GB&U: Rock Bottom?

RESULT: Nats lose 12-0 to Mets, shut out for league-leading 18th time. Sixth straight loss.

GOOD: Nothing. Absolutely positively freaking nothing. They were one-hit by a pitcher coming off the disabled list. They forced in a run by walking the starting pitcher. They gave up a base hit to a relief pitcher. They gave up 11 walks total. In the 8-run 3rd the Mets got four hits and five walks. A routine ground ball that would have halved the 8-run inning went right between the recently re-signed shortstop's legs. The batting averages of the three pinch-hitters? .257, .217 and .198. They have a guy on the bench that CAN'T EFFING PLAY and hasn't for NINE DAYS but yet still has not been put on the disabled list. WHO RUNS THIS TEAM?!?

BAD: See above. You know how bad it was? The Mets player of the game, recently called-up Daniel Murphy's bio page doesn't have a picture up yet, just a silouette of an anonymous player. Yuck.

UGLY: Jason Bergmann. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. The numbers don't even tell the story. 3 IPS, 10 runs, 6 earned, 8 hits, 6 walks, 1 (one) strikeout. Simply terrible.

Bonus Ugly: Manny Acta. Manny, you're losing me. You created a stir last night arguing a call that was correct, then tonight when the first base umpire VERY CLEARLY missed the call on the first batter of the game, you sit there on your hands and do nothing. There's a reason these calls keep going against the Nats: You continue to do nothing when you have a right to speak out, and the umps have no fear of retribution or threat of being embarrassed in front of the crowd because you won't come out of the dugout. Being the manager of a major league team is an interactive position. You have to make your presence known. It's called "gravitas".

NEXT GAME: Tomorrow night against these same Mets. Rookie Collin Balestar (2-4, 4.66) faces Oliver (no relation) Perez (8-7, 3.90).

It's also Ladies' Night. Be nice to the ladies.

Photos of Willie Harris' Great Catch Last Night

Courtesy of Anthony Amobi, fellow DC Sports Box writer, photographer and baseball junkie, here are a couple pictures in succession of Wee Willie's great catch last night. Enjoy...

Nats Fall in 4-3 Nail-Biter to Mets

Washington -- When pinch-hitter Ryan Langerhans homered off of two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana in the bottom of the seventh inning last night, it looked like the Washington Nationals were right back in it, having tied the game at three runs apiece. But just as quickly as the Nats evened things up, they let things get away, as the New York Mets used two singles, a walk and a hit batter to re-take the lead, and held on to defeat the Nationals 4-3 before a decidedly split crowd of 32,186 at Nationals Park Tuesday night.

The top of the eighth inning proved to be the crucial portion of last night's game. To that point, starter Odalis Perez and reliever Steven Shell combined to hold the Mets line-up to three runs on eight hits over seven innings. Manager Manny Acta, who would have a busy inning, summoned much-used and normally reliable Saul Rivera to pitch the eighth, by-passing ousted set-up man Luis Ayala, who has struggled much of the season and particularly of late. Rivera started the inning allowing back-to-back singles to Mets 3B David Wright and CF Carlos Beltran. After striking out 1B Carlos Delgado, Rivera faced LF Fernando Tatis in a pivotal play. Rivera got Tatis in a 3-2 count and appeared to have struck out Tatis on a attempted checked swing. First base umpire Mike Reilly waived his arms across his chest with the familiar "safe" call however, deciding that in fact Tatis did check his swing and awarded him first base, loading the bases in the process.

That brought Mets 2B Damion Easley to the plate. Easley took a strike and swung through the second pitch to go 0-2. Rivera (L, 3-5, 3.51) then wasted one for ball one, then tried to come inside with a breaking ball that didn't break, and the ball glanced off the top of Easley's batting helmet, forcing in the deciding run. Acta came out to argue, vociferously, that the ball hit the bat first on the play and that the play should have been called a foul ball. But after deliberating with all four umpires, home plate umpire Rob Drake concluded that his first call was the correct one, and replays after the game confirmed his decision. Acta spent a few moments arguing, his most animated display all season, probably stemming from the missed check swing and a close play on the bases that went against the Nats earlier in the game. It was to no avail, though, and Acta managed to not get tossed for his display.

"I just thought the ball hit the bat, but they got it right," Acta said. "It is the human element of the game."

But after the way the Nats went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings against the beleaguered Mets bullpen, maybe he wished he had said the "magic word" and earned his first ejection of the season.

