Colorado @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 19, 2010 ) Colorado 2, Washington 5

Willie Harris was hitting just .150 heading into Monday’s game with the Colorado Rockies, but the Washington Nationals super-utility stud came out of the 5-2 victory showing why he’s so valuable. He also showed why Washington will be tough for teams to beat this year. The Nationals have balance on offense. They won’t have to sit and wait for Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn to just hit homers. That’s something the Rockies discovered Monday night, and it’s what they’ll see again in the second game of the four-game series on Tuesday. Batting just .179, Dunn has been battling a season-long slump. Zimmerman was sidelined for one week due to hamstring problems and is batting. 273. But Harris jumped his average 67 points after going 2-for-3 with four RBIs in Monday’s win. He blasted a three-run homer and added a sacrifice fly. In addition, Harris played in both right and left field. He also could play a few infield positions, for good measure. But even though he came into the game hitting just .150, he was batting seventh and that three-run homer gave Washington an early 3-0 lead that changed the game. The Nationals quietly received help from other players as well. Nyjer Morgan is developing into a dangerous leadoff hitter and went 2-for-3 to move his average up to .250. In addition, Ivan Rodriguez continued his early-season hot streak by going 2-for-4. He’s now hitting .450 and leads the club in several offensive categories. That’s the kind of balance for which Colorado manager Jim Tracy is looking. Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton, arguably the team’s top two hitters, each had two hits in this game. But the rest of the lineup didn’t help much - getting only two hits. Tracy said the team’s been too inconsistent on offense, and they need to do better together. The biggest problem in Monday’s game was the lack of patience. They were swinging early in the count on Washington starter Craig Stammen, helping him go eight innings without too much trouble. Helton and Tulowitzki both said the Rockies needed to make Stammen earn his outs. Better help on offense could aid starter Jorge De La Rosa and other pitchers. The Rockies’ bullpen has been great in recent games – they threw five scoreless innings Monday night – but they can’t keep putting that kind of pressure on them. If they do, the bullpen will break down sooner rather than later.