Nats rally in ninth, but can't hold off Astros

By Gene Duffey / Special to MLB.com

HOUSTON -- Nationals closer Matt Capps thought he had the Astros' Lance Berkman struck out to end the game. So did manager Jim Riggleman. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, too.

Instead, third-base umpire Bill Hohn called it a checked swing on Berkman, making the count 2-2, and Berkman lined the next pitch from Capps into left field, scoring two runs to beat the Nationals, 8-7, on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.

Nats rally in ninth, but can't hold off Astros....

Washington AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Guzman, C, 2B 5 1 1 0 0 1 4 .324
Morgan, CF 5 2 2 1 0 1 0 .256
Zimmerman, R, 3B 1 2 0 0 4 1 0 .306
Dunn, A, 1B 3 1 0 0 2 2 4 .269
Willingham, LF 4 0 0 1 0 1 4 .275
Desmond, SS 5 0 2 1 0 1 1 .265
Bernadina, RF 4 0 1 1 1 2 0 .241
Nieves, C 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .213
b-Harris, W, PH 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .179
Slaten, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Batista, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
d-Gonzalez, Al, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .311
Capps, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Stammen, P 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 .300
a-Morse, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
Storen, D, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Burnett, S, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-Kennedy, A, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 .248
Maldonado, C, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .125
Totals 36 7 8 5 7 13 24 .259
a-Struck out for Stammen in the 6th. b-Hit by pitch for Nieves in the 8th. c-Struck out for Burnett, S in the 8th. d-Grounded into a forceout for Batista in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Nieves (4, Myers).
TB: Guzman, C; Morgan 2; Desmond 2; Bernadina; Nieves 3.
RBI: Morgan (9), Willingham (36), Harris, W (16), Desmond (28), Bernadina (13).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dunn, A 2; Guzman, C 2; Maldonado, C 2.
SF: Willingham.
Team RISP: 3-for-12.
Team LOB: 11.

FIELDING
E: Zimmerman, R (6, fielding).

Houston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Bourn, CF 4 3 1 0 2 0 0 .272
Keppinger, 2B 5 1 3 0 0 0 3 .302
Berkman, 1B 5 1 3 5 1 1 1 .241
Lee, C, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 .206
Pence, RF 3 2 2 1 2 0 1 .277
Blum, SS 4 0 1 1 0 2 2 .253
Manzella, SS 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .205
Feliz, 3B 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .215
Cash, C 4 0 2 0 0 1 4 .161
Myers, P 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 .043
a-Michaels, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .205
Lyon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Lindstrom, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Lopez, W, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Sullivan, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .196
Totals 39 8 15 8 6 5 25 .233
a-Grounded out for Myers in the 7th. b-Doubled for Lopez, W in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Berkman (8, Stammen), Bourn (10, Storen, D), Sullivan (1, Capps).
HR: Pence (9, 5th inning off Stammen, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Bourn 2; Keppinger 3; Berkman 4; Lee, C; Pence 5; Blum; Feliz; Cash 2; Sullivan 2.
RBI: Berkman 5 (22), Blum (10), Feliz (17), Pence (24).
2-out RBI: Berkman 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Myers 4; Pence; Manzella 2.
S: Keppinger; Cash.
SF: Feliz.
Team RISP: 5-for-15.
Team LOB: 14.

FIELDING
E: Blum (3, fielding), Berkman (1, throw).

Washington IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Stammen 5.0 9 5 5 3 4 1 5.88
Storen, D 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2.70
Burnett, S 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.12
Slaten 0.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.08
Batista 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.22
Capps(BS, 2)(L, 0-2) 0.2 2 2 0 1 0 0 2.88
Totals 8.2 15 8 6 6 5 1 4.29
Houston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Myers 7.0 4 4 1 3 10 0 3.04
Lyon(H, 7) 1.0 1 1 1 2 2 0 3.63
Lindstrom(BS, 2) 0.1 3 2 2 2 1 0 2.82
Lopez, W(W, 2-0) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.86
Totals 9.0 8 7 4 7 13 0 4.59
WP: Storen, D.
IBB: Feliz (by Stammen), Bourn (by Capps).
HBP: Harris, W (by Lyon).
Pitches-strikes: Stammen 92-54, Storen, D 17-11, Burnett, S 10-7, Slaten 9-4, Batista 10-5, Capps 23-13, Myers 110-68, Lyon 29-16, Lindstrom 22-10, Lopez, W 7-5.
Groundouts-flyouts: Stammen 7-4, Storen, D 2-1, Burnett, S 1-1, Slaten 1-0, Batista 1-1, Capps 2-0, Myers 5-5, Lyon 0-1, Lindstrom 0-0, Lopez, W 2-0.
Batters faced: Stammen 27, Storen, D 5, Burnett, S 4, Slaten 3, Batista 3, Capps 6, Myers 30, Lyon 7, Lindstrom 6, Lopez, W 2.
Inherited runners-scored: Batista 2-0, Lopez, W 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Gary Darling. 1B: Bruce Dreckman. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Bill Hohn.
Weather: 73 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 3:21.
Att: 25,249