Alfredo Amezaga singled to lead off the game last night, and before the fans at RFK Stadium could get to their seats, Amezaga had already scored on a Mike Jacobs single. With Florida Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis on the mound, it looked like it could be another long night at the ballpark for the Nationals.
But something strange happened. A team with nothing but pride to play for cameback. The Nats put two runs on the board to take a 2-1 lead in the first inning.
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Then it got even weirder. They strung together hits and walks, and loaded the bases in five different innings. But with the bases loaded, the Nats could not drive in runs.
When it was over, the Nats somehow emerged 5-2 victors in front of a home crowd of 21,390. The Nats (50-63) collected nine hits and eleven walks, and Ramon Ortiz (9-9) rebounded from a rough opening frame to throw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Chad Cordero pitched a scoreless ninth for his 20th save.
Manager Frank Robinson asked his players for more energy Tuesday night, and his team responded Wednesday with a better all-around performance. Nick Johnson showed particular improvement in the field, twice ranging to his right to grab hard hit balls.
The Nats also benefited from a few lucky bounces on the evening. In the bottom of the fifth, the Nats loaded the bases with no one out. Alex Escobar struck out, and Damian Jackson bounced a ball back to Willis (7-9). It should have been an easy double play, but catcher Miguel Olivo failed to touch home plate, and Zimmerman scored the lone run of the inning.
Baserunning remained an issue for the Nats. Alex Escobar was caught in a second inning rundown between third base and home plate. The Nationals loaded the bases in that inning, though they did not score.
Again in the sixth inning, the Nationals had the bases loaded with only one out, but Johnson grounded into a double play. An inning later, with the bases loaded and only one out, Luis Matos and Soriano struck out in consecutive at-bats.
In the eighth, Escobar did drive in one run on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.
The Nats stranded 14 runners on the night.
“At the end of the ballgame, we were fighting for our lives,” Robinson said. “We shouldn’t have been. That’s what the missed opportunities do to you. You have to take advantage of those.”
The miscues were not limited to offense. Felipe Lopez made his sixth error in a Nationals uniform when he botched an easy grounder in the seventh inning. On the season, Lopez has a fielding percentage of .953. By comparison, last year’s shortstop, Cristian Guzman, had a fielding percentage of .973.
The Nats also received bad news for their pitching staff. Micah Bowie left the game after pitching only 1/3 of an inning. He has a left lat strain, and is listed as day-to-day.
