Doolittle blows first save, but Nats rally to win 5-4 in ninth

What had been commonplace throughout the season's first three months had become wholly unexpected ever since. Give the Nationals bullpen a late lead? In April, May and June, that often meant disaster was looming. In July, August and September, it meant victory was assured.

Since their mid-July acquisition of Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, and continuing with their acquisition of Brandon Kintzler two weeks later, the Nationals bullpen had been darn near automatic, giving up a lead only one time (when Kintzler blew a save Aug. 24 in Houston).

Tonight, though, brought back some bad memories of the season's first half. When Doolittle entered for the top of the ninth holding a two-run lead, all appeared to safe. The Pirates needed all of two pitches to change that storyline.

Andrew McCutchen's single and Josh Bell's subsequent two-run homer into the left field bullpen left Doolittle and the crowd of 26,380 stunned and left the Nats and Bucs tied.

That crowd roared back to life a few minutes later when the home team rallied in the bottom of the ninth to pull off a 5-4 win via Alejandro De Aza's second clutch hit of the night, but the specter of Doolittle's blown save may linger for the next week until this team opens the postseason against the Cubs.

"Now you can start all over again," manager Dusty Baker said. "And better now than later."

Doolittle actually wound up getting credited with the win thanks to a rapid-fire winning rally in the bottom of the ninth. Anthony Rendon singled up the middle and advanced to third when Daniel Murphy also singled to center, leaving Pirates reliever Daniel Hudson in a bind. De Aza then sent a hot shot just inside the first base line, scoring Rendon with the winning run.

"I wanted to make solid contact and try to drive this run in," De Aza said. "Because I know they weren't going to pitch me that easy, and I was just trying to concentrate and hit the ball."

The Nationals had taken a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a leadoff walk from Rendon (his third of the game), an RBI triple from De Aza (trying to make a late case for a spot on the postseason bench) and a sacrifice fly from Adam Lind (who once again made solid contact off a lefty).

Baker then turned things over to his previously lights-out bullpen, and though Kintzler and Madson did their part in retiring all six batters they collectively faced, Doolittle could not complete the trifecta.

The left-hander (who had been 21-for-21 in save opportunities) didn't fool the heart of Pittsburgh's lineup one bit. McCutchen pounced on a first-pitch fastball and lined a single to left. Bell then pounced on the next pitch, another fastball, and sent it soaring to left field. De Aza tracked back to the wall and made a token leaping attempt to haul it in, but the ball landed well into the visitors' bullpen, leaving this game tied.

"They were ready," Doolittle said. "They had that killer instinct. They had that aggressive mentality. I don't think I was aggressive enough coming in."

Prior to that point, the only negative news to come out of this game appeared to be Howie Kendrick's departure after three innings. The reason, as explained afterward by Baker: Kendrick had complained of a tight hamstring during warmups, and it acted up early in the game.

"He came in and said he was a little tight," Baker said. "And so at this point you say: 'OK, is it worth the games and getting sharp, or keeping a guy healthy for the long run?' So I was just precautious and took Howie out of the game."

Whether Kendrick returns to play in any of the regular season's final three games remains to be seen, but Baker suggested he's not worried about the veteran's status for the postseason.

"He's fine," the manager said. "I just got to watch him the next couple days."

With a lineup missing Bryce Harper - the star right fielder had the night off after playing the previous two nights in Philadelphia, but is expected to play the season's final three games - the Nationals still managed to jump on the board first.

Wilmer Difo led off the bottom of the first with a double to left, then moved to third base on Victor Robles' sacrifice bunt. After Rendon walked, Murphy sent a ball through the right side of the infield, scoring Difo with the game's first run and giving Murphy 92 RBIs.

The Pirates, though, got to Edwin Jackson in the top of the third with back-to-back two-out hits. Chris Bostick's double brought home the first run, then Starling Marte's sinking liner that led to Kendrick's injury brought home the second run.

Jackson, who had been in the middle of a laborious stretch through most of September, did bounce back and finish his season on a high note. He retired the last seven batters he faced, departing after six innings of two-run ball.

The journeyman right-hander joined the Nationals rotation out of desperation in mid-July, taking the spot vacated when Joe Ross had Tommy John surgery. It wasn't the club's plan to make that more than a temporary fix, but Jackson pitched well enough early on - and top prospect Erick Fedde ran out of gas following his promotion - to merit continued starts through the rest of the season.

In the end, Jackson went 5-6 with a 5.07 ERA in 13 starts, seven of which were quality starts. Given how little was expected from him at the time of his addition to the roster, the Nationals have to be satisfied with the result.

For Jackson, who revealed he was pitching with extra emotion tonight after his grandmother died earlier this week, this was a meaningful conclusion to his regular season.

"I just wanted to go out and have fun, end of the season, not put too much pressure on myself," he said. "Go out and let go and just pitch how I know I can pitch."