• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Zimmerman's walk-off slam gives Nationals win

May 13, 2007 - 8:21 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Florida Marlins took advantage of the first rain delay. The Washington Nationals took advantage of the second to win their first series of the season.

Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk-off grand slam after Felipe Lopez drove in the tying run as the Nationals beat the Marlins, 4-3, on Saturday in a game delayed twice for a total of 3 hours, 38 minutes.

After a 47-minute rain delay after the top of the ninth, Brian Schneider walked against Taylor Tankersley (2-1) and pinch hitter Dmitri Young singled to left with one out. Jesus Flores then walked before Lopez lined a base hit to right field, plating Nook Logan, who was pinch-running for Schneider.

After Cristian Guzman struck out, Jorge Julio entered and Zimmerman belted a second-pitch fastball over the left-center field fence for his second slam against the Marlins this season.

"You have so many rain delays, so many big pitches, big hits, and then to kind of finish it off, I think kind of shows what this team is all about," Zimmerman said of the Nationals, who clinched their first series victory of the season with their second win this weekend against the Marlins.

"We're kind of turning a corner," Zimmerman added. "We're starting to get big hits. We're starting to be a little bit more aggressive. It's big for us. For us to finally score some runs and help the pitchers out can give them some motivation to do well. We can win a few in a row and be right back where we want to be."

Nationals manager Manny Acta echoed that sentiment.

"That was one of the first thing guys were saying in the clubhouse: it's our first series," Acta said. "We won the series. A lot has been made of it. We're playing a lot better right now. Everybody knows we haven't had a lot of blowout games. The game yesterday (a 6-0 victory over the Marlins) and the game today gives us a little bit of hope about our hitting."

Jon Rauch (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the win.

The blast ended a record-setting night on a sad note for Florida, as Dan Uggla recorded three of his club's team-record matching eight doubles.

"When you have a long game like that and you kind of have the game in hand, it's tough," said Josh Willingham, who had a pair of doubles for the Marlins.

The Marlins wasted no time taking the lead after the first rain delay of 2 hours, 51 minutes. Hanley Ramirez belted a one-out double in the fifth off Levale Speigner and scored when Uggla followed with a two-bagger that gave Florida a 2-1 edge. Miguel Cabrera was intentionally walked and Willingham singled to load the bases for Aaron Boone, who singled up the middle for a 3-1 lead.

With a chance to break the game open, Speigner escaped after striking out John Gall and Miguel Olivo.

Austin Kearns cut the Marlins' lead in half with an inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning off Reynel Pinto.

Center fielder Reggie Abercrombie made a leaping effort at the wall but could not make the catch. The ball rolled away from Abercrombie into left field as Kearns hustled around the basepaths and scored standing.

"I was just kind of watching the play and making my way over there slowly," said Willingham, the Marlins' left fielder who eventually scooped up the wild carom off the wall. "I just watched it and when he kept it in play, I ran over there, and that was it."

Pinto worked a scoreless seventh, Kevin Gregg logged the eighth before Tankersley blew the save.

"There's no excuse," Tankersley said. "I didn't do my job. I blew it. We lost. That's all there is to it.

"Two a.m. It's been raining. We've had two delays. Regardless of all of those variables, it doesn't matter, I should still do my job. I was called on to do a job. I didn't do it, and we lost. It's on me."

Tankersley most wanted back the leadoff walk to Schneider.

"You don't have a leadoff walk to a left-handed hitter to start the ninth inning with a one-run game, so no, that wasn't a good move," he said.

Zimmerman opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third inning off Florida starter Ricky Nolasco, who retired Kearns with the bases loaded to end the threat.

The Marlins responded in the fourth, when Olivo singled to center, driving in Willingham, who doubled to lead off the inning.

Washington starter Matt Chico pitched 4 1/3 innings and was removed after the first rain delay. The lefthanded rookie gave up one run, scattered five hits and walked one. Chico was coming off his longest career outing, when he pitched seven innings in a 3-0 loss to Milwaukee on Monday.

Gonzalez found it tough to see the silver lining in the Marlins' eight doubles.

"Is that right? In one day or two days?" Gonzalez said with a laugh when told about tying the club record. "It's difficult (to lose that way), it really is. We played eight innings of real good baseball really in tough conditions, but you've got to get 27 outs. There's no shot clock or the clock running out or any of that stuff. You've got to throw the ball over the plate and we didn't do that in the ninth inning."

"What do you want to talk to me right now, man?" said Julio, who with two pitches nearly hit Zimmerman and then gave up the game-winner to Zimmerman. "About baseball? That's it, game over."