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The Mets (11–9) defeated the Nationals (6–16) by the score of 7 to 2 in Washington, DC, last night.
For a recap and boxscore, go to SNY.tv.
…give a game ball to Johan Santana, who, 
with his team on a three-game losing streak, was in total control of the game – allowing two runs, seven hits, while striking out three and walking one, while also hitting two doubles and making two fantastic plays in the field…
…in his post-game remarks, he referred to himself as a pitcher on at least four occasions…and that’s the thing is, he is a pitcher, in every meticulous facet, and he appears to wear that title with pride…he let up hits, but then set up the coming batters to command the inning…he’s the definition of an ace…
…second, give Willie Randolph credit for pushing his team to play a more small-ball style…the bunted, stole bases, hit and ran (avoiding double plays), and put lots of pressure on the defense on all night long…and i like this, especially since the team is struggling to drive the ball lately…
…Carlos Beltran helped, hitting the ball hard and looking like a totally different player than he has in the past…he seems more balanced, comfortable with who is, and a bit more in command of his game…as the guys from SNY pointed out during the game, carlos is just growing up…
…in time Ray King and Error Makers took over, throwing the ball around the field like Little Leaguers…yes, it was nice to finally see the Mets catch a break or two, but they made their luck tonight by forcing the Nationals to react…seriously, don’t discount the Mets life on the base paths when counting the Nationals physical and mental errors…
…huge, huge hit by Ryan Church late in the game to tack on an additional two runs…which is something the team must do more of, so it was great to see it happen here…
…what happened to the patience of Jose Reyes from last season…he is not walking, and swinging at everything, including a lot of first-pitch balls out of the zone…
…hats off to Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner for closing the door, and reminding us what an old school, dominant bullpen should look like…
The Mets face the Nationals in the final game of a two-game series tonight in Washington, DC.
Just a nice clean win.
Clean win? I hope there was a little sarcasm in there..
yea, i’m happy to get a W cause a W is a W, but I’m concerned about the weekend…
nice win, good to beat up on the nationals this season. Schneider and Church every day are proving to be huge assets. Schneider behind the plate is something special, I hope everyone isn’t overlooking what he’s bringing to the table. Church is going to have a monster year…
Santana is just special. You can’t fully appreciate it until you see him every 5 days, but it’s quickly becoming apparent that we’ve got something great here. I still don’t even feel like he’s pitched a game where he’s had his “best stuff”…he knows how to bear down and shove it. His glove, bat, and his attitude, the whole package is great…
m00kie, i COMPLETELY agree on all points.
Church is playing great so far..and yea, he will have his slumps, but hes a great pickup. Schneider is obviously a better pitch caller and catcher than lo duca was. I’m also glad hes back for Pelf’s next start, I think he’ll help.
Santana….you are so right, he might have had his best or close to best stuff against Philly last weekend, but besides that, hes just great at getting out of small jams…
LOVE IT!
I like Johan’s bat more than anything! He looks like a cleanup hitter! LOL I couldn’t stop laughing when the Mets scored 4 runs without hitting the ball out of the infield … and after all that Johan steps in and laces a double in the gap. Too funny.
But yeah … the guy is filthy on the mound. There is not one part of his game that you can’t like … not one. I’m going to his next start, which is on my birthday … I hope he throws us a no hitter.
Good win last night. This is what the mets need to do. Beat the weaker teams. Win today and then focus on beating those damn braves.
How about Church’s barehanded grab on that bad hop last night in the late innings?
If he doesn’t make that play that ball goes to the wall and lord knows a couple runs come home.
He’s the real deal..he’s gonna be the next Paul O’Neil – Guy who was pretty good, had talent, was on a bad team – comes to a team that wants to win, and shines.
I hate the yanks, but..i think its a good comparison.
his defense is rock solid.. a couple of nice jumping grabs next to the wall in the last week, he’s right there for every flyball, no more shawn green flops! For the first time in a while, when a ball goes up to right, I feel confidence that he’ll be there..
