nsurance. >> bob: weather, clearly a factor last night in chicago. windy city living up to its name. in the end, an rbi walk, the difference in the cubs' extra inning win. livan gets the call in game two, at another frigid night at wrigley field. >> bob: the fountains are still flowing in chicago. everything else pretty windy, pretty cold.

game two, it's the nats and the cubs. the song used to say ain't that tough enough? everybody had to be that way here last night. i don't think it'll bother livan hernandez. he said he'll pretend it's miami. >> rob: well, it'll help him. he's been excellent, bob. the first three start, he's been outstanding. he went seven strong in that first one against the mets. he'll pitch around guys he has to. >> bob: then he goes the distance against milwaukee. he's noun for taking advantage of free-swinging, power-latent teams. he would get prince fielder and all those other milwaukee hitters. one of the best pitched games in that ballpark. >> rob: then he had that unfortunate draw, getting ubaldo jimenez, one of the best

power hitters in the game. he was still amazing. he changes speeds as well as anybody in the game, mainly because he has to. he's also a master of inside and outside. there you see eight innings, two runs. some days you just get shut down by a better pitcher. >> bob: he's second in the league behind pelfrey. he's given up two solo homers lately, and that's been just about it. by the way, he's 10-6 career against the cubs. then there are great leadoff men getting it done. theriot for chicago, a six-game hitting streak. nyjer morgan, four consecutive multihit games. he's hitting a cool .345. bacca. correct. [ audience groans ] since this competition has been continuing for 48 hours and we have yet to eliminate anyone, it is the decision of this board

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>> bob: i've even had north siders tell me it's cold in chicago. that wind is coming straight from the north, not exactly in from the lake. that's the good news. not much good news though. everybody bundled up. josh willingham, how about the on-base percentage of .476? he's tied for first in the league after reaching base 40 times in the first 20 games of the year. it's almost inconceivable. pudge rodriguez, he's in there tonight. nyjer morgan, about ready to

dig in. his overall career e.r.a. is 4.78. he's sporting some pretty good numbers so far. he hasn't won a ball game. rob will scout him in a moment. first pitch of the game is low and away. we're underway a little bit late at 7:06 central time. nyjer had a good night last night with the bat. that's a strike says the home plate umpire. morgan is 2-5. when he's bunted this year, he's been thrown out 8-10 times. that's inside. scott berry jr., member of this umpiring crew, has the plate. crew chief, jerry davis.

morgan, in the air to left center. that ball is really well hit. >> rob: not going get that one. >> bob: soriano is playing shallow. it took marlon byrd forever to dig it out. that's a leadoff triple. that was into the teeth of that wind. nyjer, now, continues his outstanding hitting. he has more triples than doubles, by the way. >> rob: 2-1 pitch is right over the heart of the plate. he just drives it the other way. gorzelanny, a lot of fastballs in, a lot of changeups and curveballs. we'll get to that in a minute. it's not as windy as it was last night and it's blowing almost straight in from center. >> bob: here's desmond with a great chance for his 9th rbi. they're in at the corners.

cubs 10th defensively. >> rob: that was the first hit by any number one or two guy gorzelanny has faced so far this year. >> bob: and the 1-0. now it's even. desmond is hitting .241. he had two hits out of five at- bats in the number two hole last night. >> rob: the kind of stuff we talk about with our pitchers, attack early and often. >> bob: there's a drive to right for the base hit. quickly, the nationals lead 1- 0. >> rob: there goes the no hits between the one and two guys. >> bob: that was interesting. no number one or two lineup hitters had a single hit against gorzelanny. >> rob: right here, great job.

all over the plate. makes some great contact, gets jammed. desmond, big, strong, was able to muscle that ball into right field. good approach. >> bob: guzman, 2-5 career against the left hander. coming off an 0-5 last night. it looks now like ryan zimmerman will not be back in the lineup until at least friday when the nats get some warm weather in florida. >> rob: not even worth it. i wouldn't have him out here on the bench. >> bob: he is available to pinch hit. good pitch on which to run. desmond on a changeup steals 2nd base. that'll be his second of the year. >> rob: they're the running

nationals. you see the great jump. you go on first movement, as soon as tom lifts up that leg, you're off. nice job there anticipating, like you said. the offspeed pitch, going on the right pitch, means an awful lot. nice to get the opposing pitcher in a jam here in the beginning. >> bob: guzman is 12-32. the nationals want him to at least advance this runner. still nobody out in the top of the 1st. that was the pitch he could have done it with, but he took it on the outside corner. 1-2 with a hot cleanup hitter on deck. >> rob: well , he's not a hard thrower, and he will work with guys. he definitely doesn't want to be over the heart of the plate to our hitters. >> bob: he didn't like the call of scott berry. he swings and misses. he did foul tip.

>> rob: that's all right. >> bob: the skies are absolutely clear here. even though this ballpark has been around for nearly 100 years, for some reason we have a heater in our booth. that's our saving grace up here. guzman continues to battle with the 2 strike count. breaking ball. that's hit well to center.

marlon byrd will not be able to catch it. way over his head. desmond scores, guzman going to 3rd. he is safe. the nats have two triples in the ball game already and lead 2-0. they've hit the ball so well, they have blown it right over the top of the cubs' defense twice. >> rob: nats came to play today, bob. gorzelanny leads this over the heart of the plate. actually, it's a good pitch, down and in to guzman. but he was look for it. as you said a, from the right side, killing the ball. desmond scores easily. >> bob: great rbi opportunity for adam dunn, who had three hits here, a season high last night.

breaking ball low. >> rob: the one thing you love about dunn and zimmerman, they don't get frustrate. they may go through those valleys, but they're such even- keel guys, level-headed guys. they know they're going to come out. >> bob: fastball in there. they lead ramirez. >> rob: you know i can be annoying and ask a lot of questions. when i played with pete rose, i asked him, did you ever change your hitting style? he said no. he knew he would come out of it. and he would usually come out. >> bob: adam dunn hooks one

foul. before tomorrow's game, rob will visit with adam. that's during our long pregame segment tomorrow. he thinks he broke his bat. >> rob: he got it off the end of the bat. we might as well give you the scouting report. a little bit of help from his friends, yes, he definitely needs his defense to play well. josh willingham, 7 at-bats. >> bob: willingham waits on deck with that .317 average of his. >> rob: that's the hammer. it's too bad zimmerman is hurt. he's .750 off of gorzelanny, lifetime. >> bob: 2-2 and dunn strikes

out. ask and you shall receive video. >> rob: how far did it go? >> bob: that was the second of that two home run night willingham had. the ball was flying out of here last august. the nats still want to get this run home. the infield is way in with one out now. >> rob: the first one was off zambrano, who's in their bullpen. >> bob: good take by josh to get the count in his favor. he's been a revelation, as far as getting on base. 18 walks. that's second in the league. on base 40 times already.

>> rob: maybe zambrano has to come in and bail out gorzelanny here. >> bob: guzman at 3rd base, one out, after he drove in his 8th run of the year. breaking ball way out ahead of it. the count is 1-2. behind santana, who's now 3-1, a 4-0 mets win over the dodgers today. he gave up only five hits. johann santana beating kroda. 1-2 to willingham.

pudge rodriguez, in the lineup tonight after being a late scratch before last night's game. 2-2 pitch. lifted to short right field. fukudome under it. no chance at all. guzman won't even bother to tag. that's two outs. so the cubs in the bottom 6 in the league in defense. soriano has made three errors at left. theriot, a couple at short. mike fontenot gets the start at 2nd base tonight. they had jeff baker over there last evening. fukudome is in right field after colvin started last night. with two outs, it's up to pudge. he's no longer the league

leading hitter because he sat out. he'll be caught back up tonight. officially, the league's leading hitter is prado at .492. >> rob: by the end of the season you need 505 plate appearance to qualify. >> bob: changeup, up and away. 2-0. he's driven in 8. rodriguez makes contact this year. a little tapper. gorzelanny is going to get three straight outs after guzman's triple. a pretty good start. this is unlike any car you've ever seen before. this is power with efficiency. this is an interior that exceeds even the promise

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>> bob: time to huddle up. the bears used to play here many, many years ago. the cubs are 7th in run, top 4 in home runs. byrd is hitting .355. he's also third in the league in total number of hits. theriot is number two in hits with 28 of them already. the cubs will face livan hernandez, who's had 20 starts against them in his career. e.r.a. is under 4. he's won 10, lost 6

to chicago pitching for all his different ball clubs. ryan theriot is hot, hitting .333 in a six-game hitting streak. he's averaging nearly 3 hits per game over that time. slapped out to short. ian desmond has been outstanding there lately. right on target for the first out. >> rob: let's break town hernandez a little bit. he has been fantastic. only two runs given up so far. easy as one, two, three. he has a very nice record here in chicago, bob. a little change of speeds.

he can throw a 63-mile-an-hour curveball as well as 86-mile-an- hour fastballs. >> bob: fukudome up the middle. desmond gets it. he won't have time to make the throw, but that's tremendous range. fukudome adds to his .327 batting average. >> rob: you can see livan, who also fields this position very well. desmond makes a dive, stops it. fukudome, running well enough to easily get an infield single right there. >> bob: one on, one out for the dangerous derrek lee, who went 0-4 last night. the bat goes flying. it hit an empty seat then deflects three rows forward where a fortunate fan grabs it.