Nats starter Odalis Perez went six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and one walk, striking out five. Steven Shell and Joel Hanrahan both pitched a scoreless inning. Johan Santana went seven innings and gave up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks to earn his tenth win of the season, running his record to 10-7, 2.89. He has not lost since June 27. Pedro Feliciano threw a perfect ninth inning to earn his first save of the season for the Mets.

Game two of the three-game series is Wednesday night at 7:10 pm. Jason Bergmann (2-8, 4.13) faces John Maine (9-7, 4.13) for the Metropolitans.

NATS NOTES: The loss drops Washington's record to 44-76, 20.5 games behind division leading Philadelphia. The Mets find themselves one game behind the Phillies and a half-game ahead of the Florida Marlins in the competitive N.L. East.

OF Lastings Milledge extended his career-best hitting streak to thirteen games with a sixth-inning bunt single.

GB&U: Can't Scratch Fever

RESULT: Nats lose nail-biter to Mets 4-3.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. He recovered nicely after allowing two in the first to settle down and keep the team in the game. He went six innings, allowing 3 ERs on 8 hits and one walk, striking out 5. Ryan Langerhans! Pinch-hit home run. YAY!

BAD: Emilio! 0-for-5 with 3 Ks. Might have to move him down for a while to get comfortable again. Looked real awkward in last at bat.

UGLY: The Umpiring. First base ump Mike Reilly missed a call on Guzman and the critical missed strike on what was called a check swing by Tatis in the pivotal seventh inning to set up the phantom hit by pitch that forced in the winning run.

And Manny, if you're going to blow up for the only time all season, you should, um, have it right. A caller post-game had it right: if you don't let the umpires know you're willing to go out and make yourself a pain in the ass to them, they have no impetus for getting the call right since they don't have to worry about you coming out and making them look bad. Manny, where were you on the blown checked swing?

NEXT GAME: Wednesday against the Mets. Jason Bergmann (2-8, 4.13) takes on John Maine (9-7, 4.13) Gee, identical ERAs, much different won-loss record. Still think wins is a good way to evaluate a pitcher's value. Nah, me either.

GB&U: It Comes and It Goes Just as Quickly

RESULT: Nats lose to Brewers 7-1, swept in four-game series.

GOOD: Willie Harris went 2-for-5. Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-4. Luis Ayala rebounded with a perfect inning pitched. Way to keep your chin up, Luis.

BAD: Garrett Mock. He got pounded in his spot start. 4.2 IP, 4 ERs, 5 hits, 3 BBs, but 9 Ks. That's right, 9 of his 14 outs were strikeouts.

UGLY: The whole darn weekend. Getting swept is never fun, but at least it was against the second best team in the NL and on the road, away from the legions of fans that flock to Nationals Park but apparently don't watch the team on the TV. Plus now the news that a former low-level scout is the head of a major internet gambling ring. Ew.

DRAFT PICKS: At least the Nats inked their third and fourth round draft picks, SS Daniel Espinosa and LHP Graham Hicks, to go along with second round pick OF Destin Hood and recently signed 5th rounder C Adrian Nieto. All that's left is to get the #1 pick, RHP Aaron Crow, to agree to terms. This one's liable to go down to the wire, which is this Friday, August 15, at midnight eastern.

NEXT GAME: The Nats return home to face their division rival New York Mets this week. These are important games for the Mets, who find themselves tied with Florida 2.5 games behind the Phillies in the division and 5.5 games behind Milwaukee for the wild card.

Tomorrow night at 7:10 pm Odalis Perez (5-8, 4.10) takes on Johan Santana (9-7, 2.85) from Nationals Park.

Just great...

Every bit of good news with this team (draft pick signings) comes with bad news. This ESPN.com article details how a former Nationals scout was a bookie for a major internet gambling syndicate. Just great.

Are there any more reasons not to just clean house of Jim Bowden? Everything he touches turns a familiar color of brown. Even his low-level bird-dog scouts are slimeballs. He makes it really difficult to be a fan of this team.

Nats Sign 3rd and 4th Round Picks

It's all starting to come together...here's the team press release. This leaves first round pick RHP Aaron Crow as the only unsigned pick of the top five selections.

NATIONALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH SHORTSTOP DANIEL ESPINOSA & LEFT-HANDED PITCHER GRAHAM HICKS

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms with shortstop Daniel Espinosa and left-handed pitcher Graham Hicks, their third and fourth-round selections in this year’s First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden, Vice President of Baseball Operations and Assistant General Manager Mike Rizzo, and Director of Scouting Dana Brown made this joint announcement.

