ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Dan Haren pitched two-hit ball through 7 1/3 innings and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 Wednesday to sweep past Davey Johnson's new team.
The 68-year-old Johnson took over the Nationals this week, returning as a major league manager for the first time since 2000. Washington had won 13 of 15 going into the series at Anaheim, with most of the wins coming before manager Jim Riggleman resigned.
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Despite the loss, the Nationals finished the month 17-10. It's the first time they've had a winning record in June since 2005, the club's first season after leaving Montreal.
The only run came in the fourth inning and was unearned after a throwing error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Howie Kendrick's double-play grounder drove it in.
Haren (8-5) threw 120 pitches, striking out struck out six and walking one. The three-time All-Star lowered his ERA to 2.85 against a patchwork lineup, as Johnson rested right fielder Jayson Werth, left fielder Laynce Nix, catcher Wilson Ramos and shortstop Ian Desmond -- all of whom played in the first two games.
Werth had a sore left knee and tightness in his hip, Desmond had a sore left quadriceps, Nix had a problem with his right Achilles tendon and Ramos came to the ballpark feeling under the weather. Desmond entered in the fifth as a pinch-runner and Werth struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh after Scott Downs replaced Haren.
Brian Bixler's bunt single in the fourth and Ivan Rodriguez's eighth-inning single were the only hits against Haren.
Downs got the last two outs in the eighth, and rookie Jordan Walden got three outs for his 18th save in 24 chances after blowing three straight save opportunities in a six-day span. Walden struck out Michael Morse with a runner at third base to end it.
Jordan Zimmermann (5-7) allowed four hits over eight innings in his first career complete game in 38 starts. He struck out four and walked one.
Zimmermann, who had walked no more than two batters in any of his previous 15 starts, walked Bobby Abreu to open the fourth. Zimmerman tried for the force at second on Vernon Wells' grounder and threw the ball past second baseman Danny Espinosa for an error. Abreu made it to third on the play and scored on Kendrick's bouncer.
Some poor baserunning decisions led to consecutive outs in the Angels' sixth. Torii Hunter swung at a third strike in the dirt and made it to first on the wild pitch, then tried to continue to second on catcher Rodriguez's wild throw into right field and instead was tossed out by Bixler. Abreu tried to stretch a single into the alley and was easily thrown out by center fielder Roger Bernadina.
Haren retired his first 10 batters before third baseman Alberto Callaspo barehanded Bixler's bunt on the run and threw the ball into the runner, allowing Bixler to end up at second on the error. But he was stranded at third when Matt Stairs flied out.
Haren walked Espinosa with one out in the fifth and hit Jerry Hairston Jr. on the right hand with a fastball as he tried to check his swing. Hairston had to leave the game with a bruise, but Haren got out of the jam by retiring Rodriguez on a fly ball and Alex Cora on a grounder.
Game notes
The Nationals were swept in a three-game set for the third time, all on the road. Philadelphia and Baltimore also did it to them. ... Washington signed free agent LHP J.C. Romero to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse. The 13-year veteran, who won two games in relief for Philadelphia in the 2008 World Series, was released by the Phillies after getting designated for assignment on June 16. ... David Eckstein, the shortstop on the Angels' 2002 World Series championship team, stopped by the ballpark to visit his brother, Rick -- the Nationals' hitting coach. The only uniformed personnel left from David's last season with the Angels (2004) are manager Mike Scioscia, coaches Mickey Hatcher and Alfredo Griffin and bullpen catcher Steve Soliz, who is now the bullpen coach. ... The Angels are 8-5 against the Washington/Montreal Expos franchise. They haven't played in the nation's capital since Aug. 26, 1971, when they beat Ted Williams' Washington Senators 4-3 in 10 innings at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. The Halos did, however, make one visit to the White House after winning the World Series in 2002.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
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