wow. >> rob: we talked about this last night. with the cold, tough to hold on it the ball. also, if you're not squeezing that bat or have some pine tar on it, it can be slippery. thank goodness the baseball gods -- no one in that seat. >> bob: first derrek lee called for the bat and was willing to swap. now he'll stay with the one they gave him. morgan is between josh and justin in the outfield tonight. rodriguez is back behind the plate. the cubs don't run a lot. nine steals this year and 12 attempts. fukudome is 1-2 sitting over there. as we mentioned over the weekend when rodriguez is catching, nobody's running on the nationals' pitchers. only one steal attempt.

that was in philadelphia. what, two weeks ago? >> rob: yeah. and our pitchers are doing a great job of getting the ball to him, which really helps the catcher out. >> bob: target away. the big slow breaking ball. >> rob: what a catch. >> bob: it would have been easy for that ball to fool him because it wasn't hit as hard as it appeared off the bat. fantastic grabby grab by gonzalez. >> rob: give the cubs a lot of credit. they're being very patient with the offspeed stuff. you see him get up, get some elevation, and pull that back in. we talked about this for days and days and days since ryan

zimmerman injured that hamstring. a lot of guys at third. they've all done a great job. >> bob: marlon byrd was livan hernandez' teammate. he's having a good start as a cub. >> rob: byrd hits livan very well. .391 average with five hits. the guy on deck is even better. four home runs, 9 rbis. these next two guys, these are the guys livan will really concentrate on and, i'm sure, manipulate speeds. >> bob: byrd has only driven in one run against hernandez. he goes breaking ball and strikes him out. what do you want from your starter after you give him two runs? you want 0 on the board. that's what the nats got. why do we bring so many fresh ingredients into every chili's kitchen?

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>> bob: nats put six guys up there in the top of the 1st. when the guys get back home, every thursday, friday, saturday, it's miller light fun night. make sure to come early. put on your nats gear, come on out to the ballpark.

good to see some curly ws here. >> rob: that's actually mike rizzo's wife. i met her last night with the rizzo kids. >> bob: they are from the great state of illinois. mike went to the u of i down in the champagne area. here's maxwell followed by hernandez in the 2nd. maxwell is interesting. 4-20, but he has 7 walks and a .393 on-base percentage. this one in the air. a little changeup, down and away. mike fontenot, for the first out here. that's four straight for the left hander. here's alberto. you always get to bat second after you make a play like he

just did. >> rob: wonderful play here. man on 1st. the cubs had something going. nothing doing right there. alberto, great defense is needed when you're playing behind livan hernandez. he gives up a hit, sometimes it's a home run, sometimes it's hit hard. >> bob: gonzalez pops one up. the wind will take care of that. >> rob: gorzelanny has been so tough to hit, bob. some of the things he's done so well. not only did he not allow any hits to the first couple hitters he faced until tonight, the three and four hitters have a .124 average. >> bob: there's one short. theriot plays it well. gonzalez beats it out. nationals have their fourth base hit already. >> rob: still a fantastic play by theriot, going to his right.

let's check it out. playing a little shallow there. that's all arm strength, because you have no body behind it. just missed getting it. >> bob: derek jeter like on that jump and throw. that's a big one. livan can now bunt, and he's done it a hundred times in his career. ramirez, playing on the grass at 3rd. seeing that, if gorzelanny throws one of those changeups, he might want livan to pull it up there. >> rob: i'll tell you, they have tremendous changeups. gorzelanny was in the bullpen most of last year. >> bob: that ball will stay fair for a while then go foul, as livan runs by and watches it. after his game in new york when i informed him he had

sacrificed that day for the 100 time, he thought that was cool. i said, i don't know that many pitchers who have had 100 sacrifice bunts. he also has around 197 career hits. >> rob: he's been a wonderful all-around player. the way he handles the bat, defends his position, pitching, running the bases. there's no weakness in his game. >> bob: plays off the breaking ball. he knows a tough pitch to bunt when he sees one. the count goes to 1-1 as he visits. livan is the kind of guy, you can switch off and hit and run with him. >> rob: the one thing about him, he always looks so uptight, bob. he's one of the calmest people

i've ever met. >> bob: he was trying to go to right field. it was not a hit and run, just a straight right field swing. with two swings, riggleman probably trusts him enough. that little speedster leads off to 3rd. stays alive on a breaking ball. >> rob: livan got on the bus today and it looks like he was on vacation in the bahamas. there's not many guys who have more fun the day they pitch than livan. >> bob: some of the autograph

seekers waiting, finding out there were only two pitchers on the bus. everybody else here was early. here's the 1-2 again. runner going and hernandez makes contact. >> rob: one washed up pitcher, and one that will throw the kitchen sink at you. >> bob: well, you have to have a sink to wash in, don't you? [ laughter ] >> bob: if you pick up a baseball now and took 20 warmup tosses, how hard would you throw? >> rob: about as hard as livan's changeup, then i'd have to be operated on. >> bob: that's a great take, ball 2. >> rob: when i played softball, the safest position on the field is 1st base, because i can't hurt anybody there. i still have a little juice, but it won't go straight any

longer. >> bob: livan will hit a ground ball to the right side. that will be a double play. well, he made him throw a lot of pitches. the nats are on top. [ male announcer ] achievement has its own patch of grass. ♪ achievement unleashes hidden potential. ♪ all right! achievement looks forward to dinner at home. achievement enjoys newfound freedom. i love you. [ male announcer ] mortgages, home equity loans, and lines of credit from pnc. helping achievers borrow with an eye towards the future. pnc. for the achiever in us all. boss: word's gettin' out that with an eye towards the future. on motorcycle insurance, rv, geiccamper, boat insurance. nice work, everyone. exec: well, it's easy for him. he's a cute little lizard. gecko: ah, gecko, actually -

exec: with all due respect, if i was tiny and green and had a british accent i'd have more folks paying attention to me too... i mean - (faux english accent) "save money! pip pip cheerio!" exec 2: british? i thought you were australian. gecko: well, it's funny you should ask. 'cause actually, i'm from - anncr: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> bob: dress your favorite girl nice and warmly, and come on out to the ballpark. what's better than that?

it's the 2nd inning so we talk about all things deuce. the nats are tied with colorado, 4th highest total. i must note, in past years, the nats have been up there in double plays, rob, because so many opposing runners have been on base. this year it's because of good defense. >> rob: absolutely. this is a catch it and throw them out. taveras has one of the best arms in the big league. he guns out soto at home base. bye bye. >> bob: livan hernandez, 9 pitches, 8 strikes in the 1st inning. he faces aramis ramirez, who he's had a problem with over his career. >> rob: it's ironic, 20 years ago, the all-star game, darryl

strawberry caught a pitch at home plate and threw a guy out. i used to love playing here. not night games though. not night games in april. there was a lady down by our bullpen who would bring us brow brownies. i think that was to make us fat and sick. we weren't going to say no. >> bob: ramirez is .379 career against livan. he's off to a miserable start. 11-76 this year. talk about an expensive middle

of the lineup. from fukudome threw lee, byrd, ramirez, and soriano. those guys, making lots and lots and lots of money here in chicago. >> rob: you can't say the cubs' former ownership and management didn't try to get players in here and win. they brought in lou pinella, won the division. the cardinals took it back. just a question of the right talent, mixing it all together. it's not that easy. >> bob: but the cubs have not developed many players in their organization. >> rob: agreed. >> bob: none of those guys i mentioned were developed. theriot and fontenot were. they're home-grown, drafted

cubs. ramirez hits one deep to center. nyjer morgan is there. he grabs it right at the edge of the track. about 390 feet into that wind. you come back here a month and a half from here, that ball is on top of the restaurant out there. as we look from home plate toward that score board, we're looking toward the northeast. the wind is coming right over the left field bleachers from the straight north. that's why it's so chilly here in late april. here's soriano, who ducks back from a pitch up. alfonso walked three times last night, nearly doubling his season total. he doesn't like to walk, but the nats couldn't throw him any strikes. >> rob: i know you like to study maps. do you know where you are at

any moment of the day? >> bob: yes. i know we're between clark, addison, waveland. >> rob: i couldn't tell you any streets. >> bob: north of here, the street just changes names in the middle of the neighbor. >> rob: i'll just get back to the bus to get to the hotel. >> bob: 1-2 and a breaking ball to soriano, softly into right center. not always his hitting approach, but he went with the pitch and gets a base hit. day game tomorrow here. how about luis atilano? his second time out. he'll pitch against dempster.

here's fontenot with a four- game hitting streak. if you folks at home can visualize, this ballpark is laid out the same way nationals' park is. when the wind comes from the north, right in from left field. there's another base hit. morgan is going to have to hurry. soriano makes the turn and nyjer will do the right thing and throw in behind him to keep the double play in order. one out. bringing up the number 8 man, soto. >> rob: good job here. fontenot taking those offspeed pitches. they have a good game plan on

livan tonight. nyjer morgan could have gone for the play to 3rd, but the smart play, throw to 2nd. >> bob: i think it's hitters like fontenot, theriot, fukudome, and soto who give livan the most trouble. they're contact guys who aren't trying to hit it over the bleachers. bouncing ball to 3rd. could be two. guzman throws it away into the dugout. the cubs will score a run on a fielder's choice rbi by soto and on guzman's throwing error with fontenot baring down on him. soto will end up at 2nd base. not the easiest of double plays. it appeared the nats had time to turn it. >> rob: if alberto wanted to, he had the out at home.

he thought with the catcher running, that would have been a nice job on the double play. fontenot takes out cristian guzman and the throw goes awry. that isn't really a throwing error. you can't assume the double play. >> bob: they will give him an error because the hitter ends up at 2nd base. an rbi for soto. here's the pitcher, gorzelanny. guzman will take care of that. cristian is not used to guys taking him out from that side of 2nd base. livan gives up just one.

