Rizzo snapshot

Three games into his Padres career, Anthony Rizzo has a home run, a triple, a double, four walks and the respect of the Washington Nationals.

"He's impressed me and he's impressed us with the way he's handled each at-bat," pitcher John Lannan said tonight. "He's going to be really good."

"He's very impressive," said manager Jim Riggleman.

The admiration goes beyond the 400-foot triple double Rizzo hit off Livan Hernandez's 82-miles-per-hour fastball in the series opener Thursday and the home run lined tonight over the right-field scoreboard, off Lannan's 92-mph fastball.

"Our veteran guys like a (Matt) Stairs and a Pudge Rodriguez are just watching him and saying they're impressed with the way he's taking pitches and not offering at bad pitches," Riggleman told West Coast Bias. "And he's aggressive when he takes a swing. It's a short sample size. That's all we have to go on. But he's going to be one of those guys who, when you're looking at your lineup card, you're wondering when he's coming up."

UPDATE: Nats veteran players aren't the only ones impressed by how well Rizzo has taken pitches. According to this report, the MLB Network aired clips that show Rizzo may have peeked toward the Nats' catcher a few times in his major league debut. WCB didn't ask the Nats if they believe Rizzo was attempting to steal signs or determine pitch location. For what it's worth, the Nats didn't fire any pitches tonight that would suggest retaliation.