Nats rally from 0-4, beat Mets 12-4 OR A Monday Mets Mugging

On Monday, the New York Mets came to town for their final visit to R.F.K. Stadium, and the National League East division leaders could not have expected what would happen over the course of the game.

Starting out with a 4-0 lead, the Mets were anxious to shake off their weekend sweep by the Philadelphia Phillies, who are hot on their heels for the division lead, and they certainly hoped to be able to beat up on their weaker division rivals to put some distance between themselves and the Phillies.

Funny how life, and baseball, doesn't always work the way you expect that it will, isn't it?

The Washington Nationals would go on to score 12 unanswered runs, and take the first game of the 3-game series.

The Mets starter, Brian Lawrence, was an "emergency" starter, having just been called up from AAA, but he has an interesting history where the Nationals are concerned. The Nationals acquired him in a trade with the San Diego Padres at the end of the 2005 season, as they sent 3B Vinny Castilla to San Diego for Lawrence. Lawrence had never been injured, and the Nats were looking to get a 200 inning performance out of him, but in spring training 2006, Lawrence was injured and out for the entire season. The Nats released him at the end of 2006. Lawrence got picked up by the Rockies if I'm not mistaken, and found his way to the Mets, and I always wondered what we missed by not having Lawrence in the Nats lineup last year. I'm not wondering any longer. He got hammered for 4 runs on 6 hits, and walked one in his 3 1/3 innings.

Nats starter Tim Redding had an almost identical outing as his Mets counterpart, also allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and walking one. The bullpen of John "Johnny A." Albaladejo (who got his first win), Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, Arnie Muñoz, and Jésus Colomé did their usual efficient work, allowing only 4 hits and no runs.

Ryan Report: Church went 1 for 1 with a pinch-hitting 2-R.B.I. homerun, Zimmerman went 1 for 4 with a walk, Langerhans went 0 for 1 and Austin Ryan Kearns went 1 for 3 with a double and was walked twice.

Nook Logan had another great game, going 3 for 5 at the plate with a double and an R.B.I. and he bunted well, Wily Mo Peña went 2 for 5 with 2 R.B.I.'s, Belliard went 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 R.B.I.'s, Ronnie Belliard went 1 for 4 with 2 R.B.I.'s, Brian Schneider had a double with 2 R.B.I.'s, Robert Fick went 1 for 2 with an R.B.I. and D'Angelo Jimenez went 1 for 4.

It should be noted that, the mighty Mets made 4 errors, all of which proved costly.

Box score here.


I couldn't get out of work early, so I listened to the game in my car and heard things going badly. The score was 3-0 Mets by the time I even got to the parking lot, and it was 4-0 shortly thereafter. I glumly went about my ballpark routine, and got my food and settled in to see how bad things might get. The Mets fans in attendance were not yet in full voice, and I anticipated another night of R.F.K. turning into "Shea South", much to the continuing irritation of Nats fans in attendance.

For the first time since April, I had to wear a jacket to guard against the chill. Autumn is knocking at our door, and knocking hard. It was 69 degrees and clear, and I was grateful for the good weather.

Saw all of my people (Rico, Ellie, etc..) and got my beer from Howard. I just wanted the Nats to play well and not get humiliated. I feared that the Mets would roar into R.F.K. with a vengence after being swept by the Phillies over the weekend.

The President's Race saw a presidential-pileup, as Teddy went down and Abe and Tom fell over him. Funny to see, I hope that they weren't hurt. George won.

It was wonderful when the Nats tied the score, but to continue getting run after run, I began to wonder, "Who are these guys in Nats uniforms?" It was an uncharacteristic burst of offense (aided by the Mets errors) and yet I couldn't feel comfortable until the score was 10-4. The Mets are good, but I didn't believe that they would overcome a 6-run deficit.

A wonderful way to begin a new series, and I remarked to several people afterward that I've never seen the stadium empty so quickly. I swear, within 10 minutes of the final out, the place seemed almost empty. Lots of Mets fans left early, that's for sure.

Nice to get that first game out of the way and preserve some dignity and respect.