The 21-year-old Espinosa is a plus defensive infielder who hit .309 with 13 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 37 RBI as a junior this season at Long Beach State (CA), while compiling a .392 on-base percentage and earning an honorable mention nod on the Easton Big West All-Conference Team. Prior to his junior campaign, Espinosa was the starting shortstop and won a silver medal for Team USA in the 2007 Pan American Games.

A two-time All-Big West honoree, he was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year after batting .281 with 19 extra-base hits, 31 runs scored and 23 RBI as a college rookie. He batted .319 with a team-best seven home runs, 44 runs scored, 13 doubles, four triples and 40 RBI as a sophomore. The switch hitter graduated from Mater Dei High School (CA), where he lettered all four years and was twice recognized as an All-League selection. As a high school junior, he was a starter and batted .483 for the 2003 US Youth National Team that won a gold medal in Taiwan.

Hicks, 18, is coming off a spectacular career at George Jenkins High School (FL), which included a 15-2 record and 0.41 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 119.0 innings over his final two seasons. The 6-foot-5 southpaw dominated his competition as a senior, going 8-1 with a 0.24 ERA and earning a spot as a FACA Senior All-Star. He received an All-State honorable mention as a junior, compiling a 9-1 mark with a 0.53 ERA en route to a district title. Hicks led his AAU team to a 2007 national championship in the World Wood Bat Association’s 18-and-under division.

Nats Lose Heartbreaker to Brewers in 13th Inning 5-4

Milwaukee -- After Friday and Saturday night's shut-out losses, some of the Washington Nationals bats finally arrived in Milwaukee Sunday afternoon. The Nats had eleven hits and two home runs, by Lastings Milledge and Austin Kearns, but could still only manage to score four runs and although it took 13 innings, the Nats fell to the Brewers for the third straight day, by the score of 5-4. The loss wasted six innings of one-hit ball by starter John Lannan.

It only took five pitches in the bottom of the 13th inning to decide the Nats fate. Luis Ayala had been brought on by manager Manny Acta to start the inning, after shut-out relief performances by Joel Hanrahan, Jesus Colome and Charlie Manning. Ayala faced muscular slugger Gabe Kapler, who had gone 0-for-6 to that point in the game. Ayala got Kapler into a 1-2 count, but couldn't close out the hitter, and after taking another ball, Kapler picked out one he liked and drove it over the fence in left field, prompting a celebration of his teammates and the 42,423 fans at Miller Park. It was Kapler's first walk-off hit of his career. Kapler, recently turned 33, continued his playing career this season after managing for a Red Sox affiliate last season. He is hitting .304 with 12 home runs for the Brewers this season and is proving a very valuable bench player for a contending team.

Ayala's season-long troubles continue. He's allowed five earned runs in his last three appearances, covering one and one-third innings pitched. The loss lowers his season record to 1-8 with a 6.04 ERA. Worse yet, it seems he's lost the confidence of his manager.

"We can't even hide him now," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "He comes into situations like this and he's just not making pitches."

Nats starter John Lannan once again ends up in hard luck. He pitched six innings, allowing one unearned run and just one hit, walking five and striking out six. The unearned run came against him in the 6th inning, his last inning of work. Kapler reached on a fielding error by 3B Ronnie Belliard, took third on an infield single that glanced off 2B Emilio Bonifacio's glove and scored on a sacrifice fly by all-star Corey Hart.

"This guy had a no hitter going into the sixth inning without his best stuff," Acta said. "He ran his pitch count with those five walks, but we're so happy for this kid. We've got a pitcher here. He's got four pitches and he can throw them for strikes."

The Washington hitters went out in the eighth inning against former all-star closer Eric Gagne' and grabbed the lead for the Nats on Kearns two-run shot (6) and Milledge's 12th home run of the season. Milledge has hit five home runs in August already and is riding an eleven game hitting streak.

The lead was short-lived though, as normally reliable Saul Rivera walked two and gave up an infield single before allowing a three-run double to Brewers back-up catcher Mike Rivera. Rivera has 54 at bats this season and just six extra-base hits. No matter though, as his hit tied the game at four to set up the extra innings drama.

Washington looks to get back in the win column today to break a three-game losing streak and avoid the sweep against the Brew Crew. Garrett Mock (0-2, 4.91) makes today's 2:05 pm start against David Bush (6-9, 4.50) for Milwaukee. Milwaukee has the second best record in the N.L. and trails the Chicago Cubs by four games in the N.L. Central. They lead the wild-card race over the St. Louis Cardinals by three games

NATS NOTES: Washington's record is now 44-74, last in the NL East and trails division leading Philadelphia by 20.5 games.

