NewsMotivation is there for Nationals
Washington (49-93) at Florida (76-66), 1:10 p.m. ET
By David Villavicencio / MLB.com
09/13/09 12:52 AM ET
MIAMI -- The Nationals will not be making an appearance in the postseason this year, but that does not mean they have nothing left to play for. Even though they are in last place in the National League East, outfielder Josh Willingham feels the team has shown signs of improvement as the year has progressed, and that has translated to more wins. "This just shows that you've got to play consistent baseball all the way around," Willingham said. "We've had a pretty good year offensively as a whole, as a lineup. Our pitching has been there, in spurts. But it's one of those things where we played bad defense at the beginning of the year, and we've gotten better. We've been playing a lot better baseball lately. You've got to play a lot better all-around baseball to win." Despite being 32 games behind the first-place Phillies in the division heading into Sunday's action, the Nationals feel like they have plenty of meaningful games left to play this season. With a win on Sunday, they have a chance to put a dent in the Marlins' playoff hopes. Willingham has been part of a spoiler before -- when he was with Florida -- and he feels like the Nats have embraced their role for the rest of the way. "I don't think we approach it any differently than last year with the Marlins," Willingham said. "Obviously, when you play games against teams in the hunt, the games are a little bigger, because they're a little bigger for the other team." Willingham thinks teams look at Washington's record and expect to win. The veteran feels the Nationals can compete with anyone, and believes they are extra motivated to play in games against playoff contenders. "When people come to play us or we go to play them, they expect to beat us because of our record, but we feel like we can compete, and win games like we have," Willingham said. "But it's more fun to play in games like this where they have something play for, even though we don't have anything to play for. We're not going to the postseason, but we're trying to win every game that we can." Pitching matchupWSH: LHP John Lannan (8-11, 4.14 ERA)
The Phillies played home run derby with Lannan and defeated the Nationals, 5-3, at Nationals Park on Tuesday night. Lannan was cruising for four innings and was given a 2-0 lead against right-hander Pedro Martinez. But in the top of the fifth, Raul Ibanez homered to cut the lead in half. In the top of the seventh, Jayson Werth and Ibanez hit back-to-back home runs to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, Carlos Ruiz hit another solo shot over the left-field wall. FLA: RHP Chris Volstad (9-11, 5.03 ERA)
With Rick VandenHurk's back still bothering him, the Marlins chose to put Volstad back in the rotation for Sunday's start against the Nationals, but manager Fredi Gonzalez did not indicate if the youngster would hold onto it moving forward. Inconsistencies and problems with the home run ball -- he's surrendered 27 in 152 innings -- sent him down to Triple-A New Orleans on Aug. 29. Volstad gave up three runs in four innings in his only Minor League start on Sunday. In five August starts, he sports a 9.61 ERA. Tidbits
Outfielder Elijah Dukes was scratched from the starting lineup on Saturday with a stiff back. Dukes had been on a tear lately, reaching base in 16 consecutive games. Dukes' replacement, Justin Maxwell, made the most of his opportunity by putting up his first career multihomer game. ... Saul Rivera became the Nationals' all-time leader in appearances when he entered Saturday night's game with one out in the bottom of the third. Rivera's 237 appearances are the most for a Nationals pitcher, more than Jon Rauch (236) and Chad Cordero (224). ... Due to a rain delay lasting more than 90 minutes, tickets for Saturday's game may be used to purchase tickets for $1 to any remaining Marlins home game in 2009. Tickets
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• WFED 1500, SBN 1390 (Español), ESPN 730 (Sp.) Up next
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Nationals (TBD) at Phillies (Cliff Lee, 13-11, 3.13), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Nationals (TBD) at Phillies (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET
David Villavicencio is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
