hits a home run.

babe and mcguire. >> bob: let's see how many at bats it's been since his last home run. nine plate appearances since he last went deep. so the numbers tell you he might hit a home run sometime tonight. 0-2. adam 10 for his last 28 trying to extend that hitting streak to nine games. fourth in the league in homers and sixth in r.b.i.s. his next r.b.i. will be number 60. way outside. 2-2. i'd love to see him hit run opposite field in this ballpark and see how far it would go. willingham on deck. and some high gas.

strikes him out. 93rd strikeout this year of adam dunn. beautiful evening here in denver, colorado, at coors field. no such weather like we had flow through before the game last night. it's been sunny. quite warm all day. bob carpenter, rob dibble, debbi taylor with you on masn. rockies leading 1-0. josh willingham has a five-game streak. base hit in four trips last night. just under .400 in the last 11 games. and willingham gets under one. chasing it gonzalez. how far is it going? well out of here. and josh willingham hits his 10th solo homer of the year. he got that baby up in the air and the wind is blowing toward the left field corner. >> rob: yeah, interfere with

that. >> bob: wow. >> rob: catch that one in the stands. fastball on the inner half on the 1-0 pitch. he gets it up there in thin air and jacks it about 15 rows up. >> bob: they were ducking for cover out there when that one came down. so here is guzman. nats have their first run of the series. breeze is blowing over there. josh hit that ball at times. guzman will bounce it. todd helton has to back up. throws to the pitcher for the second out. todd helton a former gold

glover over there. always been very good at his craft. '01, '02 and '04 he won a gold glove. bases empty. two outs for josh bard. >> rob: are you always a gold glover or a former gold glover? ray knight was a golden glove boxer. are you a former golden glove champ? >> bob: i think once you win a golden glove you're always a golden glove. >> rob: like the marines. you're not a former marine. you're always a mayor. >> marine. >> bob: no, nobody is ever an ex-marine. >> rob: exactly. >> bob: josh bard hitting .350 over the last month. zimmerman saying to willingham i'd like to hit one that far. >> bob: bard gets ahold of one to right field. this ball is off the wall at

the 375 mark. he is really nursing that sore groin. everybody in the dugout was wishing that thing would be about 4 feet higher so he could trot around the bases. you can't really blame him for trotting the bases the way he is hitting. >> rob: no. you're going up one of the best if not the best arms in the outfield in the major leagues. i think you're safe at first. >> bob: man, look at him now. it's a shame because josh would have had an extra base hit there. but the wheels just wouldn't allow him to do that. willie harris first pitch swinging much nats are gone in the top of the 2nd. josh willingham. pretty good inning for the joshes. willingham going deep. bard singles off the wall. even with the rockies here. 

 >> before the game i talked to steve mccaddy. can they benefit from watching craig stammen last night. >> i tell the guys you can't worry about home runs. if they hit the ball fairly decent it is going to go. so it is just nice to see what

it does is what i like to see is kind of when i played these guys start to get a little competition. >> of course, it is a friendly competition. bob? >> bob: it is a very friendly one. everybody keeps getting outs especially like that one, debbi taylor, early in the count. ian stewart retired. >> rob: you don't pitch against the stadium you pitch against the line you know. we talked about that. you're not even pitching against the opposing pitcher. you've got to attack that rockies lineup. >> bob: but i will add one thing onto all this discussion we are having. the effect that steve mccaddy has had on this pitching staff cannot be ignored. i know steve doesn't want to take all the credit and manny he wants to give the pitchers credit but you cannot ignore the fact that this man has engineered a pretty good turn around. and there is zimmerman stabbing that one off the bat of chris

iannetta. two quick outs. this doesn't take anything away from the career of randy st. claire. helped out young pitchers and veterans over the years but evidently steve was the right guy at the right time for this staff. >> rob: it is just a difference in philosophy. we will go to duncan with the cardinals. ryan franklin. bottom line is some pitching coaches are less about mechanics and stuff, they are more just about attacking the strike zone. other guys are more cerebral. we have to do it this way. every guy has a different philosophy. for some of the guys in new york the pitching coach wasn't the right one so they had to get rid of him. are they getting the most out of their stuff and i feel they are. they are getting closer to

where they should be at the major league level instead of going out wondering should i even be here? >> bob: zimmerman a count of 2- 2 and two outs. misses away with a fastball. trying to retire the number 8 hitter ahead of the pitcher here. and that's out of play off the bat of carlos gonzalez. manny said today they were in the dugout watching adam dunn go after that ball an they are like, oh, oh, he said morgan appeared out of nowhere to catch that ball. that's a cardinal sin to walk the number 8 hitter. zimmerman knows that. he turned his back on home plate. took off his ball cap and walk behind the mound. is he not happy with himself. >> rob: this is a nice running fastball by zimmerman and it gets away and walks him. but you still have the pitcher

coming up in jason hammel. i think bard went out to remind him. got two outs, get the pitcher, forget about the walk. >> bob: it is better than grooming a fastball appeared hitting out of the ballpark. >> rob: everyone i have heard from anyone on that coaching staff is how good he is. >> bob: jason hammel 1-22 this year. 2-23 career. had a handful at bats with tampa bay over a three-year period. from greenville, south carolina. played baseball at treasure valley community college in oregon. >> bob: a 1-1 foul right off

of randy marsh. josh bard who is hurting himself. >> rob: he does have protection jnd neath there. they have padding. i don't know if randy is wearing it though. usually they have padding that goes down the right arm and left arm underneath their shirts but i don't know if he has got it on. >> bob: i don't know if he is grimacing or smiling. >> rob: he is tough. >> bob: josh bard might be throwing the new baseballs to the pitcher though the rest of the night. 1-2. and it is going to be a base hit up the middle. >> rob: breaking ball. i don't know what the purpose

would be. 1-2 pitch right here. >> bob: slider. >> rob: breaking ball. going to change the speed for a pitcher. you're basically helping him out. that's a young mistake. >> bob: i know, but it keeps getting made over and over again. that's getting irritating. extra foul. fouls one back. jordan has walked the two guys you don't want to walk. then he hangs a slider to the pitcher. >> rob: craig stammen did a great job last night. nice job last night. you want to stay away from hanging breaking balls an hanging change-ups in this ballpark but they are going to lead quickly. but against the pitchers blow

that guy away. >> bob: it was going to be a quick inning. and he does get the third out turning one over on the left- hander fowler . rockies lead 2. they have stranded three and had a runner picked off. 1-1 game. you see? at pnc, taking the long view is how we help you take the right path. even to change it when conditions demand. keeping you on the road to achieving your goals. it's something we've been doing for over 150 years. let our strength and stability be the basis for yours. pnc. leading the way.

