Washington Nationals thrashed by Milwaukee Brewers 2-6 as Ryan Mattheus leaks runs - MLB Update
Relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus leaks three runs as the Washington Nationals are outclassed by the Milwaukee Brewers 2-6 at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. in the third game of the four match series on September 23, 2012.
First three innings of the game were scoreless before the Brewers rallied for two runs in the top of the fourth. The lead of the Brewers did not last long as the Nationals tied the score by posting two runs in the fifth.
The game was poised to tilt in favour of the either side from the sixth inning onward.
Nationals were in need of a series of scoreless innings from their relievers. At the same time their offence was being looked upon for productive hits in the latter half of the match.
However, three runs given up by Mattheus and the complete silence from the part of their offence meant that they will fall against the dominance of the Brewers.
Washington’s offence unlike in the last game was subpar. It contributed only seven hits in the match which were far lower than the 15 struck by the Brewers’ offence.
The typical home-runs that the Nationals are capable of were not on display on Sunday. Their three main batters namely Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Michael Morse were not at their best.
Chien-Ming Wang initiated the proceedings from the mound. With Stephen Strasburg shut-down, the Nationals are looking for a reliable arm. There is every reason to believe that Wang was given the opportunity on Sunday keeping that need in mind.
However, he has failed to impress the team officials as he leaked hits and gave up runs in the match.
Centre fielder for the Nationals, Bryce Harper ran for catching when the Brewers scored two runs in the fourth inning. He was unable to grab the ball because it disappeared in the sky and fell down out of the blue while Harper struggled to see it properly.
"You can't catch what you can't see. Nothing you can do about it. The sun monster got me," Harper said. "When it's right down the middle of the sun it's kind of hard. So you try to go left or right, try to get below it. Tried to get below the first one,
got below the second one and caught it."
It will be interesting to see as to how the Nationals bounce back and try to win the last game of the series.
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