Tag Archives: Nationals

16 Jul

breaking away

The big league All-Star break, which continues through today, means different things to different players. Those who are slumping likely welcome the respite, while those on a roll are hoping not to lose their mojo. Seth Smith, the Ole Miss product from Jackson, falls into the latter category. He homered for Seattle in the last game before the break, giving him eight for the year. He is hitting .333 over his last 15 games to lift his average to .268. Former Mississippi State standout Tyler Moore had a big two-run double for Washington last Sunday and has seven RBIs in eight July games for the first-place Nationals. He would like to find his home run stroke, however; his last blast came on June 12. UM alum Drew Pomeranz, who has been rock solid since moving to the Oakland bullpen, had a 1.50 ERA over his last seven appearances heading into the break. The break might have been a good thing for Pascagoula native Joey Butler. So hot for Tampa Bay just a couple of weeks ago, he is batting .098 with one RBI over his last 15 games, dropping his average to .287. Ex-UM star Chris Coghlan’s consecutive games streak ended at 150 when he sat out on Sunday, getting a pre-break break. Coghlan hasn’t produced much of late for the Chicago Cubs, with just one RBI and four runs in 11 games in July. Tony Sipp, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product, has a 5.06 ERA – two runs higher than his season number — over his last seven games for Houston, which fell out of first place in the American League West on the last day before the break.

10 Jul

the hot spot

On a night when the Yankees are at Fenway, the White Sox and Cubs are clashing at Wrigley and the Nats and O’s are dueling at Camden Yards, the best place to be might be PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That’s where former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn and his St. Louis teammates will meet the Pirates in a matchup of the two best teams in the National League. The pitching matchup is a dandy. Lynn, 6-4 with a 2.53 ERA, will be opposed by Pirates ace Gerrit Cole, 12-3, 2.28. The Cardinals won the opener of the four-game series 4-1 on Thursday night, snapping the Pirates’ four-game win streak and extending their lead in the National League Central to 5½ games. Lynn faced the Bucs in St. Louis on May 1, striking out 10 in seven innings in a game won by the Cards 2-1 in 10. Lynn has fared well against Andrew McCutchen (.132) and Pedro Alvarez (.182), not so well against Starling Marte (.381) and Neil Walker (.294, two homers, eight RBIs). Envy Jackson’s Chris Maloney, who, as the Cardinals’ first-base coach, will have a great view of what ought to be a great game. P.S. UM product Aaron Barrett, on the disabled list for Washington, has made three rehab appearances in Class A ball, working three innings with no earned runs allowed. Barrett has a 5.06 ERA in 30 games for the Nationals. … Former Picayune High star T.J. House remains on the DL in the minors for Cleveland. The left-hander last pitched on June 5. He was sent down by the Indians after going 0-4, 13.15 in four starts; he is 0-2, 3.86 in four games for Triple-A Columbus. … Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee reportedly will start throwing later this month, though his return to Philadelphia still appears iffy. The veteran lefty hasn’t pitched at all this season and made just 13 starts last year because of elbow problems.

21 Jun

good vibrations?

Max Scherzer had a much-celebrated great game for Washington on Saturday. His teammate Tyler Moore had a much-needed good game, which makes two in a row for the former Mississippi State star from Brandon. While Scherzer was firing his first career no-hitter against Pittsburgh, Moore, starting for the second straight day, was going 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs in the 6-0 victory. Moore had two hits on Friday, when his average for the year stood at .177. He is now batting .200 with four homers and 13 RBIs. Moore, who gets most of his at-bats as a pinch hitter, has one homer and four RBIs for the month. Moore’s value is in his power. He perhaps could have used a tuneup trip to the minors this season, but he is out of options and the Nationals apparently don’t want to risk losing him by exposing him to waivers. Moore hit 10 homers as a rookie in 2012 but has only 12 over the past three seasons. Washington, pegged by many as a World Series team, is only three games above .500. Maybe Saturday’s emotional win will serve as a jolt, for both the team and Tyler Moore. P.S. Seth Smith, the Ole Miss alum from Jackson, homered for Seattle in a 6-3 win on Saturday, his sixth of the year and first off a left-hander. The lefty-hitting Smith rarely faces lefties (14 ABs in 2015), and Saturday’s bomb was the first allowed this year by Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. … Ex-MSU star Ed Easley, still without an MLB hit (see previous posts), has been sent back to the minors by St. Louis.

