and the tying run will end up at third base on a throwing error by josh bard. s, you have to let them go. look at longoria. he is right in bard's way. bard has to throw this ball and it goes over the third baseman. sometimes, it's better if you stay right in front of them, get around him, not an easy task and the throw goes arye, but it's the kind of pressure these guys put on you. >> bob: and now that's a 3-2 game with the tying run 90 feet away. >> rob: now you know why manny acta was trying to manufacture runs after we were up 3-0. >> bob: this team can score runs even if they are not slugging the ball. the nats have given up 345 runs, this team has scored 352 runs. longoria overmatched by craig stammen. that's a big strikeout. two down. straight change that went down and in to the right hander. you don't usually associate right handed to right handed. he is happy at the end of -- joe maddon is upset. something is not happy. actually, joe west is not happy, telling joe maddon something about it. >> bob: there is a strobe light just beyond the pool in right ce

an 8-month-old. >> johnny: josh bard, second switch hitter in this ball club.with a home run tuesday of last week. swings to a high fastball. 1-1. in the bottom of the 5th here at nationals park. 2-0 cincinnati jay bruce's home run in the 2nd. martis working himself out of trouble tonight. line drive down the 1st baseline, foul. thinking back to you racing, that wouldn't be bad. ray i'm saying is probably 48, 49 maybe? >> rob: he's about three years older than me. >> johnny: maybe 50? >> rob: i've had a lot of problems with my legs over the years. this is not pretty. >> johnny: i'm not going to go there. >> rob: i had one knee surgery in the 80s. >> johnny: i was here last night when you took off your coat and tie and put on the casual shirt you had. i looked the other way. 2-2 to josh bard. >> rob: what are you trying to say? i'm kind of pasty. even though i live in la. >> johnny: your wife looks pretty darn sharp. >> rob: he's italian. she's olive colored. i'm swedish. i always did my best work at night. right around 10:00. i had it down to the minute. >> joh

i think josh bard has earned a majority of the playing time, and he is swinging the bat well.ng we need, in dire need of us to be able to have consistent offensive production. he's gotten big hit after big hit over the last three or four weeks of the season. >> one of the reasons josh bard is swinging the bat so good might be the hitting coach of the nationals, rick eckstein. debbi taylor caught up with him a few minutes ago. >> rick, you have had such a knack for being able to personalize your approach to the different individual hitters. how difficult is that to do? >> it's not easy. it takes time to sit down with each individual and go through a game plan and go through an approach, a swing approach, and then the daily maintenance on that, then you go back and make your adjustments and, so it's a constant process of communication and work ethic and putting it together in the games. >> this season has been difficult at times, but some bright spots, and cristian guzman is one guy who is fourth in the majors in hitting and just what are you seeing with him at the senate. >> cr

josh bard, another 5 feet, and a 3-run ball game. the wind is blowing in from left field across the field. >> that didn't help. >> no. see the canadian flag out there behind the bullpen. >> martis a 1-pitch out. overbay to romero, two down. top of the order, guzman, talk about the oldest player in blue jays history. >> that's a good call for the catcher. >> hall of famer, you talked to him a couple weeks ago on your radio show. >> because he was the oldest pitcher to get the 300 games, and randy johnson the second oldest to get to 300. >> how do you win 120 games after your 40th birthday. >> because he didn't win his first until he was 26. he's a knuckle baller. >> baseball fountain of youth. guzman to the right side, overbay to the pitcher. close, inning over. nats go in order for the first time today. each pitcher getting a badly needed quick fourth inning. woman over phone: no problem. you know, maybe other people are content to sit around and wait. wait for something to happen. for business to pick up. but for you, it's time to k

here's josh bard, lines this one hard to left. that ball is over the reach of adam lind, and josh bard smacking the ball around today. >> two singles, a double and a ball that nearly left the park. we'll see josh willingham up

josh bard, switch-hitting catcher on deck. nationals want that scoreboard to change right here with one out. got him on a front door slider. the nationals have made two outs this inning by not swinging at 3-2 pitches. that was nasty. >> rob: well, he comes around the side but gets on top of it really nice t comes back down and barajas actually has trouble with it. here is the grip. you see him get on top of it. look at this spin. barajas almost missed it. that was crazy. when you throw side arm, your ball will do a lot of different things t moves everywhere. not easy for a right-handed hitter. a little different with josh bard coming up there hitting left-handed. those balls that were going away and down from elijah dukes are really nice pickings for a left-handed hitter. >> bob: josh bard 0-2 with a walk. that roundhouse breaking ball stays just off the backdoor. >> rob: actually, pitching coach for the los angeles arranges suggest mike move his fingers together when throwing that two-seam fastball that gives it that late bre

here's josh bard, a good spot for him. he doesn't hit well against against left-handers, but he's swinging well. in 10 games in the month of june josh is eight for 29, batting .276 and he's been a little extra-base hit streak of his own lately. there's will getting a day off. 0-1 to bard. breaking ball, little bit low. ricky romero, 24 years of age from los angeles, graduated from roosevelt high school there, teddy roosevelt high school. that's a good take by bard. pitcher on deck, something brewing for the nats. second consecutive inning two on, nobody out. this time in scoring position. a strike on the corner. >> try to widdle the 5-0 lead down little by little, get yourself back in the ball game. there hasn't been a lot of adversity in last week. haven't had to come from behind like we did the first couple of months. >> ball 3. >> that was this ball club's strength. now you do have the bullpen, and that should give you the confidence to come back and take this game. >> by the way, that was the pitch romero threw to strik

