LHP Tom Milone made his MLB debut on Saturday, September 3 and became a superstar by second inning. He earned his first MLB strikeout from Angel Pagan in the top of the second and hit a three-run homer off of the very first pitch he saw in the big leagues! Milone received a standing ovation from the crowd of 34,821 at Nats Park, including some awestruck New York Mets fans.

Milone hit Syracuse teammates Marrero and Flores home in first MLB at bat

St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright was the last pitcher to hit a home run on the first pitch in the Major Leagues on May 24, 2006.

Pretty impressive indeed. Milone would only go 4.1 innings after 74 pitches/51 strikes giving up six hits, four runs and no walks while striking out two. Milone received his second standing ovation when Davey Johnson lifted him from the game.

Tom Milone's First MLB Pitch

The Nationals were up 5-0 after Milone's home run, however, the Mets got on the board in the fourth with a Pagan RBI single and Nick Evan's two-run blast to bring the Nats to only a one run lead.

Roger ("The Shark") Bernadina hit a solo homer in fifth inning, but Jason Bay hit a two-run homer in the sixth to tie the game at six. Ivan ("Pudge") Rodriguez pinch it in the sixth inning and as soon as his name was announced, fans were on their feet. It was the first time Pudge had played for Nats since going on the disable list on July 7. 

Mets took the lead in the seventh with a go ahead run scored by Willie Harris on a Lucas Duda sacrifice bunt.

Washington Nationals fans know better than to leave a ballgame early this season. And for good reason.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jesus Flores singled to start the offense and Brian Bixler replaced him as pinch runner. Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Burnett and walked. Ian Desmond  successfully advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Mets pitcher Bobby Parnell intentionally walks Roger Bernadina to make it a force play situation, however, this lead to bringing up Ryan Zimmerman to the plate with bases loaded.  Mr. Walk-off.

The crowd were on their feet cheering and it was another one of those electrifying moments. Zimmerman's bat broke and the ball dropped in short right field out of the reach of Duda. Bixler and Gomes scored for the 8-7 victory over the Mets.

Ryan Zimmerman's walk-off broken bat single

Duda couldn't get to the Zim single

Fans on their feet as Bixler is about to score to tie game

Jonny Gomes scoring winning run

Nats celebrate with Gomes

Nats attack Ryan Zimmerman at first base after walk-off single

It was a memorable night for everyone in NatsTown.

Notes: Prior to the game, the Nats had their first ever photo day where fans had the opportunity to get photos of or with their favorite players and coaches. Click here to see photos.

Minutes after Drew Storen realized he wasn't traded at the Major League non-waiver deadline, he entered a 2-1 game in the top of the ninth, entrusted to close it like he has 26 times before this season. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Washington Nationals, Scott Hairston had other ideas. He deposited a 2-2 pitch just barely over the wall in front of the visiting bullpen for his second solo home run of the day, drawing his New York Mets even with the home team.

But in an appropriate capper to a strange weekend, Ian Desmond got a ball to bounce over Mets reliever Bobby Parnell's head, high enough for Rick Ankiel to carry home the winning run in the bottom of the frame, giving the Nats a game and series win over their N.L. East rival.

This was a tight, tense affair, mimicking the mood in the park surrounding the trade deadline. It was plain for anyone that was interested to hear that Storen, among others, was being rumored to be involved in a deal with the Minnesota Twins in exchange for center fielder Denard Span and others. But when Nats GM Mike Rizzo did not get an offer he felt was enticing enough to give up his 23-year old, cost-controlled closer, the deadline passed with the Nats not making a move.

As for the game, it was a scoreless affair through the fifth inning. The Nats' Jordan Zimmerman and the Mets' Jon Niese were trading zeroes, not particularly challenged by their rival's offenses. The Nats struck first, in the bottom of the sixth, with three consecutive doubles by Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse, which netted two runs.

The Nats runs came in the bottom of the frame where Zimmermann struck out his final two batters after putting men on second and third following two singles and a balk. For the day, Zimmermann was again superb. He went six shutout innings, allowing seven hits and one walk, striking out six. He used 107 pitches, 64 for strikes, on a sunny, 96 degree day.

So the trade deadline comes and goes without GM Mike Rizzo landing the leadoff hitter and center fielder he covets.  The Nationals aren't contending for anything this year so he wasn't forced to do a deal he didn't like.  There's plenty of time for him to find the appropriate players at the appropriate price.  Maybe he'll fill both spots with the same player, maybe not.  But regardless of what the pundits and cynics say, we'll never know what deals Rizzo was offered today, and it obviously wasn't enough for him to part with Storen.

