Washington Nationals thrash St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 as Edwin Jackson and Bryce Harper shine-MLB
Starter Edwin Jackson restricts the St. Louis Cardinals to just one run as he helps the Washington Nationals to an 8-1 victory at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. on August 30, 2012 in the first game of the four match series.
Finally the Nationals resume their usual course in the season after struggling in the last couple of series. Their offence which took a nosedive following the injuries to Ian Desmond and Michael Morse along with the decline in performance of some of the
hitters flourishes again.
On Thursday, centre fielder Bryce Harper stood out on the plate as he struck two hits in five at-bats while contributing three RBIs.
Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson was concerned about his inability to swing and hit properly in the last many weeks. Therefore he will be content as Harper returns to top-notch form.
Along with Harper, right fielder Jayson Werth also stepped up in the game. Werth gave way to two RBIs while thrashing two hits in four at-bats.
Werth heaps praise on Harper in particular on the way he exhibits power at such a young age.
"Bryce is a totally different animal," Werth said. "He's a special player. He's 19. It's unbelievable. When I was 19, I don't know if I would have been ready for all this. I'm just glad he stayed in the game tonight."
Jackson did the bulk of the damage to the opposition by throwing eight innings and giving up just one run. He struck-out ten on Thursday. He stresses on the need to keep the pitches out of the zone whenever the batters intend to swing and that is exactly
what he did during the game as he won it for the team.
"It definitely lets you know either they're trying to get you, or either they're just not seeing that pitch that well," Jackson said. "Either way, you just want to try to continue to throw it and keep it out of the zone if they swing."
Meanwhile, the Nationals will be looking to carry their momentum in the upcoming games of the series and sweep the Cardinals. For this, the continuation of their offence towards scoring runs at their current pace is important. It will be interesting to see
whether their hitters show consistency or not as they play the remaining games in the season.
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