josh bard swing. he just got lucky with that one. did he go? yes, he did.es hoye punches him out from first. one out here in the sixth. let's see what the guys behind the plate called it. >> rob: very good 3 2-ball. the dorks behind home plate, yep, they rung him up. >> bob: oh, my gosh. >> rob: thought it was funny when the yankees were playing blue jays newspaper toronto. now you're starting to follow the blue jays around with those outfits? >> bob: i'm not laughing at them. i'm laughing at you watching them. >> rob: what? because i'm getting irritated? >> bob: i love this. >> rob: i wouldn't mind if they were ringing up the other team. now they're ringing up our guys. look, now they even have -- they have ball bags. the guy pulled a ball out of his bag and going to throw it on the field. >> bob: please. >> rob: they've got good seats though. they've got to know somebody down there. >> bob: i'm pretty sure umpire's gear doesn't get you automatically into the president's club. willie harris grounded out to second. >> rob: can't be easy eating a steak throu

get called strike three on josh bard. most by shawn camp out of george mason university. >> nats able to get a run in the bottom of the 11th. adam dunn triefs in the winning run and they win by a score of 2-1. time for the stay hold of the game brought to you by just for men hair color. blue jays blue jays holds. jesse carlson as five, brandon league with four, scott downs with three and jason frasor with three. just as those jays relievers kept them in the game, you be too can stay in the game for just for men hair color. women when we come back, manny acta will talk about the big win for his ball club take the first of a big three-game weekend series for toronto at nationals park. ♪ ♪ (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. i've never been all that great with my money. probably because i've never had much. but now that i'm making more, it's time to be a little smarter about how i manage it.

. >> bob: josh bard, if it goes any further. a lot of cow bells making noise here on a friday night. 2-2 to willie harris. he tried that same fastball again and missed outside. here. >> rob: here is the pitch coming up, 2-2 pitch, trying to go way off the plate. it's not even close. come on, don't beg. >> bob: willie harris takes one high. runners at the corners with two outs. quite an at-bat by willie harris. and now a switch hitter in the catcher, josh bard. let's see what josh has done from the right side. he is 2-for-12 but does have an rbi. usually, when you call for a right handed catcher, you have wil nieves. >> rob: give willie harris here credit. >> bob: i think the struggles of austin kearns might be the reason why manny did not make a move. bard will foul it away, right side. i think of austin cannes swinging the bat well, it's almost automatic that he pinch hits there. so first and third, two outs. long top of the 8th here. in a ballgame that's already over 3 hours old. bard will get under it and fly to center. the n

catching committee by committee which is jesus flores went down, has been shared by wil nieves and josh bard and all of a sudden bard was catching yesterday. he is going to catch again tonight. the reason being he is swinging a pretty good bat. >> we have been working hard every day and i give him a lot of credit. he has been really challenging me to just not think so much about my mechanics and just get in good pitches to hit. i feel like it has freed my mind up a bit and i give him a lot of credit. he's -- you know, he is the best hitting coach i've had in my career and he works relentlessly with all of us and he really wears it on his sleeve when we don't do as well and he's doing everything that he can and, you know, it's great that we're able to produce some runs because he is working really hard. >> boy, how about josh bard this month of june, one of the hottest hitters in the national league. >> johnny, he could always hit he was a two-time all american at texas tech. he is one of the best hitters in all of the united states. he hit .285. he hit .338 in san diego two years in a row. i

might have cost josh bard a three for three day. you want to just keep taking two out of three, two out of three and get back in it. >> just one series at a time, managers will tell you. i think the nats will be convince had they can play with the red sox when they show up. >> the key, going back to the rays series, gauging how talented your ball club is against these teams that possibly two or three could have a shot at going to the playoffs by the end of the year some people feel the best division in baseball. >> feeling like i can play with the big boys. now maybe it will expedite the way they work and work ethic. i have to keep working harder if i want to be that team. this is what i'm going to have to do every day, not once every eight weeks. even the bottom dweller, baltimore won their last four, six games under .500 as a last place team. wells tried to dance his way out to that ball and couldn't get there. just gets in under the tag of josh bard, and that's our freeze frame moment. just a great slide. he's just such a ball pl

lately, the pitching has rescued that and josh bard has a four-pitch walk. both hitters that tallet walked tonight have been on four pitches. celebrate father's day at nationals park. nats-jays, 1:35. first 10,000 fans 18 and up receive that great-looking gym bag free. it's presented by geico. free pregame autographs and after the game kids run the bases this sunday. willie harris. willie bounced out to the second baseman first time up. willie struggling with the bat. it hasn't affected his defense

