August 12, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Stephen Strasburg (6-9) has struggled this season, his first full season after undergoing reconstructive elbow (“Tommy John”) surgery. Prior to Sunday night’s 6-0 blowout against the Philadelphia Phillies, Strasburg had not won a game since July 7.
Not only did Strasburg deliver a win, he hit two career markers on Sunday: a complete game and a shutout. With just ninety-nine pitches (sixty-six of which were strikes), Strasburg lasted all nine innings, giving up just four hits and one walk. He struck out ten batters and did not allow anyone to get in scoring position.
“I’ve learned how to go out there and get outs with less pitches,” Strasburg said of his performance.
Strasburg received run support early on, with a two-out RBI single by Jayson Werth in the bottom of the first and RBI singles by Wilson Ramos and Denard Span in the fourth. Werth, who had his thousandth career hit Saturday night, received big praise from manager Davey Johnson after the game.
“I sense, overall as a team, we are a little more aggressive—top to bottom,” Johnson said. “That has been always the key here. The guy that is most aggressive—he prides himself on taking a lot of pitches—is Jayson Werth. He sees first pitches and smokes them. He has been a shining example how we need to hit. He has been very impressive.”
Following Werth’s lead, his teammates delivered in the fifth inning. A throwing error by Philly second basemen Chase Utley added two runs in the bottom of the fifth, while Adam LaRoche scored on a line drive by Steve Lombardozzi to pad the lead 6-0.
The win completed Washington’s three-game sweep of Philadelphia and improved their record to 57-60. Atlanta has a commanding 14.5 game lead in the National League East, making it unlikely the Nats will repeat as division winners. However, they have now moved within eight games of Cinncinati in the Wild Card race and next host the struggling San Francisco Giants (52-65) for a three-game series.
Redskins
With RG3 and several other starters on the sidelines, the Redskins orchestrated a 22-21 comeback victory against the Tennessee Titans in their first preseason game of the year last Thursday.
Backup quarterback Kirk Cousins started for Washington and gave a solid performance, going six-for-seven for fifty-two yards and one touchdown. He connected with Fred Davis for the first score of the game, but after taking an early 7-0 lead, the Titans answered with two touchdowns of their own: a fifty-eight-yard burst from running back Chris Johnson, and a nineteen-yard touchdown run from off-season addition Shonn Greene.
By halftime the Redskins had evened the score, and it was a quiet second half until Tennessee scored halfway through the fourth quarter to go up 21-14. With just 2:23 minutes left, Pat White, another backup quarterback for Washington, scored a nine-yard touchdown run to tie the game, and had a successful two-point conversion to put the Skins up by one and avoid overtime.
While the Redskins were able to edge out the competition without their star quarterback, fans are still eager to see RG3 back on the field. And while coach Mike Shanahan has made it clear he does not plan to play Griffin during the preseason, RG3, who was in full uniform on the bench last week, hopes to change his mind.
“I want to play, let’s get that straight,” Griffin told reporters Monday. “I want to play in the preseason. I’m definitely going to push for it. I’m ready to go. I’ll definitely push for that third game, but we’ll see what happens.”
The Redskins have three more preseason games before their September 9 season opener against the Eagles.
