HOUSTON — There was a dominant performance from Roy Oswalt, though not dominant enough to keep Ryan Zimmerman in the ballpark. There was a surreal encounter between Paul Lo Duca and a group of fans seated behind the third-base dugout that started razzing the veteran catcher after he reinjured his right hand. And there were any number of unusual plays in a ballgame filled with unusual moments.
In the end, the Washington Nationals were done in again by some late heroics from the Houston Astros and were left to contemplate a demoralizing 4-3 loss at Minute Maid Park.
Carlos Lee’s line drive single off center fielder Lastings Milledge’s glove in the ninth brought home Kaz Matsui with the winning run, the final blow that dealt the Nationals their second straight one-run loss in Houston.
“We’ve got to execute in order not to lose these one-run ballgames,” said manager Manny Acta, whose club hasn’t been able to do any little things right the last two nights.
Start with the walks. Washington pitchers issued eight of them in this latest loss, five alone by reliever Joel Hanrahan (though two were intentional). Hanrahan’s costliest free pass came on four pitches to Kaz Matsui to open the ninth, immediately putting himself and his team in a jam.
“I got no answer for it right now,” said Hanrahan, who has walked 18 and struck out 27 in only 19 innings this season. “You can’t win ballgames by walking people, and that’s what I did.”
The speedy Matsui wasted no time swiping second, the seventh stolen base by Astros runners in the first two games of this series.
“I wish we could do it,” Zimmerman lamented. “It seems like they get a guy on first and he’s in scoring position a couple pitches later.”
Matsui’s stolen base set the stage for the heart of the Houston lineup. Though Hanrahan (0-2) struck out Miguel Tejada, he intentionally walked Lance Berkman and then was lifted in favor of fellow right-hander Jesus Colome. Colome got ahead of Lee 0-2 but threw his next pitch in the dirt, allowing Matsui to advance to third.
With the outfield drawn in to try to prevent a game-winning sacrifice fly, Lee then laced Colome’s offering to center field. Milledge made an attempt at the ball and watched as it careened off his glove, though it wouldn’t have mattered whether he caught it. Matsui would have scored the winning run either way.
The loss was made even more sour for Washington after Lo Duca was forced to leave the game in the seventh inning upon aggravating his right hand injury.
Whether Lo Duca is forced back to the disabled list following this latest setback could depend on the results of an MRI scheduled for today. The veteran catcher, though, appeared to be in agony after fouling off an 0-1 pitch and immediately dropping his bat.
“I just felt a really, really, really sharp pain,” he said. “Probably the most pain I’ve ever felt.”
Tended to briefly by assistant trainer Mike McGowan, Lo Duca soon was helped back to the dugout, where the scene took a surprising turn. As he walked down the dugout steps, Lo Duca began jawing and pointing at some fans in the front row, at one point pausing to make another point.
“The guy was being obnoxious the whole night,” he said. “I just kept my mouth shut and didn’t say anything. Then I’m coming off the field, and he told me I was a [wimp]. So I said, “If I’m a [wimp], come outside and wait for me.’ He turned red as a freaking ketchup bottle.”
Lo Duca finally was ushered into the clubhouse, while security personnel ushered three spectators out of the park to a chorus of boos from the crowd of 30,432.
If nothing else, this game allowed Zimmerman to get back into the offensive groove he had been lacking nearly the entire season. He took Oswalt deep twice, notching the second multihomer game of his career, and now has five hits in the first two games of this series after taking a rare day off Sunday.
The dichotomy between Oswalt vs. Zimmerman and Oswalt vs. the rest of the Nationals’ lineup was staggering.
While the Washington third baseman was crushing Oswalt’s pitches over the fence ” a two-run shot to right field in the first and then a solo blast to left field in the sixth ” his cohorts were left baffled by the slender right-hander.
Oswalt’s first seven outs were all recorded via strikeout, each batter looking more foolish than the previous one. Combining a mid-90s fastball with some sharp-biting breaking balls, Oswalt rendered the opposition helpless.
Yet the Nationals managed to stay in this game, in part because starter Odalis Perez was his usual effective self. Perez, who was battling a sickness and vomited following the first inning, still didn’t earn a win in his eighth start of the season, but he kept the Astros scoreless in all but the fourth inning, when Houston plated three runs.
If only Washington managed to cross the plate a fourth time before the end of the night.
“The loss is tough,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve played two good games here and come out short in both of them. We’ve had chances to win both games.”
SEEN AND HEARD AT MINUTE MAID PARK
HOUSTON — They weren’t in attendance last night, but two mainstays in the crowd right behind the plate here are former President George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara. The Bushes are good friends with Astros owner Drayton McLane and frequently sit in the front row next to McLane. Both are avid baseball fans, and “Bar” really gets into it sometimes, making the strikeout motion before the umpire calls it on borderline pitches. Nothing compares, though, with the time during the 2005 postseason when the Astros ran their between-innings “Kiss Cam” promo and flashed to a shot of a stunned George and Barbara. Good sports that they are, they gave each other a quick peck.
— Mark Zuckerman
BY THE NUMBERS
.579 — Combined winning percentage of the Nationals’ four minor league affiliates, the fourth best in baseball.
TONIGHT’S GAME
Nationals LHP John Lannan Record, ERA: 2-3, 3.74
Astros RHP Brandon Backe Record, ERA: 2-3, 4.42
Time: 8:05 p.m. TV: MASN2
CHAT EXCERPT
Each Wednesday beat writer Mark Zuckerman answers fans’ questions on washingtontimes.com. To submit a question, e-mail natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com and read his responses at video1.washingtontimes.com/natsmailbag.
From Brian in Alexandria:
Good afternoon, Mark. The MLB draft is less than a month away — has there been any rumblings about who the Nationals are considering with the No. 9 pick? Have you heard about anyone being brought in for workouts?
Mark Zuckerman:
No specific names to report yet, though Jim Bowden said the other day that he’s confident there are at least 10 bona fide prospects in this year’s class. Seeing as how the Nationals pick ninth, that would indicate the club is guaranteed to get one of those guys. This is an important draft for the organization, though. After having five of the first 70 picks last year (and by all accounts doing a nice job with them), they’ve got only the Nos. 9, 55, 87 and 121 picks in the first four rounds of this year’s draft. They’ve got to get that first-round pick right.
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