announcer: there's having it done. then there's doing it yourself and saving. it's about sawdust in your boots. paint in your hair. - and no holes in your wallet. - ♪ whew... we've lowered over a thousand prices, giving you all the tools you need. and the bragging rights you deserve. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, the exclusive american standard 4" symphony faucet is only $78.  >> bob: nationals baseball brought to you by masn.

southwest.com. and by firestone. a tradition of innovation. how beautiful is denver, colorado, on this evening in july? wow. get your family fun pack tickets. 1-1 game by the wayment you way. you can come to the ballpark in a week when the nats play the cubs. 888-632-nats. visit nationals.com. free hot dog, nonalcoholic drink and chips with each ticket. minimum ticket two per purchase. >> bob: zimmerman at the plate. and a little chopper. zimmerman was quite a hitter while he was in college. in fact, he was the dh for a

couple of years. wisconsin. steven's point. he just got a breaking ball in return. ball 2. pitchers like to trick each other, don't they? >> rob: forget the hit that he gave up to the pitcher right there. >> bob: that is fair. >> rob: double. >> bob: down the line. >> bob: and the ball sneaks into the corner. jordan zimmerman is now 3-23 this year. nationals pitching staff has suddenly learned how to hit lately. zimmerman now has three hits in his last four at bats. >> rob: the fastball after a bad breaking ball. jams him but gets enough of it. snaps his bat off in his hand. shoots it down the right field line. what i was going to about zimmerman, walking gonzalez basically made zimmerman throw 10 to 12 more pitches now his total is up to 43 in two innings. so that's unfortunate.

those are things that can keep you from going eight innings, maybe he only goes six tonight because of that second inning. but we hope not. >> bob: then you have all the stress associated with two on, two out. had to throw a bunch of pitches to strike out dexter fowler. so after an easy fly ball out by morgan who is 4-17 as a nat here is nick johnson who walked his first time. >> rob: that's the thing about nick even when he is not hitting well he finds way to get on base with that great batting eye of his. he has now walked 49 times. nats in the top 8 in the national league. >> rob: iannatta doesn't like what he has done to his pitcher. now you've got zimmerman after a long 2nd inning standing on

first. he will be out there awhile. >> bob: yeah. been awhile since nick johnson has gone deep. one month and one day again against the mets on june 6th. all-star is next. nick johnson rolls one through the right side. zimmerman will stop at second base. he never even thought about it. he knows who is out there. other thing is not just hawpe's arm but who is coming upment your nbc 3 and 4 hitters and now the nationals from the last seven batters have collected all four of their hits against jason hammel. >> rob: i was thinking more don't use all that energy. he is just going throw you out anyway. three and four guys coming up.

they should be able to drive you in. >> bob: maybe zimmerman puts one in the gap then jordan zimmerman can just trot home because the gaps are so big in this ballpark. and he does drive that ball but it is slicing foul. flirting with the right field corner. but here at coors field it is 3.50 down the line. as we said last night, the dimension of this ballpark they are about as big as they can be. you can make a ballpark any bigger than this. >> bob: ryan is sitting on 47 r.b.i.s. fastball up and in. that pitch was a strike last night. >> rob: as a starter josh

hamilton has allowed seven home runs. five have been here. >> bob: late breaking slider. ryan got himself with that one. 1-2. >> rob: with that run in the 2nd inning. willingham has given 25 runs in 32 innings at this ballpark. >> bob: shows you how good he has been on the road. coming off a 1-0 loss at dodgers stadium when he pitched eight innings and gave up only five hits. before that two runs. pitching into the 8th inning at oakland. breaking ball. zimmerman lashes it. it is fouled down the left

field line. angel hernandez took a look at it and the nats came that close to going on top here. >> rob: check this out. >> bob: you see zimmerman heading for third. >> rob: looks good. >> bob: he would have scored. >> rob: frozen in time. >> bob: nick johnson would have easily have been at third. maybe more. they are playing zimmerman well off the line in left. gonzalez about 90 feet. >> rob: breaking ball. >> bob: means breaking ball away, huh? >> rob: they are going in again. >> bob: long reach. count goes 2-2. nats have four hits already. power, danger lurking for the rockies. adam dunn is on deck.

ryan needs to drive this ball somewhere and keep it off the ground. he does. right center. that ball is going a long way and it is out of here. opposite field into the bull pen. a three-run shot and the nationals lead 4-1. you talk about going the other way. wow. >> rob: check out the sequence of pitches. fastball away. he throws a fastball up. breaking ball down. another breaking ball down. fouls it down the line. then misses with a fastball and then throws him a breaking ball and this ball is hammered inside out by zimmerman. >> bob: adam dunn goes up hacking. see, rob, that's what i mentioned before, to me that

ball is the difference in coors field an other ballparks. >> rob: not a home run -- >> bob: low line drives that just keep on going here because of the lack of resistance. still only one out in the inning and dunn takes a bit tamisses inside. 1-1. so ryan zimmerman's r.b.i. total shoots up to 50 on one swing and he also scores his 56th run of the year on his 97th hit. breaking ball misses. and since this ballpark opened in 1995 it seems like the jet stream here has always been to right center field. >> rob: now given up 28 earned runs in 33 innings at this ballpark. >> bob: adam dunn broke his bat. flies out to hawpe. josh willingham has gone deep tonight. also made a fine running catch in the outfield. right after a fan had

supposedly interfered with him and then just before that out of here. or just after that. >> rob: i would say he is a fan friendly kind of guy. >> bob: he made the catch in the bottom of the 1st and homered in the top of the 2nd and still -- >> rob: that's a tough note to swallow right there. >> bob: nobody on base for his home runs. >> rob: well, i mean, after zimmerman and dunn, find the plate empty. already cleaned it out. >> bob: i think we should give josh the nickname of the solo during an opera. or not. we could call him hans solo. >> rob: this kid is from alabama. how many operas do you think he has been to? >> bob: i'm sure birmingham has a few of those. probably not florence. and willingham hits this ball hard up the middle. josh willingham is 2-2 and he has roared his way into a six-

game hitting streak tonight. don't forget this all started with a base hit by the pitcher. firestone is a tradition of innovation. consecutive games reaching face. 17 in a row and josh willingham including tonight 16. todd helton is right up there. >> rob: adrian gonzales. jayson werth. >> bob: a lot of those guys going to st. louis for the all- star game. runner going. willingham. not that close. look at that. iannatta bounced the ball down there and josh has his third steal in four attempts. >> rob: he is off right there. as soon as hammels turns his back he takes off. >> bob: nationals now with a guzman base hit could tack on

another run here. bounced out to the first baseman todd helton the first time. 2-0. >> rob: most bases are stolen on the pitchers. you don't get the ball to home in 1.2 second or better the catcher really doesn't have a chance. >> bob: josh willingham is turning into a speed demon this year. his third stolen base in the last, what, week and a half. >> rob: stay hot. >> bob: you get on base, things happen. and i like what manny did there because he has got the lead. he wants to be aggressive. their long man. whether they are way ahead or way behind. he has pretty much fallen out of favor as far as a key role on this ball club. >> bob: long inning. 25 pitches in this top of the 3rd for jason hammel. guzman trying to make it a little longer. >> rob: the nice thing for jordan zimmerman is he gets to rest a little bit right now.

there is the kid. 22 years old. >> bob: three for his last four with the bat. >> rob: got the inning going. >> bob: guzman now works the count full. he was pretty selective right there. he is a hacker. there is josh bard. singled off the right field wall his last time. guzman will be hacking here if it is anywhere near the plate. he has only walked seven times all year. but he will pop it up. angled. making the catch right in front of gonzalez. ryan zimmerman going the other way. right center bull pen. number 14 and the nats lead 4- 1. 

