Solano Adds Appeal To Ugly 12-10 Nats Win

Ross Detwiler pitched well, Ryan Perry did not, but a pair of Tyler Moore home runs plus a two innings in the outfield from Jhonatan “The Onion” Solano were the highlights of an ugly 12-10 win for the Nats over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

In his first start since Team USA was bounced from the WBC, Detwiler gave up just a run (albeit a home run to Torii Hunter in the bottom of the first) on three hits over four innings. The 27-year-old southpaw walked one and struck out, showing little signs of rust after the nine-day layoff.

Meanwhile, the regulars built a 7-1 lead thanks to the efforts of the Magnolia Muscle’s solo shot in the 4th and two-run blast in the 5th. Detwiler turned the ball over Perry, who pitched a 1-2-3 fifth but couldn’t retire any of the five batters he faced in the 6th — walking two and hitting a batter before giving a single to Prince Fielder and a double to Victor Martinez.

Jeremy Accardo was only a little more effective, letting in Martinez on sacrifice fly before giving up a run of his own on a single and a double. After he walked a pinch hitter, he got a strikeout and a groundout to keep the game tied at 7-7.

Micah Owings (1-for-4, BB) broke the tie with an RBI groundout in the 7th but left the game with a sore quadriceps after reaching on an error as the Nats overcame a 9-8 deficit (thanks to Ryan Mattheus giving up a two-run shot to Matt Tuiasosopa in the bottom of the 7th) with a four-run top of the 8th.

With a 12-9 lead and a short bench (read: Carlos Maldonado) thanks to the slew of mid-game defensive changes (a.k.a. our guys), manager Davey Johnson opted to put Solano (2-2, R, RBI) into the outfield in place of Owing and have Maldonado (0-1, BB, K), who had pinch hit for DH Chad Tracy, take Solano’s place behind the plate.

One of the truisms of the sport is that the ball finds the weakest defenders, and the out-of-position Solano was put to the test with a flyout in the 8th and four straight balls hit his way in the 9th — double, RBI single (by Rule 5 pick Jeff Kobernus), then two fly balls (both caught). Erik Davis, who had begun the inning, got the last out on a grounder.

Chris Marrero joined Owings in the starting lineup at 1B and went 3-for-5 with three RBI. As aforementioned, most of the reserves hit the game during the 5th. Here’s a rundown on they did:

• 3B-SS Zach Walters 1-3
• CF Corey Brown 1-2, R, BB, SB
• RF Carlos Rivero 0-3, 2K
• PR-3B Josh Johnson 0-0, 2R, BB

It’s a rematch today in Viera at 1:05 p.m. with Jordan Zimmermann expected to start against Detroit’s Max Scherzer. The game can be heard on MLB Audio with the Tigers radio feed.