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Behind Patterson, Nats End Slide
Preston Wilson takes a dive to score in the second inning of Washington's 4-0 victory over the Rockies on Tuesday.
(Nick Wass - AP)
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"Sometimes, lineup changes and that stuff just puts different thoughts in people's mind, in the way they approach the game," second baseman Jose Vidro said.
In truth, the Nationals scored just two runs through seven innings off Colorado starter Shawn Chacon, and needed help from an old friend, right-hander Zach Day -- who was swapped for Wilson last week -- to hang two more on the board in the eighth. But for one game, the changes worked. The six players who hit in their spot for the first time this year combined to go 8 for 19 with three runs scored and four RBI.
"I'm not going to say it paid off," Schneider said. "But maybe it got some people's attention."
Robinson, naturally, didn't want to give the shake-up too much credit for one win, though he'll likely roll out a similar lineup in the series finale tonight. And the manager knows there were also wasted opportunities before Schneider and Wilson delivered run-scoring hits off Day in the eighth.
"When you're moving around the bases and you're putting people on base, you just seem to have a little more life," Robinson said. "But it all starts with the pitching, starting pitching. Patterson set the tone."
He was able to set the tone because he got ahead of hitters and went into the game with the idea of conserving pitches early on so that he would have more of a chance to work deep into the game. It worked flawlessly. The muggy night made the grip on his curveball shaky, he said, so he relied on his fastball, which he moved in and out, baffling the Rockies.
When Robinson came to get him in the ninth, after he allowed a leadoff single to Todd Helton, the announced crowd of 30,655 rose, the cheers thundering through RFK. The team needed a win. Patterson needed a win. Everybody seemed to sense it.
Patterson strode slowly off the field to the dugout, and finally doffed his cap, waving it to all parts of RFK. Personal stats aside, this start was enormous.
"It's what we needed," he said.
