Final
Nationals earn split with Cardinals with walk-off win
Apr 21, 2014 - 1:00 AM Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Denard Span's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Washington Nationals a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in the finale of a four-game set from Nationals Park.Danny Espinosa and Jose Lobaton had three hits apiece for Washington and poked back-to-back singles with one away in the home half of the ninth off of Seth Maness (0-1). Nate McLouth then stepped in as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk to load the bags for Span, who fouled off four pitches before plating Espinosa with his lineout to left.
"We just kept fighting. We kept having good at bats, and getting some baserunners," said Span. "We just gave ourselves a chance."
Rafael Soriano (1-0) pitched a perfect top of the ninth to each his first win of the season.
The Nationals were winners despite hitting just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving 17 men on base.
The Cardinals went up 1-0 in the second inning when Jhonny Peralta's double- play grounder allowed Matt Adams, who doubled to lead off the frame, to score without a throw.
The score stayed that way until the fifth. Washington starter Stephen Strasburg struck out Peralta and Mark Ellis to start the inning but walked Peter Bourjos and allowed his counterpart Shelby Miller to drive in a run with a double to deep left.
Strasburg fanned nine in six innings, allowing two runs on five hits while Miller struck out seven and kept Washington scoreless over 5 1/3 innings. Miller had trouble with his command, however, walking five batters.
Miller walked the bases loaded in the third inning but struck out Adam LaRoche to end the threat. He had a no-hitter until the fourth, when Espinosa broke it up with two outs with a single to right.
"I was around the zone, but eventually ended up walking maybe three in that inning and killed my pitch count," said Miller. "I think those were closer to the zone than it looked, but at the end of the day you have to pitch to the zone."
Carlos Martinez took the hill in the bottom of the seventh for St. Louis and lost the lead after surrendering four consecutive singles. LaRoche got things started with a one-out single to center, Anthony Rendon followed with another single to center and Ian Desmond put the Nats on the board with a slap to right. Espinosa's RBI single made it 2-2.
Game Notes
Both teams won two games in the series ... Adams had two hits for the Cardinals, who close out an 11-game road trip when they travel to Citi Field Monday for a four-game set with the Mets ... The Nationals host the LA Angels in an interleague series starting Monday.
- ST. LOUIS: 2
WASHINGTON: 3
Final
Apr 20 5:00 PM - Denard Span sacrifice fly out to left scored Danny Espinosa with two outs to end the game.
Cardinals 2, Nationals 3 Bot 9, 2 OutsApr 20 4:57 PM - Danny Espinosa single to right scored Anthony Rendon with one out. On the play, Ian Desmond advances to second. Runners on first and second and Jose Lobaton due up.
Cardinals 2, Nationals 2 Bot 7, 1 OutApr 20 4:03 PM - Ian Desmond single to right scored Adam LaRoche with one out. On the play, Anthony Rendon advances to third. Runners on first and third and Danny Espinosa due up.
Cardinals 2, Nationals 1 Bot 7, 1 OutApr 20 4:03 PM - Shelby Miller double to left scored Peter Bourjos with two outs. Runner on second and Matt Carpenter due up.
Cardinals 2, Nationals 0 Top 5, 2 OutsApr 20 3:05 PM - Jhonny Peralta grounded into a double play, short to second to first scored Matt Adams with two outs. Yadier Molina out at second. None on and Mark Ellis due up.
Cardinals 1, Nationals 0 Top 2, 2 OutsApr 20 1:56 PM - ST. LOUIS: 0
WASHINGTON: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Apr 20 1:37 PM
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