A memorable homestand ended exactly the way the Nationals hoped it would.
Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and Michael Morse all hit solo home runs, starter Livan Hernandez pitched six strong innings and the bullpen did the rest as Washington held on for a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on Thursday night.
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The Nats (30-31) swept Pittsburgh (23-37) and finished 4-2 during a six-game stretch that included rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s electrifying 14-strikeout, no-walk performance on Tuesday. Hernandez improved his record to 5-3 and after 12 starts has an ERA of 2.28. Reliever Sean Burnett pitched two scoreless innings. Dunn homered for the third game in a row and scored a run in the fifth inning after a throwing error by Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche. Tyler Clippard – giving closer Matt Capps the day off – finished Pittsburgh in the ninth to record his first save of the season – and of his career. The homestand helped ease the frustration of a 7-16 stretch that saw Washington fall a season-worst four games below .500.
“Especially the way we were playing,” Dunn said. “But we were still competing and getting good pitching. We kind of had the long ball working in this series. Hopefully everything continues to go that way and we offensively start raking the ball.”
For the Nats, Roger Bernadina was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Dunn was 2-for-4 with his homer and two runs scored. Morse batted 3-for-3, including his first homer of 2010, walked and scored a run. It was also Washington’s first sweep of any opponent this season.
“That had not even occurred to me,” said Washington manager Jim Riggleman. “We’re just trying to win the ballgame. It felt like we’ve won a few in a row a couple of times, but I guess it was in two different series. But you just try to win that day’s game and if it turns out you sweep somebody great.”
Hernandez had allowed just two hits and a walk through five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth with the Nats up 3-0. A leadoff double by Pirates pitcher Zach Duke began the rally. Rookie Jose Tabata followed with another double to drive Duke in. Then Neil Walker singled and Andrew McCutchen drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Just like that it was 3-2 and after a walk there were runners at first and second with just one out.
Pitch counts are never an issue for Hernandez, who can throw well over 100 on any given night. But he was laboring. A fly out by Ryan Doumit settled the 35-year-old veteran down, however. He then struck out Bobby Crosby swinging to end the threat with his team still ahead.
“[Hernandez] just gutted it out against middle-of-the-lineup guys there,” Riggleman said. “Just found a little extra, reached back for his best fastball of the night at that point. He just does what he does. He doesn’t give in to hitters.”
Morse, making just his fourth start of 2010, homered with one out in the eighth. That helped make up for his mental error in the sixth inning. The Nats had the bases loaded and no one out, looking to break the game open with Willie Harris pinch hitting for Hernandez. But second baseman Walker caught a soft liner before it hit the grass and then caught Morse, who strayed a few feet too far from second base. The resulting double play killed the rally.
“Mike just wandered off a little bit,” Riggleman said. “He’s got to be three feet off the base and he got off the base and they doubled him up. Mike had a great night, but that was just a little blip on the screen there for him.”
But Burnett came on and pitched two innings to keep the lead at 3-2. The unheralded member of a unit that has solidified in recent weeks, Burnett gave up just two base hits – one an infield single – against eight batters. That effort allowed Capps and Drew Storen the night off. Burnett’s ERA now stands at 3.15 in 27 appearances. Morse pushed the lead to 4-2 with his solo homer and Clippard earned the save with two strikeouts against four Pittsburgh batters – the last one a strikeout of pinch hitter Ryan Church, a former Nats outfielder.
“It seems like every day a new guy out of our pen kind of steps up,” Clippard said. “And I think it says a lot to the other teams around the league as far as what we can throw at teams every night. So we’ve got a lot of options down there. [Burnett] did his thing tonight and really kind of kept us in the game. That was a big part of why we won.”