>> bob: two innings in the score book. here's our early game summary. livan hernandez, 24 pitches, 18 strikes so far and giving up that run on the double play ball that couldn't be turned. nats got to gorzelanny early. it started with a triple. >> rob: nyjer hit it over the outfield. he's got some good pops, especially into the wind. then desmond steals 2nd base. guzman then jacks one over marlon byrd's head. with no outs and a man on 3rd, gorzelanny shut down the middle of our order. >> bob: striking out dunn, popping up willingham, grounding out rodriguez. here's nyjer now, who leads the

major league in triples. he has 5. dexter fowler has 3. escobar of milwaukee has 3. 3rd baseman, ramirez, on the grass. nyjer was 1-2 in bunts last night. just a little bit wide. >> rob: pretty good pitch. once again, off strike zones make these pitchers come back over the middle of the plate. >> bob: 3-0. you know what happens when that happens? >> rob: you've got two pitchers that have to live on the outside and inside of the plate. if they have to pitch over the inside, the middle of the plate, like against colorado, both of those left the ballpark. >> bob: 3-1 to morgan who came

on with an on-base percent only of .384. he's comfortable hitting with two strikes. >> rob: >> rob: i got a chance to talk on my radio show this morning -- >> bob: fontenot takes care of that. >> rob: we talked about the beauty of the 2-0 fastball. frank said he didn't become the complete pitcher until he was topping out at 83, 84 miles an hour. that's a guy that had the best of both worlds. lasted almost 20 years. >> bob: here's ian desmond. gets under that one into right field for fukudome. two outs here in the 3rd. your child can be part of the

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5th inning. guzman is nearing 90 triples. hehe did get a piece of it. he'll stay alive. gorzelanny is not at all shy about throwing heart-breaking stuff to right-handed batters. >> rob: he does not have an overpowering fastball, but an excellent curveball. very good changeup. >> bob: 0-2 again. target away. that might mean a change. he went outside with it and missed. >> rob: i think he gassed him on that one. >> bob: big bad dunn, next. guzman, well hit to center. right at marlon byrd. nationals gone in the 3rd. top of the order straight ahead for the cubs. somebody's a winner.

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>> bob: time for desmond to tie his shoes, get ready for the come. debbi a how does it feel at field level? >> reporter: it's very cold and chilly down here. we saw how the weather affected play yesterday. ian told me there's going to be a lot of talking going on on the field. >> everyone has to be communicating throughout the

game, letting each other know, if you need help, you have to say i don't got it. let me know. there's times you get caught drifting. in spring training, it happens a lot. down in florida it's so windy. hopefully, we've had enough practice during spring training where we'll be able to manage it. >> reporter: definitely different playing here in chicago and not exactly a picnic at the plate. guys. >> bob: not with the wind blowing in. this ballpark plays, at times, more difficult than any other place since the closing of candle stick park many, many years ago. bottom of the 3rd, top of the order. >> rob: i give debbi a lot of credit. she stayed down by the dugout all last night. it was frigid. we're up here shivering in the booth. but isn't she from new hampshire?

the live free and die state? >> reporter: you know what, i was born in alaska. i'm used to this weather. >> bob: you know what? we don't feel sorry for you anymore. >> rob: why were you all bundled up this morning? >> reporter: my blood has thinned. five or six layers doesn't do it here. >> bob: theriot is trying to get on. >> rob: the equipment manager brought a lot of long johns and gave me a lot of gloves up here. a lot of guys wearing fisherman clothing today. >> bob: a drive to right, but it's right at maxwell. a little early entry for at&t trivia tonight. the last two nats pitchers to walk in the winning run, prior

to last night. i have erased such memories. we'll have to dig deep and figure it out. >> rob: i thought we didn't do bad things on these broadcasts? >> bob: got to take the bad with the good. here's fukudome, who singled up the middle the first time. >> rob: you've been here a lot longer than i have. chad cordero? >> bob: you know it's going to be a late-inning guy. do we remember stammen getting squeezed? that might have been a balk. yeah, i think that was a balk. i have two words on this one. "i donno." fukudome has walked 7 times

this year in 53 at-bats. >> rob: let's see how far this guy can hit. >> bob: it's in there. >> rob: very nice. >> bob: fukudome, not exactly tearing it up since he came to chicago. >> rob: running down the 1st baseline, it works for ichiro. >> bob: what was wrong with that pitch? a little low, evidently. >> rob: let's see this last pitch. 3-1 pitch on the pitch track. it was a little bit low. >> bob: scott berry got it right, and we admit that. >> rob: we admit when we're wrong. what about you umpires? just kidding. >> bob: here's lee, who on a big slow curveball, lined out to gonzalez.

look at desmond. guzman to turn it. >> rob: that's close. >> bob: guzman didn't get much on the throw as desmond continues to play spectacular shortstop and riggleman doesn't like the call at 1st base. >> rob: i don't like it either. did you notice cristian got rid of the ball a little quicker this time? he learned something about that last one with fontenot. >> bob: that was spectacular by desmond. >> rob: that kid has been sparkling at shortstop. watch this. this will pump you up as a pitcher, and your bench. great play, great leather, then he just flicks it over there. it looks like this is a very tight play. cristian, great turn. i don't know. you be the judge. a little bit closer. great camera shots. wonderful. that looks like an out.

>> bob: that's what we call a bang-bang play. it could go either way. here's marlon byrd. one more look at 1st base. >> rob: the glove. got him. >> bob: he was called safe. >> rob: oh, and i said hello to jerry today. come on, jerry. i like jerry. i've known him a long time. here's another chance for livan to get marlon out. >> bob: bottom of the 3rd, 2-1 washington. >> rob: once again, the defense, bob. i can't stress that enough this year. it all starts with the pitching, but you're not going to win without great defense some nights to pick you up and

make ball games like tonight. 3-0, another fastball. we talked about livan being very careful with the middle of the the order. strategically walk big hitters. >> bob: he knows where the outs are. with the runner going, a fly to right. this one is going to get pushed by the line. maxwell stays with it. it's fair when he catches it, and the cubs are gone in the 3rd. they left three batters. boss:hey, glad i caught you. i was on my way to present ideas about all the discounts we're offering. i've got some catchphrases that'll make these savings even more memorable. gecko: all right... gecko: good driver discounts. now that's the stuff...? boss: how 'bout this? gecko: ...they're the bee's knees? boss: or this?

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>> bob: on to the 4th inning here in chicago. 2-1 nationals. dodgers just got 3 in new york to tie the mets. tom gorzelanny is about to throw his 53rd pitch of the

night. he threw 27 in the 1st inning. he struck out adam dunn but he had given up three hits already. >> rob: he's very difficult the second time through the batting order to hit off of. you think you got him figured out, think again. straight change is becoming one of the most popular pitches in the major leagues. there's the hammer. going to get some smacking going. >> bob: a couple of guys in this inning, in fact three of them, who would like to atone

for their first at-bats want to. breaking ball. did he hold the bat back? he did not, and he's gone. two strikeouts for gorzelanny. willingham is coming up. let's pay off our trivia. i had forgotten that neither of them are around anymore. jesus luis. >> rob: we don't need any more of those negative questions. >> bob: willingham right field again for fukudome. two outs. gorzelanny, effectively keeping the ball away from the right handers and getting a strikeout on adam dunn. this brings up pudge rodriguez.

we were asking the question coming over here today, when is the last time we had seen three runners walked in during the game in three different innings by three different pitchers? >> rob: i've never. maybe little league or a high school game, possibly. never in a major league game. been playing or been witness to three different times pitchers walking in bases loaded runs. >> bob: and a hook into left field. >> rob: get going. >> bob: hitting that ball beautifully. soriano cuts it off, and pudge rodriguez is 1-2 tonight. that's his first career hit on gorzelanny. we have an e-mail question. tina from the district wants to know, which edition has helped so far the most? i think we're looking at him,

aren't we? >> rob: you're looking at him. pudge rodriguez. future hall of famer. his attitude on and off the field is just electric. everybody feeds off of pudge and adam kennedy and the veteran players this year. >> bob: i have to give an honorable mention to matt capps. 8-8. >> rob: oh, yeah. but it all starts with pudge. he's the leader on the field, the field general. he's infectious. >> bob: good take by maxwell. 1 ball, 1 strike. >> rob: it starts at the top too. the coaching staff has done a wonderful job. mike rizzo bringing in these guys. all the guys that have been on world championship teams, they don't like losing. last night, you walk in the clubhouse, and a lot of guys lost their dogs or something. it was bad. that's the way it should be.

