Recap: Washington vs. San Diego
Sports Network | September 20, 2008
Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Chase Headley hit the go-ahead RBI triple in the 14th as the Padres edged the Nationals, 11-6, in the battle of the National League's two worst teams.
Headley finished the game 4-for-6 with an RBI while Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3- for-6 with a homer, three runs scored and two driven in for the Padres.
Dirk Hayhurst allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings while fanning three in the start. Justin Hampson (2-1) got the win after getting the final out in the 13th.
Lastings Milledge went 3-for-6 and scored a run while Roger Bernadina had three hits, a run scored and an RBI for the Nationals, who have lost eight of 10.
Collin Balester gave up five runs on nine hits in five-plus innings, with four strikeouts. The bullpen pitched eight innings of one-run ball before Levale Speigner allowed five runs in the 14th -- his second inning of work -- to take the loss.
San Diego went ahead for good in the 14th. Kouzmanoff was hit by a pitch to start things off, and Headley hit a triple off the top of the right field wall to plate the go-ahead run. Nick Hundley followed with an RBI single to make it 8-6. Brian Giles added a bases-loaded walk and Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run single to cap the scoring at 11-6.
The Nationals took an early 1-0 lead in the first. Emilio Bonifacio drew a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. Ryan Zimmerman followed with an RBI groundout to plate Bonifacio.
Bernadina gave Washington a 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI single, scoring Elijah Dukes, who had singled to lead off the inning. Will Venable answered in the third for San Diego, hitting a solo shot with two outs to cut the deficit to one.
The Padres took the lead with three runs in the fourth. Giles doubled, and Gonzalez hit an RBI single to tie the game. Kouzmanoff came up and promptly hit a two-run homer for a 4-2 lead.
Balester helped his own cause in the home fourth, hitting a bases-loaded infield single to cut the deficit to one. Bonifacio then drew a walk to tie the game at four.
San Diego retook the lead in the sixth, loading the bases with nobody out on two doubles and a walk. The next two batters struck out, but Venable gave the Padres a 5-4 lead as he reached on an infield single to plate the go-ahead run.
Bernadina and Willie Harris hit back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth for Washington to put runners on the corners, and Bonifacio tied the game again with a sacrifice fly.
Venable delivered on an RBI single for San Diego in the eighth to give the Padres a 6-5 lead, but Washington loaded the bases in the home half and Cristian Guzman hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-6.
The Padres lead the season series 3-1...It was the Nationals' fourth game this season that has gone 14 innings...By the time the game was finished, the scoreboard in the outfield showed all of Saturday's games, having taken down all the scores from Friday...Venable had three RBI, including his second homer of the year...Time of game: 5:00.
