One Streak's Over, One Going Strong...
Ryan Zimmerman didn't waste any time extending his hit streak to 25-straight, singling to center off LA lefty Randy Wolf with two down in the top of the first, but Zimmerman was stranded when Adam Dunn K'd, and by the end of the first inning it was 6-0 Dodgers, and it was looking like the Washington Nationals were going to be extending a few other streaks...
Had they held on to their early 6-0 lead it would have been the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-extending 14th-straight win at home to start the 2009 season and it would also have been the Nationals' 11th-straight loss in Dodger Stadium dating back to 2005, but DC starter Jordan Zimmermann, who was charged with all six runs that LA scored in the first on two walks, two singles and a Matt Kemp grand slam, settled down on the mound and held LA off the board over the next 5.0 innings, allowing Washington to slowly but surely creep back into the game...
...One run in the sixth on a Josh Willingham home run, three runs in the seventh on an RBI groundout by Cristian Guzman and a two-out RBI double by Adam Dunn, and then Washington explodes for six runs in the eighth, collecting 3 doubles, 3 singles, two walks and 6 runs, forcing LA to use three pitchers just to get out of the inning. 10-6 DC after seven and a half, 10-7 after eight, 11-7 after the Nationals' ninth, 11-9 when it ends...
Nationals win, 11-9 final.
The DC Faithful were watching, check out Last Night's GameThread if you didn't stay up late.
For The Completists, Full Game Report After The Jump...
Nationals now 8-18-1.
Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 26 of 162.
Washington’s leadoff man, Cristian Guzman pops out to first. LA lefty Randy Wolf gets Nick Johnson swinging at junk. Ryan Zimmerman singles over the second base bag and into center, extending his hit streak to 25-games. Adam Dunn swings through a low two-strike fastball for the final out of the Nationals’ first...Jordan Zimmermann blows Rafael Furcal away with fastballs. Zimmermann loses a 3-2 fastball up high and walks Orlando Hudson. Andre Ethier hits a shattered bat single to left center sending Hudson around to third. James Loney takes a 2-2 pitch back up the middle and brings Hudson home. 1-0 LA. Zimmermann throws four straight balls to Russell Martin to load the bases, and Matt Kemp makes him pay with a long fly ball to right center and gone...Grand Slam, 5-0 LA. Casey Blake flies to right center, Elijah Dukes and Dunn converge and both pull up, letting it drop and bounce to the wall, Blake takes third and scores on a sac fly from Randy Wolf, 6-0 Dodgers. Juan Pierre grounds back to the mound.
Elijah Dukes flies to right. Josh Willingham grounds to short. Jesus Flores pops up over first and James Loney tries to catch it over his shoulder and misses as it falls in fair. Flores stays at first. Anderson “Elvis” Hernandez works a walk, but it’s in front of the pitcher, who K’s looking...Zimmermann gets Furcal again looking at a two-strike heater. Orlando Hudson chops one to Zimmerman, who throws to the wrong side of first where, luckily, Nick Johnson makes the catch. Ryan Zimmerman leaps to his right and snags a line drive from Ethier to end the second.
Cristian Guzman chops a grounder to Furcal, who shows off his arm. Nick Johnson swings over a fastball outside for strike three. Ryan Zimmerman pops up over the mound, and James Loney closes his glove on the Nationals’ third...Nick Johnson has a grounder from James Loney bounce of his glove, but he recovers and fires to Zimmermann covering. Russell Martin grounds out to Guzman at short. Ryan Zimmerman dives on a grounder from Matt Kemp and fires to first in time.
Adam Dunn stares a low two-strike fastball all the way in for a backwards K. Elijah Dukes flies to right field for Ethier. Josh Willingham walks with two down and takes third on Jesus Flores’ fly ball to the gap in left. First and third for Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez lines out to first...Nick Johnson gets under a fly ball from Casey Blake. Anderson Hernandez backs up into right to catch the second out off the pitcher’s bat. Juan Pierre drops a two-out single in front of Adam Dunn in right. Pierre’s beaten to second by Jesus Flores’ throw, but Cristian Guzman can’t catch it. Pierre’s steals second. Furcal flies out to Dukes in center to end the fourth.