never get accustomed to losing. >> bob: that man was not happy after last night geese game. mike is really a competitor. >> rob: anyone who watched the dodgers series, they know the nationals should have swept them. >> bob: 2-1. maxwell takes a fastball upstairs. trying to get aboard in front of alberto gonzalez, who already has a base hit tonight and a spectacular defensive play. this guy can turn a fastball around if gorzelanny throws him a strike. he goes up and away with it. justin maxwell takes his 8th walk of the year. >> rob: he's about 6'5", 6'6". this pitch is not high. >> bob: that's similar to where

bruney got ball 4 called last night to the final hitter of the game. >> rob: but tom cannot live up there. he can't live over the heart of the plate. if you're not going to give him those calls, he's going to get crushed. >> bob: breaking ball in the dirt. good take by gonzalez. >> rob: same thing for our guy. livan can't live up there. lannan can't live up there. >> bob: not many pitchers can. >> rob: no. if you made the hitter swing more, the games will go by quicker. >> bob: a little chopper, 3rd baseline. that's a foul ball. it went foul just before it got to the bag. you know, rob, we had a ball game saturday at nationals' park. brian, a 14-year veteran, had a very generous strike zone.

it was fair until there, that's before the bag. there were 25 hits. hitters will get hits, even when the strike zone is generous by a home-plate umpire. >> rob: generous but consistent both ways. if you do the same for both sides, both hitting ball clubs, they'll make the adjustments. they know what to expect. >> bob: 2-1 on a changeup. >> rob: but you had a guy with two weeks in the big leagues last night, drop his bat at home plate and didn't get ejected. it was disrespectful, and they expect the ball to be put on a tee. >> bob: 2-1 pitch. gonzalez, right side. fontenot covers it. livan will have to leadoff in the 5th. [ music throughout ] [ male announcer ] achievement: starts small...

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nationals lead the cubs. >> bob: on a breaking ball, popped up right side. adam dunn. that win, not blowing nearly as much as it was at this time last night. from the minor league debbie has an update. >> reporter: steven strasburg pitched 5 no-hit innings as redding lost. she he did not issue a walk.

rolls,also, roger doing well. the guys down there, doing well. >> bob: guess who drove in the run in that 1-0 win? steven strasburg. nice going, steven strasburg. >> rob: keep throwing strikes, kid. you'll be here soon. >> bob: alfonso soriano, app sit field singing the first time. he scored the cubs' only run. >> rob: i was just going to say, that's not the worst thing in the world for the free- swinging soriano. look at this hack right here. 1-1, big breaker. >> bob: why wouldn't you not throw another one out there?

they're going jam him. right on the trademark. desmond has it. two quick outs. livan hernandez, i think that one got him in the cup board. two quick outs. fontenot coming up. >> rob: goes way, way on a breaking ball then runs a sinking fastball, breaks the bat. that hurts. he'll be feeling that out in left field next inning. >> bob: fontenot takes one up and in. >> rob: livan is trying to get on that inner edge of the plate, not getting called. working around the umpire. >> bob: that one's served out of play. 1 ball, 1 strike. >> rob: the thing i love about

hernandez, he doesn't care. he's going to move on and get to the next pitch. he's thrown thousands of pitches at the major league level. he's not going to banter with the umpire. >> bob: marlon picked up amarch -- marlins picked up a run. the braves still lead in st. louis. the mets and the dodgers are tied 3-3, 5th inning of the night cap at citi field. 2-2 pitch. month know challenged by livan. it's right at nyjer morgan. he's retired 8 of the last 9

cub hitters.

>> bob: top of the 5th inning. livan leads off. some young players don't quite understand respect yet. >> rob: this young kid. look at him throw the bat. he's got 18 games in the major leagues. he walks back to the dugout with a chip on his shoulder. if i'm an umpire, i'll remember

that the next time i see this kid come to the plate. it's about respect. you definitely respect the umpires. you try never to show them up as a young player. that's the thing though. young players are coming to the major league expecting nothing but good hitting pitches, or pitches to hit. when they don't get them and they're running up on stuff, they're not going to accept it. >> bob: livan breaks his bat on that foul ball. the 5th inning is underway. >> rob: all of our young guys were livid last nights. they couldn't understand it. they think they would never do something like that. adam dunn threw his helmet at a bad call while we were home. he got rejected immediately. there's big bad dunn. he never snaps. he did at that one.

>> bob: i once heard a story about a young catcher. decades ago with the braves, he came out for, if not his first major league start, one of his first starts. he said something to the umpire how he better call it a good game that night, and was ejected before one pitch was thrown. he went on to have a great career, but i'm sure he learned a lesson that night. sign up to become a nats insider. get the latest news, promotions, and ticket deals sent straight to your inbox. visit nationals.com/insider. you'll be aware of all the great deals going on in natstown. the guys are back home next tuesday night. t-shirt tuesday.

>> rob: can you imagine if you ever did that in front of doug harvey? everybody used to call him god. >> bob: he would kick you out of the game and the seas would part so you could leave without getting wet. >> rob: he was wonderful to me. i used to balk when i first game up because i tapped my glove so much in the stretch. basically, you can't start your stretch like that and not continue because i was so hyped up. he said, i'm going to have to call you on balks if you continue to do that. it was a nice thing to do to help out a young player. >> bob: nyjer gave away a strike there and strikes out on the next one. third strikeout by gorzelanny, all against left hanked batters. dunn twice, morgan once. now it's up to ian desmond. >> rob: he's got a really good breaking ball. he always has. look at this.

this is a big 10-4, 10-5 type breaking ball. that's a nightmare for left- handed hitters. >> bob: ramirez was playing deep. he took it outside. he's still playing deep. he scorches one into the glove of derrek lee. he's had two real good swings tonight. halfway through, 2-1.

>> bob: it's the windy city up here on the north side.

flags flapping in the breeze tonight. nationals' first inning is still standing up thanks to livan's good pitching. gorzelanny is pitching well himself. some of the defense by the visitors, again, the difference tonight. >> rob: especially a pitcher's pitcher like hernandez. great leather by gonzalez then desmond on this double play attempt. he did not turn the double play because fontenot did a great job. trust me, the next time he turned that play quickly. >> bob: soto hit that ball. he's the leadoff hitter in the 5th. there's that big, slow one for a strike. >> rob: lou pinella's clubs are going to play hard. that's the way he coaches and

manages. 0-1 pitch. hit that. 67 miles an hour. 79 then 84, 63. it's hard to get a good read on him when he's changing speeds so much. >> bob: hitting against this guy is like playing bingo. you never know what's coming. >> rob: livan knows. he's going to leave some balls up in the zone. they're going to leave the ballpark. he just tries to minimize mistakes by not walking a bunch of people. >> bob: where are they? where are the strikes? >> rob: he has not been giving it though. scott berry on the home plate. 2-2 pitch. this is a two-seam fastball he

runs over the plate. he's not giving it tonight. he's been consistent not giving that pitch. >> bob: pitcher's on deck. this is a big at-bat for livan and for the cubs. they're down by a run. they'd love to see their pitcher bunting next. and he will wait for that one and fork it into left field. good job of playing back by soto. he's aboard. >> rob: well, this wasn't a very good location. went for the strikeout, comes back, but right in the hitting zone. if soto was a little more patient, this probably would have been a home run. livan got away with one right there. >> bob: hasn't had a successful sac this year. 15 in his career. that's over and low for a ball.

adam dunn t really charging. so is gonzalez. kind of stabs at that one. the count is even. >> rob: where is the pitch location? that's pretty good. no longer is it when a guy that's hitting .220 career walks up there, his strike zone is different than a guy who's lifetime is .320. pretty much everyone has a tight strike zone. guys that weren't very good hitters, you're able to get some different calls on them than the guys that hit .320. >> bob: out in front. rodriguez thought about it. still had plenty of time to make the play at 1st. soto runs as good as the

catcher. he got down to 2nd quickly there, preventing pudge from throwing. >> rob: pudge jumped out there quick for a 38-year-old guy. he looks like he's got time, but he says, i'll take the sure out. we have the lead. always take the sure out. >> bob: top of the order, theriot. that's important for the cubs. he's been their best hitter lately. 0-2 tonight. hit the ball sharply right at maxwell in right last time up. still corking on a six-game hitting streak.

2-0. hot hitters coming in. the leadoff men both -- nyjer morgan who came in with nine multihit games and four straight. theriot, a six-game hitting streak. every one of them at least two hits. only martin prado has more hits in the national league than theriot this year. one out here in the 5th. livan on a 2-1 pitch. a lot of breaking stuff here. he misses again. >> rob: he's not missing by

much. >> bob: outfield around to the right for the right-handed hitting theriot. >> bob: this guy has hit .307 and .284 the last two years. he's out of lsu for the national championship team back then. he's really established himself has a good shortstop and leadoff hitter. 3-2. breaking ball, had him reaching. a little pop fly to center. nyjer morgan is there for the

second out. >> rob: not an easy hitter, bob. as on fire as theriot has been. the riot. he has been swinging a very hot bat. livan, very carefully pitched to him. now, a little contact guy. you've got to be careful with him too. he's going to be trying to slap the ball somewhere. >> bob: fukudome came in hitting .327. infield hit and a walk want to. >> rob: what's he hitting off lefties? he doesn't play a lot against lefties. he hits righties really well. >> bob: really pulled off that one. >> rob: a couple years ago, before the all-star break, he hit like .4 00. he was hitting crazy. in the second half he hit about .2 00. he really fell off the pace.

there you see his last ten games, hitting .333. >> bob: target away. a bouncer, right back to livan hernandez. he's always fielded well. gets himself out of the winning. cristian guzman is straight ahead. [ male announcer ] looking for a price that starts low and stays low? look no further than fios. now pay just $99.99 a month for verizon fios tv, america's top-rated internet, and phone guaranteed for 2 years. that's fios price protection, and it saves you hundreds of dollars. fios delivers the best channel lineup and the peace of mind that comes with paying the same low price every month.

