Throwback Nationals Rally to Sweep Giants

Adam LaRoche celebrates as he watches Bryce Harper cross home plate for the game-winning run Thursday night. (Evan Vucci)

The San Francisco Giants came to Washington to play a three game series against the Nationals in what was hailed as a battle of division leaders. The city was buzzing with talk of a possible playoff preview. Both teams were well aware of the importance of the series, and the respect that could be gained from it.

Tuesday's series opener saw Jordan Zimmerman take the mound for the Nationals. Zimmerman hoped to benefit from the sudden run production he received in his last start. Meanwhile, the Giants countered with Tim Lincecum. Lincecum's struggles earlier this season have been well documented, but he appeared to be turning things around following two of his best starts of this season. Unfortunately for the Giants, that trend ceased to continue.

The Nationals hitters hit Lincecum hard. Danny Espinosa, Jordan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche all had RBI doubles. Ian Desmond followed that up his 14th home run of the year. From there, things only got worse for the Giants. In all, Lincecum lasted only 3 1/3 innings and gave up eight runs on nine hits. Zimmerman took care of the rest as the Nationals rolled to a 9-3 victory.

The Giants had to think things would turn around for them on the Fourth of July. After all, they had Madison Bumgarner on the mound, who was one of baseball's best pitchers in the month of June (5-0, 2.42 ERA). The Nationals, on the other hand, were simply hoping Edwin Jackson would bounce back from a terrible outing at Colorado. The Giants struck first off Jackson. In the top of the first inning, Pablo Sandoval hit a bomb to center field to increase the Giants lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Nationals tied things up following a double by Ryan Zimmerman and a single by Ian Desmond. From there, the Nationals took the lead on a combined three home runs by Jhonatan Solano, Zimmerman, and Michael Morse. In five innings of work, the Nationals tagged Bumgarner with seven earned runs. The Giants tried to rally, but Rick Ankiel sealed the deal with a two-run homer off Giants reliever Clay Hensley to make the Nationals lead to 9-4. The Nationals held on to win by that margin.

Thursday's series finale took the players, fans, and even the groundskeepers back to 1924. The teams paid tribute to the 1924 World Series between the Washington Senators and New York Giants. Both teams donned the historic jerseys, and there was an added aura of the historicity to the great American pastime. With the game underway, Giants starter Matt Cain appeared to be in cruise control. It helped that Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan combined for five RBIs to give him 5-1 lead going into the seventh inning stretch.

However, momentum started to sway when Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa hit back-to-back solo shots off Cain to trim the Giants lead to 5-3. Giants closer Santiago Casilla came in the bottom of the ninth with just a one run advantage. Pinch hitter Tyler Moore led the inning off with a double. Steve Lombardozzi attempted to sacrifice, but an error by Casilla led to first and third, no one out for the Nationals. Bryce Harper singled home Moore to tie the game and Lombardozzi went to third.

Ryan Zimmerman was intentionally walked to load the bases. Michael Morse grounded into a fielder's choice as the throw came home to nail Lombardozzi at the plate. So the bases remained loaded, but now with one out. Adam LaRoche hit a ground ball to second for what should have been a routine inning-ending double play. The Giants got the second out at second base, but shortstop Brandon Crawford bounced the throw to first in the dirt. First baseman Brandon Belt couldn't come up with it, and LaRoche was safe at first, which allowed Harper to score the game-winning run.

The Nationals completed the sweep of the Giants. This series is yet another reminder that this team is for real. They are young and may not have everything figured out, but they are finding ways to win ball games. It will be exciting to watch the Nationals as the look to keep their excellent play going in the second half and the push for the postseason.