Thursday Twin-bill

Game Notes
The Naturals bats seemed to wake up at times last night, as they were able to put up 4 runs in two innings in the first game Thursday night. Brian McFall's impressive bomb in the fourth seemed to jump-start the offense, at least for a time. The Nat's cruised to a 4-2 win in game one, as the bullpen looked solid once again.

After that three-run fourth, though, the Nats posted eight consecutive scoreless innings before attempting a comeback in the sixth inning of the second game. The Naturals' game two starting pitcher Blake Johnson struggled from the first pitch. Getting behind each of the first three batters he faced, Johnson struggled to find the zone consistently. Once he was behind, his mid-80s fast-balls weren't enough to get by the S-Cards' bats. He only walked two, but he'll need to get better command of his pitches to improve his results.

Strategy Note
A couple examples of how playing heads-up baseball might effect the outcome of the game.

In the third inning of the first game, the Naturals' Juan Richardson hit a fly-ball to right with one out and the bases loaded. The right fielder was faced with the choice of attempting to gun down (C) Adam Donachie (the tying run at the time) at the plate, or hold the other two runners by throwing to third. He chose to hold the runners. Could he have gotten Donachie? Maybe. But he probably made the right decision to throw to third, ensuring that the other two runners couldn't advance.

Another example, this time of either poor strategy or a mental error. In the bottom of the sixth with one out and the Naturals trailing 4-3, runners on first (McFall) and third (Lucas), Maddox at the plate, and one out. I'm not sure if this was a planned trick play, or if McFall was being overly aggressive (based on Poldberg's reaction, I'd guess the latter). It appeared that McFall was fooled by the old fake to third, throw to first (the move that never worked in H.S., but still gets tried all the time). Once McFall was caught in the run down, Lucas broke for home and appeared to score, but was called out.

In that situation, McFall should have been more aware that the run on third was crucial, and that there was no reason to be so aggressive. He also shouldn't have been fooled, as the Springfield pitcher had already attempted that move at least once previously. The odds of scoring with a runner on third and less than two outs (especially with Maddox, who runs well at the plate) are dramatically higher than scoring with a runner on second and two outs, and we needed to score at least one run to stay alive. Maddox then struck out to end the threat.

Big Picture
It appears that the Naturals might have finally gotten their big sticks locked-in. McFall had the bomb in the first game, then a sharp, run-scoring pinch-hit single in the sixth inning of game two. Kaaihue also laced a double to the left-center gap, and looks like he might get back in a groove. Maddox continues to struggle, and might take more time to adjust to AA pitching.