Nationals rally for 5-3 win over Braves
Saturday, July 04, 2009
By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON Atlanta's Tommy Hanson extended his scoreless innings streak to 26 before Adam Dunn's 300th career homer and the Washington Nationals rallied for four eighth-inning runs and a 5-3 victory over the Braves on Saturday.
Hanson departed with a 3-1 lead after seven innings and was in line for his fifth straight victory before the Braves bullpen blew up, halting Atlanta's winning streak at a season-high five.
Mike Gonzalez (3-1) loaded the bases in the eighth on a pinch-hit single by Ronnie Belliard and a pair of walks before Peter Moylan relieved and yielded a two-run, game-tying single to Ryan Zimmerman.
Eric O'Flaherty replaced Moylan and was greeted by Dunn's decisive single up the middle for a 4-3 lead. Josh Willingham followed with an RBI single to left.
Nationals starter John Lannan was the beneficiary of the rally. The left-hander allowed three runs and nine hits in eight innings, ending Washington's losing streak at four games. Lannan (6-5) walked one and struck out one.
Mike MacDougal worked the ninth for his fourth save, escaping a two-on, one-out jam.
Hanson, who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on June 7 to make his major league debut, took a no-decision in that game and has yet to lose. He allowed only Nick Johnson's single to center in the first and a second-inning infield hit by Anderson Hernandez over the first six innings.
The right-hander walked one and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 2.25 in a 105-pitch effort.
Dunn hit his milestone blast leading off the seventh, crushing a 2-2 fastball deep into the second deck in right field to ruin Hanson's shutout bid. The 29-year-old is the fifth player major league history to reach that total in less than 4,200 at-bats, succeeding in his 4,145th at-bat. The others are Babe Ruth (3,830), Mark McGwire (3,837), Ralph Kiner (3,883) and Harmon Killebrew (3,928).
The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the third on Nate McLouth's RBI single. Brooks Conrad led off with a single to center, moved to second on Hanson's sacrifice bunt and scored when McLouth blooped a single over second base.
In the sixth, McLouth drew a leadoff walk and Martin Prado followed with a double to left before consecutive RBI singles to center by Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson made it 3-0.
NOTES: Lannan has thrown six straight quality starts. ... Atlanta and Washington are tied for the National League lead with nine victories from rookie starting pitchers. ... Washington is 3-2 on July 4 since moving from Montreal before the 2005 season.
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