Balester struggles

I pointed out earlier this morning that today was important for Collin Balester, who needed a strong outing against the Tigers to stay in the race for a rotation spot. The tall right-hander didn't deliver. Balester was roughed up to the tune of five runs and nine hits in four laborious innings. He threw 73 pitches, and though 47 of them were for strikes, many of those were hit sharply by Detroit's lineup. Gary Sheffield took Balester deep for a first-inning homer. A barrage of six singles brought home four more runs in the fourth. You can still see signs of Balester's potential here and there. He struck out Matt Treanor looking at a 91-mph fastball and Sheffield looking at a 94-mph heater. But he's just not consistent enough, and you've got to think he's just about lost the No. 5 spot. Balester's spring ERA now stands at 7.80. He's now allowed 20 hits and seven walks in 15 innings. Compare that to Jordan Zimmermann (0.00 ERA) and Shairon Martis (2.08 ERA) and it would appear this competition is all but over. The Nats' lineup didn't do much of anything against Tigers lefty Nate Robertson. Nick Johnson doubled in the first, and Austin Kearns singled in the second. That's it so far, though. In the fifth inning, Detroit leads 5-0.