lately, the pitching has rescued that and josh bard has a four-pitch walk. both hitters that tallet walked tonight have been on four pitches. celebrate father's day at nationals park. nats-jays, 1:35. first 10,000 fans 18 and up receive that great-looking gym bag free. it's presented by geico. free pregame autographs and after the game kids run the bases this sunday. willie harris. willie bounced out to the second baseman first time up. willie struggling with the bat. it hasn't affected his defense that's for sure. not like him to be 2-30. that ball gets by lyle overbay. bard heading for third. harris digging for second. alex rios digs it out and pat listach does need to hold him and he's still going to hold as the ball rolls across the infield. i mean, alex rios is a good right fielder with a good arm. it's hard to anticipate he's going to throw a ball to deflect off the glove of the cutoff man. >> rob: willie harris gets a pitch he likes. puts tonight right side of the infield pass a really good fielding lyle overbay. then, alex rios has trouble finding th

runner at first. >> rob: nice framing by josh bard.t that means is you see how he catches the ball and kind of frames his body around it to make it look better for the umpire. sometimes they don't go for it. >> bob: here is barajas wrajs, -- rod barajas, the opposing catcher who hit a home run for the jays. he has one a game in philadelphia for them yesterday, his sixth of the year. he's 4-9 of his last. we've seen rod barajas in this league with the diamondbacks and phillies. evidently, it's a high strike zone. >> rob: evidently, make them beat you with your bat. challenge the lower part of the batting order. see if they can hit the old number one. >> bob: no swing says james hoye. >> rob: let's see this from the side. nope, he didn't. >> bob: one ball, two strikes a toronto team only 16-18 on the road. they're 3-6 in interleague play so far. as rob mentioned, they play well in their ballpark where it's a good hitter's park. they're 21-13 there. jammed him. right side for nick johnson. and the blue jays are gone in the top of the seco

josh bard and gonzalez, 2-2 game in their hands. macdougal just misses outside. >> rob: when debbi taylor left, i said make sure you get the player of the game for the nationals. she assured me she would. >> johnny: 1-2 pitch to jerry hairston. swing and a miss. macdougal strikes out two here in the top of the 10th 10th. ryan zimmermann leads off for the nationals. we go to the last of the 10th at nats park. @@ this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. >>> well the nationals tied ballgame up in the 9th inning. things not looking too good. josh bard and gonzalez came through with base hits. >> rob: josh willingham dr

let's head downstairs. >> debbi: now, josh bard is hitting .385 with runners in scoring position. he told me today that he credits former orioles and his former padres hitting coach for giving him the proper mindset with runners on base. >> jim h.: thank you very much. >> when nobody's on, you feel like you have to hit a double or drive a ball. but he says like when guys are in runners are in scoring position, just hit a single. don't try to do too much and i think that that's helped me to really zone pitches up. the pressure's on them, it's not on me. so a lot of it's just mindset. >> debbi: bard is hitting .400 for the month of june and he said it's his work with rick that's helped him. rick said he's got a great routine, he simplified his approach at the plate and he shortened his swing which is very difficult to do at the big league level. >> jim h.: all right, debbi, thank you. >> rob: the more he catches, the more reps he gets at the plate, we really see the offense coming out of the bard now. but he's also, like i said, last night calling better games, defensively he's gott

josh bard levels off and singles. the nats need hits, base runners.belliard three for 17 with a pinch-hit -- a change-up that dipped down into the dirt. top of the order coming up, a good time to get a hit with a man already on base, and there's 80 feet of hitting room on the right side. belliard pulls it third baseline. low throw, and they turn it around the horn 5-4-3. another inning ending double play for the blue jays. their second in a row. ♪ ♪ ♪

there's a right handed batter between josh bard and 3rd base. in a situation like this, bard threw a ball to left field friday night. crawford could be trying to get over there for an insurance run with one out. it was b.j. upton on that play. the same situation. >> bob: there he goes. throw to 2nd. that runner will be out. kapler on the back end as crawford steals 3rd. >> rob: great job by josh. it's the second time in a week we've thrown behind the runner, gotten the guy going from 1st to 2nd on a double steal. perfect throw. >> bob: you don't worry about the runner at 3rd since there are two outs. navarro, number for -- number 37 for crawford. fast one right in there. first pitch was a ball. it's even 1-1. great change up by beimel. j.p . howell last two saves. next due up bard, hernandez, and harris. two switchers and a lefty. don't forget guzman is on the bench today. by the time em 2-2. >> rob: great job by bard getting his body out there to get it. you have to get out and get off your behind so to speak and get over to get it. if you just

pretty nice night for shairon. >> rob: 2-1 pitch to josh bard. the count goes to 2-2. josh from syracuse, went to spring training with the sox. he thought he had made the ball club and put himself out of the job. he was signed as a free agent march 21st. that's late isn't it? >> rob: it is. most teams already have their rosters set. trying to hook up at the major league level at that time length is almost impossible unless there's an injury. >> rob: a swing and high pop. hairston has it. two down. our nats xtra coming up with byron kerr and ray knight. they'll be talking about theouting tonight. there was only one mistake the homer by bruce. the nats xtra pregame tomorrow will be at 4:00 and the first pitch a little after 4:30. >> rob: you also have to score a run to win. you may think it's a mistake. the hitters are getting paid to get runs on the board for their ball club too. shairon did an excellent job. >> johnny: 0-9 the last four games willy has played in. he went through three straight sunday through thursday. >> rob: in the last few innings, harang has stepped

