Nats 6, Braves 0
That’s a pretty nice way to break a six-game losing streak. Livan Hernandez, after three poor starts in a row, was better last week against the Mets and tonight baffled the Braves with eight shutout innings. He allowed just five hits and two walks against a team that was desperate to win in its fight for a playoff spot. Hernandez struck out six Braves batters and became the first Nats starter to win 10 games since 2008 when Tim Redding did it. He is 10-11 overall now with an ERA down to 3.67. Hernandez even batted 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a solo home run, the 10th of his career.
Recommended Stories
Adam Dunn launched a mammoth home run to center field – somewhere in the neighborhood of 475 feet – and went 2-for-3 with a walk. Ryan Zimmerman was 2-for-4 with a walk. Ian Desmond recovered from a four-strikeout night to bat 2-for-4 with his 10th homer of the season. Washington improved to 61-84. Atlanta dropped to 83-63 and is now two games behind Philadelphia in the N.L. East. The two teams don’t get much rest. It’s a 12:10 p.m. start tomorrow in Atlanta.
In other news, the 2011 schedule is out. Opening Day is against the Braves on March 31 – a Thursday – as MLB tries to ensure the World Series ends before Nov. 1. Inter-league play opponents are the Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels. Obviously, the Baltimore series is home-and-home. Seattle also visits the District. The White Sox and Angels series are on the road. Plenty of holiday games on the docket. The Philadelphia Phillies are in town on Memorial Day, the Chicago Cubs come in for July 4th and the Nats host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Labor Day.
A lot of long road trips and homestands next season. Washington has an 11-game trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants (June 2-June 12) without a day off anywhere in the mix. There is also a pair of nine-game, 10-day road trips – one a tour of N.L. East rivals Philadelphia, Florida and Atlanta (May 3-12) and the other a post-All-Star break trip to Atlanta, Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers (July 15-24). You can add in a 10-game, 11-day visit to Colorado, the Cubs and Philadelphia (Aug. 4-14), too.
At Nationals Park there are three separate 10-game, 10-day homestands. The first one involves Pittsburgh, the Cubs and Colorado (July 1-10). The second features Cincinnati, Philadelphia and the Diamondbacks (Aug. 16-25). The third has games against the New York Mets, Dodgers and Astros (Sept. 2-11). The Nats also host a nine-game, 10-day homestand with the St. Louis Cardinals, Orioles and Mariners (June 14-23).
National League East rivals Philadelphia, Atlanta, Florida and the New York Mets get nine games each at home and on the road. The Dodgers, Giants, Cubs and Diamondbacks visit Nationals Park for four games. Washington has four-game series at the Mets, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Padres. The All-Star break is July 11-14 with the game itself in Phoenix on July 12. The Nats end the regular season in Miami against the Marlins (Sept. 26-28).
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
