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The Leading Logic In Sports Handicapping |
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WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Stephen Drew came through in the clutch
for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Drew hit a game-winning double with one out in the 11th inning
Thursday, lifting the Diamondbacks to a wild, 7-5 victory over
the Washington Nationals.
With a runner on second, Drew lined a pitch from Luis Ayala
(1-5) into the left field corner, plating Augie Ojeda from
second with the go-ahead run.
"I was happy to help the team win," Drew said. "It was an
exciting game."
Chad Tracy, who delivered an RBI double in a three-run 10th for
Arizona, added a run-scoring base hit later in the frame to give
the Diamondbacks a two-run advantage.
Chad Qualls (2-6) pitched 1 2/3 innings to notch the victory for
Arizona, which took the rubber match of this three-game set.
The Diamondbacks had several chances to win, but the Nationals
responded in both the ninth and 10th innings to forge ties.
"All in all, it was great game for us. We showed some resolve
and some fight ,which we really haven't done in awhile,"
Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.
Arizona led, 2-0, entering the bottom of the ninth behind the
brilliant performance by All-Star Dan Haren.
"I felt great," Haren said. "The ball was coming out really
good. I had quite a few fastball strikeouts, especially with the
batters looking, and I kept my off-speed pitches down in the
zone."
The righthander had yielded just two hits and a walk while
striking out a season-high nine in eight frames before allowing
a walk and a single in the ninth.
I had a couple of walks, and unfortunately the last one hurt,"
Haren said.
Closer Brandon Lyon came on and gave up a single to Cristian
Guzman that loaded the bases. The first of two errors in the
inning by third baseman Mark Reynolds allowed two runs to score,
knotting the game at 2-2.
"Obviously, the only thing bad about that game was that Dan
didn't get the win. I don't know how you can pitch any better
than that," Melvin said. "He went out there for the ninth
because he deserved it."
It appeared Tracy was going to be the hero in the 10th when he
belted a Jon Rauch pitch into the left-center field gap for a
two-base hit that plated Conor Jackson from first for a 3-2
lead. Reynolds, who made three errors overall, followed with a
run-scoring double and scored on a single by Miguel Montero to
make it 5-2.
"It was a tough game for Mark, but he ends up coming up with a
big hit," Melvin said. "You are going to have games like that
in the big leagues. Games when you make several errors and feel
like the goat. But he did have the resolve to come through with
a clutch hit. Mark's going to have to keep his head up and keep
battling, just like we all are."
The Nationals refused to quit, scoring three times in the bottom
of the 10th on an RBI single by Willie Harris and two-run double
by Austin Kearns.
"I really like the way we battled," Nationals manager Manny Acta
said. "It would have been tougher to be shut out."
The game began as a pitchers' duel between Haren and Washington
starter Jason Bergmann, who retired the first 10 batters he
faced. He allowed two runs, six hits and a walk while
attempting to snap a personal five-game losing streak.
"Bergmann was fantastic," Acta said. "He gave us a very good
chance to win the balllgame."
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