Pudge turns Nats' fortunes with one swing

By Bill Ladson / MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals scored seven eighth-inning runs, all with two outs, to defeat the Astros, 8-4, at Nationals Park on Tuesday night.

Washington was down, 3-1, before rallying against reliever Felipe Paulino in the bottom of the eighth inning. With a runner on first, Ivan Rodriguez tied the score at 3 when he turned on an 0-2 curveball and hit a two-run homer that hit the left-field foul pole.

It helped that Rodriguez was familiar with the right-hander. The two played together when Rodriguez was with the Astros last year.

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Houston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Bourgeois, CF 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .235
Keppinger, 2B 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 .291
Pence, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .280
Bogusevic, RF 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .250
Lee, C, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .249
Wallace, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207
Michaels, LF 4 1 1 2 0 1 0 .238
Johnson, C, 3B 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .327
Manzella, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .216
Castro, Ja, C 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .207
Happ, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Melancon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Hernandez, A, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .220
Byrdak, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Paulino, F, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292
Lindstrom, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Villar, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Blum, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Totals 32 4 7 4 4 6 9 .247
a-Walked for Melancon in the 8th. b-Popped out for Villar in the 9th.
Washington AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Espinosa, 2B 4 1 0 0 1 1 4 .212
Desmond, SS 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .279
Dunn, A, 1B 3 1 1 1 2 1 0 .263
Storen, D, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Burnett, S, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Zimmerman, R, 3B 5 0 2 1 0 1 2 .307
Morse, RF 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .295
Rodriguez, I, C 4 1 2 2 0 0 2 .272
Bernadina, LF 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 .255
Maxwell, CF 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 .146
Lannan, P 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .093
a-Harris, W, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .185
Clippard, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
b-Kennedy, A, PH-1B 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .253
Totals 35 8 11 7 6 9 17 .255
a-Struck out for Lannan in the 7th. b-Singled for Clippard in the 8th.
BATTING
2B: Johnson, C (22, Lannan).
HR: Michaels (8, 1st inning off Lannan, 1 on, 2 out), Johnson, C (11, 9th inning off Storen, D, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Bourgeois 2; Keppinger; Michaels 4; Johnson, C 7.
RBI: Keppinger (55), Michaels 2 (25), Johnson, C (49).
2-out RBI: Michaels 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Manzella; Lee, C.
GIDP: Manzella.
Team RISP: 2-for-7.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Bourgeois (8, 2nd base off Lannan/Rodriguez, I), Hernandez, A (3, 3rd base off Clippard/Rodriguez, I).
CS: Bourgeois (4, 3rd base by Lannan/Rodriguez, I).

BATTING
2B: Zimmerman, R (31, Happ), Bernadina (18, Melancon), Maxwell (4, Melancon).
HR: Rodriguez, I (4, 8th inning off Paulino, F, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Desmond; Dunn, A; Zimmerman, R 3; Morse; Rodriguez, I 5; Bernadina 3; Maxwell 2; Kennedy, A.
RBI: Maxwell (11), Rodriguez, I 2 (49), Kennedy, A (31), Desmond (61), Dunn, A (96), Zimmerman, R (85).
2-out RBI: Rodriguez, I 2; Kennedy, A; Desmond; Dunn, A; Zimmerman, R.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Espinosa 2; Rodriguez, I; Desmond; Morse.
Team RISP: 5-for-13.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Bernadina (16, 2nd base off Paulino, F/Castro, Ja).

FIELDING
DP: (Espinosa-Dunn, A).

Houston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Happ 6.0 3 0 0 3 6 0 2.99
Melancon(H, 8) 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.66
Byrdak 0.0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3.35
Paulino, F(BS, 1)(L, 1-9) 0.2 3 5 5 2 1 1 4.84
Lindstrom 0.0 3 1 1 0 0 0 4.59
Villar 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.71
Totals 8.0 11 8 8 6 9 1 4.04
Washington IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lannan 7.0 6 3 3 1 3 1 4.58
Clippard(W, 10-6) 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2.87
Storen, D 0.2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3.96
Burnett, S 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.40
Totals 9.0 7 4 4 4 6 2 4.18
Byrdak pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Lindstrom pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.

WP: Melancon, Paulino, F.
Balk: Clippard.
Pitches-strikes: Happ 111-63, Melancon 19-11, Byrdak 4-0, Paulino, F 23-13, Lindstrom 15-8, Villar 3-2, Lannan 86-52, Clippard 25-14, Storen, D 21-12, Burnett, S 1-1.
Groundouts-flyouts: Happ 4-3, Melancon 0-1, Byrdak 0-0, Paulino, F 0-1, Lindstrom 0-0, Villar 1-0, Lannan 12-2, Clippard 1-0, Storen, D 1-0, Burnett, S 0-1.
Batters faced: Happ 24, Melancon 5, Byrdak 1, Paulino, F 7, Lindstrom 3, Villar 1, Lannan 26, Clippard 5, Storen, D 4, Burnett, S 1.
Inherited runners-scored: Paulino, F 1-1, Lindstrom 2-2, Villar 2-0, Burnett, S 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Ted Barrett. 1B: Tony Randazzo. 2B: Paul Nauert. 3B: Brian Gorman.
Weather: 76 degrees, clear.
Wind: 12 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:13.
Att: 11,893