Maybe the next offer will be.

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THE GOOD:  Jordan Zimmerman.  He's up to 132 2/3 innings, so he's got about four starts left in him before he'll be shut down at his limit of 160 innings pitched.  Today's game was a beaut.

THE BAD:  Sean Burnett.  One inning.  One home run.

THE UGLY:  Brian Bixler.  He lead off and went 0-for-5 with a K and four LOB.  Hitting .176 this season.  No wonder Rizzo is looking so hard for a legitimate leadoff hitter.

THE STATS:  11 hits, one walk, 10 strikeouts.  4-for-13 with RISP, 10 LOB, zero GIDP.  E: Zimmerman (8)

NEXT GAME:  Monday at 7:05 pm against the Atlanta Braves.  Livan Hernandez (5-10, 4.19) faces Jair Jurrjens (12-3, 2.38).

NATS NOTES:  LHP Atahualpa Severino was activated for the game and Yunesky Maya returned to AAA-Syracuse before the game.  Severino was to be used in case of an emergency but that did not come to pass.  He'll most likely be returned to the minors, maybe as soon as Monday.

Nationals celebrate Canada Day! (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson held an extensive, wide-ranging press conference early Friday afternoon, and in it he remarked more than once that in order to win, he would need the best efforts of all 25 men on his roster.  He also spoke about the necessity of having a power bat on his bench to give the other manager something to think about in the late innings, using the euphemism of having a guy with a "big, hairy chest" sitting next to him in the dugout.

Last night, in the Nats 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Matt Stairs was that big, hairy guy Johnson needs him to be. As it happens, the New Brunswick native played the hero on Canada Day, which celebrates Canada becoming an independent kingdom on July 1, 1867. 

Stairs drove a 95-MPH fastball from reliever Tim Wood off the right field wall, scoring pinch-runner Alex Cora from third to deliver yet another walk-off win at Nats Park.  The embattled veteran has but seven hits to his credit this season, and certainly none were as big as the one last night.

Veteran Matt Stairs came though for the Nats. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The win pushes the Nats back to the .500 mark, kicking off this 10-day, 11-game homestand in grand fashion. It also marks Johnson's first win as a major league manager in eleven years.

“You win pennants with 25 players,” Johnson said in the pre-game press conference. “They’re all invaluable. You can’t win with 24, 23, 22, so my job as manager is to try to take care of all 25. [Stairs] had some sporadic at-bats, and he wasn’t hitting too good. We need his capabilities coming off the bench late in the ballgame.”

Certainly the burly Canadian had tried everyone's patience this season, batting just .138 with a lone RBI until last night's game-winner.  But the 43-year old has had rough stretches before, and he figured eventually he would pull out of this one too.  While that remains to be seen, he's appears to have benefited from getting three starts in a row as designated hitter while the team was out in Anaheim taking on the Angels. 

While the decision to give him all those at bats might not have paid off in that series, rarely this season has Stairs hit a ball harder than the one that he lashed halfway up the wall to the left of the Nationals bullpen in right field.

"[Stairs] swung the bat pretty good out in L.A., and he's still not quite 100 percent, but that looked like 100 percent right there. That was a rocket," Johnson said from his office after the game.

Johnson sent Stairs up to hit for Ian Demsond, who is struggling in his own right.  "I told Desi, 'Look, you're not swinging like I know you're capable of. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but there's a chance. I got to try to put everything I got in this thing,' " Johnson said.  The 68-year old skipper had already lifted his first baseman, Michael Morse (who singled to start the inning), for the pinch-runner Cora, and now was pulling his starting shortstop in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth.

As Johnson described, he rolled the dice a little bit, and on this night he came up a winner.

The heroics came too late to do anything for starter Tom Gorzelanny, who threw another terrific ballgame.  He went seven innings and allowed just one unearned run on six hits and one walk, striking out eight.  The Pirates got a run off him in the third on a single, an error on a sacrifice and a ground out.

The Nats first run of the game came courtesy of Roger Bernadina's fifth home run of the season, who also singled in the game.  The Nats center fielder got support from his new manager during the post-game as well.  Johnson said Bernadina "deserves a chance to play every day, and I'm gonna give it to him."

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THE GOOD:  A win!  Davey Johnson is as crusty a manager as there ever was, but even he admitted feeling relief notching his first win after three consecutive losses to start his Nats tenure. "Now I'm going after number two." he said post-game. "First win... [being out] 11 years in the big leagues, here in front of the home crowd. That's special. ... It's been a while."

THE BAD:  Ryan Zimmerman. 0-for-4 with a K and a couple of ground outs. The Z-man isn't making very good contact right now.

