Game of the Day: Obermueller retires 1st 19, then defies his catcher

WASHINGTON — Wes Obermueller had a perfect game with one out in the seventh inning.

Then, for the first time all game, he shook off his catcher's sign.

"He called a fastball in," Obermueller said. "And I wanted fastball away."

Bad decision. The fastball away was a little too high. Jamey Carroll slapped the 1-2 pitch into right field for a clean single, forcing Obermueller to settle for a victory without the immortality in the Milwaukee Brewers' 8-2 win over the Washington Nationals last night.

"I won't ever second-guess my catcher again, I'll tell you that," Obermueller said.

Still, the third-year right-hander's first victory since last September was a gem. He allowed two hits, struck out four and didn't walk a batter through eight scoreless innings.

"It's a great game," manager Ned Yost said. "He really picked us up when we needed it."

Brady Clark homered on the first pitch of the game and went 4 for 5 to help the Brewers end a three-game losing streak. Carlos Lee added a three-run shot in the second, chasing Nationals starter Claudio Vargas (0-1).

The loss ended Washington's three-game winning streak. In one of the quietest ejections in baseball, manager Frank Robinson was tossed in the seventh inning for arguing a strike called against Ryan Church. The ejection went unnoticed — even by some players — until the manager mentioned it in passing at the end of his postgame news conference.

Obermueller (1-0) was making his third start and ninth appearance of the season. He had not lasted more than 4-2/3 innings this season and had allowed 24 hits in 19-1/3 innings. His last victory was an 8-0 shutout of Houston on Sept. 25, and his last road win came more than a year ago, on April 14, 2004, against San Francisco.

Obermueller said he started thinking about a no-hitter in the fourth inning. By the fifth, he found that his teammates were leaving him alone in the dugout.

"It was pretty quiet," Obermueller said. "I was just getting my water and sitting by myself. ... You get a little anxious because you think about it. You try not to look at the scoreboard."

Finally, Carroll broke up the perfect game.

"He was just moving the ball in and out," Carroll said. "We were hitting some balls and they were going right at them. He just pitched where he wanted to pitch. It seemed like we were hitting the ball here and there, and sooner or later we were going to get to him."