The pitching coach had been fired. The starting catcher was deemed out for at least three months — if not the season. There wasn’t much reason for the Nationals to smile on Tuesday night. Yet a dreary day at Nationals Park ended with at least a little bit of sunshine.
Nats 2B Anderson Hernandez batted 3-for-5 and scored twice. Hernandez also stole two bases and drove in the game-tying run in the eighth. All-Star Performance Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman is back on a roll. He batted 2-for-4 with a walk. Zimmerman singled in the seventh and hit a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning that put Washington up by three runs and proved to be the game-winner.Overlooked It wasn’t the kind of vintage performance Tim Lincecum delivered last June at Nationals Park — seven innings of one-run ball. But it was good enough. 2008 Cy Young winner allowed four runs — but just two earned — on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. Oops! Washington’s battery cost itself in fifth. Up 2-1, RHP Craig Stammen uncorked wild pitch to allow run to score from third. C Josh Bard compounded error with errant throw back to plate, allowing runner on second to score. SF took 3-2 lead. From the bench» After a difficult week for his OFs defensively, Manny Acta put Willie Harris back into the lineup in CF. He also welcomed Elijah Dukes back from the 15-day disabled list and started him in RF.» Bruce Bochy’s normally reliable bullpen – ranked eighth in MLB with a collective ERA of 3.74 entering the night – blew it on Tuesday with six runs allowed in the eighth inning.
Washington rallied from a three-run deficit against the San Francisco Giants, scoring twice in the sixth inning and six more times in the bottom of the eighth for a much-needed 10-6 victory.
Recommended Stories
A day that began with news of the firing of longtime pitching coach Randy St. Claire and the loss of catcher Jesus Flores for at least three months ended with a win against Giants ace Tim Lincecum, the 2008 National League Cy Young winner.
It was an unconventional way to end a six-game losing streak. But Washington’s best weapon against Lincecum was a patient lineup that forced the diminutive ace to work for his outs. By the top of the seventh inning, Lincecum had faced 30 batters on a muggy night and thrown 110 pitches.
“That’s the key to any Cy Young pitcher you face,” said Nats outfielder Elijah Dukes, who just two days ago was hitting against Double-A pitching while on a rehab assignment at Harrisburg for a strained hamstring. “Them guys always have that confidence. It brings them down a little bit when they have to throw too many pitches early in the game.”
Lincecum allowed three hits and one walk in the first two innings — the only damage done by Nats catcher Josh Bard, who led off the second with a solo home run. But it took Lincecum 45 pitches to get through those two frames and Washington eventually feasted on the San Francisco bullpen.
A beleaguered Nats bullpen, meanwhile, has shown signs of stabilizing in recent days. So it was again on Tuesday. Julian Tavarez pitched a scoreless third of an inning in the seventh and Ron Villone earned his third win since a May 7 recall from Triple-A Syracuse with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Villone struck out two, didn’t allow a baserunner and kept his ERA at 0.00. He has not been charged with a run in 16 appearances. Closer Joel Hanrahan did allow a run and three hits in the ninth. But by the time that inning started, the Nats were ahead 10-5.
Starter Craig Stammen pitched six innings for Washington, allowing five runs, four of those earned, on seven hits. He retired 11 batters in a row from the first inning through the end of the fourth before a three-run fifth put San Francisco on top, 4-2. The Giants added a run in the sixth on a double by Juan Uribe.
“Even with the St. Claire thing — we still have a job to do. We still have to go out there and do our best and play to win the game,” Hanrahan said of the bullpen’s performance. “We want to do that every day, but today was good to battle back and get that win.”
Nats notes
» The Nats placed relief pitcher Kip Wells on the 15-day disabled list with a right abductor strain. The move is retroactive to Sunday.
» Washington recorded its 10th come-from-behind win of the season. The six-run eighth inning matched a season-high for runs in one frame.
» Josh Bard’s second-inning homer off Tim Lincecum was just the second allowed this season by the Giants ace.
» Nats 1B Nick Johnson batted 1-for-5. He now has at least one hit in 18 of the last 21 games and is 27-for-79 (.342) during that stretch.
» Washington improved to 14-36. San Francisco began a 10-game road trip by dropping to .500 at 25-25.
» Attendance at Nationals Park was 17,331.
