Veteran reliever Ron Villone saved a Washington win at Nationals Park on Thursday, pitching only the eighth save of his fourteen year career in a nail-biting 8-7 win. Entering the 9th, the Nats led the Phillies 8-2, but the Phillies weren’t done — and with the bases loaded, pinch hitter Matt Stairs hit a grand slam home run off of rookie reliever Zack Segovia that nearly knotted the game. The Stairs’ shot silenced the Nats crowd, who stood throughout the ninth in anticipation of a clear Nationals’ victory. Interim manager Jim Riggleman turned first to regular closer Mike “Heart Attack” MacDougal, but then relieved him with lefty Ron Villone in an attempt to stop the Phillies’ rally. But the Stairs shot was followed by yet another run, bringing the Phillies within one run of a tie and within two runners of a lead. But with runners on first and third, Villone induced a double play ground ball off the bat of Ryan Howard to save the game and preserve the victory.

Lefty Villone preserves the win (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Nats win on Thursday featured the MLB debut of shortstop Ian Desmond — who had a memorable night. Installed at shortstop, Desmond was 2-4 with four RBIs, including a deep center Red Porch homer that was among the longest in Nats Park this year. A third round pick of the Expos in 2004, Desmond’s minor league career has been hampered by injuries, though this year everything seemed to come together for him in stints at Harrisburg and Syracuse. The fourth  inning home run came off a 75 mph Joe Blanton curve that hung up in the strike zone. ”It was a tremendous performance,” interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “There is no way I can explain how great a ballgame he had. He is a talented guy. We saw him exhibit that in a lot of ways. … He didn’t have the jitters. He was taking pitches. He looked like he was ready to go.”