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 here. if he holds onto the ball he's out. closed his glove a little too early. in anticipation of the tag. >> bob: b.j. upton has swiped four bases against crawford here. it's 1-# with one out. -- it's 1-2 with one out. i think there are two teams in the american league who play a national league style of baseball at times. this ball club here. >> bob: he's out! a perfect throw by zimmermann, guzman got the glove down, and b.j. upton is picked off of sec

i get you zimmermann enjoyed watching that. wow. >> rob: two shots on the first two hitters of the rays. willy is picking it over to 3 3rd base. that a boy. nice job. willie harris can play anywhere. i often forget -- i've always wanted to look in his locker to see how many gloves he has. longoria 2-7 with a couple of rbis over the weekend. he's just out of the top 10 in home runs with 14. >> bob: he's way up there in rbis. let's look at the nats defense. harris at 3rd, johnson at 1 1st. gonzalez replaces guzman today. dukes plays his third consecutive game starting in the out field. >> rob: detwiler has a fastball, changeup type pitcher. he's got two fastballs. two he throws right there about 90-94 miles per hour. basically a cutter, sinker, a righty. it's going to go away from him. >> bob: we figured longoria would warm up before the nats get out of town. that's three consecutive hits for him after going 0-5. here's carlos pena with three hits and a home run. >> rob: ross has an excellent curveball. >> bob: here it is. pena w

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

guzman, johnson, zimmermann. they need two to tie. >>> we're back at nationals park. 2-0 reds as we move to the 8th inning. we join you to join the party this summer at ladies night on thursday. the next is tomorrow at 7:30. to learn more about ladies night visit our website. >> thank you debbi taylor very much. trying to find debbi down in the field somewhere, couldn't spot her. johnny holliday with rob dibble. we're in the 8th inning trying to get something going. guzman, johnson and zimmermann. >> rob: guzman has a couple of knocks tonight including a triple. 0-12 on the night. that's where we're getting hurt. we've got to get it going. >> johnny: guzman is gone in the 8th. there's one down. nick johnson 0-3. they both came in last night, arthur rhodes starting as a terrific starter. works his way to the bullpen. boy, can he bring it. >> weathers is not bad either. >> rob: all state soccer player -- there you go. >> johnny: zimmermann next and adam dunn. 2-0 reds in the 8th. >> rob: time to get it done. co

a little bit of pitching by zimmermann so far.-played, well-pitched game so far. >> rob: right now jordan zimmermann is holding the best offense in the american league in check. i think it's a great job of the young catching and the young pitchers going out there and doing what they can do. they're executing right now and it's fun to watch. >> bob: so jordan zimmermann goes back to work, continue to try to be convicted on every pitch that he makes here in the bottom of the fifth inning. got the top of the order coming up after the first hitter here. brignac. >> bob: rigoberto alpizar rigoberto alpizar, the shortstop, then it will be carl crawford. >> rob: puts them on the defensive with a strike one. makes your job a lot easier. >> bob: the one concern for zimmermann would be that pitch count. nobody out in the fifth inning and he's right at 80 pitches with this coming delivery. >> rob: with all the strikeouts, this could be his last inning, if he's fortune enough to go. maybe a quick 1-2-3, but there's no reason to push him. ever

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 four weeks away up in waldorf. catch the stars of tomorrow or see it all live on masn hd at 7:05. home run derby if you attend at 5:30. admission free. they'll take your donation. ripkensrcollegebaseball.org or call 410-588-9900. all right. the nats are ahead. you can be a little happier than that. >> rob: she doesn't look happy. it's hot. i want to go home in the air conditioning. >> bob: she wants nick to pick here. >> rob: nick to get a hit. >> bob: he has one. walked and got a single. all-time interleague, blue jays, eight. nationals, four. it's really kind of an oddity because these teams have played nine times only three times in washington for some strange reason. nats took 2-3 from the blue jays at rfk back in 2005. swept at toronto a three-game series in 2006. the last time nationals traveled north of the border in 2007, blue jays won 2-7. it's about time we got these guys back down here

the strikeout comparison goes to zimmermann there, phil. >> absolutely.rikeout 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 york city. so, those are the two biggest stages. it's quite a fun time to

