Detwiler, bullpen win another one-run game
It was the exact reason Tyler Clippard was chosen as the lone All-Star representative for the Nationals. One of the sport’s best setup men came into Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs with his team nursing a one-run lead. When he left the contest 1 1/3 innings and two strikeouts later, it remained so.
Washington eventually held on for a 3-2 victory after closer Drew Storen shut the door in the ninth inning. But it was Clippard stranding the Cubs’ Tony Campana at second base with one out in the seventh inning that really decided the game.
The Nats (44-43) made a three-run first inning stand up the rest of the night and jumped back over the .500 mark. They have taken the first two games of this four-game set with Chicago (35-52) and are now 22-12 since May 31. During that stretch Washington is also 12-3 in games decided by one run — an almost nightly occurrence these days.
| Nationals notes |
| » Washington right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang — rehabbing from a serious shoulder injury the past two years — will make his third minor league rehab start of the season at Double-A Harrisburg on Thursday. |
| » To make room for Tuesday’s starter, Ross Detwiler, the Nats optioned reliever Collin Balester back to Triple-A Syracuse. |
| » In his second game at Double-A Harrisburg since being promoted, top prospect Bryce Harper went 0-for-4 with an RBI in a 7-3 win over Erie. |
| UP NEXT |
| Cubs at Nationals |
| Randy Wells (1-3) |
| vs. Tom Gorzelanny (2-6) |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Nationals Park |
| TV » MASN |
“It seems that way,” Clippard said. “It helps. I think every pitch counts in those games, especially with the guys we have in the bullpen. We definitely have to make sure we’re locked in every pitch. I think it can only benefit us. It has already.”
Nats starter Ross Detwiler made his 2011 debut Tuesday. The sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft pitched well in spring training but couldn’t quite crack the final 25-man roster. So instead he went to Triple-A Syracuse with the expectation that he would be recalled as soon as someone faltered or was injured.
Unfortunately, Detwiler didn’t pitch all that well for the Chiefs early and the Nats’ rotation proved surprisingly stable in April and May. But with a doubleheader on Saturday, Washington needed an extra starter. Detwiler lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and walking none. Chicago’s two runs came on a homer by Aramis Ramirez in the sixth inning that cut Washington’s lead to 3-2.
Detwiler was visibly upset with himself for throwing a poor change-up when that wasn’t his best pitch on the night. But the frustration faded. By the time he reached the clubhouse afterwards he was beaming.
“Any time you’re back in the big leagues it’s a dream come true,” Detwiler said.
The Nats took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The cause was helped when Cubs second baseman Jeff Baker — a Woodbridge, Va. native with plenty of family and friends in the crowd — botched a pivot on a double-play grounder and threw the ball into left field. That allowed two runs to score. An infield hit by Wilson Ramos later in the inning brought home another run.
One night after almost single-handedly winning an extra-inning game vs. the Cubs with his performance in the 10th, outfielder Jayson Werth went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a double play. Danny Espinosa and Ryan Zimmerman each had a pair of hits for Washington. Laynce Nix was credited with an RBI on the error by Baker. Espinosa, Ramos and Rick Ankiel each reached base three times.
“We’re winning one-run games because our [bullpen] is always there,” Espinosa said. “And our starting pitching is giving us the opportunity to take a lead. But once our offense truly gets going. … It’s not going to be a one-run game no more.”
