Willie Harris with 2 HR's, 6 RBI as Nats beat Cubs 13-5
Less than 24-hours after snapping their 12-game losing streak, the Nationals kept their momentum going and beat the Cubs 13-5 in the first game of the series in the Windy City.
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, the Nationals scored six runs to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. It was the largest deficit Washington overcame this season to win a ball game. It also marked the first time the Nationals scored more than four runs at Wrigley Field since baseball returned to DC in 2005.
Willie Harris hit two home runs, including a grand slam and drove in six runs. Ronnie Belliard went 4-5 with a homer, two RBI and scored three runs
Cubs starter Jason Marquis allowed only two singles prior to the sixth, but the Nationals bats came alive, as they sent nine men to the plate and scored six times.
Emilio Bonifacio got the inning started with an infield single. Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman walked to load the bases. Lastings Milledge's sac fly made it a 4-1 game. Ronnie Belliard doubled home a run to cut the Cubs lead in half.
As Lou Pinella replaced Marquis with Neil Cotts, Manny Acta removed Ryan Langerhans and replaced him with Austin Kearns. Kearns walked to load the bases again. Willie Harris stepped to the plate and hit a 1-0 fastball into the seats in right to put Washington in front 6-4.
John Lannan wasn't spectacular, be he did just enough to earn his seventh win of the season. Lannan gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings. It was his first win in his last six starts.
Chicago got a run off the lefty in the first on a double steal. With Alfonso Soriano on third and Derrek Lee on first, Lee broke for second. Soriano waited for the throw to go to second before breaking for home. Bonifacio cut it off, fired home, but his throw was late.
Lee hit a home in the third, his 18th, to put the Cubs up 2-0. Mark DeRosa made it 4-0 with a 2-run shot in the fourth. The ball cleared the bleachers and landed on the street behind the left field wall.
The Nationals got a run in the seventh when Bonifacio reached base with an infield single, stole second and scored on Guzman's RBI single.
After the Cubs made it a 7-5 game after seven innings, pinch-hitter Aaron Boone hit a bases clearing double, in the eighth, to give Washington a five-run cushion.
The Nationals added three more in the ninth on Belliard's solo shot and Harris's 2-run opposite field home run.
Postgame Notes
Willie Harris' grand slam was the fourth by a National this year.
Ronnie Belliard went 4-5 with a homer, two RBI and three runs. He is now batting .452 in August and has 10 hits in his last 16 at bats.
Emilio Bonifacio went 2-5 with his fifth stolen base.
The Nationals went 6-8 with runners in scoring position and pinch-hitters went 1-2 with a walk and three RBI.
Washington's bullpen tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Steven Shell, Saul Rivera and Jesus Colome gave up three hits and struck out two.
Every starter scored a run except for Lastings Milledge and Ryan Langerhans.
Final Linescore
Nationals 13-13-0
Cubs 5-10-0
WP-Lannan (7-12)
LP-Cotts (0-2)
HR-Lee (18), DeRosa (16), Harris 2 (12), Belliard (11)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals scoring, 9th inning
Ronnie Belliard hit a two-out homer, his 11th of the year, to put Washington up 11-5. After Austin Kearns walked, Willie Harris hit his second home run of the game, a 2-run shot to left, and the Nationals lead 13-5. Harris has six RBI on the afternoon.
Nationals scoring, 8th inning
The Nationals got another big hit with the bases loaded today and they built a 10-5 lead going to the bottom of the eighth.
Ronnie Belliard hit a lead-off double. Two batters later, Willie Harris was intentionally walked. Pinch-hitter Jesus Flores singled to load the bases. Aaron Boone, pinch-hitting for reliever Steven Shell, doubled to the gap in right-center to clear the bags and put Washington up by five runs.
Cubs scoring, 7th inning
Chicago got a run back on Ryan Theriot's two-out, RBI single. Ronny Cedeno singled, moved to second on a ground out, advanced to third on a fly out and scored on Theriot's base knock.
Nationals scoring, 7th inning
Emilio Bonifacio led-off the seventh with another infield single, stole second and scored on Cristian Guzman's single. Nats lead 7-4
Lannan goes 6+
John Lannan pitched a pretty good game, even though he gave up five runs. He dug himself a 4-0 hole, but kept the Nationals in the game long enough to possibly pick up a win. He was lifted after giving up a lead-off single and a ground out in the seventh.
6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. 84 pitches, 51 strikes.
Lannan thru 6 innings
Since mark DeRosa's 2-run homer, Lannan has retired eight of nine and he's doing it on very few pitches. Lannan retired the side in order in the fifth on four pitches and just seven pitches in the sixth.
