Blog post

June 11, 2012 [LINK / comment]

Nationals sweep the Red Sox

And they said it couldn't be done! Showing a winning combination of talent and persistent resolve, the Washington Nationals scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, thereby sweeping the Red Sox in three straight games. Bryce Harper came in as a pinch-hitter (he has a sore back), and wisely took a walk. Then Roger Bernadina came up to bat and on a 2-2 count he smashed a line drive to the deep right field corner in Fenway Park, and Harper scored easily because he was attempting a steal anyway. Two innings earlier, Danny Espinosa had a clutch hit -- a high fly ball to left field that bounced off the Green Monster, for a two-run double. That gave the Nats a 3-2 lead, but then the Red Sox tied in again in the bottom of the seventh. Too bad for Jordan Zimmermann, because otherwise he could have got credit for a much-needed win. That prize went to Tom Gorzelanny. Tyler Clippard got credit for the save, striking out three of four batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth, allowing a walk. Final score: Nats 4, Red Sox 3. It was a classic, tense, back-and-forth game, a true test of collective "mettle" that the Nats passed with flying colors!

And so, as they continue their road trip from Boston across the border into Toronto, the Nationals now have a two-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. The Mets have fallen to 4.5 games behind (see below), ahead of the slumping Marlins and the Phillies. The Nats' record of 35-23 puts them over .600 for the first time since May 28. It's the first time since July 23, 2005 that they have been twelve games over .500 this late in the season. As us Nats fans from the very beginning know, that was an awful letdown of a month. The peak of their fleeting glory was July 3, 2005, when they had a 5.5-game lead in the NL East. Then the Mets came to town and took three of four games, and things just went downhill from there. [But at least for now,]

Washington: first in war, first in peace, and [almost] first in the National League!

Yankees sweep the Mets

The Nats got some indirect help from the Bronx Bombers, who beat their crosstown rivals from Queens in three games straight. The surprise hero of the Sunday game was catcher Russell Martin. He hit two home runs, including the walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Now the Yanks are breathing down the necks of the Rays in the AL East race, while the Orioles struggle to regain their composure.