GAME THREAD: NL: WASHINGTON (32-48) at PITTSBURGH (35-45)

NL: WASHINGTON at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">WASHINGTON (3) VS PITTSBURGH (2) - FINAL

WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Logan cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .221
R Belliard 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .295
R Zimmerman 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .245
D Young 1b 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .340
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Kearns rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .254
F Lopez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .234
R Fick lf-1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 .225
J Flores c 4 1 2 2 0 0 2 .219
M Bacsik p 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .091
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Langerhans lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .175

Totals 35 3 9 3 1 8 10

BATTING: HR - J Flores (1, 6th inning off P Maholm 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Fick
(5), J Flores 2 (9). 2-out RBI - J Flores 2. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - M Bacsik 1, R Zimmerman 2. GIDP - A Kearns. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: E - M Bacsik (1, throw). DP: 1 (F Lopez-R Belliard-R Fick).


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Davis cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
a-N McLouth ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .228
F Sanchez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
X Nady rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .278
J Bay lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .262
A LaRoche 1b 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .230
J Castillo 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .245
R Paulino c 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .231
J Wilson ss 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .260
P Maholm p 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .138
b-R Doumit ph 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .305
S Chacon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
D Marte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 2 6 2 1 5 11

a-grounded to first for R Davis in the 7th; b-hit sacrifice fly to left for P
Maholm in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - A LaRoche (21, M Bacsik); X Nady (12, M Bacsik); J Castillo (9, M
Bacsik). SF - R Doumit , J Wilson. RBI - J Wilson (23), R Doumit (17). Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - J Bay 1, P Maholm 1. GIDP - R Paulino. Team
LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: CS - R Paulino (2, 2nd base by M Bacsik/J Flores).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Wilson-F Sanchez-A LaRoche).


----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 000 102 000 -- 3
PITTSBURGH - 000 000 200 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
M Bacsik (W, 2-5) 6 5 2 1 1 2 0 4.65
L Ayala (H, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.08
J Rauch (H, 17) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.12
C Cordero (S, 14) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.00

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
P Maholm (L, 4-11) 7 9 3 3 1 5 1 4.74
S Chacon 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.88
D Marte 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.85

M Bacsik pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

WP - M Bacsik. IBB - J Wilson (by M Bacsik). Pitches-strikes: M Bacsik 79-50;
L Ayala 12-9; J Rauch 10-7; C Cordero 13-8; P Maholm 90-62; S Chacon 13-8; D
Marte 13-8. Ground balls-fly balls: M Bacsik 6-10; L Ayala 1-2; J Rauch 0-1; C
Cordero 2-0; P Maholm 14-2; S Chacon 0-2; D Marte 1-0. Batters faced: M Bacsik
25; L Ayala 3; J Rauch 3; C Cordero 3; P Maholm 30; S Chacon 3; D Marte 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Marvin Hudson. 1B--Ed Montague. 2B--James Hoye. 3B--Bill Miller.

T--2:14. Att--19,149.
Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, out
to left.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
WASHINGTON 3
PITTSBURGH 2 FINAL</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (3) AT PITTSBURGH (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON 4TH: D Young singled to right. A Kearns singled to center,
D Young to second. F Lopez singled to right, D Young to third, A Kearns to
second. R Fick grounded out to first, D Young scored, A Kearns to third,
F Lopez to second. J Flores grounded into fielder's choice to third, A Kearns
out at home. M Bacsik grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Flores
out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 6TH: A Kearns grounded out to shortstop. F Lopez struck out
swinging. R Fick singled to left. J Flores homered to left, R Fick scored.
M Bacsik popped out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3,
PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: A LaRoche singled to right. J Castillo doubled to deep
right center, A LaRoche to third. R Paulino safe at first on throwing error by
pitcher M Bacsik. L Ayala relieved M Bacsik. J Wilson hit sacrifice fly to
center, A LaRoche scored, J Castillo to third. R Doumit hit for P Maholm.
R Doumit hit sacrifice fly to left, J Castillo scored. N McLouth hit for
R Davis. N McLouth grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error)
WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (3) AT PITTSBURGH (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Washington Starting Lineups -- N Logan CF, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, F Lopez SS, R Fick LF, J Flores C, M Bacsik LHP.

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- R Davis CF, F Sanchez 2B, X Nady RF, J Bay LF,
A LaRoche 1B, J Castillo 3B, R Paulino C, J Wilson SS, P Maholm LHP.