I agree its nice to have a RF that can cover some ground and has a good arm to boot. I think people will realize that trading Milledge wasn’t the sexy option but it will help the mets win in the coming years. Yes Milledge will have a better career and may become and all-star but it wasn’t happening this year or next because he’s still learning the big league game. Its funny after a lose there are 700 posts but after a win no one shows up. Its either a lot of trolls on here who hate when the mets win or actual mets fans that are afraid to say good things about the mets.
as long as ryan doesn’t start wailing and moaning about every called strike i am fine with that.
And thats why the milledge trade was good for us. Did you guys see how milledge bobbled that ball late in the game where church not only made that grab you mentioned but earlier against the scoreboard. Reliable defense and thats what we need. Cant wait to see what this guy does in a full year.
that play would be more memorable if it hadnt been right before the two RBI double by the pitcher. He only saved the runs for a moment. But it was pretty heads up, and also lucky as the ball could have just as easily missed his hand altogether.
I like the Paul O’Neill comparison. We already had our Derek Jeter in Wright, Reyes can be our Bernie (not in style of play, just in the fact that he’s our 2nd best player and he’s homegrown), and Beltran’s our Tino. They didn’t have anyone approaching Johan, but we don’t have anyone approaching Rivera in his prime, so it’s a wash. Alright, everything’s in place, now let’s go win 3 of the next 4 World Series!
Thank god for the Nats!
Beating the Nationals doesn’t mean anything….. these wins don’t count….. everybody beats this team….Basically, the Nats handed the Mets the win last night because of the many errors they had….. the highlight of the game was definitely Santana. Let’s hope they can beat the Braves this weekend….
and I thought I was being overly uncomplimentary of last nights win…
It also doesnt count because we all expect Santana to win everytime out, so this game was a given when it started…
but yea, lets see if Perez, Pelfrey, and Maine can keep the W’s flowing before we get to giddy about this win.
these wins don’t count? I think you’ve got that wrong.
Obviously you are taking their statement literally…… What should be obvious is that this team seems to have trouble with any major league ball clubs with a winning record lately…….. Be realistic, the Nats gave them that win last night…..
Yeah, beating the Nats is meaningless, because they’re just not very good. Remember how we crushed them at the end of last season to clinch a playoff spot.
Oh. Wait.
Look, you have to beat these teams. That’s what good teams do. You basically go .500 against the good teams, and then clean up against the bad. That’s a recipe for a successful season.
Except that the cubs made them look like a little league team.
That was a two game series, which followed a series where the Mets won two out of three from the Phillies.
The Cubs are also a pretty good team who happens to be hot right now. Those games were close except for one or two innings by the bullpen.
How many RISP did the Mets leave hanging during those two games?????
I thought every win counted…even those in April. Isn’t that what’s been being preached around here? Pedal to the metal for all 162 games? (Which is impossible, by the way.)
I don’t care if we’re playing the Nats or the Hackensack Bulls — a win is a win, I don’t care how we get it. The best teams always beat up on the weaker teams, that’s how it should be.
A win against the Nats is one less win we have to get to clinch the division.
exactly
Good win all around, but the lineup and bullpen are still a concern. I would like to see this team hit a HR once in awhile…geez, and can we beat a good team already? 6 of 11 wins vs. Knats and Fish.
That being said, I think we all need to be patient for 3-4 weeks, with Alou coming back, Sanchez rounding into form, and other things, this team is not totally on track yet.
At least no one seems to want to run away with the division, and that’s a good thing until this team figures out how good it can be.
I knew Schneider was an upgrade, but I don’t think anyone thought Church would be hitting like this!
to be fair, the ball wasn’t really carrying last night. The Nats hit 2 or 3 shots that I was sure were out, but that ended up caught (with Church’s catch against the wall being the most definitive example). Of course, the Mets didn’t hit a single ball that looked out of the bat, but oh well…
four out of six against the phils this year… would you call them a good team?
I was at the game last night, great win. I had fantastic seats, 4th row on the rightfield side, so I had a close-up view of Church’s barehanded grab. That guy is just a baseball player. He’s very quickly turning into one of my favorites. Johan is unbelievable. It was obvious he didn’t have his best stuff again, and yet he was still quietly dominant. It