Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Nationals Saturday Game ThreadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2013-05-11T18:17:05-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/40793492013-05-11T18:17:05-05:002013-05-11T18:17:05-05:00Cubs 8, Nationals 2: Switcheroo
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<figcaption>Patrick McDermott</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs looked like they were going to go down to another offensive-less defeat. More suddenly than you can imagine from the 2013 Cubs, all of that changed.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Chicago Cubs</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> played a baseball game in our nation's capital Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>One team made a key error, after which their opponents broke the game open with a big inning, all after two were out, all the runs being unearned.</p>
<p>The same team failed multiple times with RISP and couldn't break through against a pitching staff that's had its troubles this year.</p>
<p>Surprise! That team wasn't the Cubs -- instead it was the Nats whose third baseman, <span>Ryan Zimmerman</span>, made a throwing error with two out in the fifth inning, and that opened the door to a Cubs rally that included a two-run double by pitcher <span>Edwin Jackson</span> (I'll even forgive him for his anti-DH-argument hit) and a two-run single by <span>Anthony Rizzo</span>. The inning might have been bigger if Rizzo hadn't inexplicably decided to try to steal second; he was thrown out easily. Rizzo did wind up with a 3-for-4 day, raising his BA to .290 after a horrible start to 2013. He also made a spectacular diving catch of a popup into short right field in the eighth inning.</p>
<p>The Cubs weren't done, either; they put up another four-spot in the sixth inning, with the biggest hits being a run-scoring double by <span>Cody Ransom</span> (I still can't figure out how he's hitting as well as he is) and a two-run, bases-loaded single by <span>David DeJesus</span>. Everyone contributed Saturday afternon, even <span>Darwin Barney</span>, who walked, and <span>Welington Castillo</span>, who was hit by a pitch and scored in the sixth. <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2013_05_11_chnmlb_wasmlb_1" target="_blank">The Cubs wound up with an 8-2 victory</a>, their first win in D.C. since 2011, evening the weekend series at a win each. All of this happened after the first 11 Cubs were retired, six by strikeout by <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>. But Strasburg came apart after Zimmerman's error. The Nats have scored 18 total runs in Strasburg's eight starts, which probably puts a lot more pressure on him.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Edwin Jackson shut down the Nats pretty well until he ran into trouble and was lifted with one out in the sixth inning; <span>Shawn Camp</span> came in and allowed a run-scoring single, but got out of the inning without further trouble. It was Jackson's best start of the season, and allowed him to post his first win. Camp, after having a horrific start to his 2013, has now posted a 2.61 ERA in his last 12 appearances, covering 10⅓ innings, and has a 1.16 WHIP in those games. This is more like the Camp we saw in 2012; if he can keep this up, he could still be a useful part of the bullpen. The rest of the bullpen did good work, too; Hector Rondon threw a solid eighth and ninth, throwing just 22 pitches, and appears to be improving with each outing.</p>
<p>Amazingly enough, despite reports of storms all over the Washington area, the game was completed without a delay and with just a light shower passing over during the eighth inning.</p>
<p>The only sour note to this win came in that Cubs fifth inning, when <span>Luis Valbuena</span> doubled to the right-field corner and was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple -- in fact, that led to a two-out, nobody-on situation before the Cubs scored all the runs. Valbuena came out for warmups in the last of the fifth, but Ransom replaced him. Here's what happened:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Cubs">#Cubs</a> Luis Valbuena jammed right pinky finger on slide into 3rd base. Going for X-rays</p>
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/333337202736132096">May 11, 2013</a>
</blockquote>
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<p>Let's hope it's nothing serious. Would the Cubs actually give <span>Ian Stewart</span> a chance if Valbuena had to go on the DL? After everything that happened to him in the last week? Or would they perhaps give <span>Josh Vitters</span> a chance to show he belongs in the major leagues?</p>
<p>So the Cubs will have yet another chance to win a road series when the suddenly-solid <span>Scott Feldman</span> faces Gio Gonzalez Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, this team is looking better... at least for one day.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/5/11/4322592/cubs-nationals-recap-edwin-jackson-anthony-rizzo-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2013-05-11T17:50:04-05:002013-05-11T17:50:04-05:00Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Nationals, Sat 5/11
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<figcaption>Patrick Smith</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/5/11/4315266/overflow-thread-3-cubs-vs-nationals-saturday-5-11-3-05-ctAl Yellon2013-05-11T17:05:03-05:002013-05-11T17:05:03-05:00Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Nationals, Sat 5/11
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<figcaption>Patrick Smith</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/5/11/4315262/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-nationals-saturday-5-11-3-05-ctAl Yellon2013-05-11T16:05:03-05:002013-05-11T16:05:03-05:00Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Nationals, Sat 5/11
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<figcaption>Patrick Smith</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/5/11/4315256/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-nationals-saturday-5-11-3-05-ctAl Yellon2013-05-11T13:00:07-05:002013-05-11T13:00:07-05:00Cubs vs. Nationals Preview, Saturday 5/11, 3:05 CT
