SAN FRANCISCO - Not only did the Nationals come away with a 2-1 win in a tremendous ballgame tonight at AT&T Park, they also got the best news possible on catcher Wilson Ramos, who left tonight's game in the ninth inning with right hamstring tightness.
Ramos said after the game that he doesn't think the injury is anything serious, this after twice landing on the disabled list last season with left hamstring strains.
"It's not bad," an upbeat Ramos said. "Just felt something in my hammy, but not that bad. Hopefully, feel better tomorrow. A little bit hard for me, but I don't feel nothing hard like last year with the other hammy. ...
"When I feel it, it scared me. Because I pulled my hammy two times last year, and I said, in that moment, I say, 'It happened again.' But thank God it's not that hard. Just thinking positive."
The Nats will re-evaluate Ramos tomorrow.
Now to the ballgame itself, which I truly feel was as good a game as you'll see in June.
Doug Fister and Madison Bumgarner dueled tonight, with each facing a dangerous lineup, but Fister was slightly better, throwing seven scoreless innings to drop his ERA in seven starts to 2.68.
Fister became the first Nationals starter to earn a win in five consecutive starts since Gio Gonzalez won five straight from May 5-27 in 2012.
The Nats plated two runs on Bumgarner in the fifth, with Denard Span driving one in on a sac fly and Jayson Werth accounting for the other RBI on a single to left.
Tyler Clippard worked into and out of trouble in the eighth, extending his scoreless streak to 18 2/3 innings, and after giving up a run in the ninth on an RBI groundout, Rafael Soriano closed the door for his 13th save.
Here's manager Matt Williams after the win:
On if games can get much better than this in June: "No. The Giants have certainly made a habit of coming back late, and they put together some pretty good at-bats, not only in the last inning, but also against Clip, too. They laid off some good changeups and gave themselves a chance. We were able to get it tonight, but you don't want to mess with that too much."
On Fister: "I thought he pitched really well. He was aggressive, as usual. In the last inning, things got a little out of whack. Ball got up a little more than normal, but I think he battled. I think he was fine."
On hitting, pitching and defense being there tonight: "I think over the long haul, you need all three of those things to win. Tonight, it was an example of some good plays and some good pitching and some timely hitting. Bumgarner's very difficult, but we were able to scratch a couple across and hold 'em. They played well."
On Werth throwing out Pablo Sandoval at the plate in the sixth: "He's cheating in a touch there for a ball that goes through, maybe giving up a little on a ball in the gap. But he was able to pick it clean and make a nice throw to Wilson at the plate to get him. It's just a heads-up, being in the right spot and making sure he had a chance to throw him out of he fielded it cleanly. It was good."
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