jordan zimmermann has it and -- ryan zimmerman has it and stoim zimmermann has pitched halfway through this game beautifully. . that's why we lowered over a thousand prices. and carry powerful tools from dewalt, milwaukee, ridgid, and more. so you spend less, but drill, saw, and nail... more. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, save $20 on a ryobi 18v starter kit with drill and circular saw for just $89. on a ryobi 18v starter kit times may be tough today, but the things we all look forward to haven't changed. like owning a home. watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence. so whatever you're looking forward to, m&t bank is here to help you get there. m&t bank. understanding what's important. >> bob: nationals baseball masn brought to you by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by firestone, a tradition of innovation. friday night at nationals park, and the nats lead 1-0 on the zimmermann, yeah, jordan zimmermann rbi. the ripken all-stars, valley league all-stars. the mid-atlantic classic july 15 less than fo

jordan zimmermann was pretty good four hours ago. join us tomorrow, nats-jays, 6:30 with "nats xtra" tomorrow night first pitch 7. 067895. visit masnsports.com for all the latest news on the nats. this has been a presentation of masn. "nats xtra", post-game coming up right now. johnny and phil from the booth. so long for just a while.  >>> hello, welcome to xtra" post-game brought to you by verizon phi yos. nationals in 11 innings knock off the toronto blue jays winning 2-1. the first extra inning victory of the year. mr. wood, boy, it couldn't come at a better time. you have the bases loaded and your big stick up in dunn dune he wanted to get the ball up in the air. he got the ball -- he got it off the ground. let just say that. he smoked that ball. you got pass overbay at first base. winning run scores. bases load, one out. perfect opportunity obviously. extra inning win. obviously as we talked about watching the ballgame, johnny, they had multiple opportunities to score runs and couldn't get it done. >> they did. th

good outing tonight for jordan zimmermann. the other zimmerman got the nationals on the board early. we'll talk about ryan after this. music playing throughout ) - it's on. - oh, it's on, all right. - it's on. - totally on. jimmy, it's on. - it's on. - oh, yeah, it's on. affirmative, it's on. announcer: southwest airlines announces new service out of bwi airport, with three daily nonstop flights to new york laguardia for just 49 dollars one-way starting june 28th. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com. ♪ who's watching? ♪ tell me who's watching. (muffled music) ♪ who's watching... (announcer) it's right here. it's easy. ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ it's the money you could be saving with geico. >>> welcome back, everybody. "nats xtra" brought to you in part by verizon fios. 8-3 the final tonight. tampa bay has taken the first two games of the three-game set. defending american league champions, got to the world series before the philies got them in five. >> real solid defense, good st

a good outing for jordan zimmermann. 106 pitches, 69 strikes. now he needs some help from his friends in the bullpen. ♪ ♪ (tucci) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide. buy the lg xenon messaging phone for 99.99 after mail-in rebate and get one free after mail-in-rebate. times may be tough today, but the things we all look forward to haven't changed. like owning a home. watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence. so whatever you're looking forward to, m&t bank is here to help you get there. m&t bank. understanding what's important. >> bob: time to bring you speed with the at&t rapid rewind. jordan zimmermann's night he would go 5 2/3. strikeout just three. walk three. not his usual strikeout to walk ratio. it took him 106 pitches. he got his first major league rbi on a fielder's choice ground ball beating it out driving in josh bard and at&t honoring jordan zimmermann. it's the nationest -- nation's fastest a network, at&t. your world delivered. >> rob: 106 pitches, 23 first- pitch strikes. he looked gas

upton is picked off of second base. >> rob: well, jordan zimmermann wanted a piece of him before. great move right there. great communication between guzman and zimmermann. you have to know that the guy's going to move. slaps the tag in there before his hands get anywhere near the bag. >> bob: that's b.j. upton who has stolen third base eight times this year being way too frisky with good hitters coming up. >> rob: you can't really blame our catchers. they've also stolen 96 bases on the rest of the american league and interleague play also. it's not just the nationals. they have a very fast team. you go back to the 80s and talk about vince and willie mcgee and all the speed they have there, and running wild on the base pads. they used to steal on us like it was nothing. >> bob: those ball clubs used to routinely steal over 200 bases a year. crawford was reaching for it. anderson hernandez charging, close play and out. the nats rescue the inning with some good defense. ú we've got a ton of stuff we've gotta pay for. and a few things we want to pay for. on top of it all,