 >> bob: nationals have hit 76 homers this year. zimmerman his 14th. 4-1. pick four games. get one free. fife different plans to choose from. that easy much you get a free game. nationals.com/grandslam. first pitch breaking ball to start the third to --

>> rob: how do you like the cheddar? didn't like the swiss cheese. >> bob: he was actually the opening day shortstop for the rockies in '05 and 2006. troy showed up the following year and he has been at second base. this is a guy who is 30 years old, always has had to fight for a roster spot here. .263 career hitter. >> rob: i like that pitch right there. he is a diver. dive over the plate. stands him up. >> bob: 3-2 delivery.

exit down the left side. >> bob: todd helton is waiting. >> bob: two of them the lead- off men. you could make an argument he has picked the three worst guys to walk. lead-off man in the first, number 8 man ahead of the pitch, in the second, and then anybody in front of todd helton in the 3rd inning. >> rob: out of 11 hitters faced so far four have gone to three balls. he has got to start cutting down, getting ahead. >> bob: josh bard just called his consecutive first pitch breaking ball that missed. >> rob: told you it is hard to throw breaking balls up here. >> bob: is a breaking ball considered pounding the strike

zone? i don't think so. >> rob: if you're trying to get it over. >> rob: that's why it is about 75, 76 miles an hour as opposed to 85 when he is trying to put someone away. >> bob: todd helton had a good rip that time. one ball and two strikes. >> rob: seven are first pitch strikes. kind of like jekyll and hyde out there. >> bob: yeah. >> rob: last time up he blew todd helton away. high fastball. then start him off with a breaking ball. that was a nice pitch. >> bob: anything on the outside corner to a left-handed batter isn't called for a strike yet. it was a full count last time

when todd helton struck out. 2-2 here. and the nats obviously haven't forgetten about that. >> rob: what's the most important part of this inning right now? >> bob: getting the hit,. >> rob: getting a zero. just put three up on the board. don't want the rockies thinking they can come back and score. >> bob: todd helton nine home runs this year. 319 in his career. going over 1200 r.b.i.s this year. >> rob: there was some question after his back surgery what kind of player todd helton would be the rest of his career. well, this is his answer. >> bob: zimmerman's got it and a double play. the third line drive double play engineered by the nats on the infield in this series.

>> rob: see how the 22-year- old worked todd helton in this last at bat. hey breaking bomb. second pitch strike. third pitch strike. all fastballs. fastball just missed. fastball jammed him in. then he took something off. change-up. you saw todd helton, a tremendous lifetime .325 hitter. kept the hands back on the change-up. line drive. >> bob: that wasn't some lucky stab by zimmerman. he was in good position. he made an athletic reaction to that ball to reach out and grab it. >> rob: like marquis last night. repeats them well but always finishes well. extra infielder. >> bob: he picked off a couple of comebackers last night. to the bases again just like last inning empty with two outs. brad hawpe an r.b.i. single to the right side his

first time up. >> rob: nice pitch. if anything, a bit erratic tonight. he is changing the eye level of the rockies. throwing a lot of fastballs up. >> bob: well hit opposite way. guzman has it. plants and fires. well done. >> rob: yeah. >> bob: the nats are out of the inning after the lead-off walk. and that will get this game into the 4th inning. much better lately because the pitching has been. fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me.

(announcer) switch to verizon fios tv, phone and internet today and get an ultra-sleek compaq mini netbook. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities

 >>   coors light. >> rob: two of our stronger hitters right there, fastball in, head down. still on the inside. see his hip kind of curl towards the bench. zimmerman. this is ridiculous. gets jammed. still gets the sweet part of the bat on it. right center field. coors light freeze cam. those two right handed power men. >> bob: homered -- almost homered off the wall first time up. came up about 4 feet short. >> rob: the only way he would get around the bases is jogging. he needs to hit it out.

>> bob: slider for a strike. 1-1. top of the 4th in and out. the nationals have outhit the rockies 6-3 and lead 4-1. >> bob: feels good to get one. opposite field. >> bob: i think josh knew his ball was out but ryan didn't at first. we saw zimmerman running very hard to first base. i think he thought he had a gaper and it kept on going. grounded out. >> rob: i don't know if you saw jordan zimmerman. he took off like he knew that was over fowler 's head. >> bob: fowler does -- >> rob: if he caught that ball, pretty much dead at second base. >> bob: he does play a shallow center field and i think it was identified pretty quickly that ball was beyond his reach even with his speed. >> bob: willie harris is next. first pitch swinging he bounced

out to second. he will take one here for a strike at the knees. good to see willie back in the lineup tonight. hit .325. on base average 120 points higher than his batting average. he had that 3-30 thing going a couple weeks ago so that pulled his average down. back down to .247 coming in. on base average starting tonight was almost .370. good eye. 2-1. >> bob: a little bit of a different kind of game in philadelphia tonight. 3-3 the reds and phillies in the 9th after that football score they put up last night. how about that. >> rob: yeah, just didn't have them working last night. >> bob: the phillies put ten on the board in the 1st. >> bob: by the way, manny ramirez has 3 r.b.i.s tonight at city field and in the 8th

inning the dodger lead the mets 6-0. >> bob: here is our next 5. matinee tomorrow. on to houston. remember the suspended game starts at 7:00 p.m. thursday night. and then we have a four-game series after that. crazy weekend it will be in that pinball palace they call minutemaid minute maid park. >> rob: and the other national league east in action tonight the braves are leading 2-1 in the 6th. that's chicago. marlins play later at san fran with johnson going tonight. >> rob: had a tough night

tonight. first innings looked great. 3rd inning 28 pitches. up over 60 now. >> bob: zimmerman had 61 pitches in three innings himself. and he will need to have some quick frames to get deep into this game. >> bob: a late hack. he was severely jammed there. i'm surprised he got the bat on the ball. >> rob: get ahead in the count. to fall behind the batting average doubles. >> bob: no way with a pitcher

a pitcher has had a hit tonight. there is one. first one, two, three inning for jason hammel tonight. 4-1 game. aflac. the one ya' really need to have if you don't have it. that's why you need it. need what? aflac. well, if you get hurt and miss work it won't hurt to miss work... aflac? and they give ya' cash which is as good as money. aflac. we've got you under our wing.

