Tag Archives: Scott Olsen

May 22, 2010

Olsen to be Skipped

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Scott Olsen will miss his next start for the Nationals due to the injury he suffered Friday night:

“Because of the off day, we can pitch people on their regular day up until the 29th or 30th, so I’m not sure yet how we’ll do that, if we’ll see if [Miguel] Batista is available, or if we have to make a roster move, something like that. I don’t know,” Riggleman said. “Right now we’re just counting on maybe Scott only being a few days off, and depending on how much the bullpen was used before that, we could fill our spot from within. The first couple days on the road trip will help tell us that.”

Roster move? Seems like the perfect time to call up Stephen Strasburg.

May 21, 2010 May 16, 2010

Games of the Day

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Cliff Lee and Matt Garza face off in the rubber of the Seattle/Tampa Bay series this afternoon. Lee, in three starts, has yet to walk a batter or allow a home run. With his 5-1 record and 2.49 ERA, Garza is an early Cy Young candidate, although he faces quite a bit of competition on his own team. In holding opponents to a .284 OBP, Garza only faced one batter with the bases loaded this season.

The Nationals try to avoid a sweep earn a split with the Rockies as they send Scott Olsen against Jeff Francis. Olsen is showing good power and control, with his best strikeout rate since 2006 and the best walk rate of his career. Jeff makes his first major league appearance since September of 2008. Shoulder problems sidelined him all of 2009. He made two starts for Tulsa this year, posting a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. He only struck out five batters, however, which makes me wonder if he’s really ready for the majors.

Finally, Wade LeBlanc tries to stop the Dodgers charge in the NL West as he hosts Chad Billingsley in San Diego. Chad’s problem this season stems from a ton of extra base hits. He’s allowed just three homers, but 17 doubles and triples push his slugging percentage allowed to .479. Only nine of LeBlanc’s 31 hits have gone for extra bases, which makes it tough to score on him despite a .353 OBP allowed.

Enjoy!

May 11, 2010

Games of the Day

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After a vcitory over the Mets Monday night, the Nationals try to solidify their hold on second place in the NL East as they send Scott Olsen against Jonathan Niese. For the first time since 2006, Olsen is posting outstanding strikeout numbers, while cutting down on his home runs allowed compared to previous seasons. That’s leading to the best ERA of his career. Niese is allowing a .315 BA overall, but is getting away it as opponents hit just .250 against him with runners in scoring position.

Texas leads Oakland by one game in the AL West as the Rangers and Colby Lewis host the Athletics and Trevor Cahill. The Oakland righty is making just his third start of the season, but already allowed three home runs in ten innings. Lewis is one of the bright spots in the Rangers rotation. He ranks third in the AL in strikeouts per 9 IP with a 10.24 mark, holding batters to a .199 BA.

Roy Halladay gets to find out what it’s like to pitch in Coors Field as the Phillies face Colorado and Aaron Cook. When Halladay faced Colorado in 2002 in Toronto, he pitched a two hitter for the third shutout of his career. Cook is pitching better at home, where he allows a .170 BA this year versus .329 on the road.

Finally, the Padres travel north to send Wade LeBlanc against the Giants and Barry Zito. San Francisco trails the Padres by 1/2 game in the NL West. LeBlanc is living up to his name as he’s allowed just three runs this season in 23 1/3 innings with a K/BB of over 3.0. Zito keeps pitching like a $17 million man with just 12 walks in 42 1/3 innings and no home runs allowed.

Enjoy!

May 6, 2010

No Win for Olsen

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Scott Olsen took a not hitter into the eighth inning Atlanta Thursday night, but lost his chance for a win when he gave up two runs, one earned after giving up a hit in the inning. That tied the game at two, but Ryan Zimmerman made up for his error with a double in the ninth, moving Adam Kennedy to third where he scored on Willie Harris single. The win puts Washington into at tie with the Mets for second place in the NL East at 15-13, two games out of the wild card.

May 6, 2010

Olsen in the Eighth

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Scott Olsen is coming out to pitch the eighth inning against the Braves with a no-hitter in place. He’s walked one batter and hasn’t allowed a run as Washington leads 2-0. He’ll face Diaz, Ross and Cabrera.

Update: Diaz strikes out looking on a pitch on the inside corner. Diaz thought he walked, but the pitch caught the black. Olsen has eight strikeouts.

Update: David Ross breaks up the no hitter with a line drive single past the diving shortstop. He pulled it in the hole just out of the reach of Ian Desmond.

May 6, 2010

Two No-Hitters

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Scott Olsen is throwing a no-hitter for the Nationals against the Braves, having walked one batter. Matt Cain is working on a no-hitter against the Marlins, he just finished the fifth. Matt walked two.

I was on the phone earlier with my friend Jim Storer, and jokingly said to him I was going to watch Matt Cain throw a perfect game and not get a win. The Giants, however, have scored three run for him tonight and lead 3-0. The Nats are cutting it much closer as they lead 1-0 in the seventh.

Update: Olsen gets three ground outs in the seventh to keep the no-no intact. He’s struck out seven batters so far.

Update: Adam Dunn leads off the bottom of the seventh in Washington with a home run to give Olsen a little breathing room, it’s 2-0 Washington. Tim Hudson gave up two solo shots tonight. Matt Cain comes out for the bottom of the sixth.

Update: Chris Coghlan grounds a single up the middle with two out in the sixth inning for the Marlins first hit of the game. That sends my attention to Scott Olsen, who needs six outs for a no-hitter.

April 25, 2010 April 20, 2010

Another Short Start

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The Nationals get another short outing from their starting pitcher. Scott Olsen lasts just two innings, the seventh time in 14 games the Nationals starter failed to go five innings. Tyler Walker relieves Olsen in the third with no outs, and he gives up four runs of his own as the Rockies jump out to a 10-0 lead as they bat in the top of the fourth. There seven short starts are the most in the majors.