BY RICH CAMPBELL
BALTIMORE
--Shawn Hill is facing a conundrum that stands to jeopardize his season.His breaking ball isn't working right now because he can't get the proper feel for it. But he can't practice throwing it between starts because he's nursing a sore arm.
It's a classic Catch-22 for which the downtrodden right-hander has no answers. Either keep throwing an ineffective breaking ball or endure so much pain in his pitching forearm between starts that he'll be worthless on game day.
"I'm frustrated," he said. "I'm fairly confident [the problems with breaking ball] will pass, but at the same time I know I can throw a lot better. It's getting old, basically, waiting for it to get to the point where I want it to be at."
In the meantime, then, there will likely be more starts like the one that led to the Washington Nationals' 5-3 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles last night. Hill gave up five runs on eight hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
"At this point right now, even though I'm not able to throw the way I want to, the pros of working on stuff in the side sessions don't outweigh the cons of putting the stress on [my forearm]," he said.
The Nationals (18-25) began the second quarter of the season with a loss that zapped the momentum generated by their three victories in the preceding four-game series against New York. Not only did Hill give up more runs than he had in any of his previous five starts this year, the Nationals made three costly defensive miscues and left nine runners on base.
Washington gave Hill a 2-0 lead only three minutes after the first pitch was thrown. Felipe Lopez hit a leadoff single, Cristian Guzman stroked a double and Ryan Zimmerman singled them both home.
Hill (0-1) couldn't hold the lead, though, and didn't get much help doing it.
"His breaking ball was non-existent," manager Manny Acta said. "He had no command of it at all. This is the big leagues. If you're going to pitch five, six innings with only one pitch, these hitters are going to catch up to you."
Hill knows that, of course. But he's in too much pain to hone his breaking ball in bullpen sessions between starts.
He began the season on the disabled list with forearm pain, and, after a myriad of tests which revealed no serious structural damage, he was given the go-ahead to pitch-as long as he could endure the pain.
Hill has good days and bad when it comes to the soreness, but it's too painful to risk throwing between starts. Thus, his breaking ball problems must disappear somehow on their own.
"I need to be able to throw more," Hill said. "You get the feel from throwing more, and the arm is not 100 percent. So I've been trying to fight through that in order to get to the consistent release spot, and right now I don't have that."
The Orioles took advantage of Hill and some defensive blunders.
With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Baltimore right fielder Nick Markakis hit a potential inning-ending double-play ball. But Lopez threw the relay from second into the Orioles' dugout, and the game was tied 2-2.
It was 3-3 in the fifth when two outfield misplays put Baltimore ahead for good.
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts led off with a line drive off the right-field wall. Right fielder Elijah Dukes allowed the carom to bounce over his head and back toward the infield, and Roberts ended up on third base.
Melvin Mora then skied a fly ball to right-center, and it fell in front of Nationals center fielder Lastings Milledge, who dove as Dukes converged.
"We misplayed that ball off the wall and that fly ball that Melvin hit was in the air for a long time," Acta said. "I thought that that ball should be caught."
So far this season, Milledge hasn't looked like the center fielder-of-the-future that the Nationals hope he will be. He's asking for patience.
"I have a lot to work on, and I'm not afraid to admit that," Milledge. They're letting me get my reps, which I'm thankful [for], but it's going to take some time."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
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