After Lee\u2019s first 58 pitches Wednesday night, the Nationals had taken eight balls and swatted four solo home runs. By the end of the night, Lee had thrown 64 strikes in 76 pitches, the second-highest percentage of any starter since 2000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I can remember what every coach in little league told us when we were batting – make him throw strikes. The Washington Nationals did and knew what to do about it.<\/p>\n
Manager Davey Johnson, though, trusted a different omen: He liked the way the Nationals took batting practice. Lee pummels the inside of the strike zone, and Johnson wanted to counter Lee\u2019s aggression with more aggression. In the late afternoon, they attacked pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a big difference,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSometimes, we come into batting practice and we look like we try to hit everything to right field. Today, we were hitting it on the rooftops. We knew who was out there.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The result:<\/p>\n