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>> bob: nationals, a ways to go to set up a rubber game in this series. tomorrow, it'll be a pitching matchup that will be youth and experience. atilano, the youth. dempster with a little glove moving of his own. the experienced guy. luis, outstanding six innings, in his major league debut. dempster is 89-90 career, as he will take on the nats tomorrow. >> rob: luis told me everything i needed to know. i asked him what he wanted to be called. he said he didn't care. >> bob: by the way, the nats have a little work to do tomorrow. 20 games, 12 starts against the expos and the nationals and ryan dempster is 7-0. here's

guzman. >> rob: he could be deceptive. dempster likes to do that whole glove thing, the little waving of the glov. that can throw a lot of people off. >> bob: adam dunn next. he has struggled against gorzelanny tonight. 2-2. adam dunn used to see a lot of gorzelanny in the nl central in cincinnati while tom was with those battling bucks, who has really fallen upon hard times with their pitching staff. that one is hacked in the right field to fukudome. hope you're having a lovely

evening back in the district. maryland, virginia, pennsylvania, delaware, north carolina -- wherever you may be watching masn tonight. we're here at wrigley field. here's adam dunn. >> rob: and all my buddies back at crystal city. yours too. >> bob: oh, yeah. best ballpark pretzels i've had lately. adam dunn getting one to center, but it's not going to go far enough. 395 feet away into the teeth of that breeze. that's the second out here in the 6th. that brings up josh willingham. >> rob: it's all right. made them a little nervous there for a second. looked like he just got in on him. he gives it a ride.

>> bob: willingham, two fly balls to right field. >> rob: gorzelanny is going at him soft, soft, and softer. josh has been very impressive. he swings early in the count, going to right field. >> bob: willingham, out to right center. this will hang for fukudome. three fly balls in the 6th for gorzelanny.

>> bob: back here at wrigley. >> rob: hernandez and gorzelanny are pitching a gem. hernandez will give you a little bit of this, a little bit of that. he's a master at manipulating the speeds, adding, subtracting. here you see 67 right down the heart of the plate. very hard to pull the trigger. there you see him taking some off on marlon byrd.

fields himself beautifully. livan hernandez, on top of his game when he's changing speeds. >> bob: four outstanding starts in a row for the nationals to begin the 2010 season. here's derrek lee. >> bob: he's 02. the count is 2-0. livan's retired him 30 times out of 38. front door, on the inside corner. nicely done. >> rob: he has to throw it the front. he can't go to the back. nothing on the outer half tonight. >> bob: no calls.

that ball lays to left. willingham, with a backhand runner on the track. >> rob: what a catch. >> bob: continuing his outstanding defense. josh has never played in the field any better than he has so far for the nats this year. that's at least 4 to 5 very good plays. >> rob: the former catcher turned outfielder has tried every year to get better. i'll tell you, you're right on with the catches and the hustle. hustle never goes out of style. see what livan has to say about that. >> bob: gracias. might have been a mucho before that too.

>> rob: lee can't believe it. >> bob: guzman gobbles up the marlon byrd grounder. two quick outs. >> rob: when you're pitching, and a guy makes a play like that, all of the sudden it's an out. you breathe a sigh of relief. it just helps your confidence. now you can step back a up on the mound. you're like, okay. i got one. great defense defensive play. that's what helps the pitcher's psyche out. >> bob: aramis ramirez is up. up the middle, right back from where it came. coming into that, livan

hernandez hadretired 10-11 cubs. with two outs, the hitter will be alfonso soriano. soriano with an opposite field single. 1-2 tonight. livan burned a new trademark on his bat last time, jam him and getting a three or four hopper to shortstop. >> rob: let's check out the distribution. doesn't punch out a lot of guys, but look at that. he's like a great quarterback. >> bob: if livan was a

quarterback, he'd be more the little pass out on the flat, the little slant. >> rob: joe montana? >> bob: yeah. he wouldn't be throwing 60-yard bounds. just when they cheat, he'll go up top. >> rob: big bomb. >> bob: 1-1 to soriano. >> rob: i can tell you from experience, it's a lot easier to go out there when you throw 95 than when you throw 85. like i said, talking to frank today, he threw 100 when he was in his 20s. when he was getting close to 40, he threw 83, 84. he still had all the confidence in the world. tom browning didn't throw harder than 85, 86. he attacked the strike zone.

that's why these guys like livan have so much impressive confidence. jamie moyer, i can't tell you how much i love that guy and respect that guy. imagine throwing the way he throws and winning 250 games. >> bob: soriano hooks one to the left side. gonzalez continues the good defense. pudge rodriguez, not bad defensively himself. he's 1-2 tonight, taking the bat up the middle twice. 2-1 game after 6.

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>> bob: not giving out any t- shirts tonight are they? sweatshirts. may 4 is t-shirt tuesday in the friendly confines of nationals park. get your tickets at nationals.com. it's presented by our buddies down in wood bridge. >> rob: give something out that's the antitomahawk chop. >> bob: the braves are struggling. they've lost 6 in a row coming into tonight. they have a 2-1 lead in st. louis. here's pudge. he goes up pumping, high in the

air right center. hanging up for marlon byrd. wrigley field is a graveyard for fly balls under these conditions the last two nights. eight in a row now for gorzelanny since maxwell walked after pudge's single back in the 4th. this thing has really settled down into a pitcher's dual. gorzelanny is set to bat third in the bottom of the 7th. maxwell takes it in the dirt. ball 1. >> rob: there's sweet lou. >> bob: i just have to ask one thing. how do the tigers let alan work

somewhere else? i know it didn't work out for him as a manager. i thought he always did the dirty work for that team that lost 100 games. then leland came in and enjoyed all that work. >> rob: first of all, he should be in the hall of fame. >> bob: there's the four-pitch walk. maxwell is aboard again. he's been on two of three times tonight. it's all in the pepration, as they say at chilis. >> rob: i love chilis, by the way. my wife and i go there all the time. >> bob: i love their chicken

fajitas. go to their website. you might win some serious prizes. here's gonzalez. the runner goes. the throw is on time. that's with the 2nd baseman, well in front of the bag. brian knight called him out. >> rob: i don't know. let's go to the videotape right here. inside pitch on alberto. soto with a great throw, quick tag. slow it down a little bit. high tag. >> bob: that was real close. soto now 4-12 this year. make it 4-13 because desmond did swipe unearlier tonight. alberto gonzalez to deep short. theriot has time to set. off the bag, and the tag by derrek lee. the nats are claiming the tag was never made.

here comes jim riggleman to argue with jerry davis as the 50/50 calls are going the way of the cubs tonight. nationals send three batters to the plate in the top of the 7th inning. it stays 2-1, washington.

>> bob: we're back here at wrigley. >> rob: the nats are still leading 2-1. five hits a piece for both teams. geico highlights, it's got to be the great defense. there you see alberto gonzalez blasting the leather. a greatly by desmond. doesn't turn the double play, but shows how great they're

playing. livan loves it. what an improvement a year makes. >> bob: nationals ranked in the top six in team defense coming in. that kid is playing some serious short for the last couple weeks. it's possible gorzelanny could be out after throwing 97 pitches, 57 strikes. >> rob: look at that. >> bob: he's a professor of economics. >> rob: he is. >> bob: fontenot, 1-2. >> rob: and he's a mathematician mathematician. i like the fact that ian wants

to be known as the guy who plays hard all the time. >> bob: i love what he told me the day he came to the major leagues last year. on a fly ball that will be handled by nyjer morgan. i asked him, okay, i want to tell our audience what kind of hitter you are. what do i tell them? he said, "tell them i'm a tough out." i love that. >> rob: he is. he is. >> bob: here's the other thing. ian desmond has been in the minor leagues for six years. he has become well-seasoned. >> rob: he's paid his dues. >> bob: that's right. >> rob: young man, you've arrived. nothing is given to you in this game, bob. that's something that some of these young guys need to appreciate. easy to get here, tough to stay. >> bob: 1-1 to geovany soto.

livan hung a breaking ball to him last time. spins a little slider outside, 2-1. xavier in the hole next. >> rob: i thought he might make an appearance. he hits him quite well, bob. he has a .417 average. >> bob: right down the middle to soto. the count is 2-2. tyler clippard is up. livan, due to leadoff in the 8th.

>> bob: livan knows he cannot walk this batter. jim riggleman, doing some managing here, getting this bullpen working. a 3-2 coming with one out. threw him the strike, got a fly ball. center field, nyjer morgan, holding off maxwell. two outs. that will get tom gorzelanny out of this game. >> bob: xavier nady pinch hit in a situation like this last night and grounded out.

as a pinch hitter for the cubs, he's 0-7 this year. overall a, 6-29. that's a .207 mark with a homer, 4 rbis. padres just got 2 in the 7th at florida. atlanta continues to lead at st. louis. >> rob: one of the big reasons nady is even in a cubs' uniform is that the cubs made a nice offer to jermaine. he said no. nady stepped in and said i'll play for that kind of money.

