Nats 7, Pirates 5
The Nats at the very least have taken this three-game series from Pittsburgh. Read our game story here. That alone was a nice way to build on Stephen Strasburg’s electric effort on Tuesday night. This one was far from a beauty. The Nats made two errors – again. The Pirates botched some plays in the field, though they weren’t actually charged with any errors. Leads were taken and then given away by each starting pitcher.The Pirates stole four bases off starter John Lannan and catcher Wil Nieves.
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“We didn’t play good,” said Nats manager Jim Riggleman. “I don’t want to speak for [Pirates manager] John [Russell]. I think he’d probably feel like they didn’t play good. I know we didn’t play good. But the bullpen salvaged it and [Ryan Zimmerman] got a big hit. Wil Nieves got a big hit. [Roger] Bernadina. We had some great at-bats. Just didn’t play particularly well.”
But they found a way to win. It was a satisfying night for Matt Capps, who leads all of baseball with 20 saves and has recorded the last two against the team that didn’t want him anymore. After a rough 6-14 stretch the Nats have weathered the storm and are 3-2 now on this brief homestand. With plenty of winnable games coming up – and Strasburg in the mix – there is a chance here to get back to .500.
Washington has won eight of its last 12 games at Nationals Park and only two teams have taken a series from it at home this season. Adam Dunn homered in the first inning, Ryan Zimmerman drove home the go-ahead run in the seventh. Roger Bernadina was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base. Josh Willingham continues to get on base at will with two hits and a walk. He also scored two runs, including the game-winner on Zimmerman’s single. Former Nat Lastings Milledge notched his third 3-hit game of the season and started in right field for the first time since a Sept. 30, 2007 game against Florida while still with Washington.
