Two late home runs not enough in 4-2 loss to Arizona A homestand that was proceeding beautifully for the Nationals has come to a grinding halt.
For the second game in a row against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington’s bats were silent for most of the night. This time it was Daniel Hudson who tossed eight shutout innings against the Nats before allowing a pair of too little, too late solo homers in the ninth during a 4-2 win at Nationals Park on Wednesday night.
At one point, Hudson (13-9, 3.75 ERA) retired 13 batters in a row. Only a double by Laynce Nix in the seventh inning broke that string. Meanwhile, Chris Young doubled home a run in the fourth inning and Lyle Overbay followed with an RBI single to give Arizona a 2-0 lead against Nats starter Livan Hernandez. The Diamondbacks added two insurance runs in the eighth inning on a soft bases-loaded single off reliever Henry Rodriguez. Miguel Montero drove in those runs. Hernandez had left with the bases loaded and one out.
“That guy yesterday [starter Ian Kennedy] was 15-3 and the guy today [Hudson] has got like a three something [ERA],” Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “That’s the reason they’re in first place [in the National League West]…That’s what that team over there is known for. They don’t score that many runs. They get big hits when they need them and then their pitching staff kind of carries them. The last two games that’s what they’ve done to us.”
Like Jordan Zimmermann the night before in a 2-0 loss, Hernandez (7-12, 4.36 ERA) didn’t get much support. He allowed the first two runners to reach base on infield hits in the first inning and escaped with a strikeout and a double play. Hernandez retired the side in order in the second, third, fifth and seventh innings and hit Montero with a pitch for the only runner in the sixth. Arizona’s two-out rally in the fourth was his only trouble until the eighth.
“I take responsibility for that one. [Hernandez] was really pitching a great game and when he’s good he’s pretty good,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said. “Had in my mind that if he gives me seven I’m getting him out of there. And I balked and he got in trouble and couldn’t get out of it. Like we say, managers lose them, players win them. I lost that one.”
After the second inning when the first two runners reached base and no one scored, the best chance for the Nats came in the eighth. Wilson Ramos singled and with one out Ian Desmond doubled, his third hit of the night. But with a rally brewing Rick Ankiel ripped a line drive right at Overbay, the first baseman. Then Zimmerman’s grounder up the middle appeared set to drive in two runs. But shortstop John McDonald, acquired in a trade on Monday, lunged for the ball and did a full 360 before firing it on one bounce to first. Overbay made a fine scoop and Zimmerman was out.
“That was a chopper,” Zimmerman said. “It’s one of those that if it gets through it’s one of those nice hits. If he makes a good play it’s one of those where you can’t get upset either way, I guess. Obviously, it would have been nice.”
But that play loomed larger when Hudson tired in the ninth. Nix hit a pitch into the first row of seats above the right-field scoreboard. Jonny Gomes followed with another to left. That was it for Hudson just one out shy of a complete game. But closer J.J. Putz needed just two pitches to get Ramos to foul out to Overbay at first and end the game. Washington fell to 62-66 with the loss and is now 5-4 on the current 10-game homestand with one game remaining against the Diamondbacks on Thursday night.
“I think the series against [Philadelphia] showed that we’re not done until the last out regardless who’s up,” Gomes said. “We just came up two runs shy. Tip your hat to their pitcher. He did a heck of a job. That pitch I hit was probably the only one I had to drive all night.”