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

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

guzman, johnson, zimmerman for the -- zimmermann for the nats. our great guys fromwalter reed army hospital on georgia avenue. >> rob: i saw a few more of those gentlemen at yankee stadium while we were up there. >> bob: there's cristian guzman. rolen even with the bag at third. guzman jacks one to left and then over to get it lind. cristian guzman has hit the ball in the air twice. get your red on. get a grand slam flex plan. pick four games, get one free. five games to choose from. get a free game. it's that easy. 888-632-nats or nationals.com/grandslam. here is nick johnson. walked his first time.  >> bob: right now, averaging 15 pitches per inning. jordan zimmermann is averaging 20. that didn't feel too good. nick got his foot with that one. the count is 0-2. >> rob: we talked about that with craig stammen that kind of overworking a little witt. -- a little bit. here is the foul ball on the x- mo right off the foot. right off the top. that's going to leave a mark. our x-mo camera, 500 frames per sec

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

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

great stop by zimmermann. he's out. johnson came off the bag.hat another tremendous play by ryan zimmermann. would you come to expect that? >> rob: absolutely. i wouldn't expect anything less than what he does at the plate. check it out. all the way, checks the runner. over to nick johnson, nick makes the tag. this is absolute picking it off. you have to be like a hockey goalie at 3rd and 1st. it's a reaction position. you can't follow the pitcher -- >> johnny: nothing he can do. that's gone. two run shot. above the nationals bullpen to right. >> rob: that just saved a run. that's number 14 in 15 on the year for this 14th off right hander. knowing that, martis might have been more careful. that's mistakes you make as a younger pitcher. hindsight is 20/20. there you see a breaking ball. that's why he's got 14 of his 15 home runs against righties. >> johnny: he's hitting a lot. take a look at this pitch location. >> rob: i think johnny, you could have hit that ball out. way too much up in the zone with an off speed pitch. that will be something mr

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.

ryan delivers to zimmermann. >> rob: italked to him earlier.g from a guy like that, over .500 plus home runs, making adjustments everyday. that's what you have to do. >> johnny: 1-2 to ryan zimmermann. duke, willingham. 2-0 cincinnati bottom of the 3 3rd. bob carpenter off for a couple of days. he is down in tampa. 1-2 to the rays -- to the 3rd baseman. >> that's interesting. we talked about them yesterday. >> rob: they made a lot of trades. we got elijah dukes from the rays. we picked up a lot of talent. then you sprinkle in veterans. he gets people to believe in his style of baseball. the bottom line is once everybody gets on the same page. we talked about this whether the offense playing well or now the pitching, you've got to get everybody on the same page everyday as often as possible. >> johnny: zimmermann with a full count. takes ball four. if you take a look at the last pick, last overall picks -- >> upton, brother bj upton, price. >> johnny: brian fullington. beck am. >> rob: he held out for a year. who knows the that year he took off

and zimmermann rock this is one to center. ball slicing away from b.j. upton.upton didn't run the greatest route to that ball. his speed enabled him to catch up. >> rob: i don't think he thought the ball was hit as hard as it was. it started to tail away from him. >> bob: because of of nick johnson's good base running play, he's at 3rd and still could be at 1st. >> rob: he turned the wrong way. he lost it and had to recover, turn the other way. that great speed enabled him to do that. heck of an athlete. >> bob: johnson at 3rd. nats have a chance to get one of the runs back they just gave up. first time joe maddon has played all infielders in today. they're moving longoria two steps closer towards the base runner. >> rob: maybe they're thinking adam dunn might bunt like carlos pena. i don't think so. >> bob: adam dunn 1-2 today, 2- 7 with an rbi this weekend with two walks. a great chance for rbi 46. [cheering and applause] strike out total on the rise. at 66 right now. that ties for the 3rd in the league.

[cheering and applause] >> bob: nick johnson next then ryan zimmermann. the grand slam flex plan. don't forget the boston series is getting closer and closer. you can get in on that as part of your grand slam flex plan. pick four games, get one free. call or www.nationals.com. nick johnson, base hit first time. stranded there when zimmermann and dunn struck out in the top of the 1st. >> rob: nick was getting so many lits the first two months of the season. now they're starting to pitch him in. first at bat, he pulled to the right side for a single. >> bob: former yankees, nick will be the subject of a lot of attention when we get to the bronx tuesday. [cheering and applause] got jammed. over to zobrist. two outs. despite the ball being in on his trademark, nick got pretty good wood on it. >> rob: got good wood on it, little bit of damage. just enough slow down for zobrist to do a nice play on the turf. >> bob: evidently he stepped on a dime out there. it's loose, but it's sticky loose. there's like this black rubber next to the green rubber. >> rob: strange infield. >> bob: somebo

