Baker, Nats try to process emotional swings after late drama

There were no shortage of emotional reactions the Nationals could have tonight in the wake of their wild 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Mets. The final 30 minutes of this game alone ran the full gamut, from despair to hope to flat-out belief to confusion to despair again to hope again to exhaustion in the end.

From Dusty Baker's standpoint, the most important reaction to this game was an upbeat one, with reason to think the manner in which his team rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth against one of baseball's best closers could have long-lasting effects.

"I'm very proud of them," the Nationals manager said. "They can play like that every day, we'll win a lot of ballgames. We were in a position to win. ... The mark of a champion is when you figure out a way to win and come back. Even though we lost that game, that game is going to go a long ways with us in our quest for the championship."

Only time will tell if Baker's hunch comes true, but the manner in which the Nationals rallied against Jeurys Familia was legitimately encouraging for a team that so often has struggled to manufacture runs, especially late in close ballgames.

Then again, the manner in which they squandered a golden opportunity to finish their rally and win the game right there was legitimately frustrating and potentially cause for concern.

We'll start with the positive portion of the inning. Down 3-1 and down to their last three outs, they got the rally started with Daniel Murphy's infield single to second. Third baseman Jose Reyes then airmailed a throw across the diamond after snagging Bryce Harper's grounder, leaving the Nationals with two men in scoring position and nobody out.

Anthony Rendon's single through the left side of the infield brought home one run, then Wilson Ramos' comebacker past Familia brought home the tying run and dealt the closer only his fourth blown save in 52 attempts this season.

"Jeurys is tough," said Murphy, the former Met. "I saw him all year last year from behind him. He's tough in there, and to be able to grind out at-bats like that and turn 3-1 into 3-3 was a good inning for us."

It could've been a great inning, though. With two on and nobody out, Ryan Zimmerman first failed to get a sacrifice bunt down - he hadn't attempted one in a big league game since 2007 - and then lined out softly to first base. Then Clint Robinson, pinch-hitting for Danny Espinosa, lined a ball right at second baseman T.J. Rivera, who caught it at his shoetips.

The only problem: Nobody could tell for sure whether Rivera caught the ball on the fly or on a short hop. By the time second base umpire Scott Barry signaled the out, Rivera was already flipping the ball to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Rendon had returned to second base in time, but Wilmer Difo, pinch-running at first base for Ramos, was caught in no-man's land. Cabrera threw the ball to first, and Difo was easily out to complete a most unconventional 4-6-3 double play.

"The angle I saw, and the way the ball came to the infielder, I assumed it was a short hop to him," Difo said through interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I really don't know why the umpire called him out immediately. But I thought I had seen the ball hit the ground."

"That's a tough read," Baker said. "That's a real tough read, especially for a young player that's trying to make his mark. We're not going to blame him. We had some opportunities with a runner on second base and nobody out, and we didn't advance him. Those kind of things come back to haunt you sometimes."

Had the Nationals converted there, they would never have needed extra innings. Nor would they have needed to pitch Mark Melancon for the fourth time in five days.

But the All-Star reliever was summoned to pitch the top of the 10th in a tie game, standard usage for a closer in today's game. All was going well when Melancon retired Jay Bruce on a ground ball and then got ahead in the count 0-2 to Rivera. But then came a cutter that caught too much of the plate, and Rivera sent it soaring to left field.

The first home run of Rivera's career was only the third Melancon has surrendered this season. Opponents had been hitting .080 (2-for-25) against him in 0-2 counts, adding to the shock value of the blast.

"You always learn from your mistakes," Melancon said. "That's not going to affect me going forward. Sometimes those wakeup calls can be a good thing."

The Nationals can't afford for Melancon (who is a perfect 11-for-11 in save situations since his late-July acquisition) to take any more losses come October. Nor will they be able to afford squandering an opportunity like that to beat an opposing closer in the bottom of the ninth.

Whether the events of tonight's game help their cause once those situations arise again in the postseason remains to be seen.