Umpires -- Marvin Hudson (HP), Ed Montague (1B), James Hoye (2B),
Bill Miller (3B).

Gametime Weather: 71 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind out to left at 10 mph.


WASHINGTON 1ST: N Logan struck out swinging. R Belliard grounded out to
shortstop. R Zimmerman struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 1ST: R Davis grounded out to shortstop. F Sanchez flied out to
right. X Nady struck out swinging, X Nady safe at first on wild pitch by M
Bacsik. J Bay flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0,
PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 2ND: D Young singled to right. A Kearns grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, D Young out at second. F Lopez grounded out
to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: A LaRoche doubled to deep right. J Castillo grounded out
to shortstop, A LaRoche to third. R Paulino lined out to second. J Wilson
intentionally walked. P Maholm popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: R Fick grounded out to shortstop. J Flores singled to
left. M Bacsik grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, J Flores out at
second. N Logan singled to left, M Bacsik to second. R Belliard walked,
M Bacsik to third, N Logan to second. R Zimmerman grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: R Davis popped out to shortstop. F Sanchez grounded out to
second. X Nady doubled to deep left. J Bay flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 4TH: D Young singled to right. A Kearns singled to center,
D Young to second. F Lopez singled to right, D Young to third, A Kearns to
second. R Fick grounded out to first, D Young scored, A Kearns to third,
F Lopez to second. J Flores grounded into fielder's choice to third, A Kearns
out at home. M Bacsik grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Flores
out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: A LaRoche grounded out to first. J Castillo flied out to
center. R Paulino singled to center. R Paulino caught stealing second,
catcher to second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: N Logan grounded out to third. R Belliard lined out to
second. R Zimmerman singled to right. D Young grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: J Wilson grounded out to pitcher. P Maholm lined out to
third. R Davis grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 1, PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 6TH: A Kearns grounded out to shortstop. F Lopez struck out
swinging. R Fick singled to left. J Flores homered to left, R Fick scored.
M Bacsik popped out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3,
PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: F Sanchez lined out to shortstop. X Nady flied out to
right. J Bay struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3,
PITTSBURGH 0.

WASHINGTON 7TH: N Logan struck out swinging. R Belliard grounded out to
third. R Zimmerman struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3,
PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: A LaRoche singled to right. J Castillo doubled to deep
right center, A LaRoche to third. R Paulino safe at first on throwing error by
pitcher M Bacsik. L Ayala relieved M Bacsik. J Wilson hit sacrifice fly to
center, A LaRoche scored, J Castillo to third. R Doumit hit for P Maholm.
R Doumit hit sacrifice fly to left, J Castillo scored. N McLouth hit for
R Davis. N McLouth grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2.

WASHINGTON 8TH: N McLouth in center field. S Chacon relieved P Maholm.
D Young flied out to left. A Kearns struck out swinging. F Lopez fouled out to
third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: J Rauch relieved L Ayala. R Fick at first base.
R Langerhans in left field. F Sanchez flied out to center. X Nady struck out
looking. J Bay struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3,
PITTSBURGH 2.

WASHINGTON 9TH: D Marte relieved S Chacon. R Fick struck out swinging.
J Flores grounded out to third. R Langerhans struck out looking. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: C Cordero relieved J Rauch. A LaRoche singled to center.
J Castillo struck out swinging. R Paulino grounded into double play, shortstop
to second to first, A LaRoche out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2.</div>

 

Bascik, Nationals end slumps in win over Pirates

<h3>WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Mike Bacsik won for the first time inmore than a month and Jesus Flores hit his first major leaguehome run as the Washington Nationals halted a five-game losingstreak with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Bacsik (2-5), who had not won since May 24 and had seen theNationals lose his six starts since then, yielded only two runs- one earned - and five hits in six-plus innings. Thelefthander also struck out two and walked one.

Robert Fick had an RBI and scored a run and Dmitri Young addedtwo hits for Washington, which had lost six of seven and 11 of14 coming into the contest.

Adam LaRoche had three hits and scored a run for Pittsburgh,which was seeking its first sweep since taking three from theHouston Astros from April 24-26.

With Nationals closer Chad Cordero attempting to nail down theone-run victory, LaRoche led off the ninth inning with a single.However, Cordero struck out Jose Castillo and got RonnyPaulino to ground into a game-ending double play for his 14thsave.

Washington, which had managed just seven runs during the losingstreak, collected the game's first run in the fourth, but couldhave done a lot more damage.

