Nieves’ first homer beats Cubs in ninth

WASHINGTON -- Wil Nieves hit first major league homer, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, to give the Washington Nationals a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Nieves drove an 0-2 pitch from Chicago’s Bob Howry (0-2) into the Washington bullpen in right field for the Nationals’ second consecutive victory after dropping 16 of 19 games.

Chicago, the National League Central leader, had won six of its previous seven.

Austin Kearns led off the ninth with a single off Howry. After Willie Harris struck out, Nieves hit a drive to the opposite field, and Washington had its second victory in its final at-bat of the season.

Nieves, who started the season with triple-A Columbus and had brief stints with the Yankees and Padres, connected in his 163rd big league at-bat.

Jon Rauch (2-0), Washington’s fifth pitcher, worked a perfect ninth.

The Nationals’ Nick Johnson hit a two-run home run off Ryan Dempster into the second deck in right field in the first inning. It was the first home run to reach the second deck of Nationals Park since it opened this season.