. >> rob: just at the knees from josh bard. sometimes when you put the -- pull the ball back up, the umpires won't call the strike because you moved your glove too much. >> bob: 19 runners stranded in a 1-1 game. first team to breakthrough and gate two-out hit is going to win this thing. we'll see now if cito gaston starts scott rolen who i mentioned earlier is a very good base runner. >> rob: backdoor slider right here by villone a little too far outside the box. rios hitting .232 on the road this year and .324 at home. one home run on the road. eight at home. >> bob: rolen holding on a foul ball. >> rob: where barajas loves the road, rios doesn't. >> bob: and joel hanrahan who hasn't pitched in many close games lately. >> rob: john lannan's roommate we learned last night thanks to debbi taylor. i don't know if i'd lit her go through my drawers and stuff when i was a single guy. >> bob: 3-2 pitch. that's trouble. right-field line. scott rolen heading for third. dukes makes a good play to cut it off. it will be second and third

here's josh bard with two great swings. one that stung the rays for a base hit rbi. bard's batting average on the steady rise. he's getting more confidence. he's the one guy i see walking around the tunnels downstairs with rick eckstein more than anybody else. he's spending a lot of time with our hitting coach. >> bob: broke his bat. lines out softly to 2nd. nats go quickly in the top of the 6th. detwiler quickly back to work with pena leading off. papa's in the house! how about some papa john pizza! ( cheering ) papa's got something for every taste. the meats-- loaded with 5 real meats. or our tuscan six cheese. your choice-- just $10.99 each for a large. ( chanting ) papa john's! the meats or tuscan six cheese-- $10.99 each. group shouting: better ingredients! better pizza! papa john's! whoo! >>> this is corey patterson o the washington nationals. thanks to our united states army that protects and defends orofacial everyday. >> bob: we head to the 6th with the nationals leading the rays 4-2. he worked for the salem angels back in 92. who was his manager? joe maddo

bard hits the ball up the middle off the shortstop's glove that drives in both runs, two rbis for josh bard. then they got it cranking again in the ninth, a little too late, but bard doubled, three hits on the day here comes the slide into second base by bard. wellingham strokes the ball out to the wall, a 2-base hit scoring bard. guzman comes to the plate and gets a base hit. nick johnson comes up and hit the ball. actually, that's the dunn single with the rbi. and then the game ended with duke's pinch-hitting and flying out to center. >> the final is 9-4. toronto gets the win. defensive gems, zimmerman. you kind of expected this all season long, and johnson with a couple of outstanding defensive plays as well. you look at some of the plays johnson makes. rolls over, gets the ball to first base for the put-out, and he gets this one here. it pops up, and then he makes the recovery, spins around and gets the ball for the put-out. extra style points on that one. >> you didn't see it on video, nick going over, tossing the ball nonchalantly to a fan in the stands. nick still got wait for someth

that will bring up the catcher josh bard with jesus on the shelf.ut fastball right there. >> rob: 05, 06, 07, 56 walks with 234. you want to talk about consistent and throwing strikes, aaron harang is your guy. kind of a no nonsense guy. >> johnny: 30 years old. he knows i can't overmatch you. i'll stay out here 7, 8 innings almost every time, i'll throw nothing but strikes and see who's out here the end of the game. >> johnny: six of the hits have gone for extra base, five doubles and a home run. two outs here in the bottom of the 2nd. reds up 2-0 on a jay bruce two run home run. you talk about not overpowering, rob. when you look at him pitch, location, location, location for him. >> rob: you know what, he's a big man. he's not throwing 95-98 like johnson. he's still consistent with the strike zone. >> johnny: 3-1. there's two outs. >> rob: you have to be able to hit location. if he makes a mistake, you can't get away with it. if you throw 98, you can make a mistake. eight straight games allowing a home run. >> johnny: josh bard with a shot to rig

josh bard will hit. 2-1 cincinnati. they have led all the way. nats have scored 5 runs in the last four ballgames. they got shut out and so far only 5 runs against the reds in this series. harris digging in. he said when you come down to florida state, can you get me tickets. >> rob: oh sure. >> johnny: i might be possibly able to do that. >> rob: going into yankee stadium the end of the week. can you get me tickets. >> johnny: anxious to see you get the response of homeruns flying out of that park, aren't they. >> rob: yeah. when you look at the pictures side by side on the internet, the old yankee stadium, big stadium. the new one is almost twice as big on the interior. so, it is the same size field inside, but the air, there's a lot more air in there. and balls are just jury rooming out of there. >> johnny: willie harris speaking of air, a shot to right field. >> rob: you build a $1.5.05-star hotel with a baseball field in the middle of it, you get -- $1.5.05-star motel baseball field in the middle of it. i watched him, harris, today and he ha

josh bard waiting for his prey and then joe west calls him safe because of a little dimsy doo move. josh bard still had the tag in there early enough. >> bob: do you think josh was a little too casual going after the runner there? >> rob: no. >> bob: because most runners will call the umpire out when the ball beats them by that much. >> rob: most but joe west, he is the president of the umpires and he's going to call a close play like that and it's benefit of the doubt, 9 times out of 10, because that throw is there so early, that guy is out. not even a question. but he stayed there, watched the guy do a little bit of a move. we have done that before and we don't get the call. the score should be 3-1. >> bob: 69 pitches, 43 strikes for craig stammen through four innings tonight. >> rob:dioner navarro, then b. j. upton and carl crawford. he has only given up two hits. a navarro base hit and b. j. upton one-out single in the third. the rays got their next run with their legs. high strike, 1-1. >> rob: there was a time, when you made an amazingly great play, great throw, whatever, ther

