--OF Josh Willingham seems to embracing his new role as the Nationals' top pinch hitter. Willingham, who was only 6-for-25 in his career off the bench prior to this season, already has two hits in five pinch hit appearances. One of the hits was a homer; the other was a go-ahead, RBI single. Though Willingham would prefer to be in the lineup more, he said he's feeling more comfortable with his new role. "In anything that you do, it gets more comfortable every time you do it," he said. "So yeah, I'm getting more in a routine of when I need to go start getting my body loose, getting ready to hit and knowing what kind of situation (manager Manny Acta) would like to use me in."
--SS Alberto Gonzalez got the night off Wednesday, perhaps needing a break after a rough week in the field. Gonzalez, pressed into action as Washington's starting shortstop after Cristian Guzman strained his hamstring, has a reputation as a defensive whiz. But he's committed five errors in the last week, a development that has the Nationals' coaching staff baffled. "Tough to explain," manager Manny Acta said. "This guy, everybody knows how good defensively he is. I think he made, like, one error in his first 38 or so games at shortstop (last year). Unusual. But he's been a little shaky lately. He hasn't been his old self. But it's there. He's still a good defensive player. He'll probably go now a month without booting another groundball." --Acting general manager Mike Rizzo said April 19 that despite the Nationals getting off to a poor start, he still believes manager Manny Acta is doing a good job. "I support Manny Acta, and so does the organization, as manager. He's a good young manager, and I think he's handled this ballclub great," Rizzo said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- Ninth-inning leads the Nationals blew in a three-game weekend series with the Florida Marlins. Twice, closer Joel Hanrahan gave up game-tying home runs. Hanrahan rested April 19 after having pitched three games in a row, and Saul Rivera allowed a game-tying double to John Baker.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "There are plenty of guys in Triple-A, and we're not going to stop. We're going to make it better, somehow, some way. We're not going to stay here all season with the same guys going down every single day." -- Nationals manager Manny Acta, on the team retooling its bullpen after Washington's 7-4 loss to Florida on April 19.
