Saul Rivera hits Damion Easley in 8th to force in winning run, Mets win 4-3
Odalis Perez did his job and so did the Mets' Johan Santana. In the end, it came down to whose bullpen would perform better; neither 'pen has been that good recently, but tonight, the Mets relievers were able to shut down the Nationals.
The Nationals were first to crack and it cost them, losing the first game of the series, 4-3. Saul Rivera, in to pitch the eighth, loaded the bases with one out.
Rivera had Damion Easley behind in the count, 1-2, before his fourth pitch got away from him and hit Easley in the head. It was ruled that it skimmed his helmet, forcing in the winning run.
Manny Acta came out and argued that the ball hit Easley's bat and should've been a foul ball. After seeing a replay, Acta said the umpires got the call right.
Pedro Feliciano pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Perez went six strong innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out five in throwing 107 pitches. It was his 10th quality start in 22 outings this season and his eighth no-decision.
Santana was equally as good, giving up three runs on eight hits in seven innings. He gave up a solo home run to Ryan Langerhans in the seventh that tied the game, but he was the pitcher of record when the Mets scored in the eighth, earning his 10th win of the year.
The Mets got Perez in the first on Carlos Delgado's 2-run double. Nick Evans hit a 1-out single. Two batters later, Carlos Beltran doubled him to third. Both scored on Delgado's bloop single to left-center.
Washington answered in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores each drove in a run to tie the game at 2-2. The Nationals had a chance to add to their total, but Ronnie Belliard flew out to left, with runners on first and second.
It looked like Washington had a 3-2 lead in the second, but first base umpire Mike Reilly blew a bang-bang play on Cristian Guzman's groundout. Willie Harris was on third and replays showed Guzman beat out the grounder to short, but Reilly rung him up.
New York took a 3-2 lead in the third on back-to-back doubles by David Wright and Beltran.
The Nationals did something tonight that I still don't understand. They had Milledge on second with no outs and Jesus Flores at the plate. Flores tried to sacrifice Milledge to third, but he bunted the ball right to Santana. Milledge had to hold at second and Washington wasted an out. Flores was 2-2 against Santana prior to that at bat. Flores said, "I was trying to move the runner over."
Final Linescore
Mets 4-10-1
Nationals 3-9-0
WP-Santana (10-7)
LP-Rivera (3-5)
Postgame Notes
Emilio Bonifacio, who went 0-5, is now hitless in his last 22 at bats.
Lastings Milledge extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with a sixth-inning single. He went 1-4 on the night.
Ryan Langerhans' pinch-hit homer was the second of his career. His first came on August 18, 2005 at Houston off Dan Wheeler. It was his first longball since September 24, 2007 against the Mets at Shea.
It was the sixth pinch-hit home run by a National this season.
Jesus Flores had two more RBI, bringing his team-leading total to 52 in just 75 games. He is now hitting .375 (27-72) with runners in scoring position this season.
With a running catch and throw back to the infield, the Nationals got a 7-4-3 double play. It was the third outfield assist on the season for Willie Harris.
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Flores bunting???
Can someone please explain to me why Jesus Flores is bunting with a runner on second and nobody out in the sixth? And I don't want to hear becuase Johan Santana is pitching. I'm not sure, but I would bet that Manny Acta called the play. Flores, who I don't think tried to lay down a bunt this season, bunted the ball right back to Santana and Milledge had to hold at second. The Nationals just wasted an out without advancing the runnner. This makes ZERO sense to me and nearly everyone else in the pressbox. Flores was 2-2 with a double off Santana prior to this at bat. We'll see what Manny says after the game.
Perez thru 6 innings
Odalis has settled down since the third, but his pitch count is over 100 and I doubt he'll be out for the seventh. Since the third, he gave up two hits and a walk and stranded all three runners. Not a bad outing for the veteran lefty, but unless the Nationals score in the bottom half inning, he can't get the win.
6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, BB, 5 K. 107 pitches, 70 strikes.
Perez thru 3 innings
Odalis Perez is getting hit around pretty good in the first three innings. The Mets have six hits, three of them doubles, and he's up to 59 pitches already. If it wasn't for a great play by Willie Harris (see below), it could be a lot worse.
3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Harris makes great defensive play
Willie Harris saved a run, if not more, in the top of the third. Speedy Jose Reyes was on first when Nick Evans hit a deep fly to left-center. Harris broke to his left and then back. He made a leaping catch, crashed into the padding on the wall, right where the 377 foot marker is, and fired to second baseman Emilio Bonifacio. Reyes was already around the bag at second and had to go back. Bonifacio threw a bullet to Ronnie Belliard, easily doubling Reyes off first. It goes down as a 7-4-3 DP. It was the third assist this season for Harris and 14th of his career.
