GBU GAME 129: Pujols Dagger Fells Nats 3-2

"I threw him a pitch in the middle of the plate, a bad pitch." Jason Bergmann, Aug. 28, 2009.

THE RESULT: Like Khalil Greene did to John Lannan one inning earlier, Albert Pujols hit a solo home run off Jason Bergmann, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 3-2, before 40,033 at new Busch Stadium.

BOX SCORE and GAME SUMMARY

THE TAKEAWAY: Lannan and John Smoltz engaged in a legitimate pitchers duel all night, and you just got the feeling something simple was going to make the difference.

Jason Bergmann hung a slider to Albert Pujols. Nuff said.

THE GOOD: John Lannan. He bounced back in a big way from a couple of lousy, and concerning, outings. He went eight innings, and allowed just two earned runs on four hits and two walks, striking out two. It was vintage Lannan, as 62 of his 91 pitches were strikes, and he got 16 ground ball outs, compared to five fly balls.

Of course, the one fly ball that cost him was the solo shot to the light-hitting Greene in the bottom of the eighth.

THE BAD: Middle of the order. 3-4-5 hitters combined for 0-for-10 with two walks.

THE UGLY: Jason Bergmann. One batter. One hit. One run. One home run. One loss.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 7:15 pm ET. Craig Stammen (4-6, 5.08) takes on Mitchell Boggs (1-2, 4.58).