josh bard here. a single gets you one run closer. >> johnny: gonzalez will bench hit.t will take care of the shut out. willingham winds up at 3rd base. it's a 2-1 ballgame. >> rob: if you stayed around or you're up watching right now, you'll see exciting baseball here by the nationals. josh bard jacked it down the baseline. dukes basically walked home. willingham at 3rd. all we need is a fly ball to the out field to send this into extra innings. >> johnny: hernandez will come up to pick -- >> rob: this is gonzalez. hernandez is waiting on deck. >> johnny: nats with runners on the corners now. gonzalez will take a pitch outside. 1-0. >> rob: he's got to hit this somewhere on the ground. >> johnny: cordero a little tight after the two hour rain delay goes behind in the count 2-0. david weathers who we saw last night in the cincinnati bullpen. 2-1 reds in the bottom of the 9 9th. >> johnny: gonzalez five hit appearances this year 4-4, 5 rbis and a walk. here's the 2-1. shot to right field. a base hit the game is tied. how about that? gonzalez with a base hit. willingham w

here is josh bard who is 1-for- 2. 110 pitches, 65 strikes. of course, in this league, you don't have to hit for the pitcher so it's strictly by what's happening on the mound that you determine whether or not a pitcher stays in the ballgame. manny commented on that this afternoon, first time on the road in an american league ballpark this year. he said the thing about it, you can be a little more relaxed when you manage. you have one less thing to worry about and that's what spot in the batting order is hitting and how far away are you from pinch hitting for your pitcher? >> rob: ant difference between having, say, craig stammen who is not one of the better hitters on this staff or even the team in the 9 hole, you have anderson herndz who is a speed center he is hitting .260.comming into today. he had a hit today. that's the difference that you have with the designated hitter in the american league. >> bob: good looking fastball. he didn't get the call. 2-1. >> rob: if you think that matt garza is difficult to hit now, imagine a pitcher in the

josh bard behind home plate. he wanted that pitch low and beimel hit his spot perfectly. >> johnny: beimel going scoreless in 17 of his 24 appearances overall. the veteran left-hander, breaking ball for a strike. fans on their feet. >> rob: and also give nieves and bard credit. they have been flip-flopping after finding out flores is done for the year and doing a great job as catchers. >> johnny: the 1-1 to rosales. breaking ball just inside. had a notion, didn't he. beimel born in st. mary's, pennsylvania. 31 years of age. and the count is 2-1. beimel delivers. swing and a fly to right. kearns should have it. ballgame is over! the nationals have won. they snap their three-game losing streak. they come from behind to do it and the final is 3-2 over cincinnati. >> rob: well, johnny, we stole one there and that is just what the doctor ordered. wonderful job by the pitching staff. john lannan, the bullpen and then scratching and clawing in the last three innings to get three runs. >> johnny: it is nice to see the gu

josh bard with a leadoff hit. and washington's first eight batters resulting in five hits. >> rob: talking about longoria, they said, this kid get a long-term deal. if you think that strasburg can catapult, if he is that kind of breed of cat that scott boras continues to tell us about, by all accounts, he should be getting what evan longoria can get. i don't think he is that good. >> bob: could be a double play ball off the bat of hernandez and he baez it. anderson with great speed from that left side of the box. brings did nothing wrong there on the fielder's choice. >> rob: we saw the takeout yesterday by gonzalez helping us to win the ballgame. right now, great hustle down the line. >> bob: one more exclamation point on the longoria story, they signed themh tim to 17.5 six-year deal which could be world -- that 17.5, that's an area that many feel that the nationals and scott boras may end up in, at least in that neighborhood between 15 and 20 million for stephen strasburg, not 40 or 50. >> i don't know how you

we'll see if they give josh bard a base hit. >> jim: i imagine they would.we talked to brian, because they speed the infield up here a little bit, you have to take an angle to get to the ball. because you go back, watch it hit on the grass, and it stays down. yep. again probably a couple of months ago he would have got ton that easily. but, as you said, it is the same for both teams. the orioles have certainly taken advantage of the 14 hits. >> bob: josh bard now hitting .409 in the month of june. he's going to hope they can squeeze 35, 36 days out of this month. here's willie harris who has walked and struck out. but the nationals needed somebody to come alive in that catcher's spot. bard and nieves both capable back-up type guys and the nationals, and rob knows all about this from a pitcher's standpoint, jim, they have really missed jesus flores since he went out. he was hitting well in the number seven spot, the eight hole some nights, throwing runners out, hand handling a young staff, and she is a young guy himself but he was playing like a veteran. >> r

