Astros hand Nats second tight loss

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.”

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