Washington Nationals Win It On Walk-Off Single In 13th, 11-10 Over St. Louis Cardinals.

Tonight's Top 5+: 

5. Zimmermann's Back: Jordan Zimmermann begins his first start in 13 months with a 94mph fastball for a ball inside and low which he follows with three more pitches out of the zone and a leadoff walk to former Nats' infielder Felipe Lopez. Cardinals' outfielder Jon Jay grounds to Adam Kennedy at second in the next AB, however, and Kennedy throws to Ian Desmond and on to Adam Dunn for a 4-6-3 DP that erases the leadoff runner. The Nats' 24-year-old right-handed starter gets a groundout to short from Albert Pujols and it's an 11-pitch scoreless first in his first inning of work in the majors following Tommy John surgery last August. In the second, Zimmermann gives up a ground-rule double to Yadier Molina and a two-out RBI single to Skip Schumaker that puts St. Louis up 1-0 early. 

4. Desi in 5-Spot: 4 for 7 with a run scored and 3 RBI's in tonight's game, including a two-run single in the Nats' third that puts Washington up 3-1, shortstop Ian Desmond is now 4 for 8 in his career while batting 5th. Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman shook things up. Adam Kennedy leading off and going 1 for 6 with a run scored and RBI sac fly. Roger Bernadina behind Desi batting 6th and going 2 for 6 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI's....and even Adam Dunn got going, doubling, hitting his 31st two-bagger of 2010 off Cards' starter Chris Carpenter...It was Ian Desmond who stood out though, taking part in 3 DP's, two of them defensive, one a botched hit and run, and collecting four hits on the night.

3. Albert Pujols Hits 400th Career HR And Bryce Harper Called It: The Washington Nationals' 2010 no.1 overall Draft pick, Bryce Harper, was 9 years old when St. Louis Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols hit his first Major League HR off Arizona Diamonbacks' reliever Mike Morgan on Friday, April 6, 2001. Harper, now 17, was on the radio last night with 1500 WFED's Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler live from Nationals Park following his introduction to the DC press corps earlier in the afternoon when Pujols hit no.400 off Nats' right-hander Jordan Zimmermann in the fourth inning of Thursday's game. Zim(n) challenged the Cards' slugger with a fastball up high and outside that Pujols sent out to right-center. Right before the HR pitch...

Dave Jageler - "...and Bryce you were talking in your press conference you had a chance to talk to Pujols, and it's not the first time...you've met him a few times over the last year or so...

Bryce Harper - "Yeah, you know, Albert's a great guy, he's just, he's a really humble person...."

Dave Jageler - "Here's a swing and a long drive, deep right-center, Morgan going back, way back to the track and there it goes..."

Bryce Harper - "It's gone."

Dave Jageler - "Into the seats in right-center field, HR no. 34 for the national league leader Albert Pujols, and his second in 5 career at bats against Zimmermann, and the Cardinals are on the board, it's the Nationals 3 and St. Louis 2. I know he's your guy, as he's just hit his 400th career HR, Bryce you're a witness to a little history with career HR no. 400 for Albert Pujols."

Bryce Harper - "Yeah, you know I told him, I told him before the game, I said, 'You're going to hit 400 tonight, right?' and he goes, 'I don't know, we'll see,' and I said yeah, you will definitely."

Dave Jageler - "Well, truth be told you were talking to us five seconds before we'd come to the air and said, 'We might see history,' and sure enough we did..."

2. 1 sac, 2 sac, 3 sac, 4: Nyjer Morgan singles off Chris Carpernter with one down in the fifth, and he's running when Ryan Zimmerman lines to right in the next at bat, so it's first and third for Adam Dunn, whose sac fly makes it 5-4 Cardinals after St. Louis had put four runs on Jordan Zimmermann and chased him from the game after 4.0 IP, 7 H, and 5 ER. Dunn's sac fly in 5th, "...was the #Nats' first since 8/8, a span of 15 games. They have two the whole month of August," Dave Nichols from the Nats News Network writes on Twitter (@NatsNewsNetwork)...Roger Bernadina singles to center to start the sixth and he's running when Pudge lines the first pitch he sees to right. Willie Harris is up next with runners on first and third and he works the first and only walk of the night out of Chris Carpenter. Bases loaded for Michael Morse, whose broken bat sac fly to right ties it at 5-5, (Dave from NNN in FB GameThread, "Morse's sac fly was just the Nats' third this month, heh heh.") and Morse's flyout allows Pudge to take third. Adam Kennedy follows with a sac fly to make it 6-5. (4th this month?)

1. TAWH!!!: A leadoff walk for Ryan Zimmerman, one-out single by Ian Desmond and two-out walk to Ivan Rodriguez loads 'em up for The Amazing Willie Harris, who singles through second to score two runs and chase Cards' reliever Kyle McLelland with the Nats up 8-5. 

0. STOREN WARNING!!! Albert Pujols doubles to left off Nats' right-hander Tyler Clippard to start the eighth, and scores on a one-out single to right by Randy Winn to make it 8-6 Nats. Drew Storen takes the ball from Clippard and retires Yadier Molina and Skip Schumaker on 6 pitches. (Word.) In the ninth, however, the Nats' 23-year-old closer gives up a line drive single to Pedro Feliz on an 0-2 slider, a single up the middle by Aaron Miles on a first-pitch fastball, and an RBI double to Brendan Ryan on a full-count sinker that Ryan lines to left, 8-7 Nats. Storen strikes out Jon Jay and walks Pujols intentionally to load the bases for Matt Holliday. Storen hits Holliday on the hands with a fastball to force the tying run in, 8-8. Sean Burnett replaces Storen and gives up two more runs on a Randy Winn single that makes it 10-8 Cardinals after eight and a half... 

• Final Score: Nats 11, Cards 10.

Nationals now 54-74.