Projo Sox Blog

After a week-long homestand in which it seemed to rain every night -- although the Red Sox managed to get every game in anyway -- the team will find conditions appropriate to the season when they travel to Washington for the first since 1971. It's supposed to be sunny down in the nation's capital, with temperatures in the high 70s around game time. That sounds great, doesn't it?

The Nats are the worst team in baseball (with a 20-47 record), but they're coming off consecutive series victories over the Yankees and the Blue Jays. They'll send their best pitcher, John Lannan (4-5, 3.38 E.R.A.) to the mound to face Brad Penny tonight. Lannan is the only pitcher who is not a rookie in the Washington rotation, and he's given up two or fewer runs in three consecutive starts against the Mets, the Reds and the Yankees. Lannan has never faced the Red Sox, and there are only two players in the Boston lineup he's seen before: Jason Bay (who is 2 for 4 with a double and a walk) and Mark Kotsay (0 for 4 with a walk).

He'll face Brad Penny, who is 12-5 with a 2.54 E.R.A. in his career against the Nationals and the Expos. Penny is 1-1 with a 2.70 E.R.A. in three starts this month, his most effective run of the season. Here's Penny against current Washington hitters:

-Nick Johnson: 3 for 5 (.600), 2B, 2 BB
-Josh Bard: 7 for 13 (.538), 2 2B, 2 BB
-Willie Harris: 1 for 2 (.500), BB
-Ronnie Belliard: 3 for 9 (.333), HR
-Josh Willingham: 1 for 3 (.333)
-Ryan Zimmerman: 1 for 4 (.250), 2 BB
-Adam Dunn: 5 for 28 (.179), 2 HR, 3 BB
-Cristian Guzman: 1 for 6 (.167)
-Austin Kearns: 1 for 9 (.111), 2 BB

Washington is a middle-of-the-road offensive team, featuring big power threat Adam Dunn (18 home runs, sixth in the National League). Nick Johnson is having an outstanding year, hitting .321 with a .430 on-base percentage that is second only to Albert Pujols and David Wright among National League hitters.

The pitching, though, is certainly a big problem. The Nats' 5.11 E.R.A. is second-worst in baseball (only Cleveland's is worse), and Washington pitchers have recorded the third-fewest strikeouts and second-most walks of any staff in baseball.

By the way, the last time the Sox played in Washington, they beat the Ted Williams-managed team that would become the Texas Rangers by a 4-3 score. Rico Petrocelli and Joe Lahoud homered in that game, while Roger Moret pitched a complete game to pick up the victory in front of fewer than 5,000 fans at RFK Stadium.

 Tags  Brad Penny John Lannan Washington Nationals

---