GB&U: Muscled Out in Milwaukee

RESULT: Nats fall to Brewers 5-4 in 13 innings.

GOOD: John Lannan. Six innings of one-hit ball. This guy can't buy a break.

Lastings Milledge. He's been on a tear this week. Sunday he went 3-for-6 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for6, Ronnie Belliard went 2-for-5 and Cristian Guzman went 2-for-6. Austin Kearns hit his monthly home run.

BAD: Emilio! Bonifacio went 0-for-6 and is hitless in his last 17 at bats. Also, our pinch-hitters went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

UGLY: Luis Ayala. Now that Wily Mo is gone, do we need to re-name the "Ugly" award? One batter faced. One home run allowed. One Loss. ERA stands at 6.04. This is what his manager had to say about him after the game:

"We can't even hide him now," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "He comes into situations like this and he's just not making pitches."

That ain't good.

NEXT GAME: Nats try to avoid the 4-game sweep at 2:05 eastern, Garrett Mock makes the start (0-2, 4.91) facing David Bush (6-9, 4.50)

GB&U: Shooting Blanks

RESULT: Nats shut out by Brewers, 6-0.

GOOD: Ronnie Belliard. Only Nats to have more than one hit in Ben Sheets' 5-hit shut out.

BAD: Nats Bats. They've all gone quiet against two of the top starters in the N.L. the last couple of days. Really shows the value of having legitimate Number One starters, especially if you've got two of them. If the Brewers hang on and make the playoffs, they'll be tough.

UGLY: Tim Redding. Redding has been the rock of the Nats staff all year, but this one was a stinker. 5 IP, 5 ERs, 7 hits, 5 BBs and three home runs. Redding's not the type of pitcher that can play around with walking guys. He did not have his "good stuff" tonight.

NEXT GAME: Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee. Hard-luck John Lannan (6-11, 3.55) faces Manny Parra (9-5, 4.18).

GB&U: Blanked in Beer City

RESULT: Nats shut out by Brewers 5-0.

GOOD: Not much. Lastings Milledge went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Jesus Flores went 2-for-4. They combined for four of the team's five hits against Brewers starter C.C. Sabathia.

BAD: There weren't a lot of hits, but Milledge and Flores were able to get on base. Ronnie Belliard, hitting in the line-up directly behind the two however, went 0-for-3 and left 4 men on base.

UGLY: Jesus Colome. Seems like every time he pitches he gives up a run. No different last night. 2 IP, 2 BBs, solo home run to J.J. Hardy.

NEXT GAME: Tonight vs the Brew Crew at 7:05 eastern. Tim Redding (8-6, 4.44) against Ben Sheets (10-5, 3.14).

Some Love for the Moose

This is not about the Nationals, but it is about baseball. Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports has an interview with Mike Mussina, my second favorite baseball player of all-time. Please enjoy.

Mussina won his 16th game of the season last night, and has that elusive 20-win mark within his reach this season. It's completely irrational to say a player has had less of a career if he hasn't won 20 games in one season, especially in this day and age. It's a completely different game now, and pitchers need to have a lot of things go their way to win 20 games today.

He has 265 wins, a lifetime .637 winning percentage, six gold gloves, five all-star selections and has spent his entire career in the AL East.

Best of luck and health to Moose the rest of the way in. I hope he wins all of his starts -- and the Yankees still not make the playoffs.

GB&U: Just As Good Second Time Around

RESULT: Nats beat Colorado 6-3 in Game Two of double-header.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. Looked as strong as he has all year long. Did he clear waivers? Willie Harris. 2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs. Wil Nieves. 2-for-5, 2 RBIs! EMILIO! -for-5, RBI, SB.

BAD: Kory Casto. 0-for-4, .208 for the year. Pete Orr, 0-for-5. Pew!

UGLY: The Rockies claimed Livan Hernandez off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and expect him to be in uniform Friday. Look, I love Livan as much as the next guy. You gotta appreciate how he takes the ball every fifth day and throws 110 itches. But his shelf life has expired, and the Rockies are simply fooling themselves if: 1) They think he can contribute to a pennant chase; and 2) They think they are IN a pennant chase.

INJURY UPDATE: Guz pinch-hit and played short in Game 2, so it looks like he's back. Zim was 1-for-4 in the nightcap. Alberto Gonzalez still not playing. Tim Redding was hit by a ball in the leg during BP. Hopefully he can out unscathed.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 8:05 eastern against Milwaukee. Collin Balester (2-3, 4.55) versus C.C. Sabathia (11-8, 3.28). This, my friends, is known as a "reverse lock".

