Washington Nationals 3-3 tie with St. Louis Cardinals - MLB Update
Carlos Maldonado strikes a two-run homer to allow Washington Nationals a 3-3 tie in the last inning against St. Louis Cardinals in their Spring Training Grapefruit contest on March 7, 2012 at Space Coast Stadium in Melbourne, Florida.
While Cardinals maintained lead until last inning, it was reliever Lance Lynn who gave up a tying run, nullifying all the effort endured by Shelby Miller throughout the play.
The fact Nationals saw just five hits from their hitters and Cardinals struck 13 while scoring a same number of runs shows their ability to outwit fielders when finding an opportunity to score runs.
Nationals' pitcher Jordan Zimmermann a player who was restricted to pitch for just 161 innings last year by Tommy John surgery made his Spring Training debut. He was able to mix up the throws, pitching fastballs and following them up with short change-ups
and curve balls while completely keeping the hitters guessing.
While continuing for three innings scoreless, he pulled off three strike-outs and gave up just three hits.
"I just wanted to locate the fastball," Zimmermann said. "I had kind of a rough time today. I was all over the zone with it. But when I needed to make a pitch, I was able to make a pitch. That's the main thing, locate the fastball and mix in a few off-speed
(pitches) for the first time."
Ian Desmond came for leadoff for Nationals and after immediately earning a double he took a single off Jason Michaels hit. In the same inning, Cardinals’ pitcher Shelby Miller met with a thumping collision with Daniel Descalso who was trying to come under
a wind-accelerated pop-up from third base.
Both clubs can easily find positives for the next games. If Zimmermann unleashes a sense of contentment for the club, Miller coming off consistent performances in Minor League ends concerns about his sole reliance on fastballs.
"He's starting to use his off-speed pitches a little better. He's getting a feel of when to use them when he's behind in the count,” Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny said.
The tie has given the Nationals a .50 PCT on the table whereas Cardinals stand at the lowest. While it is hard to hurl any judgment based on table standings so far, one thing Nationals can take pride of is the fact almost all the players being tested by
the club are putting up improved performances.
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