Wilson Ramos missed the sign the first time and swung away, fouling the ball off as Michael Morse covered his head while charging in from third. Ramos got the message the second time, bunting home Morse for the decisive run in the seventh inning of last night's 5-4 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.
"Man, it was scary," Morse said. "But you know what? In the end, it worked out. He got the bunt down." Added Ramos: "After he scored, he said, 'You did good, you did good.' But I almost killed him."
The squeeze off Kerry Wood (1-4) decided a game of two-run homers. Danny Espinosa and Ryan Zimmerman each had one for the Nationals, and Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez did the same for the Cubs.
The Nationals continue to take all their victories down to the wire. Each of their last 10 wins has been by either one run or in extra innings.
"It seems like all we play around here is tight, interesting ballgames," Johnson said.
Struggling Nationals slugger Jayson Werth was moved down to No. 6 in the lineup for the first time this season and had another rough night. He went 0-for-4 to lower his batting average to .218 and heard a hearty round of boos after his popout to shortstop with men on second and third with none out in the fifth.
In other games:
* At Milwaukee, pinch-hitter Casey McGehee launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning that sent Yovani Gallardo (10-5) and the Brewers over the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1.
In Brewers news, Ryan Braun missed his fourth straight game to have an MRI on a sore left calf.
* At Pittsburgh, Hunter Pence had three hits, including an RBI single during a five-run sixth inning, and the Houston Astros snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Pirates.
* At Atlanta, Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer, Jair Jurrjens earned his NL-leading 12th win and the Braves beat Colorado, 9-1.
* At St. Louis, pinch-hitter Ramon Hernandez doubled in the go-ahead run in the 13th inning as the Cincinnati Reds survived blowing an eight-run lead and beat the Cardinals, 9-8.
* At Los Angeles, Jonathon Niese pitched seven strong innings as the New York Mets defeated the Dodgers, 5-3.
