Washington Nationals beat Chicago Cubs 2-1 in their 2012 regular season start - MLB Update
Washington Nationals win 2-1 against Chicago Cubs on April 5, 2012 at Wrigley Field in Chicago during their regular season clash as pinch hitter Chad Tracy hits a double in the top of ninth.
Run drought appeared perennial for the Nationals until the seventh. They trailed by one run and thus nearing defeat after every passing inning. It was the start of the ninth that Nationals’ offence turned on with full strength.
With two outs and down 0-1 on the count, Tracy got rid of the mounting pressure by hitting a double.
As was expected, the Nationals’ powerful arms were at full swing in the game. Stephen Strasburg went on to horrify batters with 98 mph fastballs. He pitched seven innings, struck-out five and allowed five hits. He gave up one run.
Reliever Tyler Clippard was equally effective in one scoreless inning and thus was rightly accorded the win in the end.
Shortstop Ian Desmond remains critical to Nationals’ offence as he hit thrice in five at-bats while completing one run and adding one RBI.
He had superb Spring Training and as he continues with the same momentum, he will be a significant link to the Nationals' victories in the season.
"The tone has been set," Desmond said. "When we came to spring training, we were all itching to get there. When we all showed up early, that set the tone. We've been chomping at the bit to get out there. It was definitely exciting."
Ryan Dempster started for the Cubs and in little more than seven innings, he allowed one earned run while striking-out 10.
With everything clicking for the Nationals, manager Davey Johnson can take heart from the fact that his off-season efforts have started to bear fruits.
Since Johnson holds an amazing career as a manager with a number of teams, with a winning percentage of more than fifty, he is all set to build on it for the Nationals this year.
Right now the task at hand with Washington is to pile up wins and thus strengthen their contention for a playoff spot. Their performance in upcoming games will determine as to how far they can go in this quest.
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