 >> bob: we go to the bottom of

the 4th. trivia tonight. record for the longest home run at coors field. wow. i know larry walker hit the first right field upper deck home run here. and you can't go wrong with any of those guys. raul, why would he be on that list unless he is the one that did it? most people wouldn't put him in a home run category with those other three. interesting. i don't know. here is troy tulowitzki. bottom of the 4th underway. nationals 4, rockies 1.

>> bob: i know he hit one at florida one year that went way into the up he been deck. >> rob: that's why i'm confused. i think that was the longest run ever hit by a colorado rocky but it wasn't here. >> bob: i remember larry walker was real proud of the fact that he hit the first upper deck homer here on a saturday night. the very next day ray langford of st. louis did it and larry stood in right field with his shoulder slumping. he had the record for one day. it took a couple of years for that to happen here. that is quite a poke up there. man, randy marsh is paying his duce behind the plate tonight. right arm again. >> rob: man, going to have to invest randy in the arm

protectors again. >> bob: wow. >> rob: cristian guzman took two in the shin, he's saying he can take two in the biceps. >> bob: 28 years of this. >> rob: got down to 7 degrees against montreal in 1997 was the coolest. >> bob: dropping into right center. i guess it is only appropriate that would have been the expos in their early day at cherry park. i'm sure they hosted a few of those. >> bob: we were talking about this last night after the game. some of us meaningless information buffs that jerry park was configured a lot like this. the sun came in at odd angles like from the right field. that was basically a public park. built a little stadium until they moved into olympic stadium

and they had some of the same issues with the sun that they have here. now some cloud cover tonight turned into a delightful evening. no shadows to worry about right now. the hitter is ian stewart. ball went to willie harris the first time up. >> rob: he had a cut. >> bob: just hit 15 home runs. another home run rocky. he is out of long beach. he committed to usc before the rockies made him their first rounder -- tenth pick. >> rob: he was busy at home signing more draft picks. today they signed pitcher a.j. morris out of kansas state. they have signed 50% of the draft picks.

including seven of the top 10. >> bob: i think mike told me he might take a respite from that and join us in houston. >> rob: signed morris and applebee. >> bob: to right. it is in the park. at the bottom of the wall. and the runners will be at second and third.   >> bob: so a bloop to right and a high fly ball that went about 385 feet giving them a scoring chance in the 4th. >> rob: stewart was taking some big hacks here. and then he gets a bad breaking ball down in the zone. to a lefty that's his wheelhouse. dodged a bullet right there. stayed in the park.

another bad breaking ball. >> bob: jorchg jordan has done a whole lot to establish his fastball tonight. >> rob: it is a question of feel and he is still trying to gain even in the 4th inning a feel for his breaking stuff. >> bob: that's a slider that's hit out to left center. adam dunn not much of an arm keeping the other runner at second. will trade it out for a run right there. >> rob: absolutely. >> bob: and the good thing is the other runner did not go to third base. it was a slider. looked hittable. iannatte must have hit it right off the end of the bat. >> rob: i would rather be lucky than good and so far tonight jordan has been a little bit lucky with the off- speed stuff. you heed to start locating some hard fastballs. getting ahead with the fastballs. and just maybe put that breaking ball on the shelf for

the rest of the night because it hasn't been working for him. >> bob: this is the eight hitter. then the pitcher is due up. great chance to get out of this inning with no further damage. gonzalez becomes the key man walking his first time tonight. he is 0 for his last 12. but rob told you, a young man with lots of talent. you make a mistake. he will make something happen. >> bob: they got him in the matt holliday deal from oakland. that ball was hanging up. breaking ball. >> rob: got lucky too. did not score because the ball was up so long. >> bob: they will bat the pitcher here. could be a bunting situation. but what is up with all these

sliders? >> rob: i guess they don't listen to our broadcast. watched a lot of guys hang breaking balls. >> bob: if josh bard is calling all these zimmerman has got to be the guy that makes the final decision on what pitch to throw. >> rob: agreed. >> bob: jason hammel showing bunts. it is not a squeeze. there is a play at first. zimmerman to harris . he does move the runner up. but ian stewart has to stay at third. sacrifice is good. >> rob: if you're going to make a mistake on these breaking balls throw it in the dirt. keeps getting unit. cutting under it. trying to help it over for a strike. that's not what you want to do with these breakling balls tonight. you want 0 get it in the dirt. challenge him with your fastball. don't get beat with that sec or third best pitch and i think

that's probably what steve mccaddy will say. what are you doing? you're better than this.   >> bob: there have been times this year when zimmerman has thrown too many fastballs over the heart of the plate. but if i'm throwing 95 there's the possibility of a loving relationship with my fastball before the slider ever wins my heart. and tonight it seems like the slider is the pitch of the night. gotten him into a lot of trouble. so here is fowler who struck out last time with two men on base. sequence of signs with the runner looking in from second. there is a fastball. and he was late and as rob

often says the hitter will let you know how your pitch is and he was late for that heater. >> rob: in it was straight back, about head high to the back stop, okay he is all over your fastball. go to something else. >> bob: fastball up. he is late for that one. so if you throw him an 0-2 breaking ball or a change-up here you're doing him a favor. >> rob: i'm going to have to slap you. can't go out there and slap him. i'm just kidding. >> bob: if he throws a breaking ball or change-up. >> rob: you can slap me. >> bob: give me a shot right on my arm here. i can take it. >> rob: just hit me. >> bob: if you hear a thud, folks, it is me going down. >> rob: just throw this one up and in on this kid. okay, up and away. not bad. >> bob: all right. >> rob: the breaking ball is not working but he has got a great change-up. throw the change in the dirt away. >> bob: you're saying don't

throw it for a strike? >> rob: no, throw this thing down. fastball. >> bob: all right. ground ball. willie harris. and that hurt willie. that hurt willie bad. oh, what a terrible break for the nats and for willie harris and the rockies get a run out of it. they are going to give him an error but that took a really bad hop. >> rob: you're going to see it come up right here. >> bob: that will be willie harris first error of the year. >> bob: and the scorer could have ruled that a hit.

>> bob: you saw willie harris charging that ball initially. got himself in a perfect fielding position. then it just came up an got him and the rockies will have runners at first and third, two out for clint. >> rob: he is going to tough it out. [ applause ]   >> bob: willie harris.