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<figcaption>Patrick Smith</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs haven't defeated the Nationals in over a year. Will they break that streak Saturday?</p> <p>In August 2010, the Cubs came into Nationals Park and swept the Nats; those were Mike Quade's first three games as Cubs manager, beginning the dead-cat bounce that resulted in Quade being retained to manage the team in 2011.</p>
<p>Since then, the Cubs are 1-8 in Washington -- the only win is <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS201107070.shtml" target="_blank">this wacky game</a> where the Cubs overcame an 8-0 deficit to win 10-9 -- and since the beginning of 2011, the Cubs are 4-11 overall against the Nationals.</p>
<p>This does not bode well for this afternoon's contest. Nevertheless, they will play it anyway, because the schedule calls for the two teams to play and the Cubs likely don't want to forfeit.</p>
<p><a href="http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?x=261&y=111&site=lwx&zmx=1&zmy=1&map_x=260.5&map_y=111.2833251953125" target="_blank">And there's a pretty good chance of rain in the Washington area this afternoon</a>.</p>
<p>Cubs lineup:</p>
<blockquote><pre>DeJesus CF, Castro SS, Rizzo 1B, Soriano LF, Schierholtz RF, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Barney 2B, Jackson P</pre></blockquote>
<p>Nationals lineup:</p>
<blockquote><pre>Span CF, Bernadina RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Moore LF, Ramos C, Strasburg P</pre></blockquote>
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="700"><tbody>
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<td class="ysptblhdr" align="center" height="18"><center>
<h2><i>Today's Starting Pitchers</i></h2>
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<td class="ysptblbdr2">
<table class="yspwhitebg" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="700"><tbody>
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<spacer type="block" height="1" width="1"></spacer><spacer></spacer>
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<td class="yspscores" align="center" width="45%">
<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241" target="newwindow"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2194871/162017418.jpg" alt="Edwin Jackson" border="1" height="480" width="320"></a><br><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241" target="newwindow"> </a><center>
<h2>Edwin Jackson</h2>
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<h2>Cubs</h2>
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<td align="center" width="10%">vs.</td>
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<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8562" target="newwindow"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2600329/stephenstrasburg.jpg" alt="Stephen Strasburg" border="1" height="480" width="320"></a><br><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8562" target="newwindow"> </a>
<h2>Stephen Strasburg</h2>
<br><h2>Nationals</h2>
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<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=5842" target="newwindow"><center>
<h2>vs. Was</h2>
</center> </a></td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center">--</td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=30373" target="newwindow">
<h2>vs. Cubs</h2>
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<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
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<tbody><tr>
<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Edwin Jackson</span>
</td>
<td>0-5</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>38.0</td>
<td>44</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>27</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>39</td>
<td>6.39</td>
<td class="td-last">1.63</td>
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<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
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<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>
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<td>1-4</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>44.1</td>
<td>38</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>44</td>
<td>3.45</td>
<td class="td-last">1.15</td>
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<p>Edwin Jackson, who has been pretty bad so far this season, gets to face his old team for the first time. Of course, he can say that about almost one-third of the teams in the major leagues. The last time he faced the Nats was <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA201106240.shtml" target="_blank">June 24, 2011</a>, when he was a member of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a>. Jackson threw seven shutout innings that night. It would be nice to see a repeat of that.</p>
<p>The Cubs have faced Stephen Strasburg just once -- <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201204050.shtml" target="_blank">Opening Day 2012 at Wrigley Field</a>, where he threw seven innings and allowed five hits and one run. Four of the starting position players that day aren't with the team any more. Strasburg is off to a good, though not dominating, start this year and the Nats have won just two of his seven outings. So maybe we're not totally doomed.</p>
<p>Today's game is on CSN Chicago.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?ymd=20130401#date=5/11/2013">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_05_11_chnmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=gameday">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/CHC.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/117189/pregame">SB Nation game preview</a></p>
<p>Please visit our SB Nation <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.federalbaseball.com/">Federal Baseball</a>.</p>
<p>Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.</p>
<p>In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.</p>
<p>You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "<a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Cubs</a> Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (<a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/game-threads">you can also find them in this section link</a>). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.</p>
<p>Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/5/11/4315282/chicago-cubs-washington-nationals-preview-saturdayAl Yellon