Dukes walk-off single in 14th gives Nats 4-3 win
STAT LINE: Head to Head | Nationals Stats | Rangers Stats
Elijah Dukes ended the marathon with his 5th hit of the night, a bases loaded single in the 14th, to give the Nationals a 4-3 win. Dukes, who had a career-high 5 hits in 6 at bats, tied the game in the 8th with his second home run of the season.
The Nationals bullpen did an excellent job of shutting out the Rangers. Charlie Manning, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch, Saul Rivera and Joel Hanrahan combined to toss seven scoreless innings of 1-hit ball.
The win snaps the Nationals 3-game losing streak.
Tim Redding pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks. Redding struck out five and threw 103 pitches. He retired 13 of the last 14 he faced. The big blow was a 3-run double by Ian Kinsler in the second. It's his 6th straight no-decision.
Kevin Millwood gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out four and threw 112 pitches.
Postgame Notes
Final Linescore
Rangers 3-6-0
Nationals 4-12-1
WP-Hanrahan (3-2)
LP-Wright (4-3)
HR-Dukes (2)
Offensive Stars:
Dukes: 5-6, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 SB's
Flores: 3-6, 2 RBI
Lopez: 1-5, R. He extends hit hitting streak to 11-games
Cristian Guzman went 0-7 to end his 12-game hitting streak.
Pete McElroy's Live GameBlog
Nats missed chance
The Nationals had a chance to end the game in the 11th, but failed to do so.
Dmitri Young and Jesus Flores hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Kory Casto tried to bunt them over, but couldn't get one down and he ended up striking out. Felipe Lopez then hit into a 6-4-3 double play and the game heads to the 12th.
Texas had runners on the corners with 2-outs in the top of the inning, but Saul Rivera got out of the jam. Felipe Lopez's fielding error kept the 11th alive. It was his 8th error of the season.
Nationals Bullpen
The Nationals bullpen did an excellent job of shutting out the Rangers. Charlie Manning, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch and Saul Rivera combined to toss six scoreless innings of 1-hit ball. Rivera pitched three innings, gave up one hit and got out of a jam in the 11th.
Nationals scoring, 8th inning
Elijah Dukes' lead-off home run, his second of the year, tied the game 3-3. Rangers starter Kevin Millwood hung a breaking ball and Dukes hit it into the Texas bullpen in left. Dukes is 3-3 with a walk and two stolen bases on the night.
Millwood thru 7 innings
Kevin Millwood has been solid thru 7 and looks to be getting stronger as the game goes on. He struck out the side in the 7th and his last four outs are strikeouts.
7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. 93 pitches, 54 strikes.
Redding's final line
Redding settled down since the 3-run second. He retired 13 of the last 14 Rangers. His night is over because of the high pitch count.
6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB (IBB), 5 K. 103 pitches, 63 strikes.
Elijah Dukes
Dukes has been on a bit of a tear lately. Tonight he is 2-2, BB, R, 2 SB's. In his last 24 games, including tonight, he's hitting .325 and .366 in the last 10 games. The two stolen bases gives him eight on the season. Dukes has only been caught once.
Nationals scoring, 3rd inning
Jesus Flores comes thru in the clutch again.
Flores hit a 2-run single to score Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge to make it a one-run ball game. Dukes hit a 2-out single and Milledge walked to start the rally. Dmitri Young walked to load the bases before Flores got the big hit. Young was caught in no mans land and his base running mistake ended the inning before the Nationals could put any more runs on the board.
Redding thru 3 innings
Redding has thrown a ton of pitches already, 67 thru 3 innings. He broke the golden rule by walking the pitcher and it came back to bite him in the second. Here's his line.
3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB (IBB), 4 K.
Fundamentals
Ok, we all know Elijah Dukes has a cannon for a right arm, but someone needs to tell him to play the game the right way. I think he feels he can throw out any runner, any time, at any base, but thats not how it's done. If Dukes hits the cutoff man, the Rangers most likely ony get two runs, not three, in the second inning. Dukes overthrew Felipe Lopez and Dmitri Young had to reach for the ball, and the Rangers were able to score a third run on Ian Kinsler's double.
Huge Mistake
I've seen this happen before and every time it gets me more agitated. Tim Redding walked the pitcher and it came back to burn him. Rangers starter Kevin Millwood, who had 12 at-bats in the last 4 seasons coming into tonight, walked to load the bases. Ian Kinsler cleared them with a double and Redding is in the hole 3-0. How in the world do you walk the pitcher? Throw the ball over the plate and take your chances. This is not the first time a Nationals pitcher has walked the opposing starter. It's frustrating to see.
Play Ball
What a night for baseball. Low 80's and a decent crowd still arriving. The game started right on time. Both teams had a base hit the first inning, but neither team was able to score.
