Manager Manny Acta’s pregame press conference today, most of which consisted of discussing the scenarios, implications and oddities of resuming a game that started May 5, took seven minutes. So did the game itself.
The Nationals won the suspended game, which was finished in Houston after starting in Nationals Park, 11-10 in the 11th inning. Miguel Tejada had a chance to turn a double play to end the inning and retire the lead-footed Josh Bard, but he fired high and pulled Lance Berkman off the bag. Bard, who was in the minors on May 5, was safe and Nyjer Morgan, who went 1-for-5 for the Pirates that day, scored the winning run. Joel Hanrahan, traded in the four-player deal that brought Morgan to the Nationals on June 30, got the win—his only one this year for Washington.
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Washington’s record is now 25-58, though technically, it earned its 26th win last Sunday. This pulled the Nationals to 8-17 (to think! Nine games under .500!).
The only other development that came out of Acta’s press conference was the news that John Lannan and Scott Olsen will start the first two games after the All-Star break. That means Ross Detwiler will lose a turn in the rotation; he would be next up in the rotation if the Nationals used their first-half progression after the All-Star break. But they’re starting it over from the top, which means Detwiler, if he’s still in the majors, won’t pitch until July 18 at the earliest.
