Desmond's clutch hit not enough for Nats

By Nate Latsch / Special to MLB.com

ST. LOUIS -- A road trip that began with promise for the Nationals ended with a disappointment and a losing streak they will take back to Washington.

The Nationals opened their nine-game road trip with three victories in their first four games. On Tuesday, Washington's losing streak reached five games with a 3-2 defeat at Busch Stadium.

Desmond's clutch hit not enough for Nats....

Washington AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Morgan, CF 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .257
Guzman, C, 2B 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 .323
Zimmerman, R, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .316
Willingham, LF 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .261
Kennedy, A, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 .255
Desmond, SS 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .279
Bernadina, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .288
Nieves, C 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 .204
Lannan, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
a-Harris, W, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .176
Burnett, S, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Clippard, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
b-Rodriguez, I, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
1-Stammen, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
Totals 35 2 9 2 0 5 19 .260
a-Struck out for Lannan in the 7th. b-Reached on error for Clippard in the 9th.
1-Ran for Rodriguez, I in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Kennedy, A (7, Carpenter, C).
HR: Nieves (1, 5th inning off Carpenter, C, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Guzman, C 3; Zimmerman, R; Willingham; Kennedy, A 2; Desmond 2; Nieves 4.
RBI: Nieves (5), Desmond (18).
2-out RBI: Nieves; Desmond.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bernadina 2; Kennedy, A 2; Morgan 2.
S: Nieves.
GIDP: Zimmerman, R; Willingham.
Team RISP: 2-for-11.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
Pickoffs: Clippard (Ryan, Br at 1st base).

St. Louis AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lopez, F, SS 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .250
Franklin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ludwick, RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 .295
Holliday, LF 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .289
Pujols, 1B 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .324
Freese, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .305
Rasmus, CF 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .280
Molina, Y, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .264
Schumaker, 2B 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 .236
Carpenter, C, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .063
a-Stavinoha, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .344
1-Ryan, Br, PR-SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .162
Totals 27 3 6 3 4 2 9 .257
a-Walked for Carpenter, C in the 8th.
1-Ran for Stavinoha in the 8th.
BATTING
HR: Lopez, F (2, 3rd inning off Lannan, 1 on, 1 out), Ludwick (6, 8th inning off Clippard, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Lopez, F 4; Ludwick 4; Pujols; Freese; Rasmus; Schumaker.
RBI: Lopez, F 2 (6), Ludwick (16).
2-out RBI: Ludwick.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Schumaker; Freese.
S: Carpenter, C.
Team RISP: 1-for-3.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
CS: Pujols (1, 2nd base by Lannan/Nieves).
PO: Ryan, Br (1st base by Clippard).

FIELDING
E: Schumaker 2 (8, fielding, fielding).
DP: 2 (Schumaker-Lopez, F-Pujols, Freese-Schumaker-Pujols).

Washington IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lannan 6.0 5 2 2 1 2 1 6.02
Burnett, S 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.09
Clippard(L, 7-3) 1.0 1 1 1 3 0 1 2.30
Totals 8.0 6 3 3 4 2 2 4.51
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Carpenter, C(W, 5-1) 8.0 9 2 1 0 5 1 2.80
Franklin(S, 9) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.60
Totals 9.0 9 2 1 0 5 1 2.81
WP: Carpenter, C.
HBP: Bernadina (by Carpenter, C), Willingham (by Carpenter, C).
Pitches-strikes: Lannan 94-57, Burnett, S 8-4, Clippard 29-15, Carpenter, C 118-80, Franklin 16-10.
Groundouts-flyouts: Lannan 9-3, Burnett, S 1-2, Clippard 0-2, Carpenter, C 14-3, Franklin 2-0.
Batters faced: Lannan 23, Burnett, S 3, Clippard 6, Carpenter, C 34, Franklin 4.
Umpires: HP: Sam Holbrook. 1B: Brian Knight. 2B: Greg Gibson. 3B: Gerry Davis.
Weather: 68 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, L to R.
T: 2:33.
Att: 36,345