Angels dump Nationals

By Joe Conroy

Published: June 24, 2008

WASHINGTON — Home may be where the heart is, but for Shawn Hill, at least, it hasn’t been where the wins are this year.
The friendly confines of Nationals Park have been anything but for the young right-hander, leaving him winless in his previous four starts on the mound in D.C. as well as last night, an 8-3 loss to Los Angeles.
Things might be getting worse for the 26-year-old with manager Manny Acta announcing after the game that Hill may be heading to the disabled list for a second time this year.
“Obviously this was not the Shawn Hill we wanted to see out there,” Acta said. “The pain continues so he’s going to the Mayo Clinic for another opinion (on his right forearm) and I’m anticipating that he’s probably going to be DLed.”
Hill tossed just three innings in the defeat, running his record to 1-5 on the year. Acta said the decision to have Hill’s arm reevaluated was based on his recent performances as a whole, not anyone in particular.
“He’s been having a rough time and he’s been pitching through pain,” Acta said. “He suffers the most with his location (due to the pain). He’s getting the ball to 91 (miles-per-hour) and sinks the ball, but when you have pain it’s tough to locate.”
That struggle to control his pitches was evident in the third inning when, already trailing 6-0, Hill missed his spot on a 3-2 pitch to Mike Napoli, batting in front of pitcher Jon Garland. The Angels catcher hit the offering for a two-out, two-run home run.
Hill’s night was over after inducing Garland to ground out to end the inning, leaving for pinch hitter Felipe Lopez in the bottom half.
Two errors in the first didn’t help matters, leaving Hill to throw more pitches in the inning to 10 hitters.
Starting Paul Lo Duca in left field also contributed to the extension of the frame as the former starting catcher could not cut off Napoli’s hit in the corner, leading to an RBI double. Garland drove in the final run of the first with a ground out to Hill, staking the Angels to a 6-0 lead.
Things did not improve much after that dreadful frame. Hill faced the minimum in the second thanks to catcher Jesus Flores throwing out Garret Anderson on a steal attempt after Anderson reached on yet another error.
But in the third, Napoli struck again, this time with a two-out, two-run home run, putting the Angels up 8-0.
“The three guys that went on the DL, they’re also our three best defensive players,” Acta said of losing third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, first baseman Nick Johnson and right fielder Austin Kearns. “I knew this was coming. I was anticipating this a little bit and I knew it was going to hurt us.
“We not only lost the three best middle of the lineup guys, but they’re also our three best defensive players.”
The Nats would later slug their way onto the scoreboard in consecutive innings with lead off homers from Wily Mo Pena (who replaced Lo Duca defensively in the second) in the third and Dukes in the fourth, but none of it would be nearly enough. Ronnie Belliard also scored in the fifth after reaching on a lead off walk.
The experiment of Lo Duca in left ended when he complained of lightheadedness while in the field during the second inning and went to Sibley Hospital for precautionary reasons. Acta said a CT Scan was performed on Lo Duca. He also had blood tests done and was released from treatment after receiving an IV for dehydration.