Final
Nationals edge Brewers on wild pitch in ninth
May 25, 2008 - 10:25 PM By Rich Dubroff PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterWASHINGTON (Ticker) - When Elijah Dukes joined the Washington Nationals after a troubled past, they were hoping for lots of big hits. On Sunday, he scored a big run.
With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, Dukes raced home on Guillermo Mota's wild pitch to give the Nationals a 7-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
With one out in the inning, Dukes, who is batting just .105, walked off Mota (1-3). Pinch-hitter Dmitri Young singled to right to send Dukes to third.
With Felipe Lopez at the plate, Mota's next pitch was in the dirt, eluding catcher Mike Rivera. Dukes never hesitated from third.
"I said I was going to just be prepared to run if anything got away," Dukes said. "That kind of pumps the team up. We don't always have to hit the long ball. We can also just outhustle people and win, too."
Dukes had legal problems last year, and Tampa Bay was happy to trade him for a minor league pitcher.
Young, who had been last year's reclamation project for the Nationals, was assigned to mentor Dukes. So far, Dukes' off-the-field behavior has been exemplary, but his on-field exploits have left something to be desired.
"That (Dukes' walk) was a professional at-bat," Young said. "It was probably the best at-bat he had this year."
The Brewers, who were expected to contend for the NL Central crown, have lost eight of their last 11 to fall four games under .500.
"We were trying to go with a changeup away," Rivera said. "I was sitting in the middle away a little bit. He overthrew it, and I didn't have no chance."
Mota felt that the changeup was the best option for a possible inning-ending double play.
"Of course, it's tough," he said. "When you're in a situation like that, you try to do the best you can. I was trying to ... (not) do that."
Jon Rauch (3-1), the fourth Washington pitcher of the afternoon, got the win, pitching a scoreless ninth.
The Nationals scored a run in the first off Manny Parra. Cristian Guzman doubled with one out. He moved to third on an infield out and scored on a wild pitch by Parra.
Washington scored three in the fourth. Ryan Zimmerman and Aaron Boone led off with singles. Lastings Milledge doubled to left to score Zimmerman, and Wily Mo Pena doubled to drive in Boone and Milledge to give the Nationals a 4-0 lead.
Aaron Boone's fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fifth inning, drove Parra from the game. He allowed six runs and seven hits, walking three and striking out three.
Tim Redding shut out the Brewers through five innings, though he allowed six hits in the first four innings. In the sixth, Redding was shelled, and the Brewers tied the score with six runs-most in an inning this season.
Prince Fielder led off with a single. Corey Hart homered and Russell Branyan doubled. With two out, Joe Dillon singled to score Branyan, and Redding faced Rickie Weeks, who had struck out his first three times at-bat.
With an 0-2 count, Redding hit Weeks, and Saul Rivera replaced Redding. Mike Cameron doubled to drive home Dillon and Weeks, and Gabe Kapler tied the game at 6-6 with a single.
"It's easy to lose all your energy once you've lost a six-run lead," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "When we score that many runs, we usually end up winning."
Mota pitched two innings on Saturday, and was in his second inning on Sunday.
"We really didn't have a whole lot of options," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said.
- NL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MILWAUKEE 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 12 0
WASHINGTON 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 7 8 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: MIL - MANNY PARRA, MARK DIFELICE (5TH), TIM DILLARD (6TH), GUILLERMO
MOTA (8TH) AND MIKE RIVERA
WAS - TIM REDDING, SAUL RIVERA (6TH), LUIS AYALA (7TH),
JON RAUCH (
May 25 4:47 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
WILD PITCH BY GUILLERMO MOTA ALLOWED ELIJAH DUKES TO
SCORE.
FINAL SCORE: WASHINGTON 7, MILWAUKEE 6
Brewers 6, Nationals 7 Bot 9, 0 OutsMay 25 4:47 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GABE KAPLER SCORED MIKE CAMERON.
SITUATION: 6 RUNS IN, G KAPLER ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 6
WASHINGTON 6 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: P FIELDER (.271, 2-FOR-3)
Brewers 6, Nationals 6 Top 6, 0 OutsMay 25 3:46 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MIKE CAMERON SCORED JOE DILLON AND RICKIE WEEKS.
SITUATION: 5 RUNS IN, M CAMERON ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 5
WASHINGTON 6 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: G KAPLER (.282, 0-FOR-3)
Brewers 5, Nationals 6 Top 6, 0 OutsMay 25 3:45 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JOE DILLON SCORED RUSSELL BRANYAN.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J DILLON ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 3
WASHINGTON 6 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: R WEEKS (.207, 0-FOR-3)
Brewers 3, Nationals 6 Top 6, 0 OutsMay 25 3:39 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY COREY HART (6) TO CENTER WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 6TH OFF TIM REDDING SCORED PRINCE FIELDER.
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 2, WASHINGTON 6
DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: R BRANYAN (.500, 1-FOR-2)
Brewers 2, Nationals 6 Top 6, 0 OutsMay 25 3:32 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY AARON BOONE (4) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF MANNY PARRA SCORED CRISTIAN GUZMAN.
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 0, WASHINGTON 6
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: L MILLEDGE (.246, 1-FOR-1, BB, RBI)
Brewers 0, Nationals 6 Bot 5, 0 OutsMay 25 3:18 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY WILY MO PENA SCORED AARON BOONE AND LASTINGS
MILLEDGE.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, W PENA ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 0
WASHINGTON 4 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: E DUKES (.108, 0-FOR-1)
Brewers 0, Nationals 4 Bot 4, 0 OutsMay 25 2:57 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY LASTINGS MILLEDGE SCORED RYAN ZIMMERMAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, L MILLEDGE ON SECOND, A BOONE ON THIRD, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 0
WASHINGTON 2 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: J FLORES (.348, 0-FOR-1)
Brewers 0, Nationals 2 Bot 4, 0 OutsMay 25 2:53 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
WILD PITCH BY MANNY PARRA ALLOWED CRISTIAN GUZMAN TO
SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 0
WASHINGTON 1 BOTTOM, 1ST
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: A BOONE (.313, 0-FOR-0)
Brewers 0, Nationals 1 Bot 1, 0 OutsMay 25 1:55 PM
Related News
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Getting more pitching in 2024 + more... Dec 26
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Keibert Ruiz, CS% and more… Dec 22
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Stephen Strasburg retirement?; 40-man spot + more... Dec 21
- Brewers trade Adrian Houser, Tyrone Taylor to Mets Dec 20
- Brewers sign catcher Eric Haase Dec 20
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Joey Meneses & DH duties vs playing the field… Dec 19
- Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent & Trade Targets: Outfield Dec 18
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Dylan Floro looks to bounce back after down ‘23 campaign... Dec 18
- Devin Williams named to All-MLB Second Team Dec 16
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Nick Senzel talks joining Nats, playing third every day + more... Dec 15
- Brewers acquire reliever Taylor Clarke from Royals Dec 14
- Washington Nationals news & notes: Nationals’ rotation plans; 6-man rotation talk + more… Dec 14