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Nats Pitchers Put Away the Brooms
Elijah Dukes went 0 for 3 with a walk in the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Orioles yesterday. With the victory, Washington avoided being swept by Baltimore to begin interleague play this season.
(By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Since Ayala's personal tailspin, when his ERA approached six, he has contributed to three Nationals victories, two of them by just one run. The good momentum started against the New York Mets, when Ayala allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings during back-to-back outings last Wednesday and Thursday.
"The fact that he's got three in a row now, that tells me a lot, especially those in New York, which were in tough spots," Acta said.
So Acta didn't hesitate to turn the game over to Ayala, who made his 27th appearance of the season.
At the height of the drama -- as Acta stood on the pitcher's mound after pulling Lannan for Ayala in the critical eighth inning -- the skies opened up above Camden Yards. It was the second rain delay of the game and lasted 27 minutes. But Ayala used the delay to review the videos of the batters he would face and stepped to the mound with a game plan.
Sometimes, just to himself, Ayala said he likes to call out the next play, repeating to himself the hoped-for result of an at-bat. Perhaps he'll say, "pop to short" or "fly out." But Ayala wasn't too picky against the O's: "I called for them to make outs," he said.
It was good enough for both Ayala and the Nationals.
"Any pitcher in general is going to go through a rough patch here and there," Rauch said. "It's just how quickly you work through it and how you rebound, and he's done a good job."
