Anyone paying attention to the Nationals lately has been caught up in their starting pitchers’ injuries. One pitcher in particular has been one of the biggest news stories of the last couple of days. On a stormy Thursday afternoon, the Nationals were lead by Scott Olsen, a pitcher coming off the disabled list. Needless to say, he was glad to be back.
“It’s obviously nice,” Olsen said. “The last two and a half months haven’t been a whole lot of fun but it makes days like today even more fun than they are.”
Olsen attributes his successful return to his old standbys keeping the ball down.
“We were down pretty much all day,” he said. “Changeup was really good for the most part. We were down and we were working in and out.”
The lefty put together a quality start as he went six innings and gave up three runs, two of which were earned. Manager Jim Riggleman was glad to see him pitch so well upon his return.
“I’m very happy for him because he’s been through a lot,” Riggleman said. “This was a guy who threw hard, had 200 plus innings for a couple of years, never missed starts or anything and like so many pitchers they have to take a step backwards sometimes because of these injuries that occur to so many of them.”
A rain delay would put an end to Olsen’s outing but he left with a 4-3 lead in the sixth. After a torrential downpour that amounted to an hour and a half delay, the Washington bullpen continued to do its job.
Sean Burnett, Drew Storen and Matt Capps combined for three scoreless innings to keep the potent Braves lineup out of reach. Capps recorded his 26th save of the season after shutting Atlanta down in the ninth.
The Nationals’ bullpen has been keeping them in the game of late, as Wednesday night they kept the Braves scoreless, though it was too late for a comeback. On Tuesday it was the bullpen and only the bullpen that pitched as Stephen Strasburg was a late scratch.
“We’re really taking pride in our job,” Drew Storen said. “And I think that we’re all coming together well and just hanging with it.”
Offensively the Nationals got home runs from shortstop Ian Desmond and Adam Dunn, the subject of constant trade rumors. But the biggest hit of the afternoon came off the bat of catcher Wil Nieves. With the game tied, Nieves knocked a two run single up the middle to give the Nationals a two run lead. They would hold onto that lead for the rest of the game.
“Wil’s got a good number of RBIs for plate appearances,” Riggleman said. “Wil’s done a good job behind the plate. When Pudge was out this year, Wil and Aldonado really stepped up.”
With the 5-3 win, the Nationals took the series against the Braves and improved their record to 44-58. Friday night things do not get any easier as the Phillies come to town and start their new prized acquisition, Roy Oswalt.
You can reach this staff writer at slindauer@theeagleonline.com.