. >> jim: a mile high, josh bard. one hit and one down in the ninth inning. join us here on sunday the finale of three, the final interleague game of the year. the first 20,000 fans 15 and over will receive an orioles cap presented by dak. the kids 14 and under following the game can run the bases here at camden yards, the tickets start as low as $9. 888-98-bird or online. mented jorge cheryl. he'll face a lefty. look at his angle. it is really t the left-handed hitter. he used to swing his leg to get closed. when he swung his leg back, he'd swing it open. >> jim: so less is more. >> jim: yes. and now he picks up his arm. rick kranitz, i think his father-in-law has passed away so he is not with us over the weekend, and he is adjusting, almost like a catcher. you're in the right position. he is one of the more deaccept ty left-handers i have seen. rick is away and we wish him well and certainly con dell lenses to his family. again, it is just a subtle change and this is the same guy that ended up pitching for the orioles in the all-star game and he was a domin

josh bard right here. moves in early. >> bob: that results in a grounder pulled, to zimmerman, on to belliard. the orioles are gone in the bottom of the third. from that first dollar forward, cash flow isn't just an important thing to small business. it's everything. that's why pnc is introducing your new cfo, cash flow options designed to effectively improve your cash flow. cfo helps every dollar work harder. from the very first dollar to the last dollar of the day. get in touch with your new cfo. pnc. leading the way.  >> bob: beautiful evening, orioles park at camden yards. aflac has our trivia question for us tonight. the last position players to win rookie of the year for the o's and the nats. that would be in montreal, right? >> jim p.: you would think. did zimmerman? no. >> bob: no, he was third in the voting back in 06. josh willingham called on strikes with the bases loaded first time up. the nationals have had a problem with situational hitting this year, and most notably over the las

here's josh bard. josh's numbers steadily on the rise lately. in the month of june, he's played nine games. in that time, he's 8-25 batting .320. he's always been known as a solid hitting catcher. way out of that one. >> rob: to finish up with bob boone, one of the reasons i had him on the radio to talk about aaron boone since it's father's day this weekend. >> bob: how is he doing? >> rob: he's doing wonderfully and had successful heart surgery n about a week, he can do almost anything. he can resume regular activities. he's doing cardiovascular work right now. he's doing great. >> bob: aaron visited the nationals clubhouse in arizona and looked great. we could tell he lost some weight. he said he was going to take a while to get his strength back. he is still hopeful of playing major league baseball again. we hope he does. if he doesn't, rob, that guy is going to be one of the best coaches or managers you could ever sign up for a ball club. >> rob: i just think it's amazing that they found the heart valve problem in college and he played his e

. >> josh bard for the nationals three tore four, a couple singles and a double. you look at the box score and you can see the nationals wind up with the shortened of the count. >> a very young man, and you look at a guy 22 years old and you figure he's going to be around a long time. >> we'll break down marcus' performance later on. back upstairs to the booth. when you talk about a guy having not only a good game at the plate, but in the field, this is a pretty good father's day, save for the loss, for nick johnson. >> amazing, seven hits and 11 at-bats. could have been seven for 10, but didn't get the last sac fly because of the miscommunication at third. an amazing run this weekend. nick johnson has been consistent all year. he's been around here a long time. >> a great season, and bob, when a guy's hiting in the two hole and setting up three, four, five guys, he's doing a great job. what we really need is ryan zimmerman. without him right before dunn makes things very difficult and he kind of hurt this club big time early in the ball game, first and second, no

. >> rob: josh bard has been flip flopping the catcher. >> bob: 2-0. here's the hook again.es. these two have seen each other a lot. years with the phillies. >> bob: a fastball misses. [cheering and applause] you hate to see evan longoria bat when it could have been a one, two, three. try out the grand slam flex pan. five plans to choose from. go to the website for more information. >> bob: we'd love to see the nats grab this final game. it would make the weekend for our manager better. manny is shaken by the willingham news from yesterday. and all the news of his job status. it can't be easy being asked about that. that's a good man in that dugout, a good baseball person. >> rob: he's a stand up man. >> bob: he's got one going today. 0-2. make sure you keep that baby down. >> rob: i wish i was younger. i would love to play for manny acta. outstanding man, even better manager. i'd love to be the one to walk into the press briefing and say what do you think of the guy in your bullpen? >> bob: look at that pitch. way outside. tavarez takes care of longoria. it will be dukes, p

josh bard swung at the first pitch first time up and hit that ball hard right at the center fielder. >> rob: the nationals have been hitting hard all day off shields. >> bob: that's seven hits now. and bard rips it to the corner. >> rob: that will be another one. >> bob: alberto will score. bard digging for two. this year he has 16 hits and 7 of them have gone for extra bases. 4-0 washington. nothing cheap about these hits. >> rob: that's a breaking ball down in the zone. it looks like a change up that hangs in the zone. the pitching coach is out trying to find out what's going on. still only one out in this inning by the way. anderson hernandez singled his first time up. four out of five base hitters here in the 4th. the rays pitching as well as anybody in major league baseball. >> rob: look at that stat. not 2.95 anymore. >> bob: hernandez goes up hacking. this is usually a ball club that works the count patiently. they're smelling blood now. guys are swinging at the first good thing they see. for bard, that was his 8th rbi. gonzalez has 12. hernandez can't catch up to a pitch way