Jordan Zimmermann starts the fifth with a line drive out to short. Cristian Guzman rips a liner to left that rolls around the corner of the wall, allowing him to easily take second. Nick Johnson flies out harmlessly to left. Ryan Zimmerman lines on one hop to third, Casey Blake makes the play...Jordan Zimmerman drops a two-strike bender under Orlando Hudson’s bat. Andre Ethier grounds the first pitch to second. Jordan Zimmermann gets a fly ball to left out of James Loney to end the fifth.
After a fly ball out from Dunn, and a groundout from Dukes, Josh Willingham bends a two-out HR inside the left field foul pole for a solo shot in the sixth. 6-1 LA. Jesus Flores sends Juan Pierre back to the track in left....Jordan Zimmermann issues a leadoff walk to Russell Martin, bringing up Matt Kemp. Kemp hasn’t seen Zimmermann’s two-strike slider yet, now he has, backwards K. Casey Blake singles to left, Martin safe at second. Xavier Paul makes his MLB debut, and gets robbed by Guzman, who backhands while sliding and tosses to second with a flip of the glove, Hernandez to Johnson at first, double play.
Ramon Troncoso vs Anderson Hernandez in the seventh. Hernandez shoots a single up the middle. Hernandez takes second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout by Willie Harris. Cristian Guzman brings Hernandez in with a groundout. 6-2 Dodgers. Nick Johnson lines a trademark single to left, and takes second on Ryan Zimmerman’s single. Joe Torre has seen enough from Troncoso, and he brings in Will Ohman to face Adam Dunn. Dunn drills a double to right, and two runs score, 6-4 Dodgers. Cory Wade on to pitch to Elijah Dukes. Dukes rolls the third out to second...Ron Villone sees his first action for the Nationals. Juan Pierre lines a single over third. Villone picks Juan Pierre off second. Adam Dunn catches the second out off of Rafael Furcal’s bat. Orlando Hudson lines to left, Willingham dives and bends his wrist back making a sweet diving play.
Josh Willingham battles for 10 pitches and then doubles over Juan Pierre’s head in left. Cory Wade walks Jesus Flores in front of Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez sends a nubber to third and beats Casey Blake’s throw, bases loaded for Austin Kearns. Kearns doubles over Matt Kemp’s head in center. Two runs score, Austin Kearns ties it, 6-6 in the eighth. Cristian Guzman can’t make contact, K’ing swinging over a two-strike sinker. Brent Leach vs Johnson, Lefty vs Lefty. Johnson doubles to the corner in left, two runs score, 8-6 Nationals. The Dodgers walk Zimmerman for the lefty, lefty matchup...Dunn wins, single to right, Johnson scores, 9-6 DC. Elijah Dukes singles through short, Zimmerman scores from second, 10-6 DC. Josh Willingham flies out. Gullermo Mota strikes Jesus Flores out to end the long frame...Joe Beimel vs Andre Ethier, lefty vs lefty. Beimel hits the outside corner for a called strike three. James Loney pops out foul of first. Ryan Zimmerman takes a hotshot off the glove and it bounces into left for a single by Russell Martin Matt Kemp grounds to short, Guzman deep in the hole, tries for the force at second, but is late with the throw. Casey Blake. Blake beats Zimmerman to the line and doubles to right, one run scores, 10-7 Nationals. Beimel busts a full count fastball inside on Mark Loretta, but it's called ball four and he walks the bases loaded. Juan Pierre grounds to first, Johnson fields and tosses to Beimel covering. 10-7 DC.
James McDonald’s on the mound for LA in the ninth. Anderson Hernandez singles through second. Austin Kearns K’s. Cristian Guzman with a perfect hit and run single to give Nick Johnson runners on first and third. Nick Johnson slices one to first, and it bounces off Loney, Hernandez scores, 11-7 DC. Ryan Zimmerman swings through a high fastball for strike three, Johnson caught off first, Guzman breaks for home and gets nailed at the plate, 11-7 after eight and a half...Kip Wells vs Rafael Furcal. Wells gets the K with a two-strike curve that freezes Furcal. Orlando Hudson lines a single to center. Andre Ethier grounds back to the mound, Wells throws to first. Two down. James Loney singles to right. Russell Martin singles in a run, line drive to center, Hudson scores, 11-8. Matt Kemp chops one to third, Zimmerman throws it away. One run scores, 11-9 DC. Casey Blake flies to left, Willingham has it!! Nationals win. 11-9 Final.
Nationals now 8-18-1.