Jair Jurrjens had a typical start in his final game of the 2009 season. He pitched great, but once again was left without the win. He allowed just five hits, two runs and three walks in eight innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, while striking out nine. After giving up early runs, Brian McCann tied the score in the sixth with a two-run single. After Jurrjens left the game, the outcome was decided in extra innings. After both teams scored twice in the tenth, Washington prevailed 6-4 thanks to a two-run homerun by Justin Maxwell in the eleventh.
The 23-year-old Jurrjens, who was born in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, finished the year with a 14-10 record and an ERA of 2.60. He struck out 152 in 215 innings, while walking 75 in his second full big league season. Just two starting pitchers have better ERAs in the National League, Chris Carpenter and Tim Lincecum. The Braves, which still had a shot at the NL Wild Card at the beginning of the week, have lost the last five games in a row and dropped to third in the NL East standings.