14 May

picks to click

It would be too obvious to pick Sikes Orvis as the Ole Miss player to watch in the last weekend of regular season play for the state’s Big 3 Division I schools. Orvis has five homers and 14 RBIs in his last four games. On a less crazy but still sweet roll for the Rebels (29-24, 14-13 SEC) is freshman Nic Perkins, who takes a six-game hitting streak into the series against powerhouse Texas A&M in Oxford. Perkins, only recently inserted in the regular lineup, is batting .367 with five RBIs and three runs in 14 games. For Mississippi State (24-27, 8-19), clinging to hopes of making the SEC Tournament, junior left-hander Lucas Laster, expected to start tonight at Tennessee, needs to deliver a gem. He is 4-3 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts, but his last win came on April 2 vs. South Carolina. He pitched fairly well in his start against Ole Miss last week. Southern Miss (32-10-1, 16-10 C-USA) is streaking into its league series at Middle Tennessee State with 10 straight wins. No Golden Eagles hitter is hotter than junior Chase Scott, who has an 18-game hit streak. He went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in Tuesday’s win at Tulane and is batting .304 with three homers, 23 RBIs and 27 runs for the year. P.S. MSU product Jonathan Papelbon became Philadelphia’s all-time saves leader (with 113) on Wednesday; his save was saved by a great throw from ex-Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur that nailed a runner at the plate for the final out in the 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. “As an outfielder who likes to throw, you live for that kind of moment,” Francoeur, still a great right fielder, told mlb.com. … Former State standout Tyler Moore hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer for Washington, helping the surging Nationals’ cause in a 9-6 win over Arizona. Moore’s sixth-inning homer was his second of the year and 20th of his career. Used mostly as a pinch hitter this season, Moore is batting .207 in 29 at-bats. … Ole Miss alum Aaron Barrett (3-0, 3.68 ERA) got the win for the Nats; he allowed the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning but was bailed out by Michael Taylor’s grand slam in the ninth. … With three more hits on Wednesday, ex-USM star Brian Dozier has eight in his last five games and is batting .357 over his last 10 for Minnesota. He’s at .256 for the season. … UM product Chris Coghlan drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 win against the New York Mets.

03 May

big league chew

After a tough year at the plate in 2014, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart has come out swinging this season. The Cincinnati shortstop went 3-for-5 in an 8-4 win against Atlanta on Saturday to boost his average to .308. He hit his fifth home run — off Jackson native Donnie Veal — to surpass his total for all of last year and now has 12 RBIs. Cozart, valued more for his glove, hit .221 a year ago. … Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton, the Reds’ center fielder, took an 0-for-5 that dropped his average to .204. He still leads the majors with 13 steals, however. … The Reds’ Jay Bruce had two triples against the Braves, marking the first time a Cincy player has done that in a game since Vicksburg native Dmitri Young 15 years ago. … Aaron Barrett, another UM alum, notched his third hold of the season by retiring the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning of Washington’s 1-0 win against the New York Mets. Barrett trimmed his ERA to 1.64. … Former Southern Miss star Scott Copeland, in his sixth pro season, made his big league debut and threw a scoreless ninth inning for Toronto in its 11-4 victory at Cleveland. … The frustration must still be building for Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon. He worked a scoreless inning in mop-up duty as Philadelphia lost to Miami 7-0. Papelbon has a 0.96 ERA for the 8-17 Phillies. … Ex-USM star Brian Dozier took an 0-for-5 as Minnesota’s leadoff batter – he’s no longer hitting cleanup — and saw his average tumble to .209. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs in a game Oakland would lose to Texas 8-7 in 10 innings. Since throwing seven scoreless frames in a brilliant 2015 debut, Pomeranz is winless in four starts while his ERA has swelled to 4.61. … Former Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings has missed six straight games for Tampa Bay with a knee problem. He could be headed for the disabled list, where he would join fellow Mississippi products T.J. House, Mitch Moreland and Cliff Lee.

27 Oct

eye on 2015

The calendar still says 2014, but in a real sense the 2015 season already has started for Tyler Moore. And it has started well. The former Northwest Rankin High, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State star hit his fourth home run on Sunday in the Dominican Winter League. Moore has 10 hits all told in 28 at-bats (.357) with 10 RBIs for Toros del Este. Moore, who spent most of 2014 with Triple-A Syracuse, will go to spring training in February vying for an MLB roster spot with Washington – or perhaps with some other big league club. The right-handed slugger, who has spent parts of three seasons in the majors with the Nationals, has 18 career MLB homers and 106 minor league bombs. P.S. Former Petal High standout Anthony Alford, returning to baseball in Toronto’s system, will play the outfield for Canberra in the Australian Baseball League. The Cavalry’s season starts Nov. 6. Alford, the former Ole Miss and Southern Miss football player, is joined on the Canberra roster by Marcus Lemon, a onetime Mississippi Braves player who is the son of Jackson native and former MLB star Chet Lemon.

17 Oct

back to work

After a tough year in limited time in The Show, Mississippi State product Tyler Moore is getting some extra work in the Dominican Winter League. Moore, a Brandon native who also played at Meridian Community College, went 1-for-2 with a run and two walks for Toros del Este in the DWL season opener on Thursday. Moore broke into the big leagues with a bang in 2012, belting 10 home runs and hitting .263 in 156 at-bats for Washington. His didn’t fare as well in 2013 (.222, four homers in 167 ABs) and scuffled again this season (.231, four homers in 91 ABs). Moore, 27, who can play first base or left field, has right-handed power that MLB clubs value. He twice hit 31 homers in a season in the minors and got 10 bombs (with a .265 average) at Triple-A Syracuse this year. Complicating Moore’s status in the Nationals’ organization is the emergence this season of Steven Souza Jr., another strong, right-handed hitting outfielder.