. >> 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,

villone has got get off the mound ancover so zimmermann can stay loam.tay home. >> johnny: johnson onhe grass at. >> rob: 1st. body -- goes off the glove. watch ry zimmeann re. >> johnn fastballwhat happened there, lack of communication. manny acta will come out to the mound after break. we'll be back 2-2 ballgame here in the top of the 12th. gecko: , well maybe how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in america? nice tidbit there. boss: exactly. and i've been thinking, looking a bit more businesslike might help too. gecko: oh my. uhhh, no it's, what's, what's the word... vogeico. 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. >>> villone's work is done the night. jay son bergmann will come on. bruce at 3rd. gonzalez at 1st on with the error. ryan hanigan set to step in now. tough situation for jason bergmann. >> rob: yes, it is. right here you're thinking you could possibly get the fastball in to try to make him pop it up and strike him out. >> johnny: grounded out. nice play by ryan. one down. >> rob: nope . foul ball a

. >> bob: zimmermann can get the

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 drew a walk. single down the right field line. alberto gonzalez had the tying run. bottom of the 10th inning. >> rob: this might be our night or our morning now after the nationals introduce their 10th pick in the amateur pick yesterday. later on earlier today at nationals park, what a day for that young man. hagerstown

ryan zimmermann the dh 0-3 today today. he'll get around late and bounce it over by the bag foul. >> bob: red sox are putting it on the phillies again today 4- 1. >> rob: what's the yankees store? >> bob: let me get an update. 13-0 still, top of the 7th. 10-3 marlins at toronto on top. pirates beating beating the tigers 6-1. phillies tie the red sox. national leagues doing a great job today except for atlanta. they're trail acinging -- trailingng. dodgers and texas just under way. you're up to date on this sunday of baseball. nick johnson, high chopper right side. ben sow -- ben zobrist two outs. ray knight and johnny holliday coming up for nats extra. a lot of groundouts today. the nats offense very strong. alberto two of the hits. martis and sea bath i can't --- . >> bob: this is the second run issued by the rays today. it's time for adam dunn to jump up and hurt tampa bay. >> rob: not a good day for santana. 82 pitches in 3 innings. aj burnett on the other side 6 inning, 4 hit, 8 punch outs. >> bob: evidently at yankees

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

what would go down as a quality start, zimmermann on your left. those two gave up 3 earned runs in more than 10 innings in this series friday and saturday. down the line. that ball leaves the ball park. that's the cheapest home run you can get here. over about five foot fence, kapler has hurt the nationals again. oh those walks! [cheering and applause] >> rob: i'm thinking one hopper against the wall, ground rule double, the thing sneaks out of here. he throws a breaking ball down and in. kapler gets lucky again. he hits a 335-foot home run down the left field line. that's when you're living right. he had not homered in 34 straight game this is year. he had three home runs in the last three games. >> bob: two against the nats. now they're tied. young pitchers have been learning this lesson for decades and decades. well detwiler is done for the day. his team will have to score in the 7th for him to be the winner now. - it's on. - ( music playing throughout ) - it's on. - oh, it's on, all right. - it's on. - totally on. jimmy, it's on. - it's on. -

here, rob, of buys that the nationals drafted leading with detwiler just two years ago, jordan zimmermann ryan was first in '05, lannan, stammen and bergmann also draft picks by this ball game club. >> rob: now zimmerman, jordan zimmermann was the compensation 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

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

if zimmermann is not hitting well or dukes, if i'm on the hill, if the last guy is dunn on your lineup, he's not beating me tonight. >> johnny: adam, look at the numbers here. he forced 14 batters to hit fly balls. >> rob: i played with tom browning who went five consecutive years, he never threw harder than 8 85, 86. he'd give up 33 to 35 homers a year. most of them were singular. he didn't walk anybody. it's the little things we talk about hopefully our pitchers are absorbing this information and saying, hey the more strikes i throw and more contact i pitch, i'm going to give up a home run here or there. i can't start to pitch away from contact and give up a two run home run. that kills you. >> johnny: eric had one game april 12th 12th 12th shutting out pittsburg. ronny belliard is waiting. no activity needs at this moment. he is sitting back waiting for something to happen as they did last night. full count to josh willingham. eight home run, 9 rbi, at the time last 25 games he's. >> rob: 50 home runs in 1987, 46 home runs, won 50 games. the point i'm trying to make is this, you're

speaking of being red-hot, recently zimmermann has a 1.90 e.r.a. i like him.d you might be gun shy after the season debut i'm still starting job smoltz. yes, he had a bad first inning, still had a 5-1 strikeout rate and he gets to see the orioles who have never faced him as a starter. more analysis available every day for free. just go to the pod cast at espn.com. >> thank you, matthew. a chicago white sox and indians, chris perez, the newest indian acquired in the mark derosa trade. nails ramirez in the head. trainers have to check on ramirez. next batter, dye,