THE UGLY:  Wilson Ramos went 0-for-3 with a walk, and did drive a ball to right that moved the runner up in the ninth inning.  But after his strong start this season, he's now hitting just .235.

THE STATS:  Six hits, five walks, six strikeouts. 1-for-7 with RISP, eight LOB, Three GIDP. E: Gorzelanny (2), Morse (1).

NEXT GAME:  Doubleheader Saturday against the Pirates. Game One is at 3:35 pm and pits John Lannan (5-5, 3.48) against James McDonald (5-4, 4.52).  Game Two is at 7:05 pm and Livan Hernandez (5-8, 3.81) will start for the Nats.  Pittsburgh has not announced a starter for the second game as of this post.

NATS NOTES:  Before the game, the Nationals announced they dismissed first base coach Dan Radison and replaced him with Trent Jewett, who was serving as bench coach when John McLaren was reassigned. Radison was a very close confidant of former manager Jim Riggleman.

Morse made his first error at first base. In fact, it's his first error since when he was with the Seattle Mariners in 2005.



Danny Espinosa shows off his high jumping skills. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)



Alex Cora advanced to third on Wilson Ramos' fly ball to right in ninth inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

For eight innings, Seattle Mariners starter Doug Fister dominated the Washington Nationals, limiting the hottest team in baseball to just one run on three hits. 

When manager Eric Wedge took him out after the eighth inning to bring in closer Brandon League (20-of-23 in save opportunities in 2011) in a 5-1 ballgame, the task appeared overwhelming.

After Ryan Zimmerman hit into his third double play of the game three batters later, the Nats had one half of one percent chance to win the game.

But then Jerry Hairston bounced one up the middle that scored Jayson Werth, who reached on an error by first baseman Justin Smoak and took third on Zimmerman's DP.  Next, Michael Morse slammed a ball off League's leg, which allowed Morse to reach on an infield single and sent League to the showers when he was in too much pain to continue pitching.

Wedge summoned reliever David Pauley, who entered with an ERA for the season of 1.12 -- with no home runs allowed -- in 40 1/3 innings.

Pauley threw one pitch to Danny Espinosa: a 90-MPH sinker that the rookie second baseman pushed through the right side to score Hairston from second.

Then... well, just watch it again.

In less than 10 minutes, the Nats went from dropping two in a row and raising doubts about the nature of the recently concluded eight-game winning streak to beating the Mariners 6-5, continuing the happy vibes all over NatsTown. 

The four-run comeback was the largest ninth-inning deficit erased by this team since the move in 2005 and makes the Nats 14-6 in their last 20 games, a period that has seen their overall record go from seven games below .500 to just one, and from last place in the N.L. East to sole possession of third, with the New York Mets loss to Oakland last night.

Momentum in baseball is a funny thing.  It's unquantifiable, not found on any stat sheet.  This Nationals team has lots of problems on the roster, as dispassionate logic and statistical analysis tells us.  But right now, the team believes in themselves, the fans are having fun at the ballpark, and the wins keep rolling in.  Even the most hardened cynics have to hold their tongues right now.  The Nats are on a roll.

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THE GOOD:  Ramos' home run was a no-doubt-about-it shot, which landed several rows higher than the Red Porch restaurant seats, almost to the glass windows.  It was, truly, a majestic shot.

 

THE BAD:  Livan Hernandez.  Unfortunately, the reason for the comeback, other than Fister stifling the Nats hitters, was Bad Livo.  He only went four innings, allowing five runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits and a walk.

 

THE UGLY:  It's almost too much to bring up in such a stunning win, but Jayson Werth took a play off in the fifth that ended up costing the Nats a run, so it needs to be mentioned.  Brendan Ryan hit a soft single to right that Werth took his time getting too, and Ryan broke for second.  In a hurry to pick up the ball, Werth dropped it -- for his fifth error of the season -- and Ryan went into second without a throw. The next batter, Adam Kennedy, single to drive in the Mariners fifth -- and last -- run of the game, giving them a 5-0 lead at the time.

 

THE STATS:  Seven hits, two walks, three strikeouts.  4-for-6 with RISP, two LOB, three GIDP.  E: Werth (5).

 

NEXT GAME:  Wednesday at 7:05 against the Mariners at Nats Park.  John Lannan (4-5, 3.52) faces Erik Bedard (4-4, 3.16).

 

HARPER WATCH: Bryce Harper did not participate in the South Atlantic League All-Star Home Run Derby due to his sore thumb.  But he did play in the game, going 0-for-2 with a run scoring groundout, as his Northern Division team lost to the Southern Division All-Stars 6-3.

