Rust apparent for Wang in debut for Nats - 棒球

Rust apparent for Wang in debut for Nats

Washington falls after Mets get off to quick start vs. right-hander

By Bill Ladson / MLB.com | 7/29/2011 10:03 PM ET

http://ppt.cc/zHlW

NYM@WSH: Wang fans Gee for first K with the Nats

WASHINGTON -- Nationals right-hander Chien-Ming Wang was a winner of sorts
despite an 8-5 loss to the Mets at Nationals Park on Friday night.

Yes, he allowed six runs -- four earned -- in four innings, but it was his
start since June 4, 2009, when he was with the Yankees. Wang had been
recovering from surgery to fix a capsule in his right shoulder.

While the surgery was successful, some wondered if he would come back.
He missed the rest of the 2009 season as the Yankees went on to win the
World Series. After becoming a free agent after that season, Wang signed
with the Nationals and missed the entire 2010 campaign. After getting
non-tendered this past offseason, Wang re-signed with the Nationals,
but it looked like he had a long way to go.

"I was really concerned when I saw him [during the offseason], because
he was favoring that shoulder during [the] Instructional League [season],
" manager Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

But Wang looked different during Spring Training.
His delivery was much better, and as the season progressed,
Wang found himself in a rehab assignment, while his fastball was clocked
in the low 90s.

"That's was really a good sign that he was on his way back," Johnson said.

Though the results were not what he wanted them to be on Friday against
New York, Wang threw 60 pitches, 39 of which went for strikes in his return.
His fastball was as high as 93 mph.

The first five hitters reached base against Wang, and the Mets were able to
score four runs in the first. Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan highlighted the
scoring with RBI singles.

Wang settled down and retired eight of the next nine hitters that he faced.
But in the fourth inning, Wang found himself in trouble as he gave up an RBI
single to opposing pitcher Dillon Gee, while Ronny Paulino scored on a
sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes.

The Nationals' offense didn't give Wang enough support. Washington's best
inning against Gee came in the fourth inning, when it scored two runs.
Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse scored after Laynce Nix hit a ground ball
to second baseman Justin Turner, who threw the ball to Reyes at short for
the forceout, but Reyes threw the ball past Murphy at first for an error.

In the eighth, the Nationals mounted a rally with five straight one-out hits
to tack on two runs, but Mets reliever D.J. Carrasco came on with the bases
loaded and recorded two strikeouts to end the threat.

The Nationals find themselves on a six-game losing streak, with a 49-56
record.

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