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.

GB&U: Day Trippin'

RESULT: Nats beat Rockies 6-3 in Game 1 of double-header.

GOOD: Lastings Milliedge. Two no-doubt-about-it homers and a run scoring single. He's fairly mashing the ball these days. Jason Bergmann! Good Jason shows up in the sunshine. 7 IP, 1 ER (Holliday's homer), 7 hits, 2 BBs and 7 Ks. Good day's work. Emilio!, Zim and Belly all had two hits apiece.

BAD: Kearns, Flores and Guz (GUZ!) all 0-for-4, though Guz walked once and scored in his first start in 11 days. Word has it he needed to introduce himself to Emilio! at second base whenthe Rockies came to bat.

UGLY: Dukes to the DL. I talked about it earlier, but this is really a bummer. The team is going out of its way to say this is a calf strain, but one has to wonder if it's not related to rushing back from knee surgery less than five weeks ago. A lost season for Dukes, too. Would have been fun to watch him develop teh next 45 games. He needs those at bats.

INJURY UPDATE: In addition to the above, Boy oh boy Alberto missed again with his "glute" injury.

NEXT GAME: Already underway! Odalis got the first two, walked Holliday and grooved one to Atkins who didn't miss it. 2-0 Rocks after one full. Ubaldo Jiminez on the hill for Colorado. he needed 17 pitches in the first, so maybe this ends up one of those old fashioned Coors Field football games.

Nats Win Game One Behind Milledge, Bergmann

Denver -- The Washington Nationals had to get to work a little earlier Thursday than usual due to the rainout of Wednesday night's game against Colorado. But when you're playing good ball and on a semi-roll like the Nats are right now, you want to get back on the field as quickly as you can anyway. In game one of the afternoon double-header, the Nats rode strong starting pitching by Jason Bergmann and two home runs by CF Lastings Milledge to defeat the reeling Colorado Rockies 6-3 at Denver's Coors Field. Washington has now won five of their last six games.

Bergmann and Rockies starter Jeff Francis -- making his first start since being returned to the roster from the 15-day disabled list -- matched each other pitch-for-pitch for four innings, each being economical with hits and walks, perhaps due to the early start time after the long rain delay the previous evening. But the Nats finally got to Francis in the fifth -- in a big way. Lastings Milledge drilled a fastball over 400 feet for a home run to get the party started for the visiting Nationals. 1B Ronnie Belliard (2-for-4) followed with a double to the right field wall, and LF Willie Harris doubled him in. 2B Emilio Bonifacio (2-for-5) then smacked his third triple in a week to score Harris, and the Nats took a 3-0 lead.

Washington would continue to pound Francis (L, 3-8, 5.81) in the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman (2-for-5) led off with a bunt single, but was erased at second as RF Austin Kearns grounded into a fielder's choice. But with Kearns at first, Milledge came up and blasted his second home run of the game to deep left field, and raised the Nats lead to 5-0. The Nats scored a security run in the top of the seventh against Rockies reliever Jason Grilli. Cristian Guzman, starting for the first time in eleven days, walked and Grilli allowed Kearns to reach on a throwing error, putting men on the corners for Milledge. The center fielder delivered once again, drilling a pitch into center field, scoring Guzman to make the count 6-0. Milledge finished 3-for-4 with two home runs (10, 11) and four RBIs. It was his second career two-homer day, his first with the Nationals.

Jason Bergmann, meanwhile, was on cruise control by that point, putting up nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard. By the time Matt Holliday reached him in the eighth inning with a solo shot (22) to center, this game was well in hand. Rookie Steven Shell tried to make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, allowing C Yorvit Torrealba's fifth home run of the season, a two-run blast. But closer Joel Hanrahan came on to retire the side, earn his second save, and put this one in the books for DC. Bergmann finished seven innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits and two walks, striking out seven. The victory raises his season record to 2-8, 4.13.

Game two starts at 6:35 pm eastern, with Odalis Perez (4-8, 4.16) facing Ubaldo Jiminez (8-9, 3.61) for Colorado.

NATS NOTES: The win makes Washington 43-71, 19 games out of the NL East lead.

Before the game, OF Elijah Dukes was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained calf muscle. A report indicated that the MRI exam of Elijah Dukes' bothersome right calf revealed a strain far more significant than the team first believed, and as a result, Dukes, the team's starting left fielder, will miss four to six weeks.

RHP Garrett Mock was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take Dukes' spot on the roster. This is Mock's fourth stint with the big league club this year.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.