jordan zimmermann 23 years of age. he didn't miss by much. >> rob: he's throwing so well.at the tail of that just broke so much, it came out of the strike zone. >> bob: that's hernandez, the catcher. >> rob: two outs, last thing you want to start doing is walking people. this is just 3-2 with a lot of movement. when you throw that hard, they don't all go where you want them to. >> bob: he overpowered hernandez first time up. hit a ground ball to second. for the second or third time tonight, a foul ball slams off the gear of wil nieves. take a listen. >> rob: yep, that's a wake-up call right there. >> bob: catchers need good orthodontists. they've got to have strong fillings. a swing and a foul. and very late on that one. >> rob: hernandez barely fouled off the 93, then he barely fouls off an 87-mile an hour slider. i'm sure he's guessing right now what's coming next. some high heat. >> bob: or a slider in the dirt. >> rob: you know i don't like those to the bottom of the order though. no home runs, this guy's got one home run. >> bob: the block, the ejection of the mask, t

jordan zimmermann.then he comes up the next time and lays down a bunt. >> bob: 0-2 to gross.  >> bob: having to soak up inning-plus work here for colome. he's given up two runs on three hits. and that ball out to left center. willie harris is tracking it. waved off elijah. the rays go in order, bottom of the 7th.  >> bob: beautiful evening in st. petersburg, florida, especially for the rays fans. they lead it 8-2 as we go to the 8th. you can follow the nats on your iphone and ipod touch. featuring play-by-play, video highlights and live audio broadcasts. visit nationals.com on your iphone or ipod touch to purchase. anderson hernandez, cristian guzman and nick johnson. andy sonnanstine, seven innings, 77 pitches. he's well on his way to his second career complete game. this guy pitches like this, it's hard to believe he's only had one. >> rob: i watched him a lot last year and he was really tough down the stretch for this team. when he's on, he's really on. >> bob

jordan zimmermann's turn tonight. can he like his young teammates continue to feed off each other's success? éa, >> bob: nationals baseball masn brought to you in part by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. by aflac, we've got you under our wing. and by -- and by acura. acura advance. it's a nice night down there at the national harbor, the woodrow wilson bridge all the way up north to the red least and red porch here at nationals park. blue jays are second in the american league in hitting right behind the angels now. scott rolen a-former philly and cardinal is really, really hot. he's 17-34 last. he's healthy for the first time in the last couple of years after serious shoulder problems hampered him and he's leading the way with a very good toronto lineup. jordan zimmermann, rob dibble, has a tough assignment against these boys tonight. >> rob: yes, em he will have his work cut out for him tonight. he has to stop this lineup like stopping the yankees and the rays. it's been intim indicate

zimmermann, 2-3. look at the e.r.a. brian a little better than jordan's. comparison goes to zimmermann there, phil. >> absolutely. again, 4-1 strikeout to walk ratio. zimmermann doesn't have a win since the 26th of eighteen 6789 -- april. >> craig stammen and i sat down and talked a little about last night's game and what a thrill it was for himself to get his first major league victory. >> craig, got to congratulate you on a fabulous performance against the yankees yesterday in what had to be one of the longest days of your life just waiting for the game. >> yeah, it was fun. waiting for the game, unfortunately, we've had a couple of those games here in washington too. i was looking forward to pitching in yankee stadium. i was glad the game -- we actually got play and finish it. >> you also had a chance to go to the other side and play over at the mets new stadium which has been the biggest crowd you've ever pitched before. >> yeah, both those stadiums are new and really cool to play in. you always think of the center of the baseball universe is in new yor