Game Preview
Texas (37-37) at Nationals (29-45)
Minor League Prospect Profile: Don't miss MASN's prospect profile on Harrisburg Senators outfielder Mike Daniel tonight on Nats Xtra.
Washington is coming off three straight losses and a 4-5 record on their 9-game road trip, their longest of the season.
Interleague play continues with a 3-game series with the Texas Rangers at Nationals Park. Tim Redding, the Nationals' best pitcher this season, looks to get the team back on track. Texas counters with Kevin Millwood.
Starting Line-Ups
Rangers
2B Ian Kinsler
1B Frank Catalanotto
SS Michael Young
CF Josh Hamilton
RF Marlon Byrd
LF David Murphy
C Gerald Laird
3B Ramon Vazquez
P Kevin Millwood
Nationals
SS Cristian Guzman
RF Elijah Dukes
CF Lastings Milledge
1B Dmitri Young
C Jesus Flores
3B Kory Casto
2B Felipe Lopez
LF Willie Harris
P Tim Redding
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Tim Redding (6-3, 4.10), winless in his last five starts, has watched his ERA slowly climb from 3.16 to 4.10 since his last victory on May 19. Even though Redding has struggled, the Nationals are 5-0 in those starts.
In his last start, Sunday at Seattle, his best outing since shutting out the Phillies over 6 1/3 innings over a month ago, Redding gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. The Nationals offense didn't get started until he was out of the game, scoring a single run in the seventh and four more in the eighth en route to the 6-2 win over the Mariners. It was Redding's fifth straight no-decision.
In his career vs. Texas, four games, two starts, Redding hasn't had much success. He's 0-1 with a staggering 17.65 ERA. He's given up 17 runs on 21 hits in just 8 2/3 innings, walked four and struck out five. Four of the hits have been home runs, and the Rangers have a .477 batting average off him.
He hasn't faced Texas since 2004, when he was with the Houston Astros.
RHP Kevin Millwood (5-3, 4.75) hasn't lost since coming off the DL on May 30, 3-0 with a no-decision in four starts. He missed 20 days with a strained right groin.
Millwood beat the Mets 8-7 at Shea Stadium on Sunday, and in the process, snapped a 10-game losing streak over his last 14 road starts. He went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks. The two runs came off solo home runs. Millwood is making his seventh road start of the season and the Nationals would love for him to start another road losing streak.
Millwood has never faced the Nationals since they moved to D.C., but he dominated the franchise when they were in Montreal. He is 15-5 with a 3.60 ERA. The 15 wins are the most vs. any team in baseball.
Draft News
The Nationals have agreed to terms with 3 players selected in this year's First-Year Player Draft. The 3 recent signees are: LHP Robert Hansen (18th round), SS Stephen Lombardozzi (19th round) and OF Derrick Phillips (23rd round). Lombardozzi is the son of Steve Lombardozzi, who played parts of 6 seasons in the majors with MIN (1985-88) and HOU (1989-90). He was the starting second baseman for the Twins when they defeated STL in the 1987 World Series, and he led all hitters in the WS with a .412 average. To date, the Nationals have signed 21 of the 50 players selected in the Draft.
Inside the Numbers
Runs = Wins
Over the last month, it's been feast or famine for the Nationals. Over that span, the Nationals have scored at least five runs in each of their victories. Washington Nationals, Runs Per Game, Since May 20
In Wins 6.67
In Losses 1.63
Hitting a New Low
The Nationals have lost seven of their last eight home games, tallying single-digit hits in each of their losses. Lowest Batting Average at Home, Since 2002
2008 Washington Nationals .234
2007 San Diego Padres .235
2005 Washington Nationals .236
2003 Los Angeles Dodgers .238
2002 Chicago Cubs .238
Leading Men
Highest Batting Average as #1 Hitter, 2008 Season (min 70 AB).
Rafael Furcal, LAD .359
Cristian Guzman, Was .356
Johnny Damon, NYY .330
Ian Kinsler, Tex .312
Nate McLouth, Pit .310
Gettin RISPY With It
Tim Redding has buckled down with runners in scoring position so far this season. Lowest Opponent Batting Average with RISP, 2008 Season (min 70 AB)
Tim Lincecum, SF .121
Ben Sheets, Mil .141
Edinson Volquez, Cin .147
Tim Redding, Was .162
Zack Greinke, KC .171
Late Night Meltdown
The Rangers have allowed 34 runs in the ninth inning this season, the most in the majors.
Road Woes
Since 2003, the Rangers have really struggled on the road during interleague play. Worst Road Record in Interleague Play, Since 2003
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-33 .154
Los Angeles Dodgers 15-36 .294
Texas Rangers 16-32 .333
Baltimore Orioles 15-30 .333
Cincinnati Reds 11-22 .333
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