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

zimmermann the dh role goes 0-3. willie harris 0-4 with a couple of groundouts.he little things pay off big time in major league baseball. we'll see today a couple of instances where the little things did pay off defensively as well as offensively. >> you remember we haven't had people covering at times. hernandez getting to 1st to get the out. nick goes on a short fastball going on the first move, getting down there, beating the throw. that's what tough do in baseball baseball. he's gone. he's safe at 2nd. that sets up rbi situation. detwiler whirls and throws here not showing any signs of being a rookie as he makes the right play. you mentioned he had to preplan that play. >> a couple of weird plays developing. one is the pop down into the nationals bullpen. the other is the ball hitting the 3rd base bat. >> it was weird. here's a pop up down into the bullpen. the catchers aren't aware of anything. a little cut block there as one of our catchers can't get out of the way. the ball hit down the line, right there. willy has it squared up. that's what happens when

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

. >> johnny: zimmermann and dukes coming up in the bottom of the inning.right field, base hit. >> rob: i almost think he had a beat on that ball. nick did a great job of trying to knock it down. watch where he is right there. nick hits it. i don't know. ronny may have had a beat on this. look at this. it's back there. then it hits the left -- >> johnny: with one down, hanigan gets a base hit, his first of the night. that's the fourth for cincinnati cincinnati. chris dickerson will be the bench hitter. takes a pitch outside for a ball ball. >> rob: we're not getting that pitch. 1 inning, 2 runs for cordero. >> rob: first save of the year. what would you say 29 straight going back to last year? that's a positive for the nationals just a little deeper sometimes. that's probably david weathers if they get the lead. >> johnny: dickerson just misses outside again. last 23 games and 12 starts hitting .308. 0-1 last night. 3-1 to dickerson. 2, 7, 1 for the nationals. >> rob: nice. >> johnny: 3-2 to dickerson. >> rob: it always annoyed me when i was pitching and a

. >> 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

zimmermann at 3rd batting 3 3rd. dunn batting cleanup in left. willingham right fielder. bard will call the game for the pitcher batting 9th. we look at that time reds and nationals as they try to get things going in this series. trying to add a punch to the lineup with willingham in the lineup. >> no doubt. he deserves to play. he has hit the ball extremely well. i believe he needs an opportunity to go out there and play two or three weeks and see what he can do. it's the toughest thing in the world to try to play part time. the second toughest thing is not knowing if you're going play. you've got to do it bat after bat. he's worked real hard. he deserves a shot to play. >>> the schedule takes a turn after this series. inner league ball clubs next. tampa bay rays are the defending champs on the road to tropicana field. the first chance ever to see the brand new yankees stadium in new york. >> the rays scare me. they've got good offense, great pitching. when you have longoria do you think there, they're going to score a lot of runs. talking about new york, my goodness. th

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. >>

when you have got guise like martis and detwiler and zimmermann really as the focal points of your rotation and the steadiness of john lannan, those are exciting things. the bullpen has really kind of found their ground when we have made several changes for a more veteran type of bullpen in there. i look at the positives. the negatives, obviously we have to improve our defense. it hurts not only giving extra outs to these teams. you just can't give extra outs to the philadelphia phillies and the new york mets and atlanta braves and expect to win games. i think that has a lot to do with the pitching e.r.a.s and the lack of our bullpen's success. the defense has a lot to do with it. fundsmenttals we have to stretch -- fundamentals we have to stretch. i give the guys credit. they play hard and run hard. they are as upset and mad as anybody else. >> byron: certainly an exciting june 9th getting stephen strasburg and appreciate you taking the time to join us on nats xtra. mike rizzo. >> my pleasure. >> the acting general manager. coming up we will get ready for the nationals and the cincinnati r

. >> 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