HOUSTON -- Astros rookie right-hander Jordan Lyles pitched into the ninth inning for the first time in his young career on Monday night, but Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman denied him the victory with a solo homer and the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth to lift Washington to a 5-2 victory over Houston.
Lyles and Washington starter Jason Marquis did everything possible to put their team in position to win in what turned out to be an impressive pitchers' duel between the second youngest player in the big leagues and a respected veteran right-hander.
The Nationals needed Marquis to step up and pitch deep into the ballgame after manager Davey Johnson depleted his bullpen Sunday to compensate for starter Tom Gorzelanny, who was forced to leave the game in the third with a twisted right ankle.
Marquis (8-4) responded to the challenge by allowing just two earned runs on six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts over 102 pitches (69 for strikes) in eight innings to earn his eighth win.
After four shutout innings, Michael Morse put the Nationals on the scoreboard with a leadoff solo homer to left in the top of the fifth.
Morse had a game-high three hits.
Lyles kept his composure and bounced back by retiring slugger Jayson Werth, left fielder Laynce Nix and catcher Wilson Ramos.
Astros left fielder Jason Michaels led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and scored on Carlos Corporan's game-tying RBI double.
Carlos Lee, who finished with two hits, cracked an RBI double to left in the sixth to score Angel Sanchez and put Houston ahead 2-1.
Although Lyles surrendered a seventh-inning solo homer to Zimmerman, Astros manager Brad Mills elected to stay with the young right-hander deep into the game, especially with the rookie performing well and maintaining a reasonable pitch count.
Lyles tossed a perfect eighth, while Marquis responded by striking out second baseman Jeff Keppinger and retiring Hunter Pence on a grounder to third to work out of a minor jam in the bottom half with Michael Bourn at second with one out.
Roger Bernadina started the Nationals three-run ninth with a single to shallow left and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Danny Espinosa.
Zimmerman put Washington ahead 3-2 with an RBI single to shallow right-center to push Bernadina across the plate and chase Lyles.
Mills turned the ball over to right-hander Wilton Lopez, who allowed a single to Morse and a walk to Werth to load the bases.
Nix broke the game open with a two-run single -- his lone hit of the night -- to shallow right field to score Zimmerman and Morse.
Lyles (0-5) was charged with four earned runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 8 1/3 to remain winless in nine starts.
"He threw strikes and used both sides of the plate," Mills said. "He was absolutely outstanding. I think he had 103 pitches going back out there. He felt good. He really didn't have any innings that were taxing for him and he was able to go right through it.
"He was really pitching downhill well. He had the command of his pitches and was throwing most of them for strikes. He was outstanding."
For Lyles, he was disappointed the team didn't get the win.
"I felt good going into the ninth inning," he said. "Overall, I felt it was a pretty decent outing, but at the end of the day, it's a loss."
Washington closer Drew Storen, the 10th overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, tossed a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.
The Astros have dropped three out of four to kick off the second half of the season and were uable to capitalize on opportunities Monday.
Houston went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
"We had plenty of chances," Mills said. "I think we were 0-for-12 or 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. That was too bad, especially when he [Lyles] is throwing such as good game for us."
J.A. Happ (3-11, 5.76 ERA) will attempt to even the series Tuesday night when he gets the starting nod for Houston against Washington right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (6-7, 2.66 ERA).
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT.
For the latest Astros news, click on the Subscribe button at the top of the page. Also, be sure to follow Houston Astros Examiner Stephen Goff on Facebook and Twitter, or email sgoff80@yahoo.com.
Comments