Nats hold off Dodgers 2-1, Balester earns third win
Collin Balester, who didn't have the best outing of his short career, can thank Ryan Zimmerman for lending a helping hand in the Nationals 2-1 victory. Washington matched a season-high with four double plays turned on the night and Zimmerman had a hand in all four.
Zimmerman's glove helped Balester get out of trouble in the second, third and fifth innings. Lastings Milledge and Cristian Guzman used their bats to lead the offense and help Balester his third career win.
Audio: Ryan Zimmerman talks about his defense
Washington's bullpen, more precisely Marco Estrada, Steven Shell, Saul Rivera and Joel Hanrahan, each tossed a scoreless inning in relief. Hanrahan nailed down his fifth save of the season, but he didn't make it easy on himself.
With one-out, Casey Blake singled and pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney walked. Matt Kemp got ahead in the count before Hanrahan got him to fly out to center. Down to their final out, Andre Either grounded out to first to end the game.
Milledge's team leading 13th home run gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead after the second inning. Guzman made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the third.
With runners on first and second in the second, Zimmerman started the 5-4-3 inning ending double play. He made a nice pick on the grounder off the bat of Nomar Garciaparra.
In the third, after Balester's throwing error put a runner on first, Zimmerman started another 5-4-3 twin killing.
Things got a little hairy in the fifth. Leading 2-1, Balester hit Garicaparra and Casey Blake to start the inning. Dodgers' starter Derek Lowe, trying to sacrifice himself, walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.
Matt Kemp stepped to the plate and hit a one-hopper to Zimmerman, who stepped on third for the force out. He threw home to get Garciaparra, but Jesus Flores didn't realize Zimmerman got the force. Flores bobbled the ball and never tagged Garciaparra..
The play went down as a fielder's choice RBI for Kemp. Balester got the final two outs of the inning with out giving up another run.
In the sixth, Balester gave up a lead-off double to Manny Ramirez and a single to James Loney before being replaced by Marco Estrada.
With runners on the corners, the first batter Estrada faced reached base on Zimmerman's throwing error, loading the bases. Zimmerman made a nice pick on the short hop, but his off-balance throw to second pulled Emilio Bonifacio off the bag.
The face of the franchise made up for it on the next play. Garciaparra lined out to Zimmerman, who then stepped on third to turn the double play. After an intentional walk, Estrada struck out Lowe to end the inning with out any damage done.
Most likely lost in all of this was the fact that Derek Lowe tossed a complete game, two run, six hitter and suffered the loss. Lowe walked one and struck out six. It was his first complete game since June 9, 2007 vs. Toronto.
Postgame Notes
The Nationals snapped their six-game losing streak at Nationals Park and a six-game skid against the Dodgers.
Cristian Guzman had three hits on the night. It was the 14th time this season that he had a three-hit game.
Elijah Dukes will be recalled from the 15-day disabled list and join the team on Wednesday.
Final Linescore
Dodgers 1-7-0
Nationals 2-6-2
WP-Balester (3-6)
LP-Lowe (10-11)
SV-Hanrahan (5)
HR-Milledge (13)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals bullpen
Marco Estrada, Steven Shell and Saul Rivera all did their job tonight, even though Shell had the easier time. Estrada got out of a bases loaded jam, Shell tossed a perfect seventh and Rivera gave up a lead-off single to Manny Ramirez, before getting an inning ending double play. Only Rivera gave up a hit in their one inning of relief. Estrada struck out one, Shell two and Rivera one. Time to turn it over to Hanrahan in the ninth.
Balester's final numbers
The fifth inning seems to be the biggest problem for Nationals pitchers this season and tonight was no different. Balester gave up a double and single to start the frame before Manny Acta came and got him. Balester got out of a bases loaded, 1-out jam, in the fourth by giving up one run. It could've been a lot worse. Ryan Zimmerman, who has been making spectacular plays all night, got an unassisted double play in the fifth. Marco Estrada, who replaced Balester, got Nomar Garciaparra to line out to Zimm who stepped on third to double up Manny Ramirez, who lead-off with a double.
5+ IP, 5 H, R, 2 BB, 0 K, E, 2 HB. 77 pitches, 46 strikes.
Nationals scoring, 3rd inning
Emilio Bonifacio, who was dropped to eighth in the order, got the third inning started, as the Nationals used small ball to take a 2-0 lead in the third.
Bonifacio singled up the middle and moved to second on Collin Balester's perfect sac bunt. Willie Harris grounded out to second on a bang-bang play that allowed Bonifacio to move to third. Replay's showed Harris beat the throw, but first base umpire Jeff Kellogg rang him up. Cristian Guzman singled to left for the two-run advantage.
Balester thru 3 innings
Collin had a rough second inning, but got help from a 5-4-3 inning ending double play. After throwing seven pitches in the first, he needed 20 in the second. In the third, his throwing error allowed opposing pitcher Derek Lowe to reach base. Balester threw one pitch to lead-off hitter Matt Kemp and got another 5-4-3 double play. The rookie right-hander looks pretty good so far.
3 IP, H, BB, E. 32 pitches, 19 strikes.
Nationals scoring, 2nd inning
Lastings Milledge gave Collin Balester and the Nationals the early 1-0 lead, in the second, with his 13th home run of the season. The homer puts Milledge ahead of Willie Harris for team lead.
Starting Line-Ups
Dodgers:
CF Matt Kemp
RF Andre Ethier
2B Jeff Kent
LF Manny Ramirez
1B James Loney
C Russell Martin
SS Nomar Garciaparra
3B Casey Blake
P Derek Lowe
Nationals:
LF Willie Harris
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
1B Ronnie Belliard
C Jesus Flores
RF Ryan Langerhans
2B Emilio Bonifacio
P Collin Balester
Game Preview
Los Angeles (65-66) at Nationals (46-85)
The Nationals begin a 9-game homestand tonight with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Washington just wrapped up their recent road trip with a 2-4 record, but dropped their last two games.
The Dodgers, who trail the Arizona Diamondbacks by three games in the NL West, just got swept in their four-game series with the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Los Angeles swept the Nationals in their three-game set in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Collin Balester (2-6, 4.99) is looking to snap a three game losing streak. In those games, the Nationals have been outscored 18-3.
Balester's last start against the Phillies on August 20th was a quality outing, but Brett Myers tossed a complete game shutout and Philadelphia won 4-0. Balester gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings.
Anderson Hernandez's throwing error in the third gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Balester gave up a 2-run homer to Gregg Dobbs and an RBI single to Jason Werth.
The rookie right-hander is making his fifth start at Nationals Park. He's 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA, but opponents are hitting .300 off him.
This is the first career start against the Dodgers for Balester.
RHP Derek Lowe (10-10, 3.89), 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA in his last three starts, is hoping for a repeat performance against the Nationals. Lowe dominated Washington on July 26th at Dodger Stadium. He tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 6-0 win.
He's 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA and two saves.
In his last start, last Thursday, Lowe gave up one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings in the Dodgers 3-1 win over Colorado. He walked two and struck out seven.
Lowe has struggled on the road this season, going 2-5 with a 5.88 ERA in 12 starts and opponents are hitting a staggering .330 off him.
If you can, _please_ tell Bob Carpenter it was Vic WERTZ, not Vic Power, who hit the ball that Willie Mays caught for "The Catch" in the '54 Series. Bob said the same thing the other night, Don didn't correct him, and I guess nobody else has, either.
Thanks.
(I'm posting this to "contact us", too)