Ayala gives up 3 runs in 8th, Nats fall 6-4
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Luis Ayala entered the eighth with a 4-3 lead, and by the time the inning ended, the Nationals trailed 6-4 and lost by that same score.
Ayala gave up a single, a one-out walk and a 2-run double to Rich Aurilia to put San Francisco up 5-4. Omar Vizquel followed with a double of his own, scoring Aurilia, to give the Giants a 6-4 lead.
Wasington had runners on first and second with two-outs in the ninth, but pinch-hitter Kory Casto struck out to end the game.
Ayala gave up a lead-off single to Bengie Molina, his third hit of the game. One out later, with John Bowker batting, pinch-runner and DC native, Emmanuel Burress, stole second.
Bowker walked to put runners on first and second. Aurilia doubled to center to score both runners and put the Giants up for good. Vizquel added the insurance run they didn't need
The Nationals took their first lead of the game in the sixth on Johnny Estrada's pinch-hit single. Estrada drove in Ryan Langerhans, who doubled to give Washington the 4-3 lead.
With the Nationals trailing 3-1 in the sixth, Austin Kearns singled on the first pitch he saw from Giants starter Kevin Correia to begin the inning. On the very next pitch, Jesus Flores tied the game with a 2-run shot to left, his sixth of the season.
One out later, Langerhans doubled to right. With Balester due to bat, Manny Acta pulled him and sent Estrada to the dish and he delivered an RBI single to put the Nationals up.
Washington starter, Collin Balester, pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out two but had to settle for the no-decision.
The Giants jumped on Balester in the first. Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give San Francisco the early 2-0 lead.
Washington cut the lead in half in the fifth when first baseman John Bowker misplayed Willie Harris' grounder, allowing Langerhans to score his first run of the game. Langerhans went 2-3 with a walk and two runs.
The Giants regained their two-run advantage on Molina's second RBI double of the game in the home half of the inning.
Final Linescore
Nationals 4-14-0
Giants 6-10-2
WP-Espinelli (1-0)
LP- Ayala (1-6)
SV-Wilson (27)
HR-Flores (6)
Postgame Notes
Willie Harris went 2-5 and has two or more hits in five straight games.
Jesus Flores went 1-4 with his sixth homer
Ryan Zimmerman had three hits in five at bats and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Ryan Langerhans had two hits and scored two runs. He is batting .533 (8-13) in his last four starts.
Paul Lo Duca had two hits to raise his average to .248 and he's batting .343 in his last seven games.
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals scoring, 6th inning
The Nationals went from two runs down to one run up in the sixth and chased Giants starter Kevin Correia from the game.
After Austin Kearns singled on the first pitch to begin the inning, Jesus Flores hit the next pitch into the seats in left for a 2-run homer, his sixth of the season, to tie the game at 3-3. One out later, Ryan Langerhans doubled. Pinch-hitter Johnny Estrada singled, to give the Nationals their first lead of the game at 4-3.
Balester's final line
Collin Balester didn't have his best stuff, but he showed guts by battling through it. He pitched five decent innings and kept the game close enough for the Nationals to possibly pick up the win. Balester could've pitched longer, but Manny Acta did the right thing and pinch-hit for him in the sixth. Here's his final line:
5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K. 77 pitches, 44 strikes.
Giants scoring, 5th inning
Bengie Molina's second RBI double of the night gave the Giants a 3-1 lead. After Fred Lewis walked and moved to second on a groundout, Molina doubled to right-center to give Kevin Correia a 2-run cushion.
Nationals scoring, 5th inning
Giants first baseman John Bowker's error in the fifth led to the Nationals cutting the San Fran lead in half.
Ryan Langerhans singled to lead-off the inning and advanced to second on Collin Balester's sac bunt. Hot hitting Willie Harris hit a grounder to Bowker that he couldn't handle, allowing Langerhans to score and making it a 2-1 game.
Balester thru 3 innings
Collin Balester ran into trouble in the first and gave up two runs. He gave up a lead-off single in the second, but has retired the last six Giants. Six of the nine outs Balester has registered are groundball outs. Here's his line.
3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, K. 50 pitches, 29 strikes.
Giants scoring, 1st inning
Collin Balester retired the first two Giants, on five pitches, then ran into trouble.
Randy Winn singled to start the rally. Bengie Molina, who hit two home runs last night, followed with a double to score Winn. Aaron Rowand followed with his 30th double to score Molina and Balester is in an early 2-0 hole.
Nationals missed opportunity
The Nationals had a chance to get to Kevin Correia in the first, but couldn'y capitalize on three consecutive singles.
Willie Harris hit an infield single to lead-off the game, but with Cristian Guzman batting, he was picked-off. Guzman singled, followed by Ryan Zimmerman's single. Austin Kearns was called out on strikes and Jesus Flores popped out, to shallow left-center, to end the inning.
Starting Lineups
Nationals
CF Willie Harris
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Austin Kearns
C Jesus Flores
1B Paul Lo Duca
2B Felipe Lopez
LF Ryan Langerhans
P Collin Balester
Giants
LF Fred Lewis
2B Eugenio Velez
RF Randy Winn
C Benji Molina
RF Aaron Rowand
1B John Bowker
3B Rich Aurilia
SS Omar Vizquel
P Kevin Correia
Game Preview
Nationals (38-62) at San Francisco (41-58)
Jason Bergmann only gave up five hits last night, but three were homers and the Nationals dropped a 6-3 decision to the Giants in the series opener.
Ryan Zimmerman, who missed the previous 48 games because of a small labrum tear in his left shoulder, was 1-3 with two walks. Willie Harris had two more hits, including his seventh home run of the season, and Paul Lo Duca had two RBI in the loss. Rookie Collin Balester looks to even the series tonight.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Collin Balester (1-2, 5.87) has struggled in his last two outings after winning his Major League debut. He didn't make it out of the fifth in his last start on July 12th against the Astros.
Balester gave up 11 hits and six runs, only four earned, in 4 2/3 innings. He left the game in the fifth after giving up three runs on five hits and exited with the bases loaded. Hunter Pence hit a 2-run homer and drove in another run with a single. Balester needed 91 pitches to get through his brief night.
In his second start, he retired the first 11 Reds before giving up a 3-run homer to Adam Dunn, in the fourth. Balester was touched for two more runs in the fifth and lost 6-3.
This is the first career start against the Giants.
RHP Kevin Correia (1-5, 5.81) is winless in his last nine starts, going 0-4 with five no-decisions. His last start, July 12th against the Cubs, Correia was shelled for seven runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings in the Giants 8-7 loss in 11 innings. He received a no-decision.
He gave up a run in the first, two in the second and four in the third. Jim Edmonds drove in four runs on a 2-run homer and a 2-run double.
Correia is making his sixth start in front of the hometown fans. He is 1-2 with a 5.26 ERA.
In his career vs. the Nationals, eight games, one start, he is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA while holding Washington to a .209 batting average. In that lone start, last August at RFK, Correia gave up two runs on five hits in six solid innings to earn the win in the Giants 3-2 victory.
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