The Nationals are down 1-0 to the Rockies after three innings here, and you get the feeling this could be one of those nights Craig Stammen is battling for his life.
The right-hander, to be fair, is never the kind of pitcher who’s going to dominate. But he’s given up three hits and a walk in the first three innings, saved with a couple of timely double plays, including the one that ended the third inning when Clint Barmes hit a liner right at Cristian Guzman, who doubled Dexter Fowler off second. Stammen has thrown 42 pitches through three innings, which could be worse (again, that’s where the double plays come in), but he’s also had a couple of outs get hit hard on pitches that were a little up.
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Nats haven’t done much against Jason Marquis so far—Ryan Zimmerman had an infield single in the first, and Nyjer Morgan walked and stole second in the third.