jordan zimmermann is 0-15. >> rob: he said what i usually say. yeah, everybody can hit at 5:00. can you hit at 7:05. bp pitching throwing it about 60 at 5:00 in the afternoon. and telling you what's coming too. >> bob: that's a chopper that hits in or near the plate and that will do it for the nats. anderson hernandez, base hit. got the pitcher out of the way. we go top three, no score. ♪ ♪ (tucci) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide. get the blackberry bold for $199.99 after mail-in-rebate. only from at&t. >> bob: on to the top of th third inning. nats have outhit the blue jays 2-1. it's time to look at everything last night. >> rob: they were laying out for everything with the leather and then see the assist from austin kearns at second base, willie harris laying out diving on that warning track. anderson hernandez, cristian guzman, ryan zimmerman from his knees. >> bob: i had one guy in new york last night say willie harris' landing was the best one in that town since sully sullivanen burger on the hudson river. >> rob: sully, i'm in his fan club.

. >> what did you think of jordan zimmermann today? >> he looked pretty nasty. looked like he had command of everything and the guys pulled it out at the end. >> do you feel too the bullpen is starting to get into a good groove? >> i don't think fwheer a good groove. i think we're getting a chance to go out and have an opportunity to do the right thing -- things and make pitches and execute. it's just everybody is playing. >> does it help that you pretty much know when you're going to come in? >> it doesn't matter to me really. i hope i don't ever have to be told i'll have a role. i don't care for it. some guys they like it. they enjoy it. doesn't matter as long as we have a win. roles are secondary. >> what was going through your mind when adam was down 0-2 in the 11? >> i don't know if you're aware of this, but you were 0-8 in extra inning games coming into today. >> i was a little aware of not a great record. adam is a good hitter, works hard. sooner or later, we knew we would turn around extra innings. >> to coe this be the turning ?oint. >> i hope so. come

and jordan zimmermann was born 353 days after he signed, talking about john smoltz. this's how young he was. >> rob: disirm was 2 when smoltz made his big league debut. >> jim: he was not thinking about jordan there when he got signed, june 5, 1986 or something like that. but -- the bay by, somewhere in 1988. the thing about jordan zimmermann that is impressive, if you read the boston globe with the red sox coming in, is he struck out pedroia who was the m.v.p., and he said that's the only second time in almost 400 games that pedroia has ever struck out twice in one game. and the bullpen for the yankees, phil hughes, is now the other guy. >> jim: two outs and none on following the melvin mora ground out. as the orioles continue this stretch of left-handed starters against them. so the switch hitter is getting a lot of at-bats from the right side. now, that is high. ball three. detwiler averages about 3.5 walks per nine innings and striking out about six. no decision last saturday against the blue jays. he pitched very well. the comments that we have heard, and, rob,

manny acta takes jordan zimmermann out, three batters later, three runs for the rays. >> rob: zobrist, the 93-mile an hour sinker, gets plate coverage and he just kills that ball. >> bob: ben zobrist adds to his career high with his 13th home run. the rays have scored four runs tonight, driving all of them in with the long ball. and they lead by two. >> rob: i'm sure manny will be asked about pulling zimmermann after 92 pitches. it was a long five innings for him.

that was back in the fifth inning as jordan zimmermann picked off b.j. upton. >> rob: right there, that's the first move, didn't work. second time they tried to get him later in the game. watch this tag. cristian guzman, gets the glove down before he can get the hand back. so the high tag the first time on the arm, by hernandez. didn't work. the second time cristian guzman got the coors light freeze it, freeze frame. >> bob: coors light is the world's most refreshing beer. julian tavarez against michel hernandez, reid brignac and b.j. upton for the rays, bottom of the 8th. >> rob: julian tavarez worked a couple of innings for his 50th win in the major leagues. >> bob: guys like mariano rivera, hoffman, wet they ares on that list. >> rob: i think arthur rhodes is on that list. >> bob: threw his bat at the ball. it will be uncatchable down in the bullpen. >> bob: is that ludacris? >> rob: throwing his bat? that's what you call throwing the bat head out there. literally. >> bob: the line on andy sonnanstine who will go 7 1/3, six hits, a walk, five strikeou

