Washington Nationals nail down 9-4 victory against San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park-MLB
Starter Edwin Jackson earns a win despite leaking runs at the start as the Washington Nationals knock down the San Francisco Giants 9-4 in the second game of the three match series on July 4, 2012 at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Jackson was put under pressure right away. By giving up three runs in the first, he let the Giants post a reasonable lead.
If it was not for the rampage that their offence carried later in the game, the Nationals would have lost.
Bottom of the third saw Washington tying the score. They managed a lead in the next inning. Going on to substantiate it, they added three more runs in the fifth.
Burst of home-runs by the Nationals took their lead to an unassailable level. Third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left-fielder Michael Morse launched home-runs.
Zimmerman drove in three runs while confronting five at-bats.
Over the last few weeks, he has shaped up into a different kind of hitter, unlike what he has been in the season.
Soon after he returned from a shoulder inflammation injury, a jinx of hitless at-bats prevailed for him. In almost every game, he was failing. At some point in time, critics started questioning his role in the line-up.
However, at the moment, he is leading the offence with homers and quality hits. His on-base-percentage rises to .380.
"I was playing banged-up for a while there," he said. "And when you try to play through things, sometimes it doesn't allow you to do the things you've been doing and that leads to other things and other things. It's definitely a lot better when you show
up to the park and you feel healthy every day."
Jackson threw little more than five innings and gave up four runs as he struck-out three.
While the starter struggled, the Nationals’ relief pitchers did extremely well. They pitched scoreless innings and did not let Giants bounce back into the game.
The Nationals are continuing their dream season. Earlier pitchers were doing bulk of the job but for now their offence is stepping up as well.
With such a combination, they can really pull off splendours in the season.
First and foremost task for them is to earn a play-off spot. Therefore, keeping the momentum at the same level will be important as the season moves on.
Tags: