Jose Reyes throws his bat at a fastball outside from DC lefty John Lannan, and Reyes almost beats the throw from DC second baseman Anderson Hernandez. Lannan walks Ryan Church, apparently cautious with a lefty who’s hit him hard before. Lannan drops a two-strike change out of the bottom of the zone to get David Wright swinging. Willie Harris charges in to grab the final out on Carlos Beltran’s weak fly...Willie Harris takes a leadoff walk from the famous Pedro Martinez. Cristian Guzman skips a liner through the hole at second, Harris takes third. Ryan Zimmerman grounds into a DP on a hard hit grounder to second that Luis Castillo fields and throws to Reyes to Carlos Delgado at first, double play. 1-0 DC. Lastings Milledge stays back and waits for a slider to break before he lines it to right. Milledge steals second with Elijah Dukes at bat. Dukes takes a rip at a pitch inside, but just flies out to left.
Lannan slips a sinking fastball under Delgado’s bat for a swinging K. WILLIE HARRIS WANTS TO PLAY...Willie Harris tracks a line drive from Fernando Tatis and dives to catch it just inches above the grass. Luis Castillo watches a two-strike fastball all the way in to K looking...Aaron Boone pops out to start the DC second. Anderson Hernandez grounds weakly to first. Wil Nieves rips a grounder by Pedro’s glove and over the mound up the middle, but Martinez gets the opposing pitcher to ground out to end the second.
As deep as he’s playing, Milledge isn’t deep enough to catch up with Brian Schneider’s double to center. Pedro Martinez gets the sac bunt down to move Schneider to third. Jose Reyes grounds out to short, Guzman throws to first, allowing Schneider to scores. 1-1 ballgame. Church lines out to Boone at first...Carlos Delgado makes a nice backhand stab and tosses to Pedro at first for the first out of the Nationals’ second. Cristian Guzman almost gets robbed, but Delgado can only knock down a line drive to hold the Guzzz to a single. Ryan Zimmerman works the count full and strikes out with Guzman running for the strike’em out, throw’em out to end the third...(ed. note - "At this time I accepted an invitation from an old Mets' fan friend of mine to take in the last few innings of tonight's game..."):
Conversation with a Mets' Fan...
Federal Baseball (FB): “Full count change to Zim? Does Pedro not trust his fastball?”
Mets' Fan(MF) : (extremely sarcastically)...“This should be the title of tomorrow’s 'Game Thread' ...'Game Thread I Give Up. The Nationals' Season's Over...Or It's Been Over Since April.'"
FB: “Spoken like a true Mets’ fan. Ignoring the question...”
MF: “If the Mets lose tonight I might be saying, 'I give up.'”
FB "Stop ignoring my questions..."
Mets' Fourth...David Wright swings through a 2-2-89-mph-fastball-outside for the first out of the fourth. John Lannan walks Beltran in front of Delgado. Lannan gets Delgado swinging over a two-strike slider outside. Luis Castillo grounds to Guzman, who tosses to Hernandez at second to end the Mets’ fourth... Lastings Milledge goes the other way with a leadoff double in the bottom of the frame. Pedro dials a fastball up to 90mph to get Dukes swinging. Aaron Boone takes a high fastball for a ride to short center, Milledge hustles home, but Boone gets nailed at second. 2-1 DC. Anderson Hernandez takes a full-count fastball for ball four. Wil Nieves flies out to center, 2-1 DC after four...
Still 2-1 DC in the Mets' sixth...
...Ryan Zimmerman picks off a sharp grounder from Reyes that's headed for the hole and Zim fires to first in time. Lannan gets Church swinging for the second out. (ed. note- "My Mets' fan friend interrupts the action, sounding all Yankee-fan-ish when talking about needing a closer, “I want either K-Rod or Sabathia, K-Rod will ony get three or four years, on a deal, and Sabbatha will probably want 7. I say give them both what they want"...I respond, "I don't know if the Mets can afford to have Johan Santana and Sabathia in the rotation?") David Wright flies out to left to end NY's sixth...
Another Conversation With A Mets' Fan:
FB: (ed. note - "Or really, an incitement..."): Zimmerman’s gonna end up being every bit as good as Wright!