Mets scoring, 3rd inning
In the third, David Wright and Carlos Beltran hit back-to-back, 2-out doubles in the third, giving the Mets the one-run advantage.
The life of Reilly
First base umpire Mike Reilly missed a call, in the bottom of the second, and it cost the Nationals a run. Of course, I have the luxury of replays here in the pressbox, but so do you at home. With Willie Harris on third and 2-out, Cristian Guzman hit a two-hopper to shortstop Jose Reyes. Guzman, busting his hump down the line, beat the throw from Reyes, but Reilly called him out. Was it a bang-bang play? yes, but replays showed it wasn't close. Hopefully the Nationals won't need that run later in the game.
Nationals scoring, 1st inning
Ryan Zimmerman singled home Cristian Guzman, who hit a 1-out double, to cut the Mets lead in half. Austin Kearns followed with a single to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout, Jesus Flores singled home Zimmerman to tie the game at 2-2.
Mets scoring, 1st inning
The Mets didn't waste any time getting to Odalis Perez in the first, but the Nationals answered right back, getting both runs back off Johan Santana
The Mets jumped out to the early lead off Perez. A 1-out single by Nick Evans and a 2-out double by Carlos Beltran set the table for Carlos Delgado. Delgado got just enough of Perez's 1-2 curveball, allowing it to fall into left-center, for a 2-run single.
Tough first inning for both starters.
Both Odalis Perez and Johan Santana had a rough start. Perez gave up two runs on three hits and needed 23 pitches to get out of the first inning. Santana needed 22 pitches, giving up four hits and two runs. Perez and Santana both struck out two batters.
Underway
On a gorgeous night in the district, the Mets and Nationals are underway. It's a perfect 82 degrees and no humidity. The seats are filling in nicely, but the majority of fans appear to be wearing Met uniforms.
Starting Line-ups
Mets
SS Jose Reyes
LF Nick Evans
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
RF Fernando Tatis
2B Damion Easley
C Ramon Castro
P Johan Santana
Nationals
2B Emilio Bonifacio
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Austin Kearns
CF Lastings Milledge
C Jesus Flores
1B Ronnie Belliard
LF Willie Harris
P Odalis Perez
Game Preview
New York (62-56) at Nationals (44-75)
The Nationals, losers of four straight, return home for a six-game homestand beginning tonight with the first of three against NL East foe, the New York Mets.
Washington started their 8-game road trip by taking three of four from the Rockies before getting swept by the Brewers.
The Nationals, 23-33 at Nationals Park, swept the Reds prior to going on the recent road trip. The two teams still have nine games remaining this season. The Mets have won five of the first nine contests, but the Nationals have won four of the last five.
New York has lost two straight overall, as they look to stay in the hunt in the NL East. Currently, they are 2 games behind first place Philadelphia.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Odalis Perez (5-8, 4.10) won his second straight start in the second game of the doubleheader against the Rockies last Thursday. He gave up just two runs on Garrett Atkins' 2-run blast in the first in six solid innings in the Nationals 6-3 win.
Perez's last two outings have been nothing short of outstanding. He's only given up three runs in 13 1/3 innings and has mixed up his pitches well, keeping opposing hitters off balance.
This marks the third start against the Mets this season for Perez, but the first at Nationals Park. He's 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA.
In his last outing against the Mets, May 12th, Perez picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs on 11 hits, but the Nationals' offense backed him with 10 runs.
Washington scored single runs in the second, third and fourth. They added three in the fifth and four more in the sixth to hand New York the 10-4 loss.
Perez gave up an RBI single to Carlos Beltran in the first, a solo homer to Damon Easley in the second, an RBI single to Easley in the third and another homer to David Wright in the seventh before being replaced.
Perez was constantly pitching himself out of trouble the entire game. He retired the side in order only once, in the fourth, and needed Jesus Flores to throw out Jose Reyes trying to steal second to do so.
In his career vs. the Mets, Perez is 5-6 with a 4.08 ERA in 18 games, 11 starts. In his career in August, Perez has a 15-8 record in 33 starts.
LHP Johan Santana (9-7, 2.85) is undefeated in his last seven starts, but has just two wins, despite a 2.47 ERA.
In his last outing, Santana pitched well against the Padres last Thursday, but the bullpen failed him and he wasn't able to get his 10th. The lefty gave up just four hits through seven-plus innings and held San Diego to two runs, recording seven strikeouts with three walks.
Santana has consistently left his team in a position to win, but he has suffered tough luck losses this season. Thursday marked the sixth time the bullpen has cost him a victory.
Santana faced the Nationals on April 23rd and gave up just two runs on seven hits through seven innings to earn the 7-2 win. Tim Redding's 2-run double accounted for both Nationals runs off Santana.
In his career against the Nationals, three starts, Santana is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA. In August, he's an amazing 24-6 with a 2.42 ERA and 51-17 with a 2.80 ERA after the All-Star break.
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