Nats 6, New York Mets 4
Nats fans worried that Tuesday night’s bullpen meltdown signaled the beginning of the end for this plucky club can take a deep breath. The season is back on track after a bizarre 6-4 win at Citi Field over the Mets on Wednesday afternoon. How about a miserable game for Ryan Zimmerman – 0-for-5 with an error and stranding five runners on base during at-bats in the sixth and eighth innings? How about two homers from outfielder Roger Bernadina, including the eventual game-winner in the ninth off Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, and a ridiculous catch in right field with the bases loaded in the fifth? How about reliever Tyler Clippard shaking off his poor eighth-inning on Tuesday, holding the Mets in the eighth this time around and earning his major-league best seventh victory? How about two hits and three RBI at the plate from starting pitcher Craig Stammen?
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Yeah, all that happened. Somehow. So Washington takes 2-of-3 from New York and begins a serious stretch of baseball with some positive momentum. At 19-15, the Nats are alone in second place in the National League East and a half-game behind wild-card leader San Francisco. Okay, it’s May 12th. The Toronto Blue Jays raced to a 27-14 record in the American League East last spring, generated a ton of buzz and promptly lost nine in a row. They finished 75-87. Point taken. But still…if the Nats managed a 75-87 record that would be a 16-game improvement over the previous two seasons.
So Washington wins a game against Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, who entered with a 4-1 record and a 3.14 ERA. They won despite days off for Ivan Rodriguez, Josh Willingham and Ian Desmond – save for brief appearances for the latter two in the late innings. They won despite Zimmerman’s struggles. He struck out with the game tied in the sixth inning and runners at first and second. He grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth. He even botched a grounder at third base on the wet field in the bottom of that frame. Clippard escaped that inning unharmed. They won despite a 41-pitch inning from Stammen in the fifth – the second time that’s happened to a Nats pitcher in the last 10 days.
Full credit to Bernadina there. He saved Stammen with a diving catch after a ball hit to right by New York’s Jeff Francoeur. Bernadina started toward center and then spun back to his right, using his speed to give himself a chance at it. His home run in the third was his first in the big leagues. But even that couldn’t compare to his two-run shot in the ninth with two men down. He finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Stammen has had better days. He gave up just six hits and walked four – one intentionally. But he pitched tentatively to the bottom of the Mets order in the second inning and gave up a two-run hit to Pelfrey. Stammen was fine in the first, third and fourth innings and then fell apart in the fifth. If it wasn’t for Bernadina he would have walked off the mound down three runs. But the bullpen shook off Tuesday’s loss with four scoreless innings from Sean Burnett, Tyler Walker, Clippard and Matt Capps, who notched his 14th save of the year. That leads the majors. Clippard earned the win thanks to Bernadina’s homer and now has an absurd seven wins out of the bullpen. That, too, leads the sport. You can’t make this stuff up.
So the Nats head west to chilly Colorado, where they face the Rockies in what will be a challenging four-game series. Then they hit St. Louis on the way home for two games against the first-place Cardinals. Come home from this trip still in second place – or with a winning record, at least – and watch the buzz intensify as the Stephen Strasburg watch hits high gear.
