Rockies at Nationals

BY RICH CAMPBELL

Date published: 8/17/2008

BY RICH CAMPBELL

WASHINGTON

Two outs, runner on second, Rockies up by six. Pinch hitter Seth Smith hits a routine ground ball one step to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's left.

Now, Zimmerman normally plays immaculate defense and is a treat to watch with the glove. He routinely makes difficult plays look easy and did so on at least two occasions earlier in the game. But this one induced a cringe.

He calmly scooped the ball up, patted it into his glove smoothly and then threw the ball about 7 feet wide of first baseman Ronnie Belliard.

By this time, the Nationals were well on their way to their ninth consecutive defeat and their 80th loss of the season. So the fact that Zimmerman's error allowed the Rockies to tack on an unearned run wasn't critical.

But it was the latest example of how sour things have gotten at Nationals Park. When the team's best defensive player is making avoidable mistakes, it's easy to see how the Nationals (44-80) have equaled their longest losing streak of the season for the third time.

"It's just a play that got away from him," manager Manny Acta said. "He played tremendous third base today. He just threw that ball away. It happens to the best of them."

Zimmerman certainly wasn't the only culprit. Starting pitcher John Lannan gave up more earned runs (eight) than he has in any of his previous 22 starts this season.

Colorado capitalized on three errors, four walks by Lannan and two by Garrett Mock to take an in surmountable 11-2 lead in the fifth inning.

Afterward, Lannan couldn't supply himself with a satisfactory explanation for his performance.

"I don't even know what was going on," he said. "It was definitely a start you've got to forget about. I just didn't have anything today. It guess it was one of those days. I just wasn't there mentally."

Date published: 8/17/2008