Simms, Wooten snap P-Nats' losing streak

Hoping to end a six-game losing streak, Class A Advanced Potomac could have looked to rehabbing Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon to help. Instead, they got a pair of great performances from Rendon's former teammate at Rice University and a slugger who played against him during his college days.

John Simms, Rendon's former Owls teammate, struck out a season-high 10 and allowed only two hits and two walks over eight innings while outfielder John Wooten went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and two RBIs in the Nationals' 7-0 win over Frederick at Nymeo Field. 

Of all the impressive stats put up by the two players Tuesday, the most impressive might be the 10 punchouts by the Nationals right-handed starter. Simms entered his 15th outing of the season with only 38 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings (4.2 K/9) and had fanned just nine in his last four combined Carolina League starts. Relying on a fastball-curveball mix, he hit double digits for the first time since June 7, 2014 when he fanned 14 for Potomac.

"I don't try to pitch out of the zone too much normally," said the right-hander, who threw 67 of his 101 pitches for strikes Tuesday. "I usually try to pitch more to contact and don't go for too many strikeouts. But today, when I had a chance for a strikeout, I got pretty much everyone. That's really just how everything worked out today."

Simms' stellar start continued his theme of improvement through the summer. After missing the most of April due to offseason hip surgery, the 2013 11th-rounder has seen his ERA drop each month of the season and is 3-1 with a 1.06 ERA in five appearances (34 innings) in the Carolina League's second half. He is 6-6 with a 2.74 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 48-to-25 K/BB ratio in 88 2/3 innings for the season as a whole.

Simms credits a focus on maintaining the same arm path with each fastball for his improvements as the season's gone along.

"Everything feels like it's starting to translate into the game," he said. "Usually, it's a little bit here, a little bit there. But today, all of it was coming together."

Besides the zeros on the board, Simms' teammate was quick to point out that the efficient work of the Nationals starter affected the club's position players as well.

"The biggest thing about that is getting into the dugout quickly," said Wooten. "If the offense is feeling good, you want to stay in the flow. So when the pitcher gets three quick outs -- boom, boom, boom -- and gets you back into the dugout, you're ready to go. ... That's what makes it great to play behind a guy who's throwing a lot of strikes like he was today."

For the right-handed-hitting Wooten, the result was his second four-hit game of the season, with the other coming on April 30. The 24-year-old slugger hit a leadoff double in the second inning, homered to left in the fourth and singled in the fifth. He had two chances to hit for the cycle with the best chance coming in the seventh frame. With Spencer Kieboom on third and Drew Ward on second, Wooten smacked a ball to right that looked like it was definitely destined for extra bases. Kieboom scored and when it looked like the Keys were going after Ward on a relay to home, Wooten went for third. Unfortunately for the Nationals, what could have been a cycle turned into a double play with Ward and Wooten thrown out at home and third, respectively.

"It wasn't a conscious thought," Wooten said of going for the cycle. "It's kind of a hard thought to begin with, really. Baseball is hard enough. Trying to barrel up a ball, tell where it's going to go and where you'll end up is almost impossible, so that wasn't in the forefront of my head. It wasn't until after I hit the ball that I even thought about going for third."

Cycle or not, Tuesday marked Wooten's second straight multi-hit game after going 0-for-15 in his previous four contests -- a rough stretch that mirrored the team's struggles as a whole. By going 6-for-9 in his last two contests, the 24-year-old, who was acquired from the A's for reliever Fernando Abad in November 2013, raised his average from .233 -- its lowest level since June 5 -- back up to .247. In 83 games, he now has six homers, a triple, 17 doubles, 23 RBIs and a .677 OPS.

"It's just one of those things where you play so many games that there are going to be times when you don't feel great or balls you hit hard are outs or you just can't put a good swing on a couple balls," Wooten said. "That's part of it. It's an inherently hard game. But I'm keeping the same mindset I've had all season. Try to be the same guy, play the same way, stay as even-keel as I can, no matter what's happening."

Playing in his third game with Potomac as he rehabs a left quad strain, Rendon went 1-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and a strikeout while playing DH and batting out of the second spot in the Nationals lineup.

"He's a great dude and awesome to be around," said Wooten. "I played against him in college when I was at East Carolina, and it was the same deal then. He's a great guy, a great hitter and an all-around bonus and addition to any club that he's playing for."