. >> bob: bottom of the 10t josh bard, willie harris, hanley ramirez. nats were swept three at tampa bay, lost 2-3 in this ballpark earlier in the month to the orioles. batting average not good. runs per game, not good. e.r.a., good. a lot of tight ballgames. here is brandon league. league is a resident of honolulu from nick johnson's neighborhood in sacramento. 26 years of age, 6'2", 205. off and on career for the blue jays over the last five years. up and down, up and down. only averaging about 20 games a year. he's been back and forth between toronto and triple-a so much. brand new pitcher, first-pitch swinging. >> rob: you remember he took three strikes -- three strikes his last time, so he wanted to make sure he got a good hack in. figured league would try to get ahead with a fastball. he did and just missed it. >> bob: willie harris has had a fantastic night. 1-3, a double, a walk and a spectacular running catch on vernon wells to end the top of the ninth. nats would go on to get a leadoff man aboard and would never get the man off first base. >>

detwiler has to finish off the pitches and try to throw it through josh bard. when he starts falling towards 1 st base, he's not following through. when you're stepping across your body, your arms are trailing too far behind to throw stris. >> bob: pitch up. far enouway. couldn't reach it. it's 2-1. longoria got all 28 first place votes for rookie of the year lastear. >> bob: went to the all-ar game -- runner going to not even a throw. the ball was called a strike. b.j. upton steals 3rd for the 9th time this year. he has six steals in his series series. >> rob: with longoria up there, rd will have to ro a big man. he can't get thisdo. the first night here he threw it to leld on a double steal. >> bob: bouncing ball, willie harris. here's your double play. detwiler gets his second consecutive inning ending 5, 4, 3. on to the middle innings. the pitcher and defense are doing their part. you don't do laundry at the beach. you salt-wash everything and let it breeze dry. knit, delicate, permanent press... the ocean doesn't care. so grab your bag. >>> thanks to 

that ball right off the mask of josh bard. >> rob: we may have to explain to joe west how much money masn spends to televise these games. he needs to take a chill pill. we have the best crew in the game. top of the order now, b. j. up ton after the base hit by reid brignac. upton is a right hander. ron villone is ready for carl crawford. so this becomes a vitally important hitter for joel hanrahan. here is b. j. upton bunting -- is b. j. upton bunting as early as the 7th inning, knowing it will be lefty-lefty after this? >> i don't think so. 8th inning maybe. 9th inning maybe. >> rob: you already have the tie at home. you go for the jugular right here if you are the rays. they just beat the yankees 11- 1. >> bob: they lead baseball with 353 runs scored. >> rob: i think they go to ped and they score run. oops, they just scored another. they have a very good offense. >> bob: third in homers behind the yankees and rangers. they hit 80. >> rob: they don't have a 200 million dollar payroll either. >> bob: big lead by the runner. upton takes one that misses low and inside, 2-1. >> rob: the

batting 7th josh bard. on the mound tonight aaron harang for cincinnati in his 12 12th start. 89 hit, 76 and 2 third innings. >> rob: he will go out and give you a ton of innings. >> johnny: out of san diego state, right hander. >> rob: he's big and tall. >> johnny: quickly ahead of guzman. 2-4 night last night. r bi. dukes are a home run, his 6th. ryan misses out side. when you compare umpires and look at hernandez, he's not one to take a lot of lip off batters. >> rob: no he's not. he's been consistent coming into the major league. that's what a lot of umpires try to do. i'm going to be consistent whether i'm lenient, tough, a little more reserved. he's always been tough and consistent at that. i think, you know, you might not like him, but you respect him. >> johnny: line drive to left field. base hit for cristian guzman to lead off the bottom of the 1st inning. >> rob: last start 200th of his career, 201. derrick lee was the one thousand strike out victim. >> johnny: guzman kind of getting back in the s

last night great job by josh bard. you see him, he's fired up, he's telling his pitcher, great job. all tonight wil nieves has been on the same page with jordan zimmermann, pumping him up, bring it to me, bring your best stuff. with jesus flores maybe gone for the season, backup guys have been doing a great job in his place. >> bob: 6 for 6 in steals in this series including number 21 earlier tonight by b.j. upton. he did that while carl crawford was in the process of walking back in the first inning. zimmermann didn't give him his best move there. outside, one ball, one strike. >> rob: my first catcher in the big league, when he was my catcher, he would come out to the mound and grab you by the shirt and tell you to bring your best stuff to him. that's what your job is as a pitcher and a catcher. >> bob: great jump. and nieves puts the ball right on the back of the runner, but guzman can't hold on. they are 7 for 7 against the nats in the series. >> rob: a lot of times when you steal it on the pitcher, you see a little bit of the leg kick by zimmermann. great strong throw right her

the switch hitter follows in josh bard.hen you have the pitcher's spot and the only player available is ronnie belliard. runner going. down the line but it's hooking foul. and willie harris flirting with a long ball for the second time tonight. >> rob: willie harris. >> reporter: it looked good for a while and then it had that big hook. >> rob: there is a huge whole between first and second and a great swing right here with the toronto defense and richardson. he laid a fastball down broadway. >> bob: now, he shows bunt early. a throw to first base not even on the bag. that's ball 2. 2-1, good running count. willie not showing bunt early this time. and the count's even 2-2. now with more of a possibility of the runner going, the second base umpire has shifted from the shortstop to the second base side of the bag. there is the umpire. he was right over right between the pitcher and the shortstop before. kind of interesting to watch how they change positions and get ready for certain plays. 2-2. >> rob: if you send the runner

manny acta says the best way to handle this for stammen and for josh bard, keep b. j.ton off base. b. j. hitting only .2212. he came in as a .277 career hitter. rob will have more on craig stammen who is mamaking art. his last uteing was not very od on sunday, was it? ro no. >> bob: b. j. upton who only has an on-base average of .307. byron kerr handing me a note and we'll knock on wood for this one. rays9-22 when the rays have scored first butve not had an at-bat yet. >> rob: and they do have the top offense inthe american league. >> bob: they have scored more runs than the nats have given up. that's a lot. >> rob: you came back on fire. >> bob: you know,