Pudge didn't play, but did celebrate the 20th anniversary of his Major League debut. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Perhaps the biggest story of the night, Jayson Werth shaved. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Michael Morse made a nice play from his knees to retire Justin Smoak at second. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Danny Espinosa celebrates walk-off three-run homer. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

A week ago, after the Washington Nationals lost to the San Diego Padres 7-3 to fall to 27-36, the Nats were on a pace to win 69 games.

Man, what a difference a week makes.

Despite normally-reliable relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen giving up single runs apiece in the eighth and ninth innings to force extra innings, the Nationals walked-off with a 7-4 win over the reeling St. Louis Cardinals after Danny Espinosa deposited his 12th home run of the season into the Nats bullpen in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Ryan Zimmerman got the rally started with a single up the middle, and after Laynce Nix struck out swinging, reliever Fernando Salas hit Michael Morse with his next pitch.  Espinosa worked the count to two balls and one strike, and Salas laid one in to Espinosa, who made no doubt about it.  It capped a three-hit night for the rookie second baseman, and the homer was his eighth hitting left-handed this season.

The Nationals have now won six games in a row since dropping the first game of the four-game set with San Diego, raising their record to 33-36, a 77-win pace.  What's more, they finish the night in fourth place in the N.L. East as the Florida Marlins continue to spiral out of control, and are a mere 5 1/2 games out in the National League Wildcard race.

It's the first time Washington has won six in a row since they closed the season in 2009 with seven consecutive victories.

The Nats took a 4-2 lead into the late innings and turned things over, as they have in many wins this season, to Clippard and Storen.  But both gave up solo home runs -- Clippard to Albert Pujols and Storen to Yadier Molina -- to blow the lead and reduce John Lannan to a no-decision. 

Lannan was excellent once again.  He induced 14 ground ball outs and was the beneficiary of two double plays.  Lannan went seven innings, allowing two earned runs -- including Matt Holliday's seventh of the season in his first game back off the D.L. -- on six hits and two walks, striking out two.

Manager Jim Riggleman called on Sean Burnett to pitch the tenth, with Todd Coffey warming behind  him.  Burnett got lefty Colby Rasmus on a grounder to second, and Riggleman decided to leave the lefty in to face Pujols, Holliday and Lance Berkman.  Burnett got Pujols to pop up to right field for the second out, walked Holliday, and struck out Berkman looking to end the frame.

Last Thursday, the Nats were 3-5 on their 11-game road trip and staring at three more game in San Diego's Petco Park, a place where hitters go to die.  They won those three games by a combined score of 6-2, and after their best player re-joined the team on Tuesday, the offense has been popping and they swept the best hitting team in baseball.

Yup, it's been a remarkable winning streak.  Folks have gone from talking about another last-place finish to making a run at the wild card.  It's a long season, and we're not even at the All-Star break yet.  But it's fun to entertain the notion, even for just a little bit.

A week can make a lot of difference. 

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THE GOOD:  Espinosa.  He's had five hits the last two games, and balls are starting to fall in for him a little bit.  He has 12 homers and 41 RBIs this season and with his stellar defense, has to start earning some consideration for rookie of the year.

THE BAD:  Clippard and Storen.  Hard to fault these two guys, they've been doing their job all season long.  I guess when your set-up and closer fail, it's best they fail in a game you come back and end up winning.

THE UGLY:  Matt Stairs.  Grounded to first in his only at bat,.  Hitting .122 (5-for-40) this season.

THE STATS:  10 hits, two walks, six strikeouts.  2-for-6 with RISP, seven LOB, zero GIDP.  E: Espinosa (5)

NEXT GAME:  Friday at 7:05 against the Baltimore Orioles at Nats Park.  Jason Marquis (7-2, 3.67) faces Zach Britton (6-4, 3.18).

NATS NOTES:  1B Adam LaRoche had successful surgery earlier in the day.  It was reported the doctors found and repaired a SLAP tear, a sizable tear of the labrum inside his left shoulder.  The Nationals maintain that LaRoche will be ready for spring training.  Several Nationals players have undergone the same procedure, including Cristian Guzman and Jesus Flores.

The Nationals franchise-best errorless streak came to an end.  Espinosa drew Michael Morse off first base trying to make a play on a slow roller.  The streak stopped at 13-plus games and 131 1/3 innings.

Jayson Werth and Roger Bernadina led off the game with back-to-back homers off Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse.  It's the first time two players started  the game with back-to-back homers since Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro did it for the Expos in June 2002.