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Nationals vs Braves Date published: 5/17/2007 By TODD JACOBSON BY TODD JACOBSON WASHINGTON--The door to the Nationals' bullpen swung open and left-hander Billy Traber trotted in from right field a little sooner than he probably expected. The left-hander arrived on a flight from Columbus, Ohio just as Levale Speigner threw the first pitch in Washington's 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Braves. By the fifth inning, the just-promoted reliever was on the mound, and a few minutes later, he was back in the dugout, a tidy scoreless inning under his belt. But really, Traber's story could be told from the vantage point of any number of relievers. Washington's bullpen got plenty of work yesterday, but the result, whether it was right-hander Saul Rivera working his 10th straight scoreless inning or Jon Rauch nailing down his second save of the season, was almost always the same. Six Nationals reliever combined on five scoreless innings, bailing out former bullpen mate Levale Speigner in his first major league start and allowing Washington's bats to recover from a 4-1 deficit. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman homered and drove in two runs and left fielder Ryan Church provided the go-ahead runs with a three-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning, but it was the bullpen that drew most of the attention as the Nationals (14-26) celebrated their fifth win in six games. "Obviously today we showed what we're capable of," Rauch said. "It's a long season. Give guys credit for going out and doing what they've been doing. We just have to keep it going." Rauch was the closer last night, but it isn't likely to last long. There are few defined roles in the Nationals' bullpen and fewer egos, for though Rauch has pitched three scoreless innings filling in for regular closer Chad Cordero, order will be restored Friday and Cordero--the owner of 95 career saves--will have his old job back, manager Manny Acta said. "Whether you come in and you're a long guy or you're a guy that has to come in and eat innings and set up and close, your job is to come in and get outs," Rauch said. They did that about as effectively as possible yesterday, allowing just two baserunners in relief of Speigner--formerly of the bullpen himself.
Date published: 5/17/2007
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