>> rob: watch these two foul balls off the right bicep or right shoulder area of marsh. off the outside of the arm. both foul balls. ouch. he doesn't look like he has extra padding on. i don't know if willie harris does. i'll ask him after the game. >> bob: clint, a tough guy to face in this situation because is he a contact hitter. singled, scored first time. walked leading off the third and then got doubled off in a line drive back to the pitcher. clint . >> rob: makes me think of bad news bears with tatum o'neal. >> bob: right in there. that's a shame because

zimmerman was out of the inning. but bad hops happen and this is red the infield they do that eúvutjrgeb innings basically. a foul tip into the glove of josh bard. strike 2. rob: in the 4th innin he is up to 84 pitches. >> bob: he will do well !!% make itsix. it might be five. >> rob: that second inning i talked about. >> bob: yeah. hasn't had a one, two, three inninght that's a good one and

pitch. randy marsh isn't giving the corners. his back in the 1st inning if he wants a three-hour game tonigh s]zone will guarantee it. he didn't give either pitcher anything on the corners in the early part of this game. >> rob: looks like he catches a corner right there. >> another base hit. will make it 4-3. runner was going on the pitch. so it's a tie game here in the 4th inning. they had dexter fowler running. he easily goes to third. the >> rob: the fastball in. fights it off. >> bob: here is todd helton. jason bergmann. nationals long man getting ready. hasn't pitched since his recall. staters have gone so deep into

these games. that's why.   >> bob: zimmerman's pitch count this inning matching his uniform number. he is up in the high 80s now. >> rob: he has had trouble pulling the ball down all night. whether the breaking ball. a lot up in the zone. that's not where you want to be here. four runs on seven hits plus

the error. 3-1. >> rob: you talked to olsen and lannan. johnhe battled. got to make it work with whatever you have that night. >> bob: with a runner going off first, walks and bases are loaded. jordan zimmerman has walked one batter in each of the first four innings. he has given up four hits here. then victimized by a bad hopperror. and the ninth man to bat will be brad hawpe. blap blap. >> bob: still one pitch awhich from being out of this inning and in a tie game going into the 5th.

guzman robbed him last time up. has had a lot of hitters at two strike counts. has been unable to put a couple of them away here in this inning. >> rob: six 0-2 counts tonight. >> bob: plus two strikeouts. >> rob: 14th big league start bottom line. he will have to learn to quickly, when he doesn't have a great breaking ball, go to the change-up. >> bob: that was a beauty. >> rob: that was a good one. >> bob: rockies get three, two

of them unearned. it is a tie game into the 5th. 

 >> bob: will jordan zimmerman get a chance to battle further in this game or not? >> rob: i don't know how much longer they are going to go with him. almost up to 100 pitches right now. he hasn't had a great fastball all night. he has been throwing around 92, 93 topping out and his breaking ball has been almost nonexistent. finally got up on top of one but he should have gone with

some change-ups maybe earlier in the ballgame. because more so than just getting out, bob, being more economical. now that you're up around 100 pitches and only through four innings you've worked pretty hard. we talked about that. whether or not he is working hard throwing a lot of pitches or is it an easy hundred pitches? i think tonight has been a hard 100 pitches. >> bob: trying to bunt his way aboard. 0-2 tonight. bouncer right in front of the plate. fly ball to center. >> rob: i'm pretty sure that last bat, was maybe his last batter if he hasn't gotten hawpe out. >> bob: a drive to center. that ball is down. and morgan is aboard. and here we go again with the nationals. morgan has only been on first base once without stealing a

base. that was last night. the nats are making a steady climb up the stolen base chart. they have 32 on the year. now they are fourth on the bottom from the league. here is nick johnson. jason hammel might not be long for this game either. long look. morgan had a big lead. >> rob: up again. you look at jordan zimmerman and you say, listen, the hitter spot is not coming up for another eight. maybe get a quick one, two, three possible. still looks like he has got a lot left in him. i think it is just a question if you get a couple of runs right now, you probably send him back out there. if not maybe you do bring bergman in. bergman was here the last time,

he wasn't really great after he did one inning and manny was using him sparingly in one- inning appearances. >> bob: morgan 3-3. jason bergmann ready if needed in the bottom of the 5th. he is holding. pitch out. ball 1. this morgan presence on our ball club now also brings into focus manny acta outguessing the other manager or vice versa. manny has to deal with other teams pitching out more than they ever have this year or for that matter in manny's three years. nick johnson with a base hit to right.

that ball took a little skid on bred hawpe. morgan checking in at second base. two on, nobody out. zimmerman hit a three-run homer last tight. let's check on our geico highlights. boom, there it is. >> rob: that was an inside/out swing. still got the sweet part of the bat. ryan zim hits his 14th home run. a three-run blast. that lead didn't last for long. >> bob: it is unfortunate because the nats should have been out of the bottom of the 4th with only one run scored in a 4-2 lead. but the bad hop that got willie harris resulted in two more runs eventually. josh is at the bottom of the rung on the rockies bull pen. from what i was told, they told him you're only going to pitch when it is a long, long, long time situation. in this case tonight, this case

tonight it is a tie game at least for now. so there is the contrast in home and road that rob talked about earlier with young jason hammel. the rockies have won seven of his last eight starts. there is another case where zimmerman is looking to drive the ball. and move some runners. not hit the ball on the ground. don't forget about that guy. he may try to get over to third base with nobody out. will is a big man in the box between the catcher and the third baseman. that's why clint is cheating to keep him close. and zimmerman takes a breaking ball for a strike. >> bob: this is much more typical of coors field than

last night was. >> bob: appeared to be a backup breaking ball or a change-up that got away. count's 1-1 with adam dunn next. out of play right side.   >> bob: go west, young man. he has. this is the nationals 13th game against the west this year.

won five and lost seven. their best winning percentage against any division. last night's game could have gone either way. breaking ball. just got a piece of it. go west, young man. there is coal in them their hills. >> rob: could you imagine coming out here in a wagon with your family? only 2000 more miles to go. >> bob: got to be nuts, buddy. >> rob: oh, my goodness. >> bob: zimmerman drives it. double play ball. five, four, three.  

ryan zimmerman hit into 16 double plays. two tonight. josh hamilton doing a good job of keeping the ball down in certain situations. what's the last thing you want to see? a double play? what did he get? a double play. >> bob: runner at third now. and two outs. >> rob: you don't need a big fly from the big man right here. just put one in play. try to get a base hit. >> bob: and i think what you'll see here is morgan coming as far down the line as he can. if this guy bounces anything that even gets away from the catcher. there is going to be an attempt to score. first pitch a fastball up. >> rob: we talk about the effect adam dunn has on the line you know. zimmerman home run. willingham home run tonight. the guys that book end this guy in the lineup. now what do you do? do you want to face willingham? maybe walk dunn with the base open with two outs? or do you pitch to him?

>> bob: and they had the shift on. >> rob: they are probably saying, yeah, take your chances on willingham. >> bob: with only one man, ian stewart over on that side. he is playing sort of on a line where the shortstop hole would normally be. i don't know if adam dunn would ever consider laying one down here in a situation like this. >> rob: might have been josh hamilton's best pitch of the night. >> bob: somebody must have told him you're about to come out of this game unless you get it done. wow. >> rob: power on power right there. >> bob: struck out and flyed out to right tonight, josh hamilton. 

