A look over the past few days around the Nats system:
AA Harrisburg
Armando Galarraga pitched a gem on Tuesday, taking a
no-hitter into the sixth inning and going the distance with a three-hit shutout
as the Senators beat Trenton 7-0. The 22-year-old struck out seven and walked
just one.
"I was doing the same job I've been doing here," Galarraga
said through an interpreter. "I was hitting the spot and I felt good and
the defense helped me out."
The offense helped out, too, as Dee Haynes went 2-4 with two
RBI and two runs scored and catcher John Wilson went 2-3 with a run scored.
The Senators’ bats were cranking on Friday night as well. Larry Broadway went 3-5 including two doubles and a home run as Harrisburg won 10-4
in Altoona. The first baseman scored three runs and drove in another. Ryan Zimmerman went 3-5 with a double and a run scored, raising his AA batting average
to .267 and his OPS to 7.90. Haynes kicked in with two home runs, giving him 18
for the year.
Rich Rundles went 6.1 innings to pick up the win. Although
all four Altoona runs were charged to him, only one of them was earned.
The Senators are tied for last place in the Southern
Division of the Eastern League, but they are only 6.5 games out of first and
three games out of a playoff spot as the top two teams in each division compete
for the league title.
AAA New Orleans
There’s not much good to point to from a team standpoint in
the Crescent City. The Zephyrs have dropped their last four in a row to drop to
a season-worst 11 games under .500. They’re mired in fourth place in the
four-team American South Division of the Pacific Coast League, 4.5 games out of
third.
There are still some individual success stories in New
Orleans. Dee Brown, who was recently moved up from Harrisburg, is batting .400
in nine games for the Z’s. He’s 10 for 25 with an OPS of 1.073 and has a double,
two home runs and 11 RBI. Brown is in the process of silencing those who
thought that the wrong player was promoted as he got the nod over Haynes, who
was batting about 150 points higher than Brown when the latter Dee was called
up.
Tyrell Godwin, the Zephyr outfielder who is being groomed
for the major leagues, is playing well but still showing that he has some work
to do. He is batting a very respectable .323 (although that mark is just the
fourth-best among New Orleans’ regulars), but with an average like that you’d
like to see an OBA higher than the .398 that Godwin has posted, especially for
a player who is not a power hitter (5 HR on the season).
On a side note, Nick Johnson will start a rehab assignment
in New Orleans on Saturday. The first baseman was the Nationals’ best hitter
before going on the disabled list on June 27.
We’ll pick up tomorrow with Potomac, Savannah, Vermont,
the GCL Nats and coverage of Johnson’s performance in New Orleans.