|
 "Hey skipper," Rizzo said to Williams, and the two did a fist
bump to toast the recent good fortunes of the surging Nationals
after a 4-3 victory.
A lot of things are going right for Washington, which got back
outfielder Bryce Harper from the disabled list on Monday. First-year
Nationals pitcher Doug Fister, acquired in a trade with the Detroit
Tigers in December, improved to 5-0 at home as the Nationals battled
back from an early 3-0 deficit.
And veteran shortstop Ian Desmond, who also had the go-ahead hit
Monday, slammed a one-out solo homer in the seventh inning off
Colorado's Matt Belisle to break up a 3-3 tie.
"It was a breaking ball," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of the
homer by Desmond. "Desi got the barrel on it. Those are the ones we
have to put away."
"It's been a grind," Desmond said of his recent struggles at the
plate.
The homer was awarded by the crew chief upon review after Desmond
had stopped at third as the ball bounced off a metal bar above the
right-center-field fence and onto the field.
Washington (46-38) is now a season-high eight games above .500 and
has won five games in a row. Colorado (36-49) has lost 14 of its
last 16 games.
Fister (7-2) yielded seven hits and three runs in seven innings
while throwing just 80 pitches on a night he said he was not at his
best. He gave up several loud outs in the first three innings.
"The biggest thing was making sure the ball was down in the zone,"
Fister said. "It was definitely not my best stuff. It was a battle
all night. There was a lot of solid contact" against him.
Reliever Tyler Clippard pitched a scoreless eighth for the Nationals
and closer Rafael Soriano got three outs in the ninth for his 20th
save in 22 tries.
Soriano retired pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge on a fly ball to right
for the final out on a full-count pitch with runners on first and
third.
"He is going to go out there every day and get the job done," Fister
said of Soriano.
"He's a really good pitcher," Desmond said of the closer.
Belisle (2-4) took the loss for the Rockies, who were outscored 18-7
in the series.
Washington right fielder Jayson Werth had two hits for the second
night in a row and Colorado first baseman Justin Morneau had two
hits to finish with six in the series.
Colorado starter Tyler Matzek gave up three runs and one walk with
six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings but was not involved in the
decision.
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Weiss let lefty Matzek bat in the top of the seventh, then lifted
him after he struck out the first batter (left fielder Bryce Harper)
in the bottom of the seventh. Desmond followed by hitting the second
pitch from Belisle for the game-winner.
"I let him take the at-bat. It was two outs and none on," Weiss said
of Matzek. "I wanted him to face Harper."
The Rockies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a
three-run homer to left field by catcher Michael McKenry against
Fister.
Washington tied the score at 3 with three runs in the fourth inning
-- on a two-run homer by Werth and an RBI single by Desmond. The
outburst came against Matzek, who was making his fifth career start.
It was the first home run since May 11 for Werth, the No. 3 hitter
in the lineup who has seven homers this year.
The start of the game was delayed 30 minutes by approaching
thunderstorms that never materialized.
NOTES: Colorado LHP Franklin Morales (4-4, 5.75 ERA) will pitch
Thursday in Los Angeles in the first game of the series against
Dodgers RHP Zack Greinke (10-4, 2.78). ... Washington has Thursday
off and will host the Chicago Cubs on Friday with a special start
time of 11:05 a.m. on July 4. Washington RHP Tanner Roark (7-5,
2.98) will face Cubs RHP Jason Hammel, who is also 7-5 with a 2.98
ERA. ... The Rockies entered play Wednesday with a team ERA of 4.99,
the worst in the National League. ... The Nationals entered play
Wednesday tied with the Rockies for home runs by middle infielders
with 49. SS Ian Desmond had 14 homers to lead Washington. ... The
Rockies traded Double-A first baseman Harold Riggins on Wednesday to
the Cincinnati Reds for Triple-A pitcher Jair Jurrjens, who was 2-3
with a 4.46 ERA in six games for Triple-A Louisville. Riggins was
hitting .263 with seven homers for Double-A Tulsa of the Texas
League. Jurrjens pitched in two games last year for Baltimore and
also has pitched for the Detroit Tigers and the Atlanta Braves.
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