Fastball, curve, slider, change for Garrett Mock, the Washington Nationals’ debuting right-handed Sunday starter. A fastball up in the zone and outside for Mock’s first major league pitch. Another fastball outside for a strike to Fred Lewis, and a slider outside for a called strike two. Mock wastes a curve in the dirt outside. Fastball high for a full count, and Mock gives up a leadoff single off Willie Harris at second and ricocheting into center. Jose Castillo grounds to Cristian Guzman at short, to Harris at second, and Aaron Boone reaches up with his glove to complete the double play. Fastball outside at 90 mph for strike one on Randy Winn. Ball low. Winn reaches out and drops a two-out single, one hop in front of Wily Mo Pena in left. Mock makes Aaron Rowand flinch with a first pitch curve, and the second pitch is grounded sharply to short where Guzman ends Mock’s first scoreless...GIants’ lefty Barry Zito hangs a curve to Guzman who lines to left for a leadoff single. Elijah Dukes grounds to short, Emmanuel Burris to Ray Durham to John Bowker at first, double play. Zito tries to get inside on Lastings Milledge, Milledge lines to left and GONE!! Solo shot. 1-0 Nationals.
Ray Durham lines to center for a single to start the second. John Bowker pops a fastball out to Dukes in short right. Emmanuel Burriss grounds to Guzman to Harris to Boone, inning-ending DP. WMP flies out to right. Kory Casto takes a swing at a curve and tops it off, grounding out. Wil Nieves grounds to John Bowker at first to end the second.
Giants catcher Steve Holm grounds an 0-1 pitch to short. Barry Zito gets the bat on the ball and flies out to center. Fred Lewis jumps on a high fastball, and a two-out double for Lewis brings up Jose Castillo, who pushes Milledge back to the track, where he closes his glove on Mock’s third scoreless...Willie Harris bunts between first and the mound, and reaches when no one covers the bag. Garrett Mocks strikes out trying to bunt. Guzman lines to right, Randy Winn takes one step back and grabs it. Elijah Dukes’ Discerning Eye takes a two-out walk. Lastings Milledge drops a tweener into left, Harris scores, but Dukes gets caught between second and third and gets tagged out to end the inning. 2-0 Nationals.
Randy Winn grounds weakly to second. Aaron Rowand goes deep to left center, Milledge leaps at the wall, but can’t come up with what ends up a Rowand double. Ray Durham singles to center on a full-count-pitch from Mock, but Milledge fields and gets it back in quickly enough to hold Rowand at third. John Bowker lines out to Boone at first, who takes two steps back and steps on first to double-up Durham for Mock’s fourth scoreless. Aaron Boone destroys a liner to left that fools Fred Lewis and flies over his glove and off the outfield wall. WMP pushes a single through second moving Boone to third. Zito walks Casto to load the bases for Wil Nieves. Nieves hits an RBI sac liner to right. Boone scores. 3-0 DC after Willie Harris grounds into a DP.
DC-born Emmanuel Burriss hits a leadoff single to center off Mock in the fifth. Burriss reaches safely stealing second when Willie Harris can’t come up with it. Mock’s first Major Leauge walk is to catcher Steve Holm. Zito tries to bunt, when Mock’s first Major League balk advances both runners. Zito grounds back to the mound, Mock looks Burriss back and then throws out Zito. Fred Lewis walks on four pitches. Jose Castillo takes the seventh straight ball from Mock, before the pitcher finds the plate. Ball four in the dirt, and Mock walks in his first run. 3-1 DC. Mock’s done...after 4.1, 7 hits, 1 ER (soon-to-be 4 ER), 3 walks(all in the 5th), 9 K’s...
...Saul “Sa-ool” Rivera comes on with one down, bases juiced. Randy Winn grounds up the middle and through to center to score two. Tied at 3-3. Aaron Rowand’s grounder jumps up and hits Guzman in the head. Castillo scores from second. 4-3 San Fran. Rivera strikes out Durham. Rivera walks Bowker to reload the bases. Emmanuel Burriss, who started the inning, lines sharply to Casto at third to end a looooong fifth. Cristian Guzman singles up the middle with one down in the DC fifth. Elijah Dukes’ Discerning Eye earns another walk to bring up Milledge. Durham drops a grounder from Milledge and has to settle for one out af first. Aaron Boone walks. WMP? Grounds out to short. 4-3 after five...
...(cont.)...Elijah Dukes catches the first out of the sixth for Saul Rivera, and tracks down the second liner to right from pinch hitter Brian Horvitz to make a great catch in the corner. Fred Lewis singles to center. Saul Rivera strikes out Castillo to end the sixth. Lefty Jack Taschner takes over for Zito. Taschner retires the Nationals in order. 4-3 after six. “Wild” Joel Hanrahan will pitch the seventh for DC. Winn chases a biting slider. Rowand grounds to third. Durham doubles to right center and off the scoreboard. Hanrahan hangs a slider to Bowker, who deposits it in the second deck in right for a two-run HR and a 6-3 Giants’ lead. Jack Taschner’s back and he gets the Nationals in order to end the seventh.
Lefty Charlie Manning will pitch the top of the eigth. Steve Holm lines to Casto at third. Travis Denker legs out a double that goes over Pena’s head in left and off the wall. Fred Lewis lines to left where WMP makes the catch. Jose Castillo grounds out to end the Giants’ eighth. Keiichi Yabu will pitch for San Francisco against Milledge. Yabu gets a swinging K. Boone strikes out swinging over a slider. Wily Mo Pena rips a double to right field. Kory Casto grounds out to first. 6-3 after eight.
The Tallest Pitcher in MLB History, Jon Rauch gets two outs in the ninth before Ray Durham singles. John Bowker pops out to short. Pinch hiitter Jesus Flores to face SF closer Brian “Not That Brian” Wilson. Flores flies out to short right. Ryan Langerhans takes a 97 mph strike three outside. Felipe Lopez grounds out to end it. Giants win their third straight in DC. The Nationals drop their fifth of six on the homestand. One more against the Giants tomorrow. 6-3 final tonight.
Nationals now 25-39.