MF : Gonna end up being? Wright already IS!!! Four years of 30 HR’s, and 100 RBI's, a Gold Glove...When exactly is Zimmerman gonna catch up? And is Zimmerman a 30/30 man? (repeats angrily...) Is Zimmerman a 30/30 man? No. Right. Wright is!! (mumbles “Gonna be every bit as good?”)
FB: What if they switched lineups? Would Wright be hitting 30/100 in the Nationals lineu...
MF : It's not Wright's fault he's on a better team...(mumbles, "Gonna be every bit as good...")
Zim singles to start the DC sixth. Milledge? Full count change, Milledge pops up to short center unproductively. Dukes takes a 3-1 fastball inside for a one-out walk. Pedro’s almost done. (ed. note - MF: “Our bullpen is a disaster.” FB: "Did you watch Ayala blow that Sunday game?" MF: "I got home just in time, watching in the eight, next thing I know CRACK...so I turn it off and come back fifteen minutes later...and...it’s still going on, 'How long does it take to get two outs,' I'm screaming at the tv")...Aaron Boone advances both runners with a swinging bunt. Anderson Hernandez gets the two-out RBI chance. Hernandez sneaks a single under second, Milledge crosses, and Dukes beats the throw home, 4-1 DC. (ed. note - "MF: “I’m going to bed, get out of here!!”)...Pedro walks Wil Nieves in front of Lannan, who grounds out to end the sixth. 4-1 DC after six.
Carlos Beltran grounds out to Guzman at short and Carlos Delgado grounds out to Boone at first for the first two outs of the seventh. Fernando Tatis vs Lannan...(ed. note - FB: “Tatis is hitting like .350 against DC cause he’s angry about the Expos never giving him a chance...”) Tatis swings over an 80 mph change to end the top of the seventh....Ricardo Rincon starts the seventh against Willie Harris. Harris pops out. Guzman strikes out looking. Rincon’s out...(ed. note - "And now for the...")
BIG MOMENT...Duaner Sanchez is on, and he walks Zimmerman with two down in the DC seventh to bring up Milledge. Milledge shoots a single out to right. (Mets' Fan: “There’s just no fight in this TEAM!?!?”...FB: “When they should be figthing their hardest."...Met's Fan: (dismissively) “Ahhh.”) Dukes takes a curve outside that gets away from Schneider, advancing both runners as the count goes full. Fastball from Sanchez...CRACK! GONE! Dukes hits a towering 3-run HR to left and five rows back, Tatis just turns to watch. 7-1 DC.
Garrett Mock’s gonna pitch the eighth. Luis Castillo starts the inning with a double that ends up a closer play at second than he expected. Schneider grounds out to first, moving Castillo up. Daniel Murphy gets a pinch hit chance. Daniel Murphy takes a one-out walk to set up the DP. Reyes blasts a single up the middle to score Castillo, 7-2 DC. Not AGAIN!! Mock’s out. DC lefty Mike Hinckley comes on to face Ryan Church, Church singles to load the bases...BASES LOADED....for David Wright, make that, “David “Double Play” Wright, who grounds to Guzman, to Hernandez to Boone, double play to end the frame. Hinckley gets Wright to end the inning.
After Mets' pitcher Bobby Parnell makes his MLB debut with a quick 1-2-3 top of the ninth, and...Jesus “Everyday” Colome comes on to end it. Beltran flies out to left. (ed. note - MF: “I’m glad i’m tired tonight, I can just go to sleep..” FB: So you don’t have to stay up and be angry the Mets lost?" MF: "Exactly.") Carlos Delgado goes to the gap in right...but Milledge gets to it in time. Two down. Tatis keeps hope alive with a double off the left field wall. Castillo flies out to left...(ed. note - " The Mets' Fan quickly, quickly changes the channel.")
MF: What needs to happen to motivate these (expletive deleted) Mets?
FB: Apparently, a team knocking you out of 1st two years in a row isn't even enough..."
MF: "We're not out of first yet, (expletive deleted)"
FB: "Yet..."
Federalbaseball.com's Line Of The Day...
Runner Up:
(After Elijah Dukes' 3-run Blast:)
"Who Knew...Elijah CAN Actually Stay-Back On A Breaking-Ball…"
-The Two Minutes Hate Begins......NOW !!! - Winston Smith
Line Of The Day:
"I'm gonna start drinking.... and it's Acta's fawlt" - ottomanrx(A Mets' Fan)
Nationals now 57-93. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stays At...7.)