Washington Nationals record their fifth defeat as they lose 1-2 to San Diego Padres – MLB Update
Reliever Tyler Clippard lets the Washington Nationals down in the bottom of eighth as they lose to the San Diego Padres 1-2 at Petco Park in San Diego, California on April 26, 2012.
In a rare glimpse of the Nationals’ offence struggling on the plate, only one run was added throughout the game.
With just four hits in 30 at-bats, one can argue that an impact of absence of Ryan Zimmerman and another injured hitter has started to reflect on their performance.
Apart from the homer by right-fielder Jayson Werth, none of the batters reached home plate successfully.
Ian Desmond who is basking in a dream regular season so far was hitless in the game. Similar was the case with Danny Espinosa who went 0-for-4.
First baseman Adam LaRoche did try to make up for the hits deficiency, but his 2-for-4 standing on the plate was just not enough to add few runs for the Nationals.
What has propelled the Nationals to a top position on the National League East Division so far is their solid rotation. Pitchers they possess are among the best at the moment in Baseball.
Even in today’s play, their starter Edwin Jackson threw perfect innings. While remaining scoreless in little more than six innings, he struck-out six.
It was an entry of Clippard that proved disastrous for them. In just one inning, he gave up two runs, which were enough to help the Padres go past a sole run by the Nationals.
Normally, Clippard is one of the most relied upon relievers. Therefore, manager Davey Johnson will avoid sending him into a panic situation with an immediate reaction on his performance.
The fact the Nationals were defeated by a side which falls at the lowest end of his Division table is a bit demoralising. A positive for them however is a terrific ERA their pitchers are maintaining in the season.
In-fact, just 50 runs they have allowed so far are the lowest any team has offered to opponents among the Major League teams.
With this defeat, the Nationals take their tally of losses to five, though fairly better in relative terms, a fall in momentum from there onward can hurt their progress immensely.
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