Nats rally twice but fall 7-5 in 11 innings, lose series to D-Backs
STATS: By Inning | Box | Matchup | Nats Stats | D-backs Stats
Pete McElroy's Nats Blog:
Perez ejected Tuesday night, has history with umpire [link]
The Nationals offense rallied twice, from down two in the ninth and three in the 10th, to tie the game, but the bullpen failed to keep Arizona off the board.
With the game tied 5-5 entering the 11th and Luis Ayala on the mound, Augie Ojeda was hit by a pitch to lead-off the inning. After a sac bunt, Stephen Drew doubled him home for a 6-5 lead. Orlando Hudson was intentionally walked to get a force at any base. Conor Jackson singled to left, but Drew was nailed at the plate on a great throw by Willie Harris. Chad Tracy followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5.
Chad Qualls, the fourth Diamondback pitcher, retired the Nationals in order in the bottom of the inning to close out the 7-5 win.
Qualls earned the win and Ayala was charged with the loss, his fifth of the season.
Down 5-2 entering the home half of the 10th, Pete Orr, recalled from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game, hit a lead-off, pinch-hit double off Tony Pena. Two batters later, Willie Harris singled him home to make it 5-3.
After Cristian Guzman singled, Austin Kearns doubled to left to plate both runners and tie the game at 5-5. Kearns ended up on third on the throw home. Chad Qualls relieved Pena and intentionally walked Dmitri Young. With the infield in, Jesus Flores grounded into the 5-2 force out. Kearns was nailed at the plate.
Jon Rauch, in to start the 10th inning, got two quick outs before getting tagged for three runs on four consecutive hits. Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds hit back-to-back RBI doubles and Miguel Montero followed with an RBI Single to give the D-Backs the 5-2 lead
It looked like Dan Haren would toss a complete game shutout before the ninth started, but he looked to be tiring. Felipe Lopez led off with a walk and Kory Casto singled to chase Haren. Closer Brandon Lyon came on to close out the game, but couldn't nail it down. Guzman followed with a single to load the bases. Kearns hit a grounder to third, which Mark Reynolds couldn't handle, allowing two runs to score. It was ruled a fielders choice and an error. Regardless of the scoring, the game was tied, 2-2.
After Dmitri Young flew out and Jesus Flores struck out, Wily Mo Pena reached on Reynolds' second error of the inning and third of the game. Rookie Roger Bernadina could've ended it, but he grounded out on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
Jason Bergmann had another solid outing, but has nothing to show for it. Bergmann gave up two runs, on six hits, in seven innings. He failed to earn a win for the 10th consecutive start.
Orlando Hudson drove home Stephen Drew, with a 2-out single to give Arizona the 1-0 lead in the sixth. In the seventh, Alex Romero's 1-out single drove in Chad Tracy for the 2-0 lead.
Haren gave up a 2-out single to Guzman in the first and a lead-off single to Wily Mo Pena in the eighth for the only hits he surrendered. Only two other Nationals reached base, Flores on a Reynolds throwing error, his first of the game, and Kearns on a walk.
Haren retired 11 straight, from the fourth thru the seventh, and at one point 17 of 18.
Bergmann retired the first 10 D-Backs before giving up back-to-back singles in the fourth, He got out of the inning with a strikeout and a popout.
The Nationals lose two out of three in this series. The Diamondbacks won four of six in the season series.
Postgame Notes
Quality Start
Jason Bergmann recorded his fifth straight "quality start", but he's 0-5 in his last 10 outings.
On Guz-control
With three more hits tonight, Cristian Guzman set a franchise record with 123 hits before the All-Star break. He leads the NL in hits, multi-hit games (32) and three-hit games (12). Guzman has hit safely in 28 of his last 30 games, batting .328 (44-134) over that span.
Out of control
Left-fielder Wily Mo Pena has recorded 11 putouts, the most by any outfielder since baseball returned to DC.
Pete's 100th
With a 10th inning double, Pete Orr notched his 100th career hit.
Final Linescore
D-Backs 7-14-3
Nationals 5-8-1
WP-Qualls (2-6)
LP-Ayala (1-5)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals scoring, 10th inning
The Nationals just won't go away and the game is still tied and still in extra innings.
Down 5-2 entering the home half of the 10th, Pete Orr, recalled from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game, hit a lead-off pinch-hit double off Tony Pena. Two batters later, Willie Harris singled him home to make it 5-3.
After Cristian Guzman singled, Austin Kearns doubled to left, to plate both runners and tie the game at 5-5. Kearns ended up on third on the throw home. Chad Qualls relieved Pena and intentionally walked Dmitri Young. With the infield in, Jesus Flores grounded into the 5-2 force out, Kearns was nailed at the plate. Wily Mo Pena grounded out to second to end the inning.
D-Backs scoring, 10th inning
Jon Rauch, in to start the inning, got two quick outs before getting tagged for three runs on four consecutive hits. Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds hit back-to-back RBI doubles and Miguel Montero followed with an RBI Single. Arizona had a 5-2 lead and looked to be on their way to a victory. Uh, not so fast.
Nationals scoring, 9th inning
The Nationals trailed 2-0 entering the ninth, but scratched and clawed their way to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Dan Haren was cruising thru the first eight innings, allowing just two hits, before Washington finally got to him. A lead-off walk and a single chased Haren and the Nationals got to closer Brandon Lyon.