lannan, stammen and bergmann also draft picks by this ball game club. >> rob: now zimmerman, jordan zimmermannsation pick for soriano, so that was well-done there. detwiler sixth pick overall in '07. always nice when you draft guys high and they do well. i talked to former orioles general manager ... and he said that very high draft picks pretty much 50:50, 52% make it. so it's not an exact science, it's very difficult to project young men, a lot of them high school kids, to the major leagues three, four years down the road. it's definitely a gift that these scouts have, these evaluate orszagh have. >> johnny: i think when you're talking about mike rizzo in his days back in arizona, when you look at the nucleus of young guys he drafted and what they were able to do with that ball club when he was out there, i think it speaks for it.  arthur rhodes has served  home to cristian guzman to cut to it 3-2 cincinnati. he has got a three-ball and one- strike count on ryan zimmerman. >> rob: i think when he was with the razorbacks they won 6 championships at the mi

jordan zimmermann goes in the  wednesday anst  ho is 7-1. there's no doubt who is the os ((f  staff righno. sporting a 2.76 e.r.a. out of play right side. ricky is a .152 career hitter. >> rob: i think olsen and nolasco are challenging each other. nice. took something off of that. >> bob: i remember scott telling me early this year, he and ricky nolasco were what they called throwing partners when they were with the marlins, so maybe you can reexplain that for our fans. >> rob: every day you've got a guy you throw with. if you're together and i was together with joe oliver for 12 seasons, we threw every day together. i threw with norm charlton for seven, eight years straight. i was roommates with norm charlton for seven years. being a throwing buddy is exactly what it is. he's your guy every day that you loosen up and you prepare yourself for work with. >> bob: olsen working up a good sweat on this 76-degree evening. but it was in the 90s, but if i remember correctly, when he pitched here for the marlins, he used to dip that

jordan zimmermann goes tomorrow. ross detwiler still looking for his first big league win. tonight, it's craig stammen's return to the rotation. ú  >> bob: nationals baseb masn brought to you in part by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by aflac, we've got you under our wing. nationals tried to break a hemsky that they are under -- hex that they are under here in south florida having lost eight straight here in this ballpark and maybe new blood injected into the ballpark will help even though those guys will not be here until tomorrow. big news on the trade front today. now, rob, let's talk about the top three starters lately starting with john lannan. amazing sunday in baltimore. >> rob: we know lannan slanl our ace. he has treemd yupous stuff, huge heart. he's so competitive, he can go up against anybody's best guy. the guy who backed him up last night, finally somebody pitched behind john lannan after a great outing. scott olsen was out there dom nait nant for seven outings and jordan zimmermann, this kid has a-1 stuff. eventua

and every time they go out and jordan zimmermann was nails. we have just gotten good pitching. martis strucked the other day. johnny, it is all about pitching. i don't care how many runs you score, if you can pitch and play solid defense -- >> it is that simple. >> it is. we have amassed a good young starting staff and they're going to get better and better a decision to be made with olsen. he's coming back. she going to make us better. so no question about it. we're in every ballgame. it is a matter of if we hit. i believe we'll hit. i just don't know how much we're going to hit consistently because over the last 15 games, we have had 11 of those game where is we scored three runs or less. you're not going to win scoring three runs or less. convenient the best pitchers give up four runs. so we're just going to have to be a little better in situational hitting and be a little more selective at the plate. like last night. last night, we can do that. we can do that three or four times a week and break out and explode like that. >> the catching committee by committee which is jesu

