Gio Gonalez and the Nationals shut out the Cardinals

Gio Gonzalez pitched the first complete game shutout of his career as the Washington Nationals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 to earn their 80th victory of the season.  With the win, the Nationals extended their lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East to 6.5 games and continued their impressive run following a recent 5 game losing streak.

Gio Gonzalez pitched a complete game shutout
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez won his MLB leading 17th game of the season, struck out 8 and lowered his ERA to a career best 3.10.  Gonzalez retired the first 9 batters he faced and did not allow a hit through 4 innings.  Following the game, manager Davey Johnson claimed that Gonzalez would have been limited to 120 pitches in the game; his pitch count ended up being 119.  Gonzalez was acquired this offseason from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for three of the Nationals' top nine prospects.  He has been nothing short of an absolute ace this season, leading the NL in opponents' batting average and slugging percentage, ranking 4th in strikeouts, and nearly ranking in the top 10 in both ERA and WHIP.  After the game Gonzalez was honored with a gatorade shower and a whipped cream pie to the face by teammate Edwin Jackson.

Bryce Harper has been very hot of late
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez was provided with ample run support by the Nationals' offense, which has outscored opponents 26-5 over the team's current three game win streak.  Right fielder Jayson Werth had 3 hits, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, center fielder Bryce Harper and first baseman Adam Laroche each provided the team with 2 RBIs in the offensive explosion, which included Zimmerman's 17th home run of the season.  Werth and Harper, the first two batters in the lineup, have been especially hot of late, with Harper batting 0.428 with 3 homers and 8 RBI over the team's 3 game win streak, and Werth batting 0.358 during the month August.


All Photos were taken by me, Nir Levy.

Bryce Harper's unprecedented success

Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals' rookie center fielder, is playing at an historic level through the first half of the season.  Earlier this week the 19 year old became the first teenage position player to be named an all-star.  Harper, the number one overall pick in 2010, was featured on a Sports Illustrated cover at the age of 16.  Unlike most teenage prodigies, Harper has surpassed all expectations and is playing better than any 19 year old has in the history of the majors. What have allowed Harper to succeed at such a young age are the maturity and professionalism that he possesses  Harper plays with a very visible effort and always runs the bases hard, which has endeared him to the D.C. sports fan base.
Earlier this season Harper was asked by a reporter whether he would be celebrating a win in Toronto with a beer, and take advantage of the lower drinking age in Canada.  Harper responded to the reporter with his now famous catch phrase "That's a clown question, bro."

When recently asked to explain the quote in an interview on 106.7 The Fan, Harper displayed the professionalism and high-character that has led him to such great achievements so early in his career.  Harper explained, “I’d rather be a good person off the field than a good baseball player on the field.  I wanna be as good as I can be off the field for these fans and this town and I don’t wanna put anything into my body and do anything outside of this clubhouse that’s going to affect this team or anybody in this city or anything like that.  I give everything I can every single day and I don’t wanna go out, I don’t wanna party, I don’t wanna drink or anything like that.  So, when someone asks me a question that, I think it’s a little disrespectful and, you know, it was the first thing that came to my mind. Like I said, my body is a temple and I’m not going to put anything in it that will affect me or the way I play because I want to give everything I can for this team and this city every single day.”
Harper and the rest of his Nationals teammates appear to be fully committed to winning.  D.C. fans had better enjoy the next few seasons.

Washington Nationals at the All-Star Break

The Washington Nationals enter the All-Star break with a 49-34 record, the best in the National League.  Postseason baseball hasn't been played in the nation's capital since 1933, when the Washington Senators lost in the world series to the New York Giants.  D.C. is among the most tortured sports markets of the past two decades, and therefore local fans are brimming with excitement at the prospect of having a first place team.

Stephen Strasburg (photo by Nir Levy)

The Nationals starting pitching rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler is widely considered the best in the majors and the bullpen is also among the best in baseball.  The Nats lead the league in ERA, WHIP, opponents' batting average, on base percentage, slugging and a plethora of other commonly used statistics.  Strasburg and Gonzalez were both named to the all-star team, Strasburg leads the NL in strikeouts, Gonzalez is tied for the lead in wins, and Zimmermann joins the two in the top 12 of the league in WHIP and ERA.  Strasburg's fastball and Gonzalez's lefty curveball are among the most unhittable pitches in baseball.  Losing streaks are far and few between for the team when it has an ace pitching almost every day.  Among the top story lines of the second half is Strasburg's innings limit.  Because Strasburg is coming off Tommy John surgery the team has decided to follow standard medical protocol and limit Strasburg to 160 innings of pitching this season.  The team will shut him down in early September as the playoff race heats up in order to protect his bright future and reduce the risk that he breaks down at an early age.

Ryan Zimmerman (photo by Nir Levy)

The Nats have weathered serious injuries to many of their key contributors including closer Drew Storen who has yet to make an appearance this season, outfielder Michael Morse who only made his season debut in June, outfielder Jayson Werth who will miss 12 weeks with a broken wrist, catcher Wilson Ramos who is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who battled a shoulder injury for much of the season's first half.
The Nats have been able to sustain success by having players repeatedly step up and perform in relief of the team's injured stars.  Tyler Clippard, the team's 8th inning setup man has pitched lights out as the team's closer in the absence of his good friend Storen.  Players like rookies Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore have been dependable when given opportunities to play and have provided the team with big hits in crucial situations.

Ian Desmond (photo by Nir Levy)

All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond has improved his play significantly, leads the team in most batting categories and has made spectacular plays defensively.  Desmond's 17 home runs rank 6th in the NL, and are already a single season career high.  First Baseman Adam Laroche has returned from an injury plagued season to play golden glove worthy defense and lead the Nats in OPS and RBIs.  Zimmerman received a cortisone shot in his shoulder two weeks ago and has responded with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 14 games.  With Morse, who hit 31 home runs last season, back in the lineup the Nats' offense should only improve as the season progresses.

Bryce Harper (photo by Nir Levy)

19 year old rookie sensation Bryce Harper has been better than advertised.  The former number one overall pick was among the most hyped athletes of all time.  Harper was called up from the minors earlier than expected on April 28th and since then has done nothing but dazzle the sports world.  Harper's statistics as a teenager are unprecedented historically and superior to those of MLB legends Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.  By being placed on the all-star team in place of the injured Giancarlo Stanton, Harper became the youngest position player ever to be named an all-star.  Harper has taken over as the Nats' starting center fielder providing the team with a potential superstar at the team's position of greatest need and is already among the three best center fielders in the NL.

The second half of the season should surpass the highly entertaining first half in excitement and intrigue.  Follow along to find out if the 2012 Nationals can become only the fourth baseball team in Washington D.C. history to make the postseason.

Note: All photos in this post were taken by me, Nir Levy at a Nationals game on July 6th.

Nats sweep the Braves

The Washington Nationals swept the Atlanta Braves in front of a national audience on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, winning 7-2.  Gio Gonzalez who started for the Nats won his 5th straight game, throwing 10 strikeouts in the process.  Gonzalez's effective fastball curveball combination flummoxed the Braves who managed only one hit in the 7 innings that Gonzalez pitched.  Gonzalez, who was acquired by the Nats from Oakland this past offseason, is among the MLB leaders in all the major pitching statistics, and leads the league in strikeouts, wins and opponents' batting average.  The Nationals provided Gonzalez with excellent run support, including an 8th inning home run  by Bryce Harper, the team's electric rookie Outfielder and former first overall pick in the MLB draft.