Ross Detwiler leaks runs as Washington Nationals face 4-10 defeat against St. Louis Cardinals - MLB
Starter Ross Detwiler leaks runs as Washington Nationals are thrashed by St. Louis Cardinals 4-10 at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri on September 30, 2012 in the last match of the three game series.
As the playoffs are right around the corner, Nationals see their starters declining. John Lannan and Detwiler are giving up runs more than they are supposed to. In light of the fact that they belong to a club which boast great arms, they can turn out to
be their undoing in the matches ahead.
On Sunday, Detwiler was yanked after he completed little more than two innings. He surrendered seven runs and suffered the loss.
While Detwiler was terrific in the beginning of the season, in the last couple of weeks his performance has downgraded.
Nationals cannot afford their starters to keep struggling for a long period of time.
During the game, their offence produced seven hits.
It helped the Nationals post four runs in the fourth inning but the contribution proved too little in the face of the substantial lead of the Cardinals.
Nine runs that the Cardinals put in a span of three innings in the beginning ensured their victory in the game.
Even as the Nationals faced defeat, their batters struck home-runs, reinforcing the notion that they have relied heavily on big hits in the last couple of months for scoring runs.
Centre fielder Bryce Harper slammed a home-run. Similarly second baseman Danny Espinosa gave way to two RBIs by smacking a home-run.
Nationals’ Davey Johnson resolves to regain the momentum soon, taking inspiration from the fact that his team stood up successfully out of slumps and poor shows earlier in the season.
Notwithstanding the strength of the team, Johnson will be concerned about his pitchers. He will be hoping that they learn from mistakes and put up better performances in the playoffs.
"We've had rough outings before," manager Davey Johnson said. "We've bounced back. It's better to clinch it at home anyway."
Nationals will be taking the defeat as an experience to learn lessons from and help them redesign their strategy for improvements.
It will be interesting to see how the Nationals’ pitchers perform in the upcoming matches.
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