What? He didn't strike out all 21 batters faced? While throwing with his left hand? Blindfolded? BOOOOOOO! What a con. The loss means Arizona has a 4-3 winning road-trip, and now comes back home to face mortal pitching and the Reds on Tuesday. Here are the recaps of Strasburgpalooza 2010 and, after the jump, (mostly) non-Strasburg related bits and pieces - the draft deadline is Monday, so there's info on the situation there.
Recaps
- [AZCentral] Diamondbacks drop series finale in Washington "It was a sloppy, spinning slider, and the second I threw it I was saying, 'Oh, please come back,' " Enright said. "If there was one pitch I could take back, it's probably that one."
- [dbacks.com] Snakes get to Strasburg, but fall in DC "I don't think we saw his best stuff," LaRoche said. "I think he was a little erratic at times. Any time you can throw 99 Zand back it up with two offspeed pitches that you can throw at any time for strikes, that makes it tough on the hitters. If he stays healthy, he's got obviously the potential to be around for a long time."
- [Yahoo!] Desmond's RBI single edges Nationals past Arizona - Washington manager Jim Riggleman let Strasburg hit for himself in the fifth, then brought in Tyler Clippard in the sixth after a series of fans ran onto the field following Strasburg’s groundout, causing a brief delay. "Once we sat in there a little longer with the (protest) going on, I just decided, well I’m just not going to send him back out there," Riggleman said.
Team News and Notes
- [dbacks.com] D-backs unlikely to sign top Draft pick - The D-backs have signed seven of their top 10 picks, and are still actively pursuing deals with Blake Perry (sixth round), James Green (eighth), Kevin Ziomek (13) and Tyler Linton (14). "I think if we get a couple of those guys signed, we would be happy," Allison said. "If we get three or four of them signed, we'd be ecstatic."
- [AZCentral] A quick look at Ty Linton - "Linton reportedly wants a seven-figure bonus to buy him out of his commitment to North Carolina, where he’s supposed to play football and baseball. Couple that with his raw baseball abilities and it explains why he slipped in the draft."
- [AZCentral] Diamondbacks' bullpen improved over past month - "The bullpen's ERA remains at 6.12. That's still the worst in the National League by a long shot - but it's no longer the worst in the modern era, a distinction held by the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays, whose bullpen ERA was 6.16."
- [dbacks.com] Rookie Demel remains eager to learn - "I'm pretty much trying to learn who I am and what's going to play at this level and what's not," Demel said. "What to throw off of what, good counts to throw breaking balls ... stuff like that."
- [AZCentral] Prospect Parker continues to make progress - "I’m sure he probably had some questions, maybe four or five months ago, in his own mind (if the velocity would return)," Mobile pitching coach Dan Carlson said. "(But) it’s mid-90s right now... These guys are used to seeing 92-93 each night," he said. "(Parker’s fastball) is better than what they’re normally seeing."
- [Boston Globe] Check back on contenders when the dealing’s done - "The Diamondbacks put second baseman Kelly Johnson and first baseman Adam LaRoche on trade waivers Friday."
Around baseball
- [MLB.com] Slowey dominant as Twins top A's - "Fans at Target Field booed when Jon Rauch took the mound in the eighth inning, disappointed the Twins had made a change after starter Kevin Slowey had been pulled after giving up no hits through the seven innings he tossed because of a pitch count that had already reached 106. And the booing continued just moments later when Rauch gave up a double to Cliff Pennington."
- [AP] Padres vs. Giants Recap - "Lincecum has the first losing streak of three straight starts in his career (and) was done after his second-shortest outing this year of 3 2/3 innings. He was tagged for six runs, five earned, on eight hits."
- [SI.com] Stephen Strasburg has strong words for No. 1 pick Bryce Harper - The Nationals' Stephen Strasburg had some pointed words for fellow No. 1 draft pick Bryce Harper: "If he doesn't want to play here, then we don't want him here."
- [AFP] S.Korean 'breaks home run world baseball record' - "South Korean Lee Dae-Ho broke a world record on Saturday by scoring a home run for his ninth straight game, a report said. The Lotte Giants infielder reached the milestone in the second inning of a Korean professional league game against the Kia Tigers in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Yonhap news agency said."
- [Telegraph] Baseball player shot at women's World Cup - "The women's baseball World Cup in Venezuela was suspended after a player was hit by a bullet during a game held at a military base." Sheesh, some people will do anything to stop women's rights...