Colorado starter Juan Nicasio had a scary moment in the second inning when Ian Desmond hit a line drive right back at him. Nicasio was down for some time as the training staff looked at him and carted him off the field. At the hospital, it was determined Nicasio had a neck injury, but would be okay.
It’s tough, because the top of the Nationals lineup went 9-for-18 on the night, but the obvious storyline is the injury to Nicasio.
Rick Ankiel hasn’t been setting the world on fire, but he has a five game hitting streak with three multi-hit games. Ankiel was inserted into the starting lineup for good two weeks ago, and since then has raised his batting average from .230 to .251. Ankiel went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI last night in the leadoff spot. His consistency has been a huge asset batting leadoff.
Not to be outdone, Michael Morse went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBI. The home run was Morse’s 19th of the season. Ryan Zimmerman went 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBI as well. Ian Desmond recovered from the situation in the second to go 4-for-4 on the evening.
Jordan Zimmermann pitched 5 and 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs and striking out 8. Zimmermann did throw 96 pitches on the night. Zimmermann did get the win, but Henry Rodriguez continued his roller coaster ride of a season with an erratic performance where he didn’t record an out. Rodriguez faced 4 batters, giving up three hits and a walk.
Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen came in to close out the game, recording their 28th hold and save.
The Nationals and Rockies will have their first pitch at 8:10 pm tonight. Livan Hernandez (6-10, 4.08 ERA) will face Jhoulys Chacin (8-8, 3.38 ERA). You can listen to the game live on The Fan.
Follow Brendan Darr on twitter: @BrendanDarr1067
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