Nats, Capps fall in 9th inning
The Washington Nationals manage to battle back from a 6-5 9th inning deficit, only to blow it in the bottom of the 9thand fall to Houston 8-7. Nats closer Matt Capps blew his second save of the season, allowing 2 hits and a walk and yielding Lance Berkman’s 2 run single with the bases load in the bottom of the 9th.
Nyjer Morgan may not like the fact he was pushed to second in the batting lineup, but since he was two games ago, Morgan is a combined 5 for 9 with 6 runs scored in the last two games batting second. Christian Guzman was 1 for 5 and is a combined 4 for 11 in the lead off spot. Will Nieves and Ian Desmond each had two hits.
Ian Desmond and Roger Bernadina both drove in single runs in the 9th inning to give the Nationals the 7-6 lead.
Craig Stammen started for the Nationals and threw 5 innings allowing 9 hits and 5 runs. Rookie Drew Storen also yielded a run in 1 inning of relief, raising his overall ERA to 2.70.
The Nationals fall to 26-27 and are 4.5 games out of first, in last place in the competitive NL East.
