NL Report: Jason Bergmann's No-Hit Bid Fails, but Nationals Upset Smoltz, Braves

Jason Bergmann took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the Washington Nationals edged the visiting Atlanta Braves, 2-1, in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night.

Bergmann (1-3) allowed one run on two hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts in eight-plus innings for the Nationals, who got their fourth straight win.

Jesus Colome finished in the ninth for his first save.

Bergmann notched his first win in the majors as a starter in 15 tries. He gave up his first hit, a homer to Brian McCann, leading off the eighth.

Cristian Guzman ended 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Nationals, who had dropped eight in a row before sweeping a three-game series from the Florida Marlins on the weekend. Washington, a heavy underdog at home, was a solid play for bettors at +165 on the moneyline (meaning a winning bet of $100 would yield a $165 profit).

The Braves have lost two in a row following a five-game winning streak. Braves starter John Smoltz (5-2) left in the seventh after dislocating a finger in his pitching hand making a tag. Smoltz tagged out Austin Kearns in a rundown off third base because of a failed suicide squeeze attempt by Ryan Langerhans. The veteran righthander fell to the ground in pain after laying the tag, and exited the field after being examined by a trainer. Smoltz gave up two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 6.2 innings.

In other National League games on Monday:

Pittsburgh 7, Florida 0: Tom Gorzelanny pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Pirates to a rout at PNC Park. Gorzelanny (5-2) was superb, yielding only five hits, while striking out five and walking none. Salomon Torres and Matt Capps both threw a scoreless inning each for Pittsburgh, which gave up only six hits and paid -117 straight up.

Philadelphia 8, Milwaukee 6: Wes Helms' long single off the rightield wall knocked in the go-ahead run as the host Phillies rallied for a six-run eighth inning in the win. Trailing 6-2, the Phillies sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth en route to giving their backers a -122 payday.

New York Mets 5, Chicago Cubs 4: Carlos Delgado's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth forced home Jose Reyes with the winning run as the Mets won at Shea Stadium. David Wright ended 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored for the Mets, who trailed 4-0 before coming back to win for the fifth time in six outings. They rewarded their bettors with a -155 payday.

San Diego 7, Cincinnati 1: Greg Maddux pitched his 109th career complete game, yielding only one run to lead the Padres to a home win. Maddux (3-2) retired the first 16 batters he faced and finished with five strikeouts. He did not walk a single batter in his 336th career win, putting him six behind Tim Keefe for ninth on the career list. San Diego was a -152 play on the moneyline.

St. Louis 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 4: Chris Duncan hit a two-run home run and David Eckstein went 3-for-4 with a run scored as the Cardinals pulled off the road upset at a solid price of +138. Jim Edmonds and Adam Kennedy each hit RBI doubles while Duncan and Kennedy each scored twice for the Cardinals, who extended their winning streak against LA to 10 games dating to 2005.

For complete MLB odds for Tuesday, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

PHOTO: Jason Bergmann got his first win in the majors in impressive fashion. (AI Wire photo)