Nationals win ninth straight

Call June 11, 2005, the day right-hander John Patterson turned the corner in his baseball career. He pitched seven solid inning and helped the Nationals defeat the Mariners, 2-1, in front of 39,108 fans.
It was a night when the Nationals reached the 1 million mark in attendance this season.

The Nationals have won nine consecutive games, and 12 out of their last 13. They are a season-high 10 games over .500 at 36-26. The last time the organization was this many games over .500 was June 14, 2003, when the Expos were 39-29.

It was the seventh inning with the score tied at 1. With two outs, Mike Morse on third base, and Ichiro Suzuki coming to the plate, Nationals manager Frank Robinson came out of the dugout. That usually means Patterson is coming out of the game.

But Robinson did something that is only reserved for right-handers Livan Hernandez and Esteban Loaiza. He kept Patterson in the game. With two bases opened, all Robinson wanted to know was who Patterson wanted to face -- Ichiro or Randy Winn. Patterson said he wanted to face Ichiro, who was looking to collect his 1000th career hit. Robinson's confidence in Patterson was rewarded when Ichiro flew out to left fielder Marlon Byrd to end the inning.

"When I saw Frank come out of the dugout, I was like, 'Oh, no.' He just asked me who I wanted to pitch to," Patterson said. "I was confident I could get (Ichiro ) out in that situation. Fortunately, it happened. I liked that Frank showed that confidence in me. He felt like I could do the job. He trusted me, and it worked out. I have to keep doing what I'm doing. I've been consistent this year. I have to go out, keep throwing the ball, and competing."

Robinson downplayed the situation, saying that getting out of the situation should build Patterson's confidence.

"It gets him to understand that he has good enough stuff to win in this league on a consistent basis. Just as long as he gets ahead of the hitters and doesn't become predictable, he should win," Robinson said.

Patterson ended up pitching seven innings, giving up one run on six hits. He struck out five batters and walked one. The one run was scored in the fifth inning, when Ichiro drove in Mike Morse with a single to right field to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Ichiro hit a hard ground ball to first baseman Nick Johnson, but the ball took a bad hop and skipped past Johnson for a base hit.

But Patterson ended up being rewarded for his solid outing. The Nationals tied the score in the in the top of the fifth inning, when Byrd drove in Cristian Guzman with triple to right field off Mariners starter Jamie Moyer.

Moyer was just as good as Patterson. He pitched six innings, and giving up one run on four hits, but he didn't figure in the decision.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, and reliever J.J. Putz on the mound, the Nationals had the bases loaded when Jose Guillen singled up the middle to score pinch-runner Tony Blanco and give the Nationals a 2-1.

Guillen was not available to the media after the game because he, along with Hernandez and Loaiza, were given a police escort to the Mike Tyson/Kevin McBride fight at the MCI Center.

Before riding away, Guillen said, "I'm happy that we won and I'll see you tomorrow."

However, Robinson talked about how Guillen consistently comes through in clutch situations.

"Even though he is struggling a little bit, he seems to be able to understand the situation, and what it calls for," Robinson said "He wasn't up there to hit a grand slam. He was out there to get a base hit and put the ball in play. He was successful.

Patterson ended up winning his third game of the season and his first since April 26, against the Phillies, while Chad Cordero picked up his National League-leading 18th save of the season.

The Nationals remain in first place in the National League East, and 1 ½ games ahead of the Phillies.

Source: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/