For the second day in a row the Nationals had their starting pitcher exit with a lead and for the second day in the row, the bullpen blew it. The difference between the two games was that Ryan Zimmerman was not able to bail out Washington’s relievers. Thanks to an eleventh inning base hit from Placido Polanco, Philadelphia avoided the sweep with a 6-4 win.
A two-run home run from Adam Dunn put the Nationals up briefly but in the top of the seventh inning, the Phillies scored a pair of runs to tie the game off of Miguel Batista and Joel Peralta. In the eleventh inning Placido Polanco knocked in the go-ahead run, his second RBI on the day.
Collin Balester allowed both two runs in the eleventh inning to put the Nationals away for good. Wilson Valdez led off the inning with a bunt single that ended up being a close play at first base. It proved to be a big hit because Valdez scored what would be the winning run.
“I was going for the ball and I saw Dunn going,” Balester said. “So I just ran as fast as I could to the base and I felt like I beat him.”
Balester felt good out there but it came down to him not making his pitches and keeping the ball down.
“They got the bunt over and I made a bad pitch to Werth, a curveball over the plate, and he hit it for a double and the fastball to Polanco was a little bit up,” he said. “They’re good hitters and I’ve got to get the ball down a little bit more.”
John Lannan, who was pitching for the first time in the big leagues since being recalled from AA Harrisburg, went five solid innings and gave the Nationals a chance to win. Lannan struggled in the past against the Phillies, but bounced back well from a two run first inning and did not allow a run in the other four innings he pitched.
“It felt great,” Lannan said. “Been a lot of work down there, felt pretty good today different to be out there instead of a AA stadium but it was good.”
Manager Jim Riggleman saw that the lead off bunt single was a big part of Balester’s problems in the eleventh inning.
“Valdez made a great bunt that was the first problem we had. He made a great bunt, almost indefensible,” Riggleman said. “He’s throwing the ball good but he just missed on a couple pitches and they took advantage of it.”
Despite the loss, Riggleman was encouraged by the steps Lannan has made since returning from a minor league stint.
“He made a lot of progress, got some things figured out in Harrisburg,” he said. “He gave us a chance to win the ballgame.”
You can reach this staff writer at slindauer@theeagleonline.com.
