Nats win emotional Military Appreciation Night
Posted May 2, 2011 11:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Tom Gorzelanny allowed only three hits in eight sharp innings against a struggling San Francisco lineup, and Michael Morse and Jerry Hairston Jr. drove in runs for Washington, helping the Nationals beat the Giants 2-0 Monday on Military Appreciation Night.
Gorzelanny (1-2) hadn’t lasted eight innings in a game since Aug. 12, 2007, when he threw a shutout for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Giants.
On Monday, he gave up Aaron Rowand’s double leading off the game and single in the third, as well as Cody Ross’ single in the eighth. Drew Storen pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six chances, closing out a game that took just two hours two minutes.
Madison Bumgarner (0-5) retired Washington’s first 12 batters but wound up giving up two runs and five hits in seven innings.
That was enough for Gorzelanny, in part because the Giants continue to have problems at the plate.
The World Series champions were shut out for the third time in their last six games, including twice during this series, when Washington took three of four. Jason Marquis pitched the Nationals to a 3-0 victory Friday.
San Francisco has lost eight of its last 11, scoring 23 runs in that span.
Gorzelanny retired 15 consecutive batters at one point Monday. He was helped by a diving catch by centre-fielder Rick Ankiel on Miguel Tejada’s sinking liner in the fifth.
Bumgarner was nearly as good as Gorzelanny.
The first Nationals player to reach base was rookie catcher Wilson Ramos, hitting cleanup on a day off for first baseman Adam LaRoche. Ramos doubled to start the fifth inning and was sacrificed to third, but Bumgarner got out of it by striking out Morse and Hairston.
That part of the lineup was trouble for the Giants’ pitcher in the seventh, though. With two outs and no one on, Ramos singled off Tejada’s glove at third. That was the first of four consecutive hits for Washington: Ian Desmond singled, Morse hit an RBI single and Hairston hit an RBI double.
The Nationals put on a good performance on a night they offered free tickets to active or retired military personnel — an event planned during the off-season and announced to the public a week ago. It’s a coincidence the celebration of the military came the day after President Barack Obama said terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.
The Nationals wore what they call their “patriotic” uniforms — blue jerseys with a stars-and-stripes curly “W” on the chest — for the first time.
“That’s amazing, the way the timing worked out for that,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said before the game. “Really a great opportunity for our fans … to honour our military vets and wounded warriors. Those who are here tonight are going to be beaming with pride about what took place last night.”
NOTES: The announced attendance was 15,342; the Nationals said they weren’t immediately able to say how many free tickets were distributed to military personnel. … LaRoche is in a 1-for-23 slump. “I talked to Adam, and we both agreed this would be a good day to take a step back,” Riggleman said.