>> bob: the numbers that rob talked about, 5-12 against hernandez. and a 1-2 pitch. front door breaking ball, just missing. >> rob: check out the location of this 1-2 pitch. the big loop. another bad call by an umpire tonight. that ball's a strike. he's just getting out of hand. >> bob: hard slider. 3-2. >> rob: he should have been out of there. now you have to throw more pitches to this guy. >> bob: it always seems like something bad happens half a pitcher doesn't get a call on a

two-strike count. >> rob: thinking good thoughts here. >> bob: all right. 3-2. you saw theriot on deck. bouncer down to gonzalez. alberto on the charge. he guns it over. livan hernandez has pitched 7 outstanding innings. willie leadoff. two more innings. elp you save. oh, really? how? by bundling. if you get your homeowners and auto insurance together, we give you even more savings. ooh! big bundle. [ chuckling ] home and auto together. it's like peanut butter and jelly. oh, or like burgers and fries. or pickles and ice cream. unicorns and glitter! no? bundling to save you more. now, that's progressive! call or click today.

>> bob: two more innings to go in a 2-1 game. here's our game summary. livan hernandez, brilliant through 7. only one earned run, a walk, a strikeout. grabow takes over here. it's his 11th appearance and a very high e.r.a. >> rob: livan hernandez has been brilliant. 33 innings pitched over four games. only three runs allowed. >> bob: that's awesome. two solo homers and a ground ball that could have been called a double play. that's how close he's been to being perfect . he'll hit a three hopper right at fontenot

for the first out of the 8th. nationals got this thing going early with morgan, desmond, and guzman. >> rob: had a chance to have a big inning. started off by nyjer morgan. again, the table setter. there you have desmond, singled him in. stealing second. scoring position. going to do better than that with the triple from guzman. that was it. gorzelanny shut down our four, five, six. >> bob: he gave the nationals no runs on only two hits the rest of the way, pitching 7 very good innings. >> rob: what a tough-luck guy. gorzelanny has pitched his butt off. 0-2 coming in to tonight's game with a 2.40 e.r.a. that will go down. tough luck for the kid.

>> bob: nyjer morgan fouls. >> rob: ing >> rob: could use a few more runs here, nats. let's go. >> bob: ian desmond has hit the ball well tonight. john grabow broke in with the pirates in '03. 30 games for the cubs last year. morgan, a little chopper that's a lot like a bunt. grabow better hurry. his throw is high and morgan is safe. we'll see how they rule it. they've already called it an error on the pitcher. >> rob: this is going to be a

tough play for grabow. he gets off the mound. there you see. he's going to spin, throw, try to rush it because of the speed. that's what nyjer morgan's speed does. it makes you make mistakes. grabow came up throwing and threw it off. even the 6'6" derrek lee couldn't save him on that. >> bob: here's ian desmond, 1-3 with an rbi hit, a steal, a run. last time up, hit the ball really hard at derrek lee. this time, lee is holding a runner. john grabow checking his former teammate, nyjer morgan, a couple times there at 1st base. >> rob: he knows what nyjer is thinking. not only is that a big hit, but he wants to get into scoring

position here. geovany soto wants to talk to his pitcher. >> bob: right hander, justin berg. >> rob: damn zambrano said his trip to the bullpen would be temporary. i'm sure the cubs don't like putting someone making about $18 million or maybe $18 million per out in the bullpen. lou pinella does not like people that walk the batters. >> bob: morgan is running. he's got this one. not even close on a throw to the shortstop side.

nyjer morgan has his 6th of year. that's 22 on the year for washington. >> rob: grabow did a nice job on his former teammate. >> bob: head first slide by the way. >> rob: yeah. and nyjer said he might be doing that more often now because he had to get these bases. if that's slowing him down, he's going to have to risk some of those injuries. >> bob: 3-0 to desmond. would riggleman turn him loose here? >> rob: i would. >> bob: if that's the case for the young hitter, he has to make sure it's right down the middle. you got a good hitter on deck, then your cleanup man. don't give away the at-bat

here. he was pumping on 3-0. i like it. >> rob: were you for or against on that pitch? >> bob: i was okay with it. >> rob: i want him to get a line drive hit. >> bob: if he popped it up, i wouldn't be too happy. >> rob: aagree it would have to be a pitch you can swing at. the nats are an aggressive team this year. >> bob: and they're aggress i have on the bases. riggleman going for the jugular here. jim knows this ballpark as well as anybody. >> rob: he's got confidence in his hitters. you're not going to stick dez monday the number two hole if you don't think he can handle it there. >> bob: 3-2 pitch. desmond, down the line and left. morgan around 3rd will score easily. the nationals lead 3-1 to take

a two-run lead back here in the 8th inning. >> rob: very nice. that's a huge run right there, bob. >> bob: ian desmond's second rbi tonight. >> rob: riggleman turns the youngster loose. he crushes it into left field. line drive, brings in the run, great job right there manufacturing a run between nyjer morgan and ian desmond. >> bob: and he could turn desmond loose. he's already stolen one tonight. nyjer has scored a couple runs tonight. morgan, scoring 12 runs on the year now. >> rob: come on, cristian. put one in play here. >> bob: for a leadoff man, that's the one stat that truly means everything. how many times does he touch

home plate? >> rob: well, we should give him some credit too. there was a ball in the outfield. he could have gone for the great play at 3rd. he played it heads up, threw it to 2nd. it's being under control whether you're defense or offense. this would be a good count to send him right here. >> bob: looked like a changeup. 3-1. still only one out here in the 8th. big adam dunn on deck.

nationals lead 3-1. >> bob: now 3-2 with one out. you'd expect desmond to be running. guzman takes a strike. that's the second out of the inning. guzman didn't swing and he's punched out. >> rob: yeah, but it looked low. 3-2 pitch right here on the pitch track. nice pitch by grabow.

>> bob: here's adam dunn, 0-3 with a couple strikeouts want to. the second baseman, mike fontenot, is in short right field on this shift. we want to correct one thing from earlier. the cubs got him in a trade with baltimore back in '05 involving sammy sosa. desmond is into 2nd base this time. and the nats continue to run very, very well. desmond's second steal of the night. so fontenot originally drafted by the orioles in '01 then traded for by the cubs. >> rob: great jump. desmond off to the races, and he's in there. he flies head first that time.

nice one, two punch tonight. desmond and morgan. >> bob: jim riggleman is going to have to disease about desmond. even though he's doing great, he might be the guy pushed down in the batting order. but hey, that's not a bad bat, 7th or 8th. >> rob: no. >> bob: 2-2 to adam dunn now. >> rob: you just want to be out there playing. ian loves playing. he knows he's going to pay his dues up there. if cristian is happy and hits well in the 2-hole, put him up there. maybe that's the thing. maybe he doesn't like hitting 3- hole. some guys think that i have to be an rbi machine in the three, four, five spot. cristian liked being that hitting machine and that hitting behind the runner

machine. different philosophy, mind set. >> bob: fastball way up and in to adam dunn, and the count goes to 3-2. >> rob: look at how close josh willingham is on this. he's trying to get the best angle he can of grabow. >> bob: 3-2 pitch. dunn, ground ball to fontenot out in right field. a momentary bobble. the nats get an unearned run. this is unlike any car you've ever seen before. this is power with efficiency. this is an interior that exceeds even the promise of the exterior. this is the all-new jaguar xj. the stunning result of taking a very different road.

>> bob: right by wrigley field goes the elevate ad train here on the north side of chicago. a full moon on april 27 as the nationals lead 3-1. livan hernandez, e.r.a. started the night 0.75. he's given up a run and it's gone up. that's how good he's going. you give up one run, your e.r.a. goes up. theriot, fukudome, and lee in

the chicago 8th. strike one. theriot came in the cubs' hottest hitter on a six-game streak. he gets jammed and hit it is out of play right side right over the bullpen. >> rob: and you've got tyler clippard up ready to go. you're going to have capps getting up in the 9th inning. tough decision for riggleman because he's starting to get up there in pitches. still, you don't want to change the moment touch. after being a former setup closer guy, if you're throwing a game like this, keep the guy in as long as you can. >> bob: breaking ball and he left it up. it's a fair ball down the line. the cubs have their leadoff man aboard. that hurts. that was an 0-2 pitch. livan just left that ball up too far. >> rob: well, this may be livan's last hitter because if

we were to get on, you bring in clippard and just let him blow away the middle of the lineup. the guy who's been manipulating the speed zone out there all night. then bring in clippard with, what is being said, one of the best changeups in the national league. he might have a chance to make the all-star team. riggleman, on his way out. looks like a double switch. >> bob: he's going the bullpen right now. livan hernandez throws 99 pitches. looks like cristian guzman is leaving. >> rob: i like the decision. >> bob: 7-plus for livan. brilliant again tonight. did the caveman invent fire? ♪ sweet times knocking at my front door, what else could i ask for, tonight. ♪

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>> bob: that first base dugout is alive with admiration tonight for livan hernandez, who has given this team four consecutive great starts. >> rob: he has done a masterful job, wonderful job again. four straight starts. 7 innings, 9 innings, 8 innings. now 7-plus innings again. you couldn't have four better starts from the veteran livan hernandez. it's heart not to feed off of that, bob, if you're a younger player watching him go out there and go do his job. you want to be able to do yours.

