Washington 6, Houston 3
When: 7:05 PM ET, Monday, April 16, 2012
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, District of Columbia
Temperature:
84°
Umpires:
Home -
Jeff Nelson, 1B -
Bill Welke, 2B -
Chris Guccione, 3B -
Tim Tschida
Attendance:
16245
By SportsDirect Inc.
Nationals 6, Astros 3: Rookie Stephen Lombardozzi went 4-for-5 and drove in the decisive runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Washington topped Houston for its sixth win in its last seven games.
After the Astros tied the game off Stephen Strasburg (2-0) in the top of the sixth, Lombardozzi put the Nationals back on top for good with a two-out, two-run double to left field against Kyle Weiland (0-2). He came in to score when Ryan Zimmerman followed with a two-run single to center.
Houston loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning, and Strasburg was one strike away from escaping unscathed before Chris Johnson tied the game with a two-run single to right-center field. The right-hander was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the frame, having yielded two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five. Henry Rodriguez, the fourth Washington reliever, worked the ninth for his second save.
The Nationals got on the board in the third inning when a bunt single by Lombardozzi forced Weiland into an errant throw, allowing Ian Desmond to score. Wilson Ramos added a solo home run in the fourth, his first round-tripper of the season, to make it 2-0.
Weiland lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits and four walks. The Astros got their final run in the eighth on an error by Washington center fielder Rick Ankiel.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Second base umpire Chris Guccione left the game with an apparent injury in the second inning but returned later at first base, swapping spots with Bill Welke ... J.D. Martinez’s sixth-inning walk was just the seventh ever allowed at home (against 76 strikeouts) by Strasburg ... Lombardozzi had come into the game hitless in seven career at-bats against Houston.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Houston
|
10 |
0 |
14 |
.278 |
21 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Washington
|
13 |
1 |
19 |
.371 |
17 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
0 |