The Nationals started off the inning with three consecutive hitsby Young, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to load the basesagainst Paul Maholm (4-11). Fick followed with an RBI groundoutto first, but Flores and Bacsik also hit into fielder's choicesto prevent anymore scoring.

Washington also had loaded the bases in the third withoutmanaging to score.

The 22-year-old Flores connected on his memorable homer justover the wall in left field in the sixth directly after a singleby Fick, making it 3-0. It was the rookie's 63rd career at-batin his 34th game.

After the Pirates loaded the bases with nobody out in theseventh on a single by LaRoche, a double by Castillo double andan throwing error by Bacsik that allowed Paulino to reach, thelefthander was lifted in favor of Luis Ayala.

Ayala gave up sacrifice flies to Jack Wilson and pinch-hitterRyan Doumit to make it 3-2, but got pinch-hitter Nate McLouth toground out to end the inning.

Jon Rauch pitched a perfect eighth before turning it over toCordero.

Maholm allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings,walking one and striking out five, as he lost for the sixth timein his last seven home starts.

 

Bascik, Nationals end slumps in win over Pirates

<h3>WASHINGTON 3, PITTSBURGH 2</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Mike Bacsik won for the first time inmore than a month and Jesus Flores hit his first major leaguehome run as the Washington Nationals halted a five-game losingstreak with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Bacsik (2-5), who had not won since May 24 and had seen theNationals lose his six starts since then, yielded only two runs- one earned - and five hits in six-plus innings. Thelefthander also struck out two and walked one.

Robert Fick had an RBI and scored a run and Dmitri Young addedtwo hits for Washington, which had lost six of seven and 11 of14 coming into the contest.

"There's a book a read to my little daughter she likes," Bacsiksaid. "One of the lines in there says something to the effectof, 'If you never felt bad, you wouldn't know what it's like tofeel good.' And there's been a quiet a few outings lately, andfor this team where we haven't felt good lately.

"We've felt bad, but it just lets you know how good it feels togo out there compete and win a game."

Adam LaRoche had three hits and scored a run for Pittsburgh,which was seeking its first sweep since taking three from theHouston Astros from April 24-26.

With Nationals closer Chad Cordero attempting to nail down theone-run victory, LaRoche led off the ninth inning with a single.However, Cordero struck out Jose Castillo and got Ronny Paulinoto ground into a game-ending double play for his 14th save.

"It's always good to get a win," said Washington manager MannyActa, who presided over a closed-door meeting in the clubhouseafter Saturday night's loss. "I'm not relating the win to ourpep-talk last night. Mike Bacsik deserves all the credit. Hegave us an outstanding outing and our bullpen came through in avery tough situation with only a one-run lead."

Washington, which had managed just seven runs during the losingstreak, collected the game's first run in the fourth, but couldhave done a lot more damage.

The Nationals started off the inning with three consecutive hitsby Young, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to load the basesagainst Paul Maholm (4-11). Fick followed with an RBI groundoutto first, but Flores and Bacsik also hit into fielder's choicesto prevent anymore scoring.

Washington also had loaded the bases in the third withoutmanaging to score.

The 22-year-old Flores connected on his memorable homer justover the wall in left field in the sixth directly after a singleby Fick, making it 3-0. It was the rookie's 63rd career at-batin his 34th game.

"I feel happy about it," Flores said. "It felt great to comethrough and it was great to win, too."

After the Pirates loaded the bases with nobody out in theseventh on a single by LaRoche, a double by Castillo and anthrowing error by Bacsik that allowed Paulino to reach, thelefthander was lifted in favor of Luis Ayala.

Ayala gave up sacrifice flies to Jack Wilson and pinch-hitterRyan Doumit to make it 3-2, but got pinch-hitter Nate McLouth toground out to end the inning.

"I think what today boils down to is the fact we didn't haveenough offense," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "And as aresult of that, we made one bad pitch and had to pay for it."

Jon Rauch pitched a perfect eighth before turning it over toCordero.

Maholm allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings,walking one and striking out five, as he lost for the sixth timein his last seven home starts.

Despite allowing three runs or less for the second straighttime, Maholm could not shake the thought of him giving up thehome run to Flores.

"One stupid pitch, and he hit a home run and it costs us agame," Maholm said. "There's positives, but it's still hard totake whenever you know that you know that one pitch changed thewhole game, and you know that it probably wasn't the right pitchin the situation. It's one of those things you learn from."