you don't want to be the weak link. >> bob: kosuke fukudome for the cubs. derrek lee is next. clippard is on, who's been outstanding lately himself. tyler clippard, his e.r.a. has gone down to 0.61 in nine games. >> rob: you've noticed the tighter his mechanics have become, the quieter he's become. >> bob: he's only given up six hits this year. one run in almost 15 innings striking out 19. the opponents batting average,

really impressive. .130. adam kennedy takes over at 2nd base for guzman, playing up the middle with desmond. >> rob: beautiful shot. four-seam fastball. he's had a couple nights off. that will affect your changeup and breaking stuff. with that wind blowing in left center field in, challenge this guy. >> bob: last time he pitched a scoreless 8th, sunday in the 1- 0 win over the dodgers. look at that changeup. >> rob: beautiful. >> bob: he struck out the booth on that one from the body english i saw up here. >> rob: i'm sure kosuke saw a

few of those over in japan. >> bob: better than a strikeout per inning, obviously. >> rob: wouldn't mind taking a ground ball right to our middle infielders. watch fukudome. where is he going? he just tries to crush that pitch. >> bob: you have to throw a strike here. you cannot walk this guy in front of derrek lee. throws a strike with the runner going. fukudome stays alive. >> rob: they're trying. i know lou is trying to stay out of the double play. also possibly get your middle infielders to move and cover

the bag. we would say late in a ball game like this, defense first. stay at your position. let the guy go. >> bob: 3-2 again. runner going. uh-oh. >> rob: fastball. >> bob: derrek lee, in this series, is 0-7. hit the ball hard last time. josh willingham took an extra base hit away from him. >> rob: nothing's working right now for tyler.

he's got to regroup, get the mechanics back together. i've said this before, you're only as good as what you're doing right now. nobody cares about what you did last week. nice pitch. i like the fact that tyler has confidence when he's behind the breaking stuff. not many guys, especially from a young pitcher, expect that. they're looking for him to panic and want to throw 91-mile- an-hour fastballs down the plate. they get that changeup, they're surprised as anybody. >> bob: almost threw it away. pudge rodriguez had to go backhand. >> rob: now he's overthrowing a little bit. it's a pressure situation. great backhand by a guy that's

got 13 gold gloves somewhere in one of his residencies. >> bob: lee gets jammed. it's high in the air. long run. maxwell is there for a huge first out. >> rob: derrek lee is 0-4 tonight. next up will be marlon byrd. here's the pitch sequence on mr. lee. changeup, strike. fastball down, jam on the inside. part of the plate, tied up his hands. we've got a maxwell out there. you've really got to go hard these next two righties.

this is where you earn your reputation as a set-up man. >> bob: first time these two have ever faced each other. >> rob: got to start working ahead. working behind, putting the advantage to the hitter. you don't want to do that coming out of the bullpen. >> bob: the only thing about

the cubs is, they go right, right, right. >> rob: with the force plays in order, you always think in the back of your mind, one pitch away. >> bob: very late for that one. >> rob: there's nothing wrong with locating a good fastball like he did on derrek lee. not throwing the curveball tonight. that's a good pitch. it's too close. 2-1 pitch. that is a strike.

that is an awful call. the last few seasons, just awful umpiring. >> bob: 3-1 now. byrd helps out by swinging at a pitch outside. the nats get a very important second out. the runners do move up to 2nd and 3rd in a two-run game. >> rob: well, wasn't hit hard enough to be a double play ball. once again, when you're on that mound, you have to think of how do i get out of this? you have to visualize what you're going to do. that was an excellent pitch by clippard. he just didn't get the results to get out of the inning. >> bob: i think adam kennedy made the right decision. >> rob: absolutely. >> bob: so here's ramirez with the tieing run at 2nd base.

>> rob: beautiful pitch. >> bob: really pulled the string on ramirez. >> rob: make sure you miss low on these guys. 78-mile-an-hour, getting the changeup. that is beautiful. he's worked this guy to death. all over the place. 1st base is open. much better contact with the guy standing in front of you than the guy on deck. >> bob: soriano. base hit and a walk to start the inning. clippard, a slow down. 1 ball, 1 strike to aramis

ramirez. and little bouncer over to adam dunn. to the pitcher. the 8th inning is over. clippard does not break. three big outs. 3-1 nats.

>> rob: we're back here

tonight. some controversial calls by the men in blue. that was a sure double play. missed the call. then the error thrown. gonzalez a swipe tag. not even close. this was a ball, should have been a strike. in this last inning, clippard throws it down the heart of the plate. beautiful pitch. ball. four bad calls by the blue tonight. >> bob: top of the 9th inning, the nationals lead 3-1. justin byrd makes his first appearance. josh willingham, three fly balls to right field against tom gorzelanny tonight. >> rob: boy, is the hammer

happy to see gorzelanny out of the game. >> bob: this guy's got a -- >> rob: oh, there's another bad call. throw that on the tape. see if he goes around. there's the plate right there. let's see if he breaks the line. i'm going to say five bad calls tonight. make it an easy nickel. >> bob: 2-1. >> rob: come on, hammer. >> bob: matt capps for the 9th. the good news is no lee, byrd, or ramirez coming up. >> rob: we could use an extra run right here. >> bob: the nats would be happy to make this a nonsave situation. >> rob: hey, russell is warming

up. >> bob: that's interesting because the nats don't have any left-handed batters coming up. >> rob: look out. unintentional. byrd, a little bit all over the place. >> bob: st. louis just dropped a four-spot on the braves in the 6th. >> rob: this is scary. stay away from the hammer, man. we love the hammer. >> bob: now he gets squeezed. that's ball 4. >> rob: that'll go on their tape. >> bob: follow the nats on your iphone, ipod touch, blackberry. it's mlbat abat. go to

nationals.com on your smart phone. you'll find lots of action. riggleman has a lot of moves he can make with this ball club. >> rob: that's the beautiful thing. once we do get a lead, we can throw a bunch of gloves at you. that's where you have to say the nationals are so improved this year. mike rizzo and his staff be d a great job. he's not done there. cavalry, more guys coming. strasburg, just keep throwing strikes. >> bob: pudge got jammed. he fouls it back. >> rob: marquis, he's getting healthy. >> bob: detwiler, he's getting

healthy. >> rob: it's going to be hard to get up on this team later in the season if they keep on winning. that's how you want it. competition at the lower level. the better those guys play down here, the possibility of some trades. ted lilly from the cubs is a free agent. millwood with the orioles, right down the street, he's a free agent. brandon webb, if he ever comes back. >> bob: i would hate to be in a fantasy league with you. with all the inside information you get from these three hours on the radio every day, then your six hours here at the ballpark. >> rob: i know. an awkward moment. did not get hurt. not allowed to do that.

>> bob: 0-2. >> rob: i mean, he's even nice. i was walking through the lobby, my shoe laces untied. he stops me. your shoe lace is untied. don't trip. >> bob: pudge. >> rob: he's just the nicest guy too. >> bob: i wouldn't have told you. >> rob: i know you wouldn't have. you want me to trip. >> bob: like i got a chance to talk more on this show. are you kidding me? >> rob: my wife, when i go home, he's like, can you just shut up? you do a radio show, you do tv, you never shut up. >> bob: i think the cold has

frozen your brain. 0-2 to pudge who's waging a tough batting. he's 1-3 tonight. that's a good take. justin berg, in 9 appearance this year. 4.5 e.r.a. justin maxwell is next. >> rob: that kid can play some right field. >> bob: matt capps is already warmed up. it's been a long at-bat after the walk to willingham. right hander has that fastball that keeps getting away from him. >> rob: once he loses his mechanics a little bit, you see how that arm a trails.

that pitch comes up underneath your chin. >> bob: the nats got a little help from the padres tonight who just beat the marlins 4-1. runner moving. swing and a miss. a dead duck as taveras -- i'm not sure i've ever seen willie taveras thrown out by that much. he must have gotten a bad break off 1st. >> rob: and i think he was in between sliding there. he might have gotten caught on a spike. tough slide right there by willie. watch this. trips coming out of the gate. he catches a spike. i hope he's not hurt. >> bob: the cubs with their

second double play of the night. maxwell, 0-1 with a pair of walks. justin keeps getting on base. he'll drill this ball to right field. he takes off. it's brought in by fukudome. he really hit that ball hard. all right. matt caption for the bottom of the 9th inning. the nats lead by 2. -sure. i think you might have hooked it up wrong, though. yea, we're getting way too many channels. no, no. that's -- that's standard. fios also comes with 11,000 free movies and shows on demand per month. ah, standard. gotcha. a certain somebody says "thank you." tell him "he's welcome," but it's still standard. he's happy to be back with his friends. is he? [ male announcer ] call now and get fios tv, internet, and phone for just $99.99 a month guaranteed for two years! this is beyond cable. this is fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

>> bob: bottom of the 9th inning coming up. the nats are on top 3-1. let's look at the drive of the game. >> rob: a huge hit. just trying to get a run in, move a guy over, and you hit a triple over the center fielder's head with the wind blowing. cristian guzman, with the ford drive of the game. taveras, obviously he's not hurt. he's out there now. we have our fast defense out there now. >> bob: and for the cubs, soriano, fontenot, and soto in the bottom of the 9th against matt capps. soriano tonight 1-3. great breaking ball. what a slider that was.

they've seen each other in this division before, the nl central. fastball up. nice pitch on 0-2. no way soriano can get over the top of that. >> rob: he came up high. maybe throw one down low and away on this guy. >> bob: don't have to throw soriano a strike to get him out here. >> rob: absolutely not. he's trying to hit a four-run home run with nobody on. he still swings one of the biggest bats in the big leagues too. it's like a 35-ounce bat.

