Eighth-inning HR ends his woes from that side
Mired in a slump and struggling from the left side of the plate against right-handed pitching, Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa had to wonder what kind of voodoo was vexing him early this season.
It didn’t help that in his first at-bat during Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Espinosa hit a towering fly ball 376 feet to left field. Unfortunately, the fence at that part of Nationals Park is 377 feet away. Later, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen robbed Espinosa with a sliding catch.
It took until the seventh inning for some redemption. Espinosa slammed the first pitch he saw from Pittsburgh reliever Jose Ascanio into the right-field bullpen for a two-run home run. That broke a tie game and was the difference in Washington’s 4-2 victory.
| Nationals notes |
| » Washington closer Drew Storen earned his ninth save in as many chances and extended his major league-best scoreless streak to 21 innings. |
| » Nats reliever Cole Kimball has wasted no time since making his big league debut Saturday. He pitched for the third day in a row and earned his first major league win. |
| » Washington outfielder Jayson Werth went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. |
| Up Next |
| Pirates at Nationals |
| Charlie Morton (4-1) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (2-4) |
| When » Tuesday, 1:05 p.m. |
| Where » Nationals Park |
| TV » MASN2 |
The Nats won their second straight and closed to within a game of .500 at 20-21. The Pirates dropped to 18-23. The two teams finish a brief two-game series Tuesday at 1:05 p.m.
“I was ready. I knew they were going to bring a [right-handed pitcher] in because of my struggles left-handed and they don’t think I can do damage left-handed,” Espinosa said. “So they brought him in and put some [pressure] on me. I was just happy I was able to come through.”
Pittsburgh took an early lead in the first inning after an infield single by Steve Pearce scored McCutchen, the leadoff batter. Washington couldn’t replicate its six-run first inning vs. Florida on Sunday. But it did fight back with a walk, a single and then an RBI hit by Wilson Ramos. The rookie catcher batted cleanup for just the second time in his major league career.
Nats starting pitcher John Lannan got defensive help and shoddy Pirates base running to escape trouble in the fourth inning. Brandon Wood tried to go first-to-third on a single with no outs and was gunned down by center fielder Roger Bernadina. Later, with runners at second and third, pitcher Paul Maholm botched his suicide squeeze bunt attempt. That left teammate Chris Snyder caught in a rundown, and he was tagged out.
Washington took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a home run by Jerry Hairston. Pittsburgh tied it again in the seventh following a McCutchen triple down the right-field line off reliever Cole Kimball. But Espinosa answered with his two-run homer in the bottom of that frame.
Lannan (4.53 ERA) allowed seven hits and two earned runs in 61Ú3 innings but settled down after that rocky fourth. He retired six of the next seven batters before departing after a leadoff walk in the seventh.
“The defense really helped me out there when Bernadina threw the guy out at third,” Lannan said. “Then I started getting into a groove a little bit towards the later innings, and the bullpen did a great job. Great win. Even though I struggled, it just shows we’re a good team.”
