Olsen's Dramatic Performance

The Washington Nationals were coming off a devastating extra inning loss the night before to the Atlanta Braves. Rookie phenom Jason Heyward and catcher Brian McCann were out of the lineup. With Ian Desmond starting at short and Roger Bernadina in right, the Nationals were fielding one of their best defensive lineups of the year. The stage was set up for 26 year old pitcher Scott Olsen to write Act II of his MLB baseball career. In true thespian style, there was no lack of drama as Olsen flirted with a no-hitter, and by the end of the night the curtain would close and Olsen would take a bow to a roaring ovation from the fans at Nationals Park.

No player in the short history of the Washington Nationals history has ever pitched a no-hitter, though the Montreal Expos had one when Dennis Martinez did it on July 28 of 1991. Olsen will now go down as the Nationals' pitcher who came closest to one of baseball's most prized statistics, along with the cycle and the even more prestigious perfect game. Overlooked in all of the hoopla of the feat that never was, is the 20 scoreless inning streak (as my counterpart Will has mentioned) Olsen had going until the fateful single by David Ross that got by Ian Desmond in the top of the eighth last night. Take away his one bad start against Colorado this season and Olsen has pitched 26 innings with a 1.73 ERA and 25 strikeouts, nowhere near his 6.03 ERA last season. In fact, the Nationals took the chance of cutting Olsen after last season due to concerns about the shoulder surgery he underwent during July of last season. They were able to resign him, but then thought about letting him loose before the season started in favor of Garrett Mock. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the Nationals brass decided to undertake his one million dollar contract (with additional $2.85 million in incentives) in hopes that he would regain his form with the Syracuse Chiefs. The gamble, so far, has paid off nicely.