>> bob: fastball up and he blows him away for the first out of the night. next up will be the 2nd baseman, fontenot. >> rob: all this is set up by getting ahead with the fastball, slider for two. pitch up high, then another one. it just looks too good to layoff. soriano can carry the bat back with him. >> bob: fontenot, as a base hit with three trips tonight. >> rob: some tough little cookies that play up the middle. >> bob: yes. they were teammates at lsu, theriot and fontenot.

now they're cubs. >> rob: they both have french names to go with the french quarter. >> bob: on a low fastball, capps has it, runs it over. two outs. >> rob: thank you very much. we'll take that for the second out. come on, capper. that's the out we've been waiting for all day, bob. >> bob: nats trying to even the series and set it up for the rubber game in the daylight

tomorrow. and it's geovany soto, 1-3 with a base hit. the cubs have only had six hits all night. guys know they have to go up and be aggressive against matt capps. >> rob: they haven't seen each other too much. spent a couple years in the big leagues. sometimes they pull him down for left-handed guys. last year he was struggling. >> bob: two strikes away from a curly "w" there's one of them. it's 0-2 here. tyler clippard, a scoreless 8th. here's the 0-2. it's in the air and on the ground in right

field. matt capps left an 0-2 pitch too hittable. now the cubs can go to their bench in the number 9 spot. they will do so with tyler colvin, the rookie. >> rob: too good of an 0-2 pitch, bob. sometimes you just want to knock guys off the plate and set up tomorrow's game. >> bob: they were going concede second base. >> rob: this kid has got 18 games in the big leagues. >> bob: he's 0-3 as a pinch

hitter. he had a triple here last night with a walk and punched out twice. >> rob: wow. you have got the wind blowing in from the left. you want to try to stay on the left side of the plate with this kid. >> bob: runner goes. a swing and a miss, strike 2. soto at 2nd base. that run means nothing. again, matt capps, a strike away from nailing one down.

>> rob: there's the outfield defense, playing the left side. >> bob: 0-2 pitch. scott berry, giving a rookie batter time. >> rob: that's just unbelievable. >> bob: as the veteran pitcher was starting to move. >> rob: i'm sure in the stretch, i don't care who's asking for time. he's about ready to deliver the pitch, you can't be giving time to the batter. >> bob: that's a great 0-2 pitch. >> rob: great pitch by the

capper. >> bob: runner at 2nd base. two outs, bottom of the 9th. good discipline by the rookie on the last two pitches. >> rob: stay right there. he'll swing. don't give in. >> bob: leadoff man, ryan theriot, hopefully leading off around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. >> rob: after we've scored a few runs. >> bob: 2 balls, 2 strikes. on a pitch up, it's fouled away.

>> rob: now i think since you thrown so many successive fastballs, try and pull the string on one. down in the zone, maybe in the dirt. they're going to stay away with the heater. >> bob: 2-2. close enough. it's swung on and fouled again. >> rob: he's seen so many of them now. it's almost a pitch recognition deal. standing on a hill, you say enough's enough. this guy, no time in the big leagues. he doesn't know me.

here's my good slider. >> bob: he jammed it with a slider. somehow colvin got that bat on the ball. >> rob: back door slider. pudge wanted it down and away on the outside corner. got to do better than that though, matt. you've got to pull it down. it was a good idea. marlon byrd, looking on. >> bob: cubs, one hit from their three, four, five hitters tonight. this is the number 9 spot with

a rookie pinch hitting. two balls in, two strikes with a runner at 2nd. two outs, bottom 9. swing and miss on a high fastball. and the nationals even the series with a 3-1 victory and livan hernandez, the key to this game. >> rob: master of changing suppose. he's phenomenal. tyler clippard game on, great. matt capps, right here ending it with the rookie high fastball. good battle though by tyler colvin. he'll have many more of those in his big league career. nationals, great job. pitching, scoring, defensively. you're missing your big hammer, zimmerman. you don't play well, even at

3rd base position. gonzalez was fantastic. >> bob: how about last few days? nationals win 1-0. lose 4-3 in ten, and tonight win in regulation 3-1. that's the bottom line. some well-pitched, well-played ball games. this is real baseball as jim riggleman always says. down to the field with ian desmond. >> reporter: that's right. what was the approach there in the 1st inning? >> just swing the bat. it was a ground ball and score the runs. >> reporter: how much confidence does it give you that jim gives you the green light on that 3-0 count? >> it's awesome. the team trusts me. i think they're starting to trust me and they feel good. >> reporter: we're starting to put desmond and defense together every night. you've credited the starting pitching and what a great job.

did that help you out? >> absolutely. they're hitting their spots. it makes the game so much easier. >> reporter: nice job tonight. they're back over .5 00. >> bob: nationals are 11-10. they drop the cubs to 10-11 on this chilly night. nats 3, cubs 1. tomorrow, we'll conclude the series. we'll get you going at 1:30. stay tuned for nats xtra. johnny and ray in the studio coming up. so long for just a while.

hi, everybody. time for nats xtra post game. the nationals are back over the .5 00 mark. tonight it's all over. another great pitching performance by hernandez. we were just figuring here. e.r.a., hernandez is now .87. clippard is .87. capps is .73. >> that's pretty serious. >> i don't think i'd want to face these guys. >> no. capps came in with 15 strikes. talk about pounding the strike zone. 93-95-mile-an-hour slider. livan doing a tremendous job. clippard, doing so well moving into that set-up role.

desmond, two stolen bases. great defense. five or six highlight plays that we're going show you that you can hang a star on. outstanding defensive plays. >> the nationals win it 3-1. our defining moment tonight in the 1st inning. after nyjer's triple, desmond goes to work. >> he does. that's what he needs to learn to do. go to right field. there's a lot of hits that way. what did guzman do? he crushed the ball. deep, deep, against the win. look our far that ball blew away from byrd. about 8 or 10 feet to his right. then we were able to get those two runs in. later on, base hit left field. clutch base hit, going up 3-1. desmond showing he is not at all intimidated by the big leagues now. he's starting to play great baseball. >> and the numbers tonight.

the nationals 3-4-1. hernandez goes to 3-1. capps gets the save. he has a perfect 9-9. gorzelanny takes the loss. desmond had a 2-4 night. two driven and a run scores and two stolen bases. gorzelanny had a couple doubles, a couple walks and three strikeouts. let's take you to wrigley field in chicago. all of the sudden people feel -- oh, of course not. you guys are in the press box. how about the defensive work to back up the pitching of hernandez? >> by the way, the window behind us has been open for two nights. these lights feel real good right about now. >> i'm sweating. >> anyway, the defense has been

very, very good. livan sets the tone then you have a bunch of good versatile guys behind him. >> it really helped. we pressed the action. the defense has just been amazing. ryan zimmerman is our gold glove 3rd baseman. he's out. alberto, willie, anybody, adam kennedy filling in. they get more comfortable every day. a little flip over to cristian. josh willingham a little later, running it down. that just makes livan even more comfortable. great defense behind great pitching. a little bit of offense. that's enough for a win. >> i think the other thing is i mentioned some of those ball games in a row now since last friday. this ball club is not only plague, but winning the kinds of games we just didn't see the last two years. >> you should hear the angst.

they're venting after the ball game. they're upset. they sit an and talk baseball. last year they didn't do that. we have a lot of older players, a lot of coaches that have been around for 20, 30 years. ray knows a lot of them. he played against a bunch of them just like i did. it just shows they want to win in the worst way. they might not have the best players to match up all the time, but they have a lot of heart and they're a great team. >> i think somebody said it best, ray, on the just concluded home stand. nobody wants to come into washington for a sweep anymore. they know it's not going to happen. when the nats go on the road now, we're finding a newfound respect. >> there's a feeling you get inside as a former player, former manager. things are just positive. good things are going to happen. you can call it karma, you can

call it whatever. so many things are happening positively for this ball club. rob, i just, you know, you just gushed with admiration about what you're seeing. it feels great inside to all of us. out there in the ballpark, compared to last year, the single most important thing this ball club has done to get to where it is? >> well, it's not just who they brought n it's who they've gotten out of here. they had some guys who were used to losing. i think a lot of that was just -- guys were too comfortable with the losing. these guys that they brought in, they had world championship rings on their fingers. they still have a lot of energy. they want to go out there and show it. my former manager loupinella is in there. a lot of guys that hate to lose. you see the way the cubs play the ball game. they play the right way. you see even some of the

younger players are following livan around. a lot of the younger hitters are following pudge around. that's what you want them to do. the coaches can't always get that winning way through to the younger players. it's got to come from the other players. i think that's happening in there. >> i think the big difference the last couple years going on the road hoping not to lose. this year, expecting to win. there are a lot of good ball clubs that don't have 11 wins like the nats do now. >> and a chance to win another series tomorrow in the afternoon. i guess you guys will be wearing short sleeve shirts tomorrow? it'll be a heat wave in chicago. rrvetle you out of your mind? >> bob and rob at wrigley feel. you know, the national franchise has more wins over the cubs than any other team outside of the mets and