Nationals vs. Padres: Jason Marquis flirts with no-hitter in 2-1 victory

SAN DIEGO – Jason Marquis took a deep breath and stared in at the plate, his undemanding Friday night having turned into hard labor. The first 12 San Diego Padres he faced had not sent a ball into the outfield. Now, in the sixth inning, the bases were loaded, the Washington Nationals’ lead was slashed to one, a hotshot prospect dug in and the count ran full.

“You watch the way his demeanor didn’t change on the mound,” closer Drew Storen said. “We call them down in the bullpen, ‘Man-pitches.’ ”

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

In a bind he had not faced all night at Petco Park, Marquis turned to a pitch he had mostly kept holstered. In the pivotal moment of the Nationals’ 2-1 victory over the Padres, Marquis turned to a risky, perfectly executed change-up, beating a powerful rookie with veteran guile. By extricating himself from the only jam he faced all night — and on the back of Michael Morse’s two-run homer and dominant relief pitching by Tyler Clippard and Storen – Marquis secured his seventh win.

Following an early exit by ejection in his last start, Marquis gave up one run in six innings on three hits and three walks, striking out five. The Nationals improved their record on their West Coast road swing to 4-5, keeping alive the chance at their first winning, multi-city trip since May 2008.

Morse, Clippard and Storen chipped in, but they mainly had one pitch Marquis made to thank. When Rizzo walked to the plate with one out in the sixth inning, Marquis had just forced in a run by walking Ryan Ludwick with the bases loaded, cutting his lead to 2-1. Marquis had relied on his sinker and slider, throwing four change-ups all night. As he dueled with Rizzo and the count moved to 3-2, two of the five pitches he threw were change-ups.

“I wasn’t giving in in that situation with a pitch over the plate,” Marquis said. “If I had to face [Jorge] Cantu, the next hitter, with the bases loaded, tie ballgame, I’ll take my chances.”

Rizzo, after smashing a triple off the outfield fence Thursday night, was playing in the second game of his much-anticipated career. Marquis assumed a rookie in this situation would want to be aggressive. Marquis thought he needed to present a pitch as a strike, but have it fall out of the strike zone and make Rizzo chase it. He didn’t care that it was full count or that he had thrown just six out of 98 pitches. The change-up was the right pitch.

“I know what I’m capable of doing,” Marquis said. “I know what I want to do. I’m a big guy in the game will dictate in how I attack hitters. The game will dictate how you attack hitters, whether it’s how your ball is moving that day, the types of swings that hitters take off you. I felt like that was the right pitch at the moment.”

Marquis threw the change-up, starting it just above his kneecap. Just as Rizzo started a mighty hack, it dropped below his knee, almost to the dirt. Rizzo swung over it by about four inches, strike three.

“I don’t think he got me chasing,” Rizzo said. “That was just a great pitch. That change-up was in the strike zone, and then it dropped off. I don’t know of anybody who could’ve laid off.”