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In pain with a strained right hamstring, Tom Glavine Ryan Zimmerman (left) and Aaron Boone can finally smile now that their team won for the first time in 10 games. |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
WASHINGTON--
A one-word message written in block letters on a whiteboard near the clubhouse entrance greeted the Washington Nationals yesterday morning. It was a simple and clear call to action."ENOUGH!"
As in, enough poor at-bats. Enough lousy pitching. Enough losing.
By the time the final out yesterday settled into the glove of Washington right fielder Austin Kearns, the message had been erased. For the first time since April 2, the Nationals were satisfied with their play and the result--a harrowing 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves that ended their nine-game losing streak, their longest since moving to D.C. three seasons ago.
Surely, this much-needed win wasn't going to come easily. The Nationals jump-ed out to a 5-0 lead after three innings and had to fight off the determined Braves. Washington closer Chad Cordero loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, but setup man Jon Rauch came in and recorded the final out.
Not until Kearns corralled Brian McCann's line drive and fireworks illuminated the sky could the Nationals breathe a long-awaited sigh of relief.
"You lose nine games in a row, you ain't just going to come out here and win 11-0 because obviously you're not playing well," catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "This is a big win to win a one-run game."
The Nationals (4-9) committed some of their usual missteps--a critical dropped fly ball by left fielder Wily Mo Pena and a base-running blunder by Lastings Milledge--but they finally overcame them and salvaged a game on what Rauch called a "horrid homestand."
Starter Tim Redding (2-1) gave up three runs in five solid innings, while the lineup came through with a pair of bases-loaded walks and a couple of timely hits that scored runs. That winning combination had eluded the Nationals since the first three days of the season.
It was evident early on that this could be Washington's day. Atlanta starter Tom Glavine left the game with a strained right hamstring after facing only four batters.
"That's what it takes," manager Manny Acta said. "It's destiny."
The Nationals managed to tag Glavine with a pair of runs on an RBI single by Ryan Zimmerman and a double play ground out by Pena.
In the second inning, they put together the quality at-bats Washington's coaching staff has been trying to coax out of its players all season.
Leadoff man Cristian Guzman drew his first walk of the season, putting runners on first and second with two outs. After Milledge was hit by a pitch, Zimmerman and Kearns each drew bases-loaded walks off of Braves reliever Jeff Bennett, making the score 4-0.
Zimmerman fell behind 1-2 before working his way back for the walk. Kearns fouled off a 3-2 pitch before walking.
"Oh boy, was I happy in that inning," Acta said. "Today they put together a bunch of good at-bats. In that situation, a walk is as good as a hit. I mean, do you want a gapper when the bases are loaded? Sure. But do you want to be chasing a pitch out of the strike zone looking for that gapper? No."
First baseman Aaron Boone drove in Washington's fifth run with a single in the third. Catcher Paul Lo Duca had been hit by a pitch, which later caused him to leave the game with a right hand contusion, and moved to second on Ronnie Belliard's groundout. Boone then came through with the big hit.
Washington did miss some opportunities to add to their lead, which has become customary. Milledge, for example, was doubled off second base when Zimmerman lined out to first with no outs in the fourth.
But Redding held the Braves down for most of his outing, navigating the first five innings unscathed on 86 pitches. The first three batters in the sixth all scored, however. Chipper Jones followed Yunel Escobar's leadoff single with an opposite-field home run. Mark Teixeira then doubled and eventually scored on Jeff Francoeur's sacrifice fly off of reliever Saul Rivera.
"I tricked them for five innings," Redding said. "You might be able to get them out with sub-average stuff two times, but the third time they're going to get you."
Atlanta made the score 5-4 in the eighth when, with two outs and Francoeur on first, Pena dropped Mark Kotsay's fly ball. As Francoeur raced home, it seemed the maligned Nationals might find another way to lose.
Things were even tenser in the ninth after Cordero, in his first action of the season, walked Escobar with two outs and Jones, his nemesis, on deck. Jones promptly doubled to right, sending Escobar to third and putting the go-ahead run in scoring position.
Cordero intentionally walked Teixeira, bringing McCann to the plate and forcing Acta to make a decision: keep his closer in, although McCann is 2-for-6 with a home run lifetime against him, or bring in Rauch, who hadn't yielded a hit to McCann in eight career at-bats.
Rauch got the call and threw a belt-high fastball that McCann hit hard to right-center. Kearns tracked it down, though, and the losing streak was over.
The mood was light in the clubhouse afterwards. As Redding pointed out: "You can't laugh off the fly ball that happened in the eighth inning with Wily Mo if you lose."
True enough. It had been so long since the Nationals experienced such joviality, it was worth the reminder. They packed their bags for their upcoming eight-game road trip that begins tomorrow in New York and rejoiced at having an extra day to savor the taste of victory.
"Now we've got a little momentum," Lo Duca said, "and hopefully we'll put a little winning streak together."
Notes:
Outfielder Elijah Dukes (strained right hamstring) took batting practice yesterday, and the team hopes he will begin running on the field tomorrow.
First baseman Nick Johnson did not start yesterday because Acta wanted him to have consecutive days off.
NATIONALS 5, BRAVES 4
Atlanta
AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg | |
KJohnson 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .263 |
Escobar ss | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .340 |
CJones 3b | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .408 |
Jurrjens pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Teixeira 1b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .213 |
Mccann c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .317 |
Francoeur rf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .286 |
Kotsay cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
Diaz lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .245 |
Glavine p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Bennett p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Gotay ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .286 |
Campillo p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
Blanco ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
Resop p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
Boyer p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
BPena ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 |
Totals | 33 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
Washington
AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg | |
Guzman ss | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .322 |
Milledge cf | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .308 |
Zimmerman 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .226 |
Kearns rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .238 |
WPena lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 |
Harris lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .111 |
Lo Duca c | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
Estrada ph-c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
Belliard 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .195 |
SRivera p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
Ayala p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
NJohnson ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
CCordero p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
Rauch p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
Boone 1b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
Redding p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 |
King p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
FLopez 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 |
Totals | 27 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
Atlanta | 000 | 003 | 010-- | 4 |
Washington | 221 | 000 | 00x-- | 5 |
E--WPena (1). LOB--Atlanta 10, Washington 5. 2B--CJones (2), Teixeira (2), Guzman (3), Milledge (4). HR--CJones (2), off Redding. RBIs--CJones 2 (11), Francoeur (12), Zimmerman 2 (6), Kearns (5), Boone (2). SB--KJohnson (1), Milledge (1). S--Redding. SF--Francoeur. DP--Atlanta 3; Washington 2.
IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Atlanta
Glavine L, 0-1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.38 |
Bennett | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4.61 |
Campillo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
Resop | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.60 |
Boyer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.87 |
IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Washington
Redding W, 2-1 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.25 |
King H, 2 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 |
SRivera H, 2 | 1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.93 |
Ayala H, 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.84 |
CCordero H, 1 | M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 |
Rauch S, 2 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.44 |
Glavine pitched to 4 batters in the 1st, Redding pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored--Bennett 3-1, SRivera 1-1, Rauch 3-0, King 1-0. IBB--off CCordero (Teixeira) 1. HBP--by Bennett (Lo Duca).
T--3:06. A--29,151 (41,888).
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
BRAVES 4 |