08 Oct

crazy happens

Let’s see: There was a walk that loaded the bases. Then a wild pitch that scored the go-ahead run. That was followed by an intentional ball four that went over the catcher’s head. Runner races home from third. Pitcher covers. Play at the plate. Runner called out. Video review to confirm. It was a crazy few minutes there in the seventh inning Tuesday night for Ole Miss product Aaron Barrett. Ultimately, his Washington Nationals were eliminated from the postseason with the 3-2 loss to San Francisco. Barrett’s wild pitch plated the winning run. All told, Barrett faced three batters in the postseason — he also pitched in the Nats’ 18-inning Game 2 loss — and yielded a hit and two walks. That’s what many Washington fans will remember about Barrett. But they shouldn’t forget his work during the regular season. The rookie right-hander, a ninth-round pick in 2010, went 3-0 with eight holds and a 2.66 ERA in 40 2/3 innings over 50 games for the National League East champs. He struck out 49 batters, which is one of the reasons he was inserted into Tuesday’s game with runners at first and second and one out. Washington needed a punch out. Barrett also walked 20 batters during the season — and threw six wild pitches. Those things happen, and when they happen in October, they are magnified.

04 Oct

been there, done that

Lance Lynn, the former Ole Miss standout, gets the ball tonight for St. Louis with a chance to drop the hammer on the Los Angeles Dodgers. After their stunning comeback against Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium on Friday, the Cardinals are up 1-0 in the National League Division Series. If they head back to St. Louis with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5, it’s all but over. Lynn, who went 15-10, 2.74 ERA this season, faced LA twice in 2014. In a July 18 game at Busch Stadium, he beat them, allowing just four hits and two runs over six innings. In a June 28 game in Dodger Stadium, he didn’t fare so well. Lynn lasted just two innings, allowing nine hits, two walks and seven runs (six earned). Zack Greinke, who starts tonight for the Dodgers, was the winner in that 9-1 game. Lynn doesn’t lack for postseason experience; this will be his 22nd appearance over the past four years. He has both started and relieved, compiling a 5-4 record and 4.81 ERA. One of his wins came against the Dodgers, in LA, last Oct. 15 in the Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, which the Cards won in six. If there is a troubling aspect on Lynn’s ledger it might be that he failed four times to get win No. 16 down the stretch this season as the Cardinals were fighting to win the NL Central title. P.S. McComb’s Jarrod Dyson was at it again on Friday, this time using his arm to help Kansas City take a 2-0 lead in its American League Division Series against the LA Angels. Dyson, freshly inserted as a defensive replacement in center field in a 1-1 game, threw out a runner at third base in the eighth inning to complete a double play. “I assume they thought I don’t have a good arm,” the ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star said in a TV interview. Ned Yost’s Royals won 4-1 in 11 innings, their third straight extra-inning postseason victory. Dyson, as a pinch runner, contributed a stolen base and a key run in the wild card game against Oakland on Tuesday. … Ole Miss product Aaron Barrett, a righty reliever, made Washington’s postseason roster but didn’t get into Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday as the Nationals lost at home to San Francisco.

17 Sep

as the dust clears

Buck Showalter and his Baltimore Orioles celebrated an American League East championship after beating visiting Toronto 8-2 on Tuesday night. It’s the first division crown for the O’s since 1997. Former Mississippi State standout Showalter will make his fourth foray into the postseason as an MLB skipper looking for another elusive achievement. For all his success (.521 winning percentage) in various places, Showalter has yet to win a postseason series. … In Atlanta, former MSU star Tyler Moore and Ole Miss product Aaron Barrett got to celebrate as Washington clinched the National League East with a 3-0 win over the Braves. … In the role of spoiler, Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs to lead Colorado to a 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose NL West lead over San Francisco slipped to 3 games. Dickerson is batting .307 (he’d be in the top five in the batting race if he had enough plate appearances) with 23 bombs, 73 RBIs, 70 runs, 27 doubles, five triples and eight stolen bases. … Former Mississippi Braves star Charlie Morton, making his first start in a month because of injury issues, threw five shutout innings for Pittsburgh, which beat Boston 4-0 and boosted its postseason hopes. Morton is 6-12 with a 3.72 ERA for former Jackson Mets manager Clint Hurdle’s Bucs, who are just 2 1/2 games back of St. Louis in the NL Central. … Wasting a great start (one run in seven innings) by ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn, the Cardinals lost to Milwaukee 3-2 in extra innings. … M-Braves alumnus Craig Kimbrel is Atlanta’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, ex-M-Brave Todd Redmond is Toronto’s and Morton is Pittsburgh’s.