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DeRosa’s RBI in 9th Lifts Nats over Cardinals 2-1

Sports

April 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Mark DeRosa singled to right field in the ninth inning, scoring Danny Espinosa on a close play at the plate and lifting the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 win over the Cardinals on Sunday. The Cardinals had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, putting runners on the corners with two outs, but Ryan Mattheus struck out Matt Carpenter to end the game. Jaime Garcia cruised through the first 5 2-3 innings for St. Louis, allowing only four hits. Danny Espinoza homered for the Nationals and Gio Gonzalez put two tough outings behind him by allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven in five innings. St. Louis scored on back-to-back doubles by Tyler Greene and Carlos Beltran in the fourth.