Zimmerman homers twice as Nationals beat Braves
WASHINGTON — Ryan Zimmerman hit his 18th and 19th home runs of the
season in his return from back soreness, and the Washington Nationals scored five sixthinning runs against R.A. Dickey to defeat the Atlanta Braves 10-5 on Tuesday night. Zimmerman went 3 for 4 and drove in
three runs to help Washington snap a fourgame slide after sitting out the last three.
Daniel Murphy homered, doubled and had three hits and two RBIs as the NL-East leading Nationals scored eight runs against a second Braves starter in as many nights.
Unlike Monday, Washington’s bullpen held firm Tuesday with four relievers combining for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Trevor Gott (1-0) worked out of the sixth
for his first victory as a National. Dickey (4-5) went five-plus innings while allowing his most runs since April 24, 2015.
Atlanta’s Rio Ruiz hit a two-run homer. Dansby Swanson and Brandon Phillips both had three hits for the Braves.
After Dickey allowed three runs in the first inning, he retired 13 of 14 and was in position to win after Nationals starter Joe
Ross allowed three runs in the top of the sixth.
Then his disastrous bottom half of the inning began.
Bryce Harper singled in a run and came home on Zimmerman’s second homer, an arcing blast over the visitor’s bullpen to make it 6-5.
Dickey still hadn’t retired a batter when he hit Anthony Rendon with his 80th and
final pitch to put two aboard. Matt Wieters followed with a two-run double to right center off reliever Luke Jackson to make it 8-5.
Pirates 5, Rockies 2
PITTSBURGH — John Jaso hit a pinchhit two-run homer off Colorado’s Adam Ottavino in the seventh inning to break a tie and Andrew McCutchen homered twice as
the Pittsburgh Pirates pulled away from the Colorado Rockies. Jaso sent the second pitch he saw from Ottavino (0-1) just over the fence in center
field for his second pinch-hit homer of the season and fifth of his career. Gerrit Cole (46) broke out of a funk to allow just one run
in seven strong innings.
The Pirates have won a season-high four straight following a four-game losing streak that dropped them to last in the NL Central.
Tony Wolters had two hits and an RBI for Colorado. Trevor Story drove in a run and scored for the Rockies. The NL West-leading Rockies have dropped three consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Rockies arrived in Pittsburgh with the most road wins in the majors but their offense has gone quiet at PNC Park while managing three runs combined in back-toback losses. Tyler Chatwood matched Cole for six innings, his lone mistake a pitch McCutchen sent into the left field stands in the fourth.
Chatwood allowed six hits, struck out five
and walked one and has a 1.00 ERA in his last four road starts.
The home run was McCutchen’s fourth since being moved to sixth in the batting order on May 26. He added a two-run shot off Colorado reliever Jordan Lyles in the
eighth for the 13th multi-home run game of his career. The 2013 NL MVP is hitting .396
in the sixth spot to lift his batting average from .206 to .255.
Like McCutchen, Cole has struggled to regain his old form. An All-Star two years ago, Cole came in with an 8.84 ERA in
his last four starts. He struck out three and walked three while needing 100 pitches to get 21 outs.
Colorado scored its only run in the fifth when Story scored all the way from first — finishing it with an expert slide — on a hitand-run that Wolters sent into left center. Jaso entered as a pinch hitter for Cole in the seventh after Jordy Mercer singled and
gave the Pirates the lead for good when his blast to center bounced off the top of the wall and over.