Watson Has 39-Game Hitting Streak
Wednesday, June 13, 2007; Page E07
Brandon Watson, the Nationals' Opening Day center fielder in 2006 now playing for Class AAA Columbus, extended his hitting streak yesterday to a remarkable 39 games, going 3 for 4 against Syracuse. The streak is the second-longest in the history of the International League, trailing only a 42-game tear from Rochester's Jack Lelivelt in 1912.
How does a guy with a .176 average in 35 major league games hit .350 in Class AAA during such a stretch?
ON THE FIELD Jesus Flores' two-run, ninth-inning double gives the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Notebook: The Nationals trade left-handed reliever Ray King, the most veteran member of their pitching staff, to the Brewers for a player to be named. Boswell: The statistics show a return to normalcy in baseball and the end of the Steroid Era. Minor Leagues: Justin Maxwell has come out of the slump he was in after straining an oblique muscle by sneezing and is now hitting .423 with 24 homers. NATIONALS REPORTBy the Numbers89: Errors for the Nationals through Monday. Through 138 games a year ago, they had 113 errors. Personnel Dept.OF Ryan Langerhans hit his first homer of a 14-game stint with Class AAA Columbus on Monday, just before he was called up. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "My approach was a lot better." Langerhans will be used primarily as a defensive replacement. ... The club activated LHP Micah Bowie, who hadn't pitched in the majors since June because of a hip injury. ... The club announced that Centerplate would replace Aramark as the concessionaire at the new ballpark in 2008. Quotable"He certainly was a good influence on our young pitchers, had a lot to do with some of their developments. Our clubhouse was a better place with Ray King a part of it." -- GM Jim Bowden NATIONALS JOURNALBarry Svrluga provides the latest news on the Nationals. MULTIMEDIA Podcasts: Postgame audio from Barry Svrluga and video from Washington Post Live. Slideshow: A crowd of 40,389 pack into RFK Stadium to open up the 2007 baseball season. Photos: Manny Acta returns home. Webcam: Check back daily and follow the progress of construction on the stadium. |
"He's worked hard," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "I think being released, as he was, was a wake-up call for him."
Watson was released by the Tigers earlier this season, and the Nationals brought him back. Bowden said he is "not afraid to go the other way" now. . . .
Columbus RHP Emiliano Fruto returned from missing a month with a sore right elbow to throw six scoreless innings Sunday, allowing five hits, striking out seven and walking only one. Columbus IF D'Angelo Jimenez is hitting .395 and has reached base in 33 straight games for the Clippers. . . . The promotion of four players -- including last year's first-round draft pick, Chris Marrero -- to high-Class A Potomac on Monday also meant a promotion for OF Dee Brown, who went from Potomac to Class AA Harrisburg. Brown was hitting .284 with 14 doubles for the P-Nats. "He deserved it," Bowden said. . . . The Nationals assigned their second-round pick, IF Jake Smolinski, to their rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate.
-- Barry Svrluga
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