Most Valuable Player
They don’t pay him for his defense. Adam Dunn crushed a game-changing homer to the opposite field in the sixth inning, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead by curling the ball inside the left-field foul pole. He also singled and doubled.
Recommended Stories
All-Star Performance
You know it’s a good night for Cristian Guzman when he draws a rare walk — just his 10th of the season. He also drove in runs with a single in the sixth and a triple in the seventh and scored two runs.
Overlooked
Tyler Clippard continued his fine work out of the Nats’ bullpen. He entered the game with the bases loaded in the fifth and no one out. Clippard induced a 1-2-3 double-play comebacker and a pop out to escape the jam. He pitched three scoreless innings.
Oops!
Jeff Karstens is one of the few reliable veterans the Pirates have left. But the reliever folded with two down and no one on in the seventh and the Nats up, 4-3. He allowed a two-out single, triple, homer, double, walk and single — four runs total.
From the Dugout
Jim Riggleman’s club earned an unconventional split on its eight-game road trip to Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. The Nats won the first two games of the trip, lost four straight and then won the last two.
John Russell is getting fantastic defense from his young team since the trade deadline. The best play of night was a diving stab by Andy LaRoche to rob Josh Willingham of a hit.
