Bullpen builds confidence with another gem in 4-3 road win

HOUSTON - The Nationals began their series with another first-place team in the Astros on their home field and came away with a hard-fought 4-3 win.

The Nats took the lead 4-3 on a Matt Wieters fourth-inning two-run homer. Thanks to a resurgent Tanner Roark, the bullpen and some timely defense, the Nats held Houston to no runs on three hits over the final six innings.

A big reason for the win was the effort turned in by the bullpen. Over the final 2 2/3 innings, Oliver Pérez, Joe Blanton, Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle closed the door on the Astros offense. Houston tallied three runs on six hits in the first three frames and then nothing after that.

The game-changing moment occurred in the eighth when the Astros, down one run, had the bases loaded with one out as Kintzler took on catcher Max Stassi. His grounder to Anthony Rendon turned into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play, but it wasn't as easy as it might have looked on the scorecard.

Rendon's relay to Daniel Murphy was on target, but Murphy bobbled the ball a bit on the exchange. He made the out and his double-clutched throw to first base made Ryan Zimmerman stretch to his limit for the catch that got Stassi.

Manager Dusty Baker said the clubhouse was hoping for the double play in that spot.

"(Kintzler) certainly saved the game," Baker said. "They had bases loaded and one out and he threw up a double play ball, which is what everyone in the dugout was hollering.

"They were like, 'Hey, we need a double play!' If you strike him out, you're still not out of trouble. So we needed a double play, and we turned a near-near double play. That was a close call at first base, but that was right on time."

Wieters knew that Kintzler was good at inducing outs on ground in the infield. He got one again in the battle against Stassi.

"Kintzler's been great as far as being able to get ground balls," Wieters said. "That's what he does. He gets weak contact on the ground. He's the guy that's fun to play behind because he's going to get the ball on the ground and get it on the ground early."

The throw to Zimmerman was close, but Stassi was out. Kintzler said Zimmerman gave him the confidence recorded the out at first with the catch on the relay.

"I thought we had it right away and then Zimmerman ran by and said, 'He's out,' " Kintzler said. "I was running off the field regardless. Umpire wanted me to wait, but I said I already mentally shut it down."

But then the Nats still had to get three outs in the ninth to hold onto a one-run advantage. Doolittle was summoned and again did his job, posting his 12th save with the Nats, his 15th on the season.

J.D. Davis struck out. The dangerous George Springer's skyscraper pop up was caught by Murphy. Alex Bregman's liner to left field was caught on the dive by Howie Kendrick to end the game.

Kintzler said he didn't know Doolittle's game up close that well, but found out in warmups the past few weeks throwing with him why the left-hander is always so accurate.

"I didn't see him much, I know I was watching on TV a little bit, but to watch him do it in person, the guy throws it wherever he wants,' Kintzler said. "I played catch (with him), I think he throws it in the same spot every time. It's really impressive what he does and I mean he's on a nice run.

Baker was not surprised Doolittle was again finished the job.

"Doo throws strikes," Baker said. "He throws near-strikes that look like strikes and end up being balls. He has great command and good velocity. Boy that was a good game to win."

A hat tip is also in order for Blanton. He allowed a single and a walk in the seventh that could have been devastating, then bore down, struck out Bregman and got Jose Altuve fly out to center field to end the threat.

"Joe's throwing better," Baker said. "That's why we're putting him in more leverage situations because this is what we brought him here for and this is what he's used to. It's good to see his velocity back up and he's throwing the ball well."

Wieters agreed with the difference in Blanton, especially since his troubled first half of the season.

"He's been throwing the ball a lot better than he did early in the year, obviously," Wieters said. "His slider's got good life on it, his fastball has good life on it, so I think both those things. He's worked hard to be able to get his arm feeling good like he knows it should and he's put in the work to get back where he is now."

The Nats built a big lead in their division thanks to 3-4-5-6 hitters who dominated offensively at the beginning of the season when the bullpen struggled. On Tuesday night, the 3-4-5 Nats hitters combined to go 0-for-12. Nursing a one-run lead, the bullpen stepped up to finish off the game - a sight that has become more familiar as August nears its conclusion.