September 3, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
With under a month left in the regular season, the Nationals’ shot at the post-season are dwindling.
After winning three games straight against the Marlins, the Nationals (69-68) were hoping to fare just as well against the Mets and Phillies, whose records have virtually eliminated them from playoff contention. But despite the ease of their remaining schedule, the Nationals’ inconsistency has hindered their ability to win games.
The Nats have picked up just one win in their last four games, edging the Mets 6-5 on Sunday after a three-run eighth inning. But instead of building on that momentum, they dropped their first of ten road games, falling 2-3 to the Phillies Monday night.
While Stephen Strasburg gave a solid start, he was exhausted by the sixth inning after throwing over 100 pitches. Though he gave up just one run on two hits and struck out ten, without run support, his performance was not enough. Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo homerun in the first to put Washington on the board, but Carlos Ruiz tied the game with an RBI single in the fourth.
After seven scoreless innings, the Nats scored the go-ahead run on a sac-fly by Scott Hairston in the top of the eighth. With a 2-1 lead reliever Tyler Clippard got two quick outs before he ran into trouble. He gave up a walk to Cesar Hernandez, who subsequently scored on a double by Jimmy Rollins. With the game tied, Clippard intentionally walked Chase Utley to get to Ruiz. But instead of an easy out, the Philly catcher hit a tie-breaking RBI single to left field. And while Bryce Harper fielded the ball well, Rollins beat the throw to home plate.
“It was close,” Washington catcher Wilson Ramos said of his teammate’s throw.
The Nats had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, with runners on first and third and one out. But Ramos and Anthony Rendon struck out to end the rally, and the game.
With the loss, the Nationals lost ground in the National League Wild Card race. At one point three games within the lead, the Nats are now seven-and-a-half games behind the Reds for the second and final Wild Card spot.
“We have to keep fighting for the rest of the season and try to make the playoffs,” Ramos said after the loss. “I don’t like to put my head down. I try to put my head up every time, go out there and try to win the game.”
Redskins
As the NFL preseason came to an end last Thursday, so did Robert Griffin III’s time on the sidelines.
“Operation Patience…Complete,” he tweeted Thursday evening, adding, “Cleared,” indicating his doctors gave him the green light to get back on the field.
Despite being vocal about his desire to play in the preseason, four games came and went without RGIII playing a single snap. But it appears the star quarterback will be back just in time to start the first game of the regular season. While his surgeon Dr. Andrews medically cleared him on Thursday, Skins coach Mike Shanahan did not make an official announcement on Griffin’s status until Monday.
“I feel very good where Robert’s at, and he’ll be our start on Monday night unless there’s some crazy setback that we don’t anticipate,” Shanahan told reporters Monday afternoon.
While Griffin has not addressed the media since the announcement, his determination to come back from his knee surgery has been well-documented during the off-season and even included an ESPN documentary entitled “RGIII: The Will to Win”. When he takes the field against the Eagles next Monday, it will mark eight months to the day that he injured himself in the Redskins’ round-one playoff game against the Seahawks last January.