 >> bob: morgan led this inning off with a single. went to second on a johnson base hit but then zimmerman's double play ball changed the come complexion of the inning. he could come so far down the line before the pitch he could almost steal home. >> rob: yeah. >> bob: adam dunn hooks one. and it is foul. .264 average in this department. right about the same as he is hitting this year with his 0-2

tonight. he is hitting .264. if he came 50 feet down the line right now what would they do? does the pitcher step out an chase him? no, they strike out the batter. nats with a frustrating end to what looked like a promising 5th inning. our 737s fly to over 65 cities across the country every day. woman over p.a.: this is your final boarding call. all passengers... each with an average speed of 590 miles per hour. almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. starting august 16th, fly southwest airlines from bwi airport to boston logan for just $49 one-way. bags fly free on southwest so our low fares stay low. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com.

 >> bob: beautiful sun sunset in the rocky mountain region tonight. plenty of highlights including zimmerman getting a done early, rob, with some fastballs and a sharp breaking ball at least right there. >> rob: and his own defense right there. he has got such great mechanics. may not have had his best stuff tonight but when he needed it, big jam facing the ninth hitter

of the inning. punches him out. keep it at 4-4. now it is up to jason bergmann. little work in the middle of the ballgame here. this team will start winning some ballgames, bob. they've got to score. you get zero? that's just, you know -- he is an all-star. he has to learn, got to stay out of double plays. >> bob: pole the ball too much. >> rob: 16 double plays. >> bob: 13 outs much the equivalent of ten complete innings plus. >> rob: situational baseball. you've got to try to look for something you can drive, not hit down on the ball. >> bob: i think if you gave the nationals a grade on the whole year for their situational hitting they would probably be a d. adam dunn cruising to that can of corn off the bat of troy tulowitzki.

that's the bottom of the 5th. nats/cubs next weekend after the break. three games. post-game fireworks friday. sunday family fun day. player autographs. kids run the bases after the game and will give away kid's lunch bags to the first 10,012 and under presented by smithfield. visit nationals.com or stop by the nationals park box office for tickets. ian stewart. his double at the base of the right center wall set the stage for the three-run 4th inning that knocked out jordan zimmerman. and a tapper to nick. jawnts will go to the bag himself. two outs. >> rob: nice job, nick.

>> bob: chris iannetta will be next. reds beat the phillies 4-3 tonight after they were killed last evening. wow, look at that. big sky country to the north of us in wyoming. actually, that's montana. they call wyoming the high- plains. straight north of here. then montana north west of here. just some unbelievable country out here. i know some of our best family vacations ever had been to this part of the country. incredible during the summertime. chris iannetta fouls one back. quickly 0-2. got him on a breaking ball low.

the nats get their first one, two, three from jason bergmann tonight. josh willingham will lead off the 6th. 2-2 with his tenth solo homer for the year an base hit and a steal. josh has it going on with the bat right now. ♪ yeah! announcer: there's having it done. then there's doing it yourself and saving. it's about sawdust in your boots. paint in your hair. - and no holes in your wallet. - ♪ whew... we've lowered over a thousand prices, giving you all the tools you need.

and the bragging rights you deserve. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, the exclusive american standard 4" symphony faucet is only $78.  >> bob: top of the 6th. by the way you may have noticed

this ballpark has seats in dead center field probably further from home plate than anywhere in the world. they call it the rock pile out there. >> rob: used to be a dollar. >> bob: i remember that when they first opened the ballpark. there they are. look how far from home plate they are. >> rob: they are now $4. >> bob: that's a great deal. although for every dollar you pay you're about 150 feet from home plate. i don't think anybody is ever going to hit one out there but josh willingham left the yard in left field first time. 2-2. >> rob: how far do you think that is out there? 600, 700 feet. >> bob: to the end? >> rob: yeah, to the first row. >> bob: to the first row it is probably at least 500. 415 to the wall. then it is what, about 40 feet up. they got their own green monster out there. >> rob: i don't know who it was today when i was here a

little earlier, one of the players was standing in the outfield hitting balls trying to hit it over the stadium in right center over that blue line. >> bob: couldn't do it. >> rob: he got close. hitting it pretty far. >> bob: i do remember mark mcgwire taking batting practices here and hitting several balls to the face of the scoreboard in left center. not sure he ever got one off the board. but this ballpark is really interesting. willingham turns. breaks his bat. the ball and bat girl foul. the count stays 3-2 and that's probably the bat josh hit the home run with. >> rob: well, it had a good night until right now. >> bob: that was getting out of dodge. >> rob: it's called jammage.

he was jammed. longer, lighter bats, bob. >> totally loaded toward the end of the barrel, not the handle any more. >> rob: towards the barrel. >> bob: not about bat speed. got jammed on that one and a one-hopper to stewart. low throw. and todd helton is one pretty good fielding first base man. >> down on the farm for the second season potomac brad meyers pitcher has lead the pitcher of the week honors. the 23 year old throwing 21 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three starts and his 1.43 e.r.a. ranked second among post-season pitchers in all of minor league baseball and tops in the carolina lead. pretty good, bob. >> bob: that is outstanding, debbi taylor. especially that scoreless streak. you can talk wins and e.r.a.s. wins and keeping the other team scoreless hand in hand. that is outstanding.

maybe a promotion. it is an organization of opportunity for young players. and a breaking ball. catches the outside corner to guzman. cristian guzman two easy outs tonight. bounce to first and pop out to short.   >>   those two home runs don't count. jason marquis had 14 ground ball outs last night in his eight innings. >> rob: he was smart. kept it low. >> bob: double play. killed the nats last night with

the bases loaded. guzman. pretty similar to what he hit last time. just a little further this time to the left fielder. and it is two outs. bases empty. with josh barr coming up. check in with our trivia about the distance of home runs. >> rob: i'm going to go with the canadian. eh, i'm with you, larry walker. what? >> bob: look. i knew raul was on the list for a reason but i wasn't smart enough to go with it. so walker does have the longest rockies homer but it was raul. 510 feet. >> rob: i'm not buying that. i want to check that. >> bob: for him to get it had to be dead left field, maybe down the line. so you're talking about a ball that might have come close to leaving the yard. >> rob: you're talking about another single for josh bard. >> bob: first base with two outs here in the 6th. stewart was playing way off the

line. that will get willie harris to the plate here. >> rob: pitch away right here to bard. all josh bard does is smack it into left field. >> bob: willie 0-2 with a pair of ground balls tonight. josh bard's batting average up toward the .280 mark now. >> rob: manny ramirez was ejected from that game in new york. >> bob: after getting two hits and three r.b.i.s. >> rob: mm-hmm. >> bob: what was he mad about? >> rob: got into it with plate

