Road Work Pays Off For Nats
Nationals 7, Orioles 4

By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

BALTIMORE, June 12 -- Dwelling on it does them no good, and they know it, but it is an undeniable truth. RFK Stadium, where the Washington Nationals have 48 home games remaining before moving on to new digs, is a difficult park in which to hit home runs. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Nationals opened a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, can give them away.

"There's really nothing to compare," Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "This is a good ballpark to hit in. Ours isn't."

So the Nationals have a simple philosophy on the road: relax, take some deep breaths and get in some hacks. Tuesday, they ripped three homers off Orioles right-hander Daniel Cabrera, the offense they needed in a 7-4 victory over Baltimore that was their third win in four games to start this road trip.

The homers came off the bats of Ryan Church, Zimmerman and Brian Schneider, and coupled with a two-out, two-run double from Felipe Lopez, they drove Cabrera from the game in the fifth, having allowed all seven runs. And those shots showed how different things are for the Nationals on the road. Church was asked where his homer, a solo shot the opposite way to left, would have landed at RFK.

"Behind the shortstop," he said flatly.

There were many elements to this one, not the least of which was a six-inning outing from Nationals lefty Micah Bowie, a veteran in the process of being reborn as a starter. Bowie allowed just three hits, all in the second inning, a frame in which he gave up a three-run homer to Melvin Mora. Closer Chad Cordero, who looked as if he would have the night off when the Nationals took a four-run lead into the ninth, came on to relieve the shaky Jesus Colome and notched the 100th save of his career -- "and he's going to have a lot more," Manager Manny Acta said.

But the difference-makers were the homers, and the comparison with RFK is striking. In 33 games at RFK this year, the Nationals have hit 16 homers -- less than half a homer per game. After Tuesday night, they have hit 24 homers in 31 road games, more than three-quarters of a homer per game. They don't have a game with at least three homers at RFK; Tuesday was their third such game on the road.

"They feel better," Acta said. "They feel more at ease. They feel if they hit a ball good, it's going to go out of the park. And at home, you got to put pretty much everything on it or hit the ball down the line. They feel good on the road. Let's face it -- it's a little bit more legit distance on the road."

So, the Nationals feel, they get more legit results.

"We take the same approach we do at home," Church said. "The balls at home just don't go out. There's nothing you can do about it. Everybody sees it."

By the time Zimmerman faced Cabrera in the third, the Nationals trailed 3-1. He erased that with one swing, a two-out shot to left that tied it, his 10th homer of the year.

Much has been made of Zimmerman's ability to match his rookie season of 2006, when he hit .287 with 20 homers and 110 RBI. After Tuesday's 2-for-4 evening, his average was just .247, and he has not been nearly as consistent as he wants. But it's worth noting that last season, his 10th homer came on June 18. Through June 12 a year ago, he had 38 RBI. Now, he has 37.

"I feel good," Zimmerman said.

Lopez, conversely, hadn't felt good for several weeks, and he entered Tuesday in a 2-for-37 slump. Acta moved him from first to second in the order, and Lopez told his manager he needed to be more patient. He was, drawing three walks -- including the two-out pass that preceded Zimmerman's homer -- and hitting a two-out double that broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth.

"He just felt he was being overly aggressive, and he was going to be ready to snap out of it," Acta said.

Throw in Schneider's two-run shot in the fifth that drove Cabrera (5-7) from the game -- a first-pitch fastball that the catcher knocked out to right -- and the Nationals had more than enough for Bowie (3-2) and four relievers. The Orioles' offense, which excels at being stagnant, had nothing for the lefty after Mora's homer. Over Bowie's final 16 batters, he allowed only a walk, a hit batter (who was erased on a double play) and an error by Church in left.

In 15 previous career starts dating from 1999, Bowie had only twice thrown as many as six innings, and had never thrown more.

"I'll take that every game of the year," Bowie said. "This is a small ballpark, and the ball gets out."

Which is why, even after relievers Saul Rivera and Jon Rauch retired six of seven batters in the seventh and eighth, there still were some anxious moments. Colome allowed Miguel Tejada's solo homer to lead off the ninth, and eventually -- after he gave up a single and a walk -- the Orioles had the tying run at the plate. Enter Cordero.

"I knew it could be my 100th," he said, "but when you're out there, you just throw your pitches."

So he did, getting Paul Bako to ground into a game-ending double play. After celebrating, the Nationals carried their bats back to the clubhouse. They will draw them out again Wednesday, another chance to relax, hit homers and pad the stats. RFK Stadium awaits next Monday, but they have five more games -- two here, then three in Toronto -- between now and then.