Matt Stairs’ decisive RBI helps Washington Nationals defeat Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 – MLB Update
Washington Nationals’ designated hitter, Matt Stairs had a remarkable day as he went 1-for-1 and hit only one RBI in the last inning to give the Nationals a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park, Washington on July 1.
In the first two innings of the game, the pitchers tossed up curveballs to control the shots of the batters. During the first inning, the Nationals’ out-fielder, Roger Bernadina singled to left-field but Jayson Werth missed the runs and got out at second
base. The Pirates’ batters also failed to play scoring shots as Lyle Overbay popped out towards short-stop and Josh Harrison was struck-out swinging at the top of the second inning.
The Pirates got off the mark during the third inning and took a 1-0 lead when Alex Presley was grounded out towards first base and Michael McKenry scored the first run. Charlie Morton moved to second base at the end of third inning.
During the fourth and fifth inning, the Pirates remained on top as these two innings passed without any run. The Nationals’ starter, Tom Gorzelanny was superb with his pitching as he threw seven overriding innings with an ERA of 3.77 and allowed just one
run on six hits. He struck-out eight batters and gave up only one walk on his 95 pitches.
The Nationals’ manager, Davey Johnson commented on his team’s pitchers and said, “I told all the other starters they're going to be on a longer leash with me. I'm expecting more out of them. I know all your guys were up there second-guessing me. ... I go
the extra yard for them.”
The game was tied 1-all during the sixth inning when Bernadina struck a solo homer (396 feet) towards right-centre and gave the Nationals some hope of winning. In the seventh and eighth inning, the pitchers threw superbly in the right areas and did not give
away any run.
In the ninth inning, the Nationals’ batters broke the tie runs and snatched a convincing lead to go-ahead 2-1. Stairs singled off deep right-field and Alex Cora added the final run. The Nationals are now leading 1-0 in a four-game series at Washington.
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