a very good outing by jordan zimmermann 5 2/3 tonight. only a run on five hits. manny acta's post-game thoughts and a preview of game two featuring ross detwiler still hunting that first major league win. ross will make his seventh big league start tomorrow. here is alex rios. >> rob: took craig stammen five starts into his sixth start to get that first big league win against a very tough yankees offense. hopefully, ross detwiler can do the same now against the toronto blue jays. get up for the competition, so to speak. nice job last night. >> bob: last time a team pitched that well in new york against the yankees was the rangers at the end of june last year. they gave up three earned runs in a series winning one -- one run in each game and the nationals did just as well and took 2-3. no runs last night. two runs on wednesday. i think the nats also gave up two unearned runs in game one the night before. this ball will be out of play to the right side. alex rios, 0-3 tonight.  >> bob: that's a go low strike. the count is

jordan zimmermann on wednesday. then the braves are in for three.make your ticket plans for the weekend. we will ring in the fourth, and then it's on to colorado and houston prior to the all-star break. the nats have a stretch of a bunch of road games here. that's 13 out of 16 games on the road, starting last friday at baltimore. >> rob: i hope colorado cools off because they've won 22 of their last 29. >> bob: that's a managerial change that worked. arizona didn't, colorado did. >> rob: they're now five games over .500. it can be done. >> bob: 0-2. no swing says james hoye. this is fun to watch this one over and over again. so easy. almost took a window off our masn office. and a breaking ball, see ya. strikeout number five for ricky nolasco. he's really warming things up after the nats got him for two in the second. >> rob: you throw one this good, he's frozen, he knows he can't pull the trigger on that one. adam will walk back to the -- to the dugout. >> bob: with two strikes you can not be looking for that pitch because he'll throw the fastball

. >> rob: man, he didn't call that all night for jordan zimmermann who threw 23 first- pitch strikes. look at this pitch. unreal. >> bob: yeah. and the word that comes to mind, inconsistent. >> rob: just be consistent. call it both ways. be unbiased and fair. >> bob: 18-year veteran brian gorman the crew chief. 1-2 to nick johnson. hey, i'd throw a 1-2 pitch out there myself. >> rob: you keep testing it and push that envelope as far out as you can if you get that call. come on, nick. >> bob: tie game, bottom of the ninth. 2-2. nick johnson takes it low and inside. >> rob: how do you not bite on that, nick? >> bob: well, that's how you walk. >> rob: man. >> bob: 40 times this year. look at the walks on a 3-2 count. that's amazing 20 of them. half of his walks a pitch up and away. nick spoils it as he should. just went with it. ryan zimmerman has to be hungry for another chance. he's 0-4 tonight. he's actually hit right-handers better this year. the winning run is on base. a lot of the bottom of the ninths for relievers fall apart when there's a leadoff walk. i'm not saying this is goin

josh johnson and jordan zimmermann. that should be some pitching matchup. braves in for three over the weekend. then, we're on to colorado monday after a very short home stand. our friends from dc 50 hop aboard on sunday. hope you can join us for a great 4thof july weekend in a town where baseball should be played on that weekend every year. there's big number 55 who goes tomorrow. he's 7-1. >> rob: ricky nolasco on his right. >> bob: even sitting down, he's bigger than everybody josh johnson career against the nats. >> rob: could be a basketball team. they're all like 6'8", 6'9". there's volstad all the way to the left. >> bob: johnson is 4-0 with a 3.49 against the nationalities. the only reason the e.r.a. is that high is because that first inning grand slam austin kearns hit against him earlier this year and the nationals still weren't able to win that game. >> rob: that's andrew miller, the lefty sitting there. pretty good arms on their side of the field too. they've got andrew miller, dontrelle willis, miguel cabrera trade. great, young left-hander. >>

aaron hill 1-3 with an infield hit off the glove of jordan zimmermann. one of the best hitters in the american league this year. 91 hits. if he gets another hit tonight, he'll have his 29th multihit game and nobody in baseball has had more. that's well hit, left center. dunn playing way off the line and that's great advance scouting by the nats. adam dunn was playing 100 feet off the line. he's not. that's -- if he's not, that's a double. >> rob: as bob said, defense was setup perfectly by the advance scouting or whoever was checking out blue jays. adam dunn only had to run a few steps to pickoff that line drive. >> bob: we understand that was wade taylor for the series. >> rob: very cool. >> bob: a birdie told us. >> rob: nice job. >> bob: yeah, he's pretty good white did he say about the pitching? how are we supposed to hit them? [ laughter ] i'm just beating -- >> bob: whoa. >> rob: that's not good. >> bob: that's up and in to vernon wells. >> rob: vernon wells. >> bob: who had two hits tonight and down he went. that was not a breaking ball. >> rob: t