6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. 77 pitches, 46 strikes.
Nationals scoring, 6th inning
Willie Harris continues to amaze anyone who follows the Nationals. His grand slam gave Washington a two-run lead in the sixth.
Emilio Bonifacio reach base on an infield single. Jason Marquis walked Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman on 10 pitches. Lastings Milledge's sac fly scored Bonifacio to make it 4-1. Ronnie Belliard followed with an RBI double to chase Marquis. Neil Cotts came in to face pinch-hitter Austin Kearns and he walked him to load the bases again. Harris cleared the bases with his first career grand slam and the Nationals have a 6-4 lead.
Cubs scoring, 4th inning
John Lannan has allowed the lead-off runner to reach base in three of four innings and two have scored.
Geovany Soto singled to start the fourth and scored ahead of Mark DeRosa's 16th home run. DeRosa jumped on the first pitch from Lannan and it cleared the bleachers in left and landed on Waveland Avenue.
Lannan thru 3 innings
John Lannan is throwing a lot of pitches thru three innings. He's at 51, 29 for strikes. Lannan has given up two hits, both to Derrek Lee and walked three. I wonder if the hour rain delay has anything to do with Lannan's early struggles.
3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K
Cubs scoring, 3rd inning
John Lannan grooved a fastball to Derrek Lee and Lee sent over the ivy wall in left to give the Cubs a 2-0 after three innings. It was Lee's 18th homer of the season.
Cubs scoring, 1st inning
The Cubs pulled off a double steal to take a 1-0 lead on John Lannan and the Nationals.
Alfonso Soriano walked, stole second and moved to third on Derrek Lee's bloop single. Lannan struck out Aramis Ramirez as Lee broke for second. Wil Nieves threw to second and Soriano took off for home. Emilio Bonifacio cut the ball off and fired home, but Soriano slid ahead of the tag and Chicago has the early lead.
Starting Line-Ups
Nationals
2B Emilio Bonifacio
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
1B Ronnie Belliard
RF Ryan Langerhans
LF Willie Harris
C Wil Nieves
P John Lannan
Cubs
LF Alfonso Soriano
SS Ryan Theriot
1B Derrek Lee
3B Aramis Ramirez
CF Reed Johnson
C Geovany Soto
RF Mark DeRosa
2B Ronny Cendeno
P Jason Marquis
Game Preview
Nationals (45-83) at Chicago (78- 49)
The Nationals' 12-game losing streak was snapped last night in Philadelphia with a 4-3 win. Austin Kearns' RBI single in the eighth broke a 3-3 tie and propelled Washington to victory. Joel Hanrahan tossed two scoreless innings to earn his fourth save of the season.
Washington now begins a 3-game series in the Windy City with the Cubs, who have the best record in the Majors.
Chicago, 8-2 in their last 10 games, is 47-18 at Wrigley Field, is tops in baseball. Washington, 22-44 on the road, is 14-23 vs. the NL Central this season.
The Nationals took two of three from the Cubs at Nationals Park back in April. Last year, the Nationals went 1-6 vs. Chicago and got swept at Wrigley. It was the first time since 1998 that the franchise didn't win the season series.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP John Lannan (6-12, 3.81) is coming off the worst outing of his young career. The lefty gave up eight earned runs in four innings, walking four in the Rockies' 13-6 win at Nationals Park.
Garrett Atkins' 2-run single in the first was the beginning of the downfall for Lannan. After an easy second, where he retired the side in order, Colorado went up 5-3 on an RBI groundout, a run scoring double and an RBI single.
The knockout punch came in the fifth where Lannan didn't record an out before being lifted. The first eight Rockies reached base and six crossed the plate.
Lannan, looking to snap a five-game winless streak, is making his second career start vs. the Cubs. On April 27th, Lannan tossed seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball to beat Chicago 2-0 at Nationals Park. He walked four and struck out three.
RHP Jason Marquis (8-7, 4.67) is riding a two-game winning streak. He beat Atlanta 10-2 on August 13th, going 5 1/3 innings. Marquis gave up two runs on six hits and two walks. He was skipped one turn because the Cubs didn't want to bring him back on short rest against Florida.
This is the 10th career start against the Nationals for Marquis. He is 3-4 with a 3.57 ERA. The last time he faced Washington, September 4, 2006, Marquis suffered the 4-1 loss. He gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings. It was the first of three straight losses for Marquis.
The Nationals beat him earlier in that season 8-3. In that game at Wrigley Field, Marquis was pounded for seven runs in five innings.
Marquis is making his 13th start at home this season. He is 4-4 with a 5.68 ERA ,and opponents are hitting .300 off him. In 13 starts during the day, Marquis is 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
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