April 15, 2007
Shawn Hill
Homers, Hill help get Nats over the hump
Victories, home runs, smiles.
They've all been in short supply for the Nationals this season. No wonder the food in the visitors' clubhouse tasted a little better and the music blared a little louder yesterday.
"It's always nice to get a win. There are a few more smiles in here," Washington manager Manny Acta said after his new team's 6-2 victory over his old team yesterday at Shea Stadium. Acta was the Mets' third-base coach under Willie Randolph the previous two seasons.
There were smiles because Shawn Hill earned the Nats' first win from their starting rotation with seven solid innings. And because a team that had four homers in 11 games before yesterday belted three off Orlando Hernandez in the first six innings.
"We can't expect to beat this team 2-1," Acta said. "They've got too many weapons. We needed to score some runs."
Dmitri Young provided the first run for Washington (3-9) with a 415-foot home run to right-center in the second inning. Ryan Church, who doubled and scored the Nats' second run in the second, made it 4-1 with a 400-foot blast to left-center leading off the sixth. Two batters later, Chris Snelling provided some breathing room for Hill with a two-run homer into the rightfield bullpen.
"That made a ton of difference," said Hill (1-2, 2.89 ERA), who allowed eight hits and two runs, striking out five and walking one. "You're completely relaxed with a nice lead. If they get a base hit, it's no big deal."
But Endy Chavez's leadoff triple in the third was a big deal at the time, because Washington led by only 2-1. "I almost conceded that run with those guys coming up," Hill said, referring to the Mets' 3-4-5 hitters. But he struck out Carlos Beltran and then allowed himself to think, "Maybe." He turned it into a definite by retiring Carlos Delgado and David Wright on easy grounders to the mound and said that sequence "gave me confidence."
His manager feels the same way about the 25-year-old, who is one of 18 Canadian-born players in the majors this season and has emerged as the Nationals' best starting pitcher.
"Shawn has been terrific all spring. He's been healthy, too, knock wood," said Acta, rapping his knuckles on the manager's desk, well aware that Hill had Tommy John surgery in 2004 - and that Hill was hit in the right hand by Hernandez's first pitch after Snelling's homer, which prompted El Duque's ejection.
Acta added, "I have a lot of confidence in him to give us a chance to win every five days. His makeup is good. He never gets intimidated."
Hill had to squirm a little bit in the clubhouse as he watched the eighth inning unfold. With two on, Wright's long fly to right-center kept carrying, and even though centerfielder Church waved everyone away while on the grass, he wound up on the warning track and had to reach high and bang against the wall to make the catch.
"I had it all the way. I had a bead on it, but it kept going and going," Church, considered an excellent fly-chaser, said with a laugh. "I made the play. Then when I looked up at the replay and saw it might've gone out [over the wall], I said, 'Whew! What just happened?'"
For a change, the answer was "something good." |
