WASHINGTON (AP) — In some respects http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , the first game of 2019 felt a bit like a remnant of 2018 all over again for manager Dave Martinez and the Washington Nationals.As much as the roster has been reworked after missing the playoffs, with plenty of folks gone — most prominently, of course, Bryce Harper — and plenty arrived to replace them, the sorts of things that ailed the Nationals last season were again on display in a 2-0 loss to the New York Mets on opening day.That included an up-and-down-the-lineup inability to hit in the clutch and one particularly bad example of baserunning by rookie center fielder Victor Robles.“You’re going to have a couple shots, and you better make the most of it,” right fielder Adam Eaton said. “If you don’t, you’re not going to be successful.”The Nationals wasted Max Scherzer’s at-times dominant debut: 12 strikeouts, two hits, two runs in 7 2/3 innings. They were facing the only pitcher who received more NL Cy Young Award votes than Scherzer did last year http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey , Jacob deGrom, who struck out 10 in six scoreless innings for the Mets.And Washington certainly did create some chances against deGrom. Runners at first and second in the first inning. Runners at the corners with no outs in the third. Another runner stranded at third in the sixth.“Losing in general is frustrating. It’s a long, long season. I think we’ll put this behind us pretty quick,” said shortstop Trea Turner, who stole three bases and had two singles but also struck out after getting ahead in the count 2-0 with two on. “Nothing’s won or lost on the first day, so we’ll be all right and we’ll move on.”Harper led the team with 34 homers and 100 RBIs last season; he played Game 1 of his $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.So Washington probably could do without blunders such as what happened with Robles after he doubled leading off the third. Eaton followed with a single, giving the Nationals guys at first and third with no outs.Turner went to the plate expecting a safety squeeze call with the speedy Robles 90 feet away — but ended up striking out.That brought up No. 3 hitter Anthony Rendon, who sent a grounder to third. Robles hesitated as the third baseman threw to second base for a forceout. Robinson Cano then saw Robles heading home and threw to the plate; Robles got stuck in a rundown, leading to a 5-4-2-5 double play that ended the inning.“To be honest, I got a little confused Darryl Strawberry Jersey ,” Robles said through a translator. “In the middle of the moment, I realized I had made the mistake, so I tried to kind of make up for it.”Too late.“That’s just a young base-running mistake by him,” Martinez said. “We talked about it, and he understood. … As soon as the ball was hit, he froze a little bit.”Notes: After Friday’s day off, the teams resume their series Saturday, with Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg starting against Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard. Strasburg is 8-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 17 career starts against the Mets; Syndergaard is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts at Nationals Park. BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Some Pittsburgh Pirates were upset when Jeff Branson was fired at the end of last season after six years with the team.It helps that new hitting coach Rick Eckstein is off to a smooth start in spring training.“I like him a lot,” right fielder Gregory Polanco said. “He knows a lot about hitting but he explains what he’s thinking to you in a way that’s easy to understand. I think he’s really going to help our whole team.”The Pirates’ offense was 19th in the major leagues last season with an average of 4.3 runs a game and 25th with 157 home runs.Manager Clint Hurdle believes by using a blend of analytics and video technology that Eckstein and new assistant hitting coach Jacob Cruz can squeeze more out of the offense in 2019.“I think we’ve really put two new men for us into place that have their finger on the pulse of the offensive game http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey ,” said Hurdle, who was a hitting coach with the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers. “They’re more proactive than reactive. Sometimes you don’t get results and a new voice can have an impact.“The research both of these guys did as we went through the interview process, the experience they’ve had with analytics, with new technology, with new ways to measure, with new ways to instruct, with new ways to teach, it all just seemed like the perfect combination for us.”Eckstein spent the last two years as the Minnesota Twins’ minor league hitting coordinator. He was the Washington Nationals’ hitting coach from 2008-13.Eckstein is spending this spring learning the hitters’ strengths and weaknesses. He is tailoring individual plans to each player rather than trying to make them adhere to one philosophy.“That’s where our head is, as far as taking this thing forward,” Eckstein said. “We’re tapping into each guy to reach more of their potential and play as a unit where we’re all on the same page.”The older brother of David Eckstein Nolan Ryan Jersey , the MVP of the 2006 World Series while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, is a proponent of technology. However, he believes communicating with the hitters is paramount.“Our focus is a little bit more on a ground-floor level of timing and positioning and understanding that there are certain areas of the hitting area that we need to be really good,” Eckstein said. “There’s a difference between the strike zone and the hitting area, and within that there are contact points that are optimal contact points, and there are contact points that are sub-optimal.“If we understand that everybody has a downward plane of their swing and everybody has an upward plane of their swing, where does that play for you?”NOTES: INF/OF Alfredo Reyes was moved from the minor league camp to the major league camp Saturday as a non-roster invitee. He played at three levels of the minors last season, finishing at Triple-A Indianapolis. . The Pirates continue to list C Elias Diaz as week to week because of a virus. The team hasn’t provided any further details.
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