Roll continues against Braves in their last home game The crowd roared as Nationals outfielder Michael Morse circled the bases and kept the volume high even after he entered the dugout. Until he came back out for a curtain call, the fans had no intention of stopping.
They were acknowledging Morse’s 29th home run, the decisive blow in a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. Morse jumped to the top step and drank in the cheers. When he sat down again, teammate Jayson Werth turned and said, “This is how it’s going to be.”
He meant all of it — the noise, yes, but also the wins and the atmosphere that develops in a city when its baseball team is finally rolling. Washington (78-80) won for the 13th time in its last 17 games, a strong end-of-season push that keeps a winning season in play entering the final three-game series of the year in Miami this week against the Florida Marlins. It would be the Nats’ first since they arrived in the District in 2005.
“It summed it all up when they stood up for Mike,” Washington shortstop Ian Desmond said of the 37,638 in attendance. “[Fans] come out, and what they expect to see sometimes and what they do see might be a little bit disappointing. But we’ve proved that we’ve turned the page on what’s happened here in the past, and the fans are excited about the future. Today showed it.”
Not that anyone is ready to throw a parade. Desmond said he won’t think any differently about the 2011 season whether the Nats sweep Florida and finish above .500 for the first time or take two and stick at 80 wins. Either way, Washington isn’t playing in the postseason, Desmond said, and that’s the goal.
Wilson Ramos lined a solo home run to left field, putting the Nats up 1-0 in the fourth inning. And starting pitcher Ross Detwiler pitched six shutout innings, escaping a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the third inning that could have spelled disaster. In the fifth inning, he induced a pair of pop ups with one out and runners at second and third base to keep Atlanta off the scoreboard.
The bullpen did the rest. Henry Rodriguez threw maybe the best inning of any Washington reliever this season when he topped 100 mph seven times and struck out the side in the seventh inning. Tyler Clippard then pitched a perfect eighth, and Drew Storen set the Braves down in order in the ninth for his 42nd save. It was another step forward for a team that hopes it can make the leap to contender as soon as next season — but far from the final one.
“We’ve got a lot of things to get better at,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “The most important thing about this year is that guys learn from our mistakes, myself included. But we’ve improved on a lot, and we have a team that’s building for the future.”