. >> rob: this just happened to us i think up in new york with josh bard, sailed one into left field. you have to get away from the right-handed hitter. it's very difficult. got to step behind dukes, he kind of side winds it up there. you've got to get on top. mechanics the same as a pitcher. >> jim h.: adam jones runs it down, and two away here in the 8th inning. we decide today look back over the history books for we had to get the dust off, but we were curious if anyone overlapped your career, jim, and your career, rob, which hitters did you both strike out. here's the list. >> jim p.: some pretty significant guys. harold baines at the top of the list, alphabetically, he hit his first major league off me. >> rob: rick dempsey is in there. >> jim h.: deferty sold me he owned you, he absolutely told me he owned you. maybe i'm exaggerating. >> rob: gibson did own me. he hit a game winning home run off me in detroit my only year in the american league. >> jim h.: ken griffey, sr., not, jr. >> jim p.: howard johnson. batting instructor with the mets. >> rob: i think mike had about 300 m

josh bard walks. two runs scored, both of them via rbi walks.hen we didn't do anything after that. it's the fourth inning. willie hits his second double of the ballgame. kearns singles to left on the first big base hit he's had in a long time. and that put us up. at that point 3-1, but that's it other than the missed opportunities which we're going to show you in a moment. >> was happy to see austin kearns get his 16th rbi of the season. willie harris a base hit tonight, a single, a run. ryan zimmerman not enough hits tonight, only 8 for the nats. we have talked about opportunities. the nationals had plenty of chances to get some runs tonight. we've seen this storyline before. bases loaded, nobody out, and they just can't get the runs across. got to drive manny acta nuts. >> it's driving a lot of us nuts. manny is the one getting paid to have to deal with all this stuff. yeah, we're getting in situations every night, where we're getting runners on second and third. then a walk. now the bases are loaded. you've got oh get a good ball to hit. that

here's josh bard. if you're manny acta, who would you rather have up in this situation than this switch hitting catcher. >> jim p.: it's a perfect hitting situation because of the 1-1 orioles lead. they're going to play the infield back. as matt albers will get loose again. >> rob: i might even walk bard to get to belliard. >> bob: they might be about to do that, 2-0. >> rob: no, unintentional intentional walk here. you just pitch around him. i'm saying that because i've watched belliard for the last couple of months. he will not cut down on his swing. he's going it try to hate grand slam, and i'd rather trying to -- try to face a guy trying to hit a home run, than try to strike him out and get a double play. but bard has been on fire. >> jim p.: if you're dave trembley, you're saying, i've got a struggling pitcher, he's struggling enough, top of the sixth, i don't want to put somebody on because even if they get a base hit here, we'll only be a run down. so there's another way of looking at it. but i

josh bard will be catching tonight, willie harris in center, hanley ramirez at second and jordan zimmermannfor the nationals -- anderson hernandez at second and jordan zimmermann on the mound for the nationals. they've won 8-10 ballgames and a three-game winning streak. >> there are two guys that kind of jump up aaron hill and adam lind. hill has 15 home runs. this is where their power is coming. from neither one of these guys have done a whole lot in terms of home runs previously. hill's career high with 17 home runs two years ago. lind's previous five was 11 the same year. these guys are locked in this year, seeing a lost good pitches and they're delivering. they both have batting averages over .300 and both outstanding defensive players. defensively, the toronto -- toronto is the best team in baseball. >> one thing about the blue jays, they're still very much contention in the american league east. third place behind the yankees and red sox. >> they're a game behind the yankees and four behind boston. look at this club since cito gaston came back at manager. last year when sit cito came

so josh bard is on base again. the thing i didn't mention about bard is on-base average in june, it is about .480 now with that walk and here is willie harris who walked his first time. one ball, one strike. rob talked about willy hitting a .238, but he has hit safely in five of his last six games at a .333 clip and he has hit a couple of home runs. you make a mistake and he can drive it to right field. 2-1. and this is a great ballpark for left-handed hitter whose can pull. >> jim: and even if you go the other way. >> bob: it is not a very deep gap as you mentioned earlier. 318 to the scoreboard. willy does turn on one, but he hooks it foul. >> jim: and it is a very slow infield that has gotten progressively faster. and that helps the hitters. the orioles did come in leading the american league in batting average of .300, but a very slow infield early on and -- >> bob: now you say progressively faster, is that weather related or by design? >> jim: i think if you talk about how slow it is enough, eventually it gets

. >> bob: here is josh bard swiping a great bat an