The Milwaukee Brewers' 23-year-old shortstop Jean Segura battled Washington Nationals' lefty Ross Detwiler in an eight-pitch at bat in the top of the first tonight, before grounding out to second for one of the three quick ground ball outs the Nats' 27-year-old starter collected in a 12-pitch top of the first in the third game of four with Milwaukee in the nation's capital. Brewers' starter Kyle Lohse got three fly ball outs in a seven-pitch, 1-2-3 bottom of the inning that ended with Milwaukee center fielder Carlos Gomez leaping at the #NATITUDE wall in left-center in Nationals Park to catch a Bryce Harper fly ball for out no.3. 0-0 after one in D.C.
A dramatic 1-2 slider to Aramis Ramirez got the veteran slugger swinging for out no.1 of the top of the second. Another two-strike slider in the dirt got Brewers' catcher Jonathan Lucroy swinging though the backstop had to be thrown out at first. Rickie Weeks' two-out walk ruined Detwiler's shot at a perfect game, but Sean Halton took an 0-2 slider for a called strike three and Detwiler struck out the side on 17 pitches to complete two scoreless vs Milwaukee on 29 pitches. Adam LaRoche walked with one down in the Nationals' half of the inning, and took a wide turn around second base when Ian Desmond singled to center on a 2-2 slider from Kyle Lohse in the next at bat. Anthony Rendon took a low 1-2 fastball outside for ball two, but K'd looking at a 91 mph four-seamer insider and Kurt Suzuki flew to left to end the second. Still 0-0.
Logan Schafer tried for a surprise attack, but popped a fastball up to Kurt Suzuki behind home when he tried to bunt on a first-pitch fastball. Kyle Lohse popped up to the left side of the infield on a 1-2 sinker from Ross Detwiler. Norichika Aoki lined a single to left on a 1-1 fastball for a two-out hit, Milwaukee's first off Detwiler, but Jean Segura flew out to center to end Det's third scoreless frame after 16 pitches. 45 overall. Detwiler, Denard Span and Jayson Werth went down in order in a seven-pitch, 1-2-3 third by Kyle Lohse, who was at 37 pitches after three scoreless vs the Nats.
Carlos Gomez lined a 1-0 fastball to right for an opposite field single in the first at bat of the fourth. Aramis Ramirez lined to right on a 2-2 slider outside for the second straight hit. Jonathan Lucroy sent a 1-0 change from Ross Detwiler out to third where Ryan Zimmerman started a 5-4-3 DP and a groundout to short by Rickie Weeks got the Nationals' lefty through a 10-pitch inning that had momentarily looked like trouble. 55 overall in 4.0 scoreless. Carlos Gomez sprinted to the left-center gap to catch a line drive and rob Bryce Harper of another potential extra base hit. Ryan Zimmerman flew out to right for out no.2 and Adam LaRoche grounded weakly to second to end another seven-pitch inning by the Brewers' right-handed starter. 44 pitches for Kyle Lohse after four.
Sean Halton sent a 2-2 slider from Ross Detwiler screaming out to left for a leadoff double Bryce Harper collected on the track in front of the visitor's bullpen. Logan Schafer bunted for a hit, dropping one down the third base line not even Ryan Zimmerman could barehand. Kyle Lohse bunted Schafer over to second/gave up an out and both runners scored when Norichika Aoki singled up the middle on a 1-1 fastball for a two-run hit that made it 2-0 Milwaukee after four and half in Washington, D.C. Detwiler's 17-pitch fifth left him at 72 pitches. Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon flew out to Carlos Gomez in center for the first two outs of the Nats' fifth, but Kurt Suzuki's line drive to center fell in for a single. Rickie Weeks got to Ross Detwiler's grounder up the middle, but by the time he did he had no play as the Nats' starter collected the second two-out hit off Kyle Lohse. Denard Span took a 2-2 fastball outside for ball three, but took a high full-count change for a called strike three and the final out of the fifth.
Aramis Ramirez lined to left to start the sixth and Bryce Harper misread it, fell to his knees awkwardly and flat missed the ball, off the glove and his hand for what was ruled an E7. Jonathan Lucroy sent a 2-2 sinker to center for the second straight hit. Rickie Weeks popped to short and Sean Halton flew to right for the first two outs of the frame, but Logan Schafer lined to right-center on a 1-2 fastball and tripled to score both runners and make it 4-0 Milwaukee after five and a half. The 23-pitch inning left Detwiler at 95 total. Kyle Lohse sawed Jayson Werth off and got a line drive to third for out no.1 of the home-half of the sixth. Bryce Harper K'd swinging at a 1-2 slider for out no.2 and Ryan Zimmermann lined to left to end a nine-pitch inning that had Lohse at 77 overall after six. 4-0 Brewers.
Ross Detwiler's Line: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks, 95 P, 65 strikes, 7/2 GO/FO.
Craig Stammen took over for Detwiler. The Nats' right-handed reliever needed 13 pitches to retire the side in order in the Brewers' seventh. Adam LaRoche lined out to center on a 1-1 curve from Kyle Lohse and Ian Desmond K'd swinging over a slow 1-2 hook, but Lohse left one up on the first pitch to Anthony Rendon and the Nats' rookie second baseman hit a solo blast to left that landed in the visitor's bulpen. Rendon's second. 4-1 Brewers after seven.
A walk to Aramis Ramirez and a single on a sharp grounder to third Ryan Zimmerman could only knock down put two runners on with no one out in the top of the eighth. Rickie Weeks grounded into a force at second in the next at bat, but the Nationals couldn't turn two so there were runners on the corners with one down. Craig Stammen got a long fly ball to center from Sean Halton that should have been a sac fly, but Rickie Weeks thought there were two outs, and Aramis Ramirez wasn't running home, so Weeks got doubled up and no runs scored. Still 4-1 Milwaukee after seven and a half. Steve Lombardozzi lined to first. Denard Span flew to right. Jayson Werth K'd on a foul tip strike three. 4-1 Brewers after eight.
Fernando Abad got two quick out from the Brewers in the ninth, but failed to cover first on a Norichika Aoki grounder to first on what ended up a two-out hit. Jean Segura's fly to Jayson Werth in right ended the top of the ninth. Francisco Rodriguez came on to end it. Bryce Harper K'd swinging on a 1-2 change in the dirt. Ryan Zimmerman took a 1-1 fastball through the right side for a one-out hit. Zim took second on defensive indifference. A high 91 mph 1-2 heater got Ian Desmond swinging for out no.2. Ian Desmond? Full count. And a two out walk to get the tying run to the plate in the form of Anthony Rendon. Rendon just missed a two-run double with a line drive to right that sailed foul, then flew out to center on a 2-2 change. 4-1 Brewers.
Nationals 42-42