umpire. >> bob: i like it when they say he got called out for arguing balls and strikes. why would he argue about anything but strikes? 2-1 to willie harris. pick your spot net. ronnie belliard is on deck. it's been interesting that bergman this year in many outings is really, really good for one inning. but jaseon hasn't found a way to multiply that. so they may be satisfied much got that one, two, three. pitching well. what willie harris does will determine whether or not ronnie belliard bats for him. tie game. top of the 6th. 4-4. jason bergmann who got the nationals first one, two, three by a pitcher tonight. and the fact that he still has got the arm wrapped up means in harris makes it out here he may come out for the 6th. but action rob, i know you've addressed that point. some guys don't do well sitting in the dugout for a while and

then having to keep the adrenalin flow going for the next inning. >> rob: agreed. because you're so pumped up to come into the game you get through that inning and now you sit down and it is almost like it all comes right out of you and you go back out there and what happened to that rush that i just felt. >> bob: willie harris with a base hit to right center. bard will go to third. he will get their eventually. >> rob: gingerly. >> bob: he is there. and willie harris back into first on a throw over. it will be first and third and ronnie belliard will bat now. so a couple of guys who aren't feeling real well right now. josh bard and willie harris somehow engineering a first and third here with two outs. >> rob: call them the bad groin guys right there. willie harris. you see the guy with it all wrapped up. going down to third.

he makes it. starting with a key pink hit against the braves on saturday manny acta has shown some confidence in ronnie belliard the last few days. not a good game last night 0-4 with a crippling double play ball. but manny has got him up here right here to try to give the nats the lead in the 6th inning. two on, two out. washington has now had ten hits in five and two thirds against jason hammel. sometimes a manager can get himself in trouble hoping the guy can get through the inning and then it never does get there. >> rob: another back warming

up. has got 107 pitches now. rockies are choosing to stay with jason hammel. >> bob: franklin morales was recalled as they sent florez down. takes one way upstairs. >> rob: 107 pitches. >> rob: that spot right there. 2-0 fastball moves across the

plate. now i hope ron he gets one. >> bob: little bit up and in. 3-1. morgan next. that's why the left-hander morales is up. and the nats are one out away from another base. or one away from another bases loaded situation. 3-1 to ronnie belliard. taking it high. good plate discipline by ronnie who is not always very selective and jason hammel pitched his way out of this game. that's only the second batter he has walked tonight. the previous nick johnson back in the 1st. franklin morales back in the

big leagues and a lefty/lefty match up. hey mom i need some minutes. i just gave you some at the restaurant. yea i know. i threw them out. they were old so...... old! they are rollover minutes. they're as good as new. ya know not everyone gets to keep their unused minutes. and these days we can't afford to be wasteful. saving minutes..... .....saves money. yea. (announcer) only at&t's family talk with rollover saves your family's unused minutes. and saving minutes saves money. get the lg neon from at&t, now only $29.99 after mail in rebate

 >> bob: rockies 2-1 in morales starts earlier empty year. never making a relief appearance until right now. they just called him out. 3-2 with a 3-4-8 in four starts. kind of an old fashioned approach. young pitcher only 23 getting called up as a starter. but you put him in the bull pen to start off at the major league level. >> rob: the way it used to be done. used to be done you had to earn your stripes out of the bull pen. long man. set up guy an maybe into the rotation. >> bob: morgan 1-3 this time. up with the bases loaded. two outs here in the 6th.

almost always looking for the hook on that first one. there is one. evidently at the knees an morgan didn't like the call from marsh. >> rob: i didn't either. nowhere near the strike zone. i saw that breaking ball. that's an 0-2 breaking ball that probably had too much at the plate. here is our base running bunch. this all happened with two outs. bard single to left. willie harris to right center sending bard to third and then willie moved up on the ronnie belliard walk. fastball way upstairs. >> rob: had some giddy up.

lead-off guys don't get in the situation that frequently. morgan should get something to work with here. no pitcher wants to go to 3-2 with the bases loaded. morgan has one r.b.i. as a nat. that's right down the middle. and the nationals continue to be very poor hitters with the bases loaded. now that college is a few years behind me, it seems i've got three times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money bar, i can move my money around instantly, so when there's more bills than usual, it's no problem. and i use the wish list to put any extra money aside for anything i want.

being in control of my money feels good. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money. pnc. leading the way.

 >> bob: a lot of action in this ballgame. game notes for you. because of two home runs among the ten hits, look at tonight's slugging percentage. that's kind of better than

perfect. 1.154. jordan zimmerman keeping the ball in the ballpark lately. but he only had four innings tonight. took him 94 pitches to do it. josh hamilton not pitching well with two outs. seanshawn burnett getting an appearance. looks like morales will stay in the game until jim tracy is decoying here. that ball out of play. did not go well. lost in florida last week. 3.15 e.r.a.

in 40 innings. here is our old friend don baylor. >> bob: he told me to say hi to johnny holliday tonight. he did some nice studio work with us a couple years ago with johnny and don wanted me to tell johnny he really misses how he used to pick up the check all the time. i said, you've got to be kidding? what a nice man and great baseball man iston bay losh. what a great hitter he was. twilight time here. willie harris makes a last- minute adjustment to catch that pop-up. that's how the bottom of the 6th gets underway. fran franklin will stay in. and i guess they figured with nick johnson and adam dunn batting in the 7th they want to

keep that left-hander in there for a while. he throws a lot harder than alan embree who is more of a finesse guy. and i guess they figured if gonzalez got on he could have bunted him over. that did not happen. so burnett has a chance to get a couple of quick outs here in the sixth. little tapper nick johnson. a race to the bag. >> rob: if you're jim tracy, this game could go awhile. >> bob: true. >> rob: so i can't burn a lot of guys coming out of the bull pen this early in the ballgame. >> bob: get all the latest nats news, offers, discounts on facebook. join the fan page you could add teddy roosevelt as your friend. natstown .mbl.

>> rob: i followed teddy. >> bob: what you just brought up is a total difference the way don baylor used to manage in this ballpark. if it was a game where there were runs scored early he would pinch hit for his pitcher in the 3rd, 4th, 5th inning. so many boppers on that team he just wanted to score as many runs as he could, get ahead of you and then turn it over to his bull pen. i remember he had a guy here on his bench who played for the expos. his name was john vanderwal. when he played in this ballpark was one of the most dangerous pinch hitters in the league and don baylor would go to his bench early and often when he managed this club. this was his philosophy on the way coors field played. 1-2. >> rob: he had larry walker, ellis, vinny. big cat. >> bob: even their middle

infielders. mike lansing was a good hitter. they would just pound you here. 1-2. dexter fowler 0-2 hanging tough. they drew 4 million people at mile high and then 3 million here. so he does his job and nick johnson has had the kind of night we have been waiting for. a walk, two singles and a run