Cristian Guzman singled to load the bases and Austin Kearns hit a ball to third that Mark Reynolds couldn't handle, and the Nationals tied the game 2-2. they still had runners on first and second with nobody out, but Dmitri Young popped out to shallow center and Jesus Flores struck out. Wily Mo Pena reached on Reynolds' second error of the inning to load the bases, but Roger Bernadina grounded out to end the inning.
Haren's final line
Dan Haren tossed eight scoreless innings, but put two runners on in the ninth before recording an out. He gave up three hits, struck out nine and walked two. He was awesome until he looked to tire in the ninth.
8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K. 113 pitches, 79 strikes
D-Backs scoring, 7th inning
With runners on first and second, Arizona got an RBI single from Alex Romero to give the D-Backs the 2-0 lead.
Bergmann's final line
Jason Bergmann pitched pretty darn well, but just not good enough. He gave up two runs on six hits in seven solid innings. He retired the first 10 D-Backs before allowing back-to-back singles in the fourth. Bergmann left the game trailing 2-0.
7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, BB, 3 K. 104 pitches, 69 strikes
D-Backs scoring, 6th inning
Arizona managed only two hits off Jason Bergmann thru the first five innings. The two they put together in the sixth resulted in a run and a 1-0 lead.
Stephen Drew doubled with 2-outs. Orlando Hudson singled him home to give the D-Backs the 1-0.
Haren thru 6 innings
Dan Haren has only given up one hit, a first inning single to Cristian Guzman and only two other Nationals have reached base. Haren has retired eight straight and 14 of 15.
Bergmann thru 6 innings
Jason Bergmann had given up two hits thru 5. The two he gave up in the sixth cost him the lead. With 2-outs, Stephen Drew doubled and scored on Orlando Hudson's single. Here's his line
6 IP, 4 H, R, 3 K. 87 pitches
Bergmann thru 3 innings
Jason Bergmann has yet to allow a base runner and none of the D-Backs have come close to getting a hit. Seven of the nine outs have been in the air and the other two were strikeouts. He's only gone to three balls on a batter once. Bergmann has thrown 37 pitches, 25 for strikes.
Starting Line-Ups
Diamondbacks:
CF Chris Young
SS Stephen Drew
2B Orlando Hudson
LF Conor Jackson
1B Chad Tracy
3B Mark Reynolds
C Miguel Montero
RF Alex Romero
P Dan Haren
Nationals:
2B Felipe Lopez
3B Kory Casto
SS Cristian Guzman
RF Austin Kearns
1B Dmitri Young
C Jesus Flores
LF Wily Mo Pena
CF Roger Bernadina
P Jason Bergmann
Game Preview
Arizona (45-46) at Nationals (35-57)
Washington snapped their six-game losing streak last night by blanking the D-Backs, 5-0. Kory Casto had two hits and two RBI and Jesus Flores hit a 3-run, pinch-hit, homer, the first of his career.
John Lannan, who tossed six scoreless innings to earn his fifth win and three relievers combined to hold Arizona to just three hits. It was the Nationals sixth shutout of the season. Four of the five meetings between the two teams this year have been shutouts.
If the Nationals win tonight, it will be their first series win since taking two of three from the Orioles from June 27-29 and just the eighth of the season.
Jason Bergmann aims for his first win in nearly two months. Arizona counters with Dan Haren.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Jason Bergmann (1-6, 4.15) faces the Diamondbacks for the second time this season. He pitched an 8-inning, complete game at Chase Field on May 31st, giving up four runs on seven hits in the D-Backs 4-0 win.
Bergmann gave up four solo home runs, didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. Mark Reynolds got Arizona on the board in the second with a homer to deep center. Justin Upton and Reynolds went back-to-back in the seventh for the 3-0 lead and Chris Young took him deep in the eighth.
Bergmann is 0-5 in his last nine starts and hasn't won since May 15th. Since his last victory, Bergmann has pitched very well, but lack of run support and shaky defense leave him winless. He has given up 26 runs, but only 18 earned in 54 1/3 innings, good for a 2.98 ERA. The Nationals offense has scored a total of 16 runs over that span.
Nationals Park is proving to be a thorn in Bergmann's side. He is 0-2 with a 4.42 in seven games, six starts this season and opponents are batting .302 off him. In his career vs. Arizona, Bergmann is 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA in four starts.
RHP Dan Haren (8-5, 2.83) tossed seven innings of 4-hit, shutout ball on June 1st in the desert in the D-Backs 5-0 win. It was the second straight game the Nationals were held without a run.
Haren gave up a single and a walk in the first and needed 19 pitches to get out of the inning, but without giving up a run. Orlando Hudson's 3-run homer in the first was enough for Haren to pick up his sixth win of the season, even though Arizona added single runs in the second and third.
Haren is winless in his last two starts, but easily could be 2-0. He's given up three runs, two earned, in 14 innings. The D-Backs have been outscored 9-4 in the two games and Haren is 0-1 with a no-decision.
Pitching away from Chase Field has been Haren's Achilles Heel. He's 1-3 with a 3.35 ERA in eight starts. At home he's 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA. In his career against the Nationals, Haren is 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA and holding Washington to a .176 batting average in three games, two starts.
Leave a comment