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Logan's two-run single helps Nationals avoid sweep

May 20, 2007 - 11:00 PM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- With Erik Bedard out of the game, the Washington Nationals took advantage of a struggling bullpen.

Nook Logan delivered a two-run single off Danys Baez in the eighth inning as the Nationals salvaged the finale of an interleague series with a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The bullpen collapsed for the second straight Sunday, robbing the team of the chance to sweep their regional rivals.

"I threw very good pitches. They hit bloopers and ground balls. Sometimes, you're not very lucky," Baez said.

Last Sunday was the "Mother's Day Miracle" where Baltimore squandered a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning and lost to the Boston Red Sox. Some of the same culprits were involved against the Nationals.

Righthanded sidearmer Chad Bradford replaced Bedard to begin the eighth and got an out before yielding a double to Ryan Zimmerman. Baez (0-3), who allowed two runs without recording an out last week, surrendered an RBI single to Ryan Langerhans.

Baez then hit Austin Kearns with a pitch and allowed a single to Ronnie Belliard to load the bases. After Jesus Flores grounded into a fielder's choice, Logan took a 3-2 offering from Baez and sent it through the hole on the right side of the infield for a two-run single and a 4-3 advantage.

"That was a tremendous at-bat for the kid," Washington manager Manny Acta said of Logan, who missed the first 30 games of the season with a strained left foot, and wasn't activated until May 6.

"I was just trying to have a good at-bat. It worked out for us," Logan said. "It was a total team effort. I was in the middle of it."

Baez allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings on Friday and Sunday.

Jesus Colome (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Chad Cordero pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season.

Bedard entered Sunday without a win since April 18 - a run of five starts. The Orioles' ace was a victim of poor run support in his past three outings, with the offense providing just four runs combined while he was in the games.

The lefthander lasted seven innings against the Nationals, yielding one run and three hits while tying a career-high with 12 strikeouts.

"It's always frustrating when you're ahead and you lose the game in the late innings," Bedard said. "If you lose confidence in the pen, you might as well throw the whole year out."

Bedard fell behind in the third, when Logan led off the home half with a bunt single. The speedy center fielder swiped second and third before coming home on Felipe Lopez's single to center.

Baltimore wasted little time turning the tide. After Nick Markakis flied out to begin the fourth, Miguel Tejada worked a walk and moved to third when Aubrey Huff followed with a single.

Tejada came around to score on a single by Jay Payton, ending the day for Washington starter Micah Bowie.

The 32-year-old Bowie was making the spot start - his first since September, 1999 - in place of the injured Jerome Williams. The veteran lefthander yielded a second run when Huff scored on Melvin Mora's sacrifice fly.

Bowie was charged with two runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings. He was removed after throwing 69 pitches - 45 strikes - and was replaced by lefthander Billy Traber.

The Orioles pushed their advantage to 3-1 when Bedard helped his own cause with an RBI single to center in the sixth.

Nationals outfielder Ryan Church left the game in the sixth inning with a left forearm contusion. Church was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning from Bedard, but stayed in the game and played the field before being replaced by Langerhans.

"I thought I broke it. That's just how it sounded. I heard a crack," Church said.

An MRI showed no break.

"That was the best news I heard," Church said.

The Nationals finished the homestand 7-3, and their manager was very pleased.

"I can't say enough about the whole team. We're patching up the rotation. We're trying to squeeze nine innings the best we can out of these guys," Acta said.