>> bob: scott olson tomorrow in florida, then jordan zimmermann. the nats probably feel like if they can sneak one today here, they've got a chance to go down and do some damage against the marlins. they know what lannan is doing. he's had 92 pitches through 7 innings. enjoy the rest of your day. (crowd cheers) (music plays) witness a piece of golf history. the travelers championship. june 22nd through 28th.  >> jim h.: look at our geico game summary. early lead for the orioles. lannan would get out of trouble. then adam dunn, 442-foot home run, 2-1. right here, anderson hernandez singled to center. wieters drops the throw, 3-1. the shot over the right center field fence. so david hernandez pitched pretty well today. the orioles get the early lead, but the nationals have come back. i don't know if it's a commanding 4-1 lead, but they're ahead by 3. here is adam dunn who hit that two run home run, almost hit the warehouse. a one hopper to the warehouse for his 19th. >> jim p.: brick damage. >> jim h.: there is the pitch for the strike. >>

. >> rob: now jordan zimmermann faces ortiz and he blew him away. not even close to the fastball. >> bob: all five runs charged to detwiler, he goes five plus, gives up nine hits, two walks, a couple of double play balls kept that line from being worse. and then you look up and it is 3-1 on the next hitter. >> rob: i know you would never be disrespectful to hitters and you faced multiple hall of famers in your career, but you probably didn't think anyone could hit your stuff. >> jim: well -- >> rob: within reason. you have to believe you can't hit my stuff. >> bob: that's a fastball hit a mile and foul. >> jim: a mile towards the warehouse. >> bob: wieters making a bid for his third big league home run. as always, some fans in the corner pointing fair. that ball was not that far from going right over the top of that foul pole and, jim, here at camden yards, that's not one of the taller foul poles in baseball. >> jim: no, it isn't, and this ball is launched. the two home runs that matt wieters has hit this year have been to left field. >> rob: the on

so jordan zimmermann is starting to change eye level.he's not getting effect irvly wild, but change the eye level occasionally. not waste a pitch, but locate it better. >> jim p.: in and out and up and down. >> rob: that's why this guy, he's in the hall of fame. we say the same stuff all the time. don't throw so many strikes. but you've got to make them dance, too. the first night just standing there smoking the ball. >> bob: you know how many hitters rob dibble hit in his career? not many. >> jim p.: i didn't hit too many either. if i did, there's a big difference between hitting guys. it's a little different nowadays because they wear the armor and they kind of lean into pitches. i hit 12. i didn't like to do it, but i did like to pitch off the plate. joe rudy one night, he hit a ball about four inches outside the outside corner for a double, i go, okay, let's see if you can hit one six inches inside. if you can hit the ball away off the plate, then see if you can dodge the one inside. >> bob: anderson hernandez with his good range out

zimmermann came up against the great offense the next night. jordan was just as solid. he was out eight days because of an injury. he came out of the ballgame way 2-1 lead. the third pitches, here he come, one of the youngest pitch everies on the staff. >> ross detwiler 23 years of age, that 23, 24 thing is where we go next with the young 3rd baseman. zimmermann is the older of the two of the young sackers we see in this series. >> our guy can play third quarter. boy, he can hit it. gets it over the plate, that was yesterday, got us off to a good start. it's great to see is west -- to see the best 3rd baseman on the field. you're looking at two of the best young 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd baseman in the business. >> longoria 2nd in the american league in rbis are with a total of 58. manny acta addresses that. >> i never look forward to having zimmermann may 3rd -- play 3rd base. if we can take advantage of back to back day, we'll do it. he's very young and in great shape. he's a guy that plays everyday until the last three years until he got hurt. he doesn't complain. he goes out