scored. the left-hander nick johnson. our 737s fly to over 65 cities across the country every day. woman over p.a.: this is your final boarding call. all passengers... each with an average speed of 590 miles per hour. almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. starting august 16th, fly southwest airlines from bwi airport to boston logan for just $49 one-way. bags fly free on southwest so our low fares stay low. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com. but other days, like today, it's my office. the boss just emailed me and wants the new proposal asap. no worries though, my smartphone, it's from at&t. i'm on the nation's fastest 3g network. so that proposal? delivered. (announcer) the nation's fastest 3g network. another reason why twice as many smartphone users have chosen at&t. get a nokia e71x,

the thinnest smartphone for 99.99 after mail-in rebate.  >> bob: 7th inning here on a gorgeous colorado evening in july. coming up after the game nats xtra presented by verizon fios. ray will break down jordan zimmerman's outing. ray feels it is location, location, location. rob and i feel that it was more pitch selection. although he did get a lot of

pitches up tonight. so maybe we can debate that a little later. nats do play power ball. no debate there. willingham and zimmerman home runs. nats have 76 homers this year. george de la rosa. >> rob: was an off night for jord zim. it jordan zimmerman. it is going to happen. >> bob: 2-2 tonight nick johnson. on base three times. he has just enough jerk to his motion to get hit,'s --

hitter's feet moving around a little bit. inside. 2-0. kid is only 23. 6'," 170. 1-2 in five starts for the rockies last year. 3-2 eight starts the year before that. but he did win ten games at triple-a last year down in colorado springs where it is not the easiest place in the country for minor league pitchers. they pitchers. thereis altitude there as well. foul. ryan zimmerman. you talk about a mixed bag at the plate tonight. double play. three-run homer. double play. he is next. oh, my. that pitch might have fooled

the hitter and the umpire. >> bob: 2-2 pitch right here. that was a better pitch than the one earlier in the last inning that randy marsh call down in the dirt. >> bob: then nick almost gets hit with a breaking ball. marsh misses the 2-2 call and then nick johnson walks with zimmerman coming up. frustrating 5th inning, rob. >> rob: yeah, first and second. hitting into a double play ball. then adam dunn. two outs, runner on third. coon get him in. >> bob: here is ryan zimmerman, facing a left-hander who is going to be tailing the ball away from him for the most part. he has 85 feet of hitting room on the right side of the infield. that's a high strike. but here is another one of those situational appearances. >> rob: you've got to think

what this guy is trying to do. -to-me. i say this all the time about our pitchers against other hitters. >> bob: that's the pitch you do not want to swing at because that's a ground ball to third waiting to happen. >> bob: zimmerman hit a three- run homer tonight. right center field. and the count here is 1-2 in the 7th.   >> bob: that's a wile pitch. >> rob: that will help. >> bob: there goes your double play possibility for the

rockies and nick johnson at second base, nobody out. >> rob: he can throw. he just fires that heater just a bit outside. >> bob: you're not asking your number 3 hitter to hit a little ground ball here to move the runner but you would like to see him drive it the other way. anything to get that man to third base with one out. or less. >> bob: troy tulowitzki. something happened. >> rob: he could not get the ball out of the glove. >> bob: and that could be an error on him. it would be his sixth of the year. nats get a big break. and dunn will bat with two men

on. >> rob: going towards third base. couldn't get a grip on it. just ate the ball. right there, that double clutch. one pump. big glove though for a shortstop. >> bob: he does. that looks like an outfielder's glove. >> reporter: outfield or third baseman's glove. >> bob: looks like he has had it for a while. here is adam dunn. ball 1 low. so the error earlier by willie harris on a bad hop gave the rockies two runs. maybe this one pays off for the nats here in the 7th talk about this ballpark and the power, the home runs all the things that happen here. sometimes a couple of little ground balls on the infield

make the difference. juan is getting ready. and that's with josh willingham in place next. that is one long glove for a shortstop. that was ap error on troy tulowitzki. his 6th of the year. rockies 51st of the season. willingham is 2-3-ton. adam dunn rolls one over. 2-2. >> bob: johnson walked with a second on a wile pitch. zimmerman reaching on the error.

>> bob: and dunn takes a breaking ball. ball 3. great job by adam of identifying a pitch that would not be in the zone. manny can't do much with the runners here. they got to stay put. one out. adam dunn strikes out for the third time tonight. here is willingham and he will not be batting against the left hanker. 93 at the knee. very tough to hit. i don't care who you are standing there that was a perfect pitch by morales. >> bob: making the change.

here in the 7th inning. nats need that big hit with men on base. blap each with an average speed of 590 miles per hour. almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. starting august 16th, fly southwest airlines from bwi airport to boston logan for just $49 one-way. bags fly free on southwest so our low fares stay low. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com. ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me. okay. (announcer) unlike cable, fios brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home and when you switch now, you can get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes.

with fios, you'll get razor-sharp tv, blazing fast internet and crystal-clear phone service all for just... sign up today. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v, and for a limited time, get an incredible compaq mini, to get the most out of your fios internet. get it all together with a great deal on fios tv, internet and phone plus get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before time runs out on this astonishing offer.  . >> bob: way out in center field. top of the 7th here. 4-4 ballgame. you have the final say, nats fans. look for cristian guzman, final all-star. vote for cristian guzman.

ends at 4:00 p.m. eastern time on thursday. all right. so approximately 40 hours or so left in that process. maybe more. here is juan rincon. a teammate of cristian guzman in minnesota. was with the twins from '01 into '08. spent some time in cleveland signed by the tigers and now he is a rocky. brought him up on june 20th from triple-a. willingham. fastball right in there.   that's in the hole. to troy tulowitzki. out at third. [ cheers and applause

>> bob: that makes up for the previous play. >> rob: good pitch on the outer half. great play by troy tulowitzki. only play is to third base. nick johnson out by a step. i don't know why nick was looking at troy tulowitzki. he looked twice and that's probably what slowed him down. >> bob: i think base running is as bad in major league as i have ever seen it. >> rob: you know you're forced at third. you've got to dig and nick looked back at troy tulowitzki twice. >> bob: yeah. there is guzman now. runners at first and second. two outs. and these ground balls with men on base aren't getting anything

done. guzman. 0-4. 7th inning stretch time in colorado in a frustrating 4-4 game.  fios guy! where ya headed? ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me. okay. (announcer) unlike cable, fios brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home and when you switch now, you can get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes. with fios, you'll get razor-sharp tv, blazing fast internet and crystal-clear phone service all for just... sign up today. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v, and for a limited time, get an incredible compaq mini, to get the most out of your fios internet. get it all together with a great deal on fios tv, internet and phone plus get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

before time runs out on this astonishing offer.  >> bob: we are back here at coors field. it is 4-4. going into the bottom of the 7th. ten hits for the nationals and seven for the rockies. ross detwiler. against george de la rosa. coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. with the nats xtra hosted by johnny holliday and our own ray knight. all right. >> rob: nick johnson is on second base. he is going to take a look at troy tulowitzki and take a second look and get thrown