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Casto's pinch-hit double leads Nationals over Orioles

Jun 28, 2008 - 3:42 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Kory Casto doesn't get to play often, but on Friday night, he made the most of his opportunity.

Casto's seventh-inning, pinch-hit double broke a tie to lead the Washington Nationals to a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in an interleague matchup.

The win was Washington's second in a row and its first two-game home winning streak since May 3-4.

With the score tied, 2-2, and Daniel Cabrera (5-4) having retired 11 straight batters, Willie Harris walked to lead off the seventh. Casto sliced a double to left field, just his third hit in his last 31 at-bats. Jay Payton dove for the ball, but it eluded him, and Harris scampered home with the go-ahead run.

"Coming off the bench, it's tough," Casto said. "I've never really done it. I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable whether I'm starting or not."

Casto was called up when Ryan Zimmerman went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He's started a just handful of games but, thanks to manager Manny Acta's liberal use of pinch hitters, does get the occasional chance.

"This is a guy who's always played a lot in the minor leagues," Acta said. "He has gotten some big hits coming off the bench. It was a very nice at-bat."

"I'm trying to hit the ball hard every time. Instead of trying to get four hits in every game, you just get one pinch hit. You just try to make them count," Casto said.

Cabrera threw a wild pitch to send Casto to third, and he scored on Elijah Dukes' single to make it 4-2.

Joel Hanrahan (4-2), the third Nationals' pitcher of the game, got the win. He threw a scoreless seventh, Luis Ayala pitched a clean eighth, and Jon Rauch a scoreless ninth for his 16th save of the season.

"I got lucky there getting the win," Hanrahan said. "We're not where we need to be."

The Orioles threatened in the ninth when Brian Roberts led off with a double. Rauch walked Nick Markakis, but Melvin Mora hit into a double play and is now hitless in his last 16 at-bats. Rauch then retired Kevin Millar on a fly ball to right to end the game.

"We kind of had something going there," Millar said. "And that was kind of a buzz-kill."

Orioles manager Dave Trembley thought Mora had a chance for a hit.

"If he hits it two feet either side, you're looking at first and third with nobody out," Trembley said. "He had a great swing."

Cabrera is now winless in his last seven starts. He allowed two runs in the first inning but, after that, he settled down until the seventh. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed four runs and nine hits while walking three and striking out four.

"After the first inning, he pitched down. He ran the ball in on some righthanded hitters," Trembley said. "He was better. He was a lot better."

The Nationals scored two runs in the first after Cristian Guzman led off with a double to center. With one out, Lastings Milledge singled up the middle, and center fielder Adam Jones overran the ball. Jones was charged with a two-base error and, after Guzman scored, Milledge was on third and came home on Jesus Flores' base hit.

On the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left shoulder, Odalis Perez threw four scoreless innings. He was pulled after throwing 75 pitches and was replaced in the fifth by Steven Shell, who allowed a leadoff triple to right by Roberts, who scored on Markakis' infield out.

The Orioles tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth. Jones singled to left and took second on an error by Wily Mo Pena and scored on a single to left by Brandon Fahey, who was recalled from Class AAA Norfolk earlier in the day.