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NL: Nationals rally for win over Atlanta
By The Associated Press
Thursday, May 01, 2008 | No comments posted.
The Atlanta Braves keep finding new and creative — and most certainly disheartening — ways to lose one-run games.
The latest? Committing an error on a flubbed bunt in the 12th inning to load the bases, walking in the tying run and then yielding the deciding base hit.
The Braves led Washington 2-1 Wednesday night when Wil Nieves missed a sign from manager Manny Acta that he shouldn’t sacrifice over the two runners on base. Nieves bunted right back at pitcher Manny Acosta, who let the ball squirt through his legs. After the Braves walked in a run, Buddy Carlyle relieved and gave up an RBI single to Felipe Lopez for a 3-2 Nationals victory.
“Destiny, baby! It was a mix-up with the signs,” Acta said. “He bunted the ball real bad, too, but the pitcher couldn’t field it.”
Said Nieves: “It was my fault. But it worked.”
And the result was another narrow loss for the Braves, dropping them to 0-9 in one-run games this season. They’re the first club since the 2000 Astros to lose its first nine one-run games.
“It’s not very much fun,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said.
While the Braves are bumming, losers of four straight and six of eight, the Nationals couldn’t be having much more fun. They’ve won three in a row and five of six, their longest winning streak since opening the season 3-0.
“It’s happened for a whole month. We haven’t been doing the little things to win games,” Atlanta’s Mark Teixeira said. “Fundamentals haven’t been very good, so everyone’s got to look each other in the mirror and figure out a way to get these wins.”
The Nationals fell behind 2-1 in the 12th on Mark Kotsay’s RBI single off Saul Rivera (3-1), who wound up getting the win because of the Braves’ poor fielding, Nieves’ gaffe at the plate and Lopez’s timely base hit.
The Nationals had lost eight extra-inning games in a row, dating to last season.
Cubs 19, Brewers 5
Geovany Soto hit two three-run homers and host Chicago pounded the Brewers with prospective owner Mark Cuban watching from the current owners’ seats.
It was the Cubs’ biggest outburst since a 20-1 whipping of the Los Angles Dodgers on May 5, 2001. And the Brewers had not allowed that many since they gave up 19 at Colorado last Aug. 8.
The onslaught made things easy for Ryan Dempster (4-0).
Pirates 13, Mets 1
Pittsburgh took advantage of a sloppy performance by host New York, scoring nine unearned runs. Xavier Nady, traded by the Mets for Oliver Perez (2-2) and Roberto Hernandez in 2006, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (2-3) made it through five innings despite a back injury.
Cardinals 5, Reds 2
At St. Louis, Braden Looper worked six innings and Rick Ankiel had three hits and two RBIs.
Looper (4-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings for the Cardinals. Jason Isringhausen earned his ninth save in 11 chances.
Aaron Harang (1-4) has worked at least six innings in each of his seven starts and has little to show for his 2.98 ERA. He allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.
Padres 4, Phillies 2
Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Chris Young (2-2) pitched six effective innings for visiting San Diego, which won for the second time in nine games.
Joe Thatcher and Heath Bell each pitched a scoreless inning and Trevor Hoffman got his fifth save in seven opportunities with a scoreless ninth.
Jamie Moyer (1-2) gave up nine hits and four runs in 5 1-3 shaky innings.
Dodgers 13, Marlins 1
Chad Billingsley (1-4) pitched seven innings to win for the first time this season and Rafael Furcal had a career-high five hits for visiting Los Angeles.
Scott Olsen (3-1) allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings, and the NL East-leading Marlins lost for the first time in his six starts.
Diamondbacks 8, Astros 7
Pitcher Micah Owings’ pinch-hit homer off Dave Borkowski (0-2) tied the game in the sixth and host Arizona rallied from four runs down to beat Houston.
Chris Young followed with a double, then scored the go-ahead run on Eric Byrnes’ single.
Brandon Medders (1-0) gave up an unearned run in two innings.
Giants 3, Rockies 2
At San Francisco, Jose Castillo ended a 450 at-bat homerless drought with a tiebreaking shot to lead off the seventh and Fred Lewis preserved the lead with a diving catch in the eighth.
Castillo’s homer to left field off Ryan Speier (0-1) was his first since Aug. 14, 2006.
Merkin Valdez (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 hitless innings to earn his first career win and Brian Wilson got three outs for his ninth save in 10 chances.
The latest? Committing an error on a flubbed bunt in the 12th inning to load the bases, walking in the tying run and then yielding the deciding base hit.
The Braves led Washington 2-1 Wednesday night when Wil Nieves missed a sign from manager Manny Acta that he shouldn’t sacrifice over the two runners on base. Nieves bunted right back at pitcher Manny Acosta, who let the ball squirt through his legs. After the Braves walked in a run, Buddy Carlyle relieved and gave up an RBI single to Felipe Lopez for a 3-2 Nationals victory.
“Destiny, baby! It was a mix-up with the signs,” Acta said. “He bunted the ball real bad, too, but the pitcher couldn’t field it.”
Said Nieves: “It was my fault. But it worked.”
And the result was another narrow loss for the Braves, dropping them to 0-9 in one-run games this season. They’re the first club since the 2000 Astros to lose its first nine one-run games.
“It’s not very much fun,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said.
While the Braves are bumming, losers of four straight and six of eight, the Nationals couldn’t be having much more fun. They’ve won three in a row and five of six, their longest winning streak since opening the season 3-0.
“It’s happened for a whole month. We haven’t been doing the little things to win games,” Atlanta’s Mark Teixeira said. “Fundamentals haven’t been very good, so everyone’s got to look each other in the mirror and figure out a way to get these wins.”
The Nationals fell behind 2-1 in the 12th on Mark Kotsay’s RBI single off Saul Rivera (3-1), who wound up getting the win because of the Braves’ poor fielding, Nieves’ gaffe at the plate and Lopez’s timely base hit.
The Nationals had lost eight extra-inning games in a row, dating to last season.
Cubs 19, Brewers 5
Geovany Soto hit two three-run homers and host Chicago pounded the Brewers with prospective owner Mark Cuban watching from the current owners’ seats.
It was the Cubs’ biggest outburst since a 20-1 whipping of the Los Angles Dodgers on May 5, 2001. And the Brewers had not allowed that many since they gave up 19 at Colorado last Aug. 8.
The onslaught made things easy for Ryan Dempster (4-0).
Pirates 13, Mets 1
Pittsburgh took advantage of a sloppy performance by host New York, scoring nine unearned runs. Xavier Nady, traded by the Mets for Oliver Perez (2-2) and Roberto Hernandez in 2006, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (2-3) made it through five innings despite a back injury.
Cardinals 5, Reds 2
At St. Louis, Braden Looper worked six innings and Rick Ankiel had three hits and two RBIs.
Looper (4-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings for the Cardinals. Jason Isringhausen earned his ninth save in 11 chances.
Aaron Harang (1-4) has worked at least six innings in each of his seven starts and has little to show for his 2.98 ERA. He allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.
Padres 4, Phillies 2
Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Chris Young (2-2) pitched six effective innings for visiting San Diego, which won for the second time in nine games.
Joe Thatcher and Heath Bell each pitched a scoreless inning and Trevor Hoffman got his fifth save in seven opportunities with a scoreless ninth.
Jamie Moyer (1-2) gave up nine hits and four runs in 5 1-3 shaky innings.
Dodgers 13, Marlins 1
Chad Billingsley (1-4) pitched seven innings to win for the first time this season and Rafael Furcal had a career-high five hits for visiting Los Angeles.
Scott Olsen (3-1) allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings, and the NL East-leading Marlins lost for the first time in his six starts.
Diamondbacks 8, Astros 7
Pitcher Micah Owings’ pinch-hit homer off Dave Borkowski (0-2) tied the game in the sixth and host Arizona rallied from four runs down to beat Houston.
Chris Young followed with a double, then scored the go-ahead run on Eric Byrnes’ single.
Brandon Medders (1-0) gave up an unearned run in two innings.
Giants 3, Rockies 2
At San Francisco, Jose Castillo ended a 450 at-bat homerless drought with a tiebreaking shot to lead off the seventh and Fred Lewis preserved the lead with a diving catch in the eighth.
Castillo’s homer to left field off Ryan Speier (0-1) was his first since Aug. 14, 2006.
Merkin Valdez (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 hitless innings to earn his first career win and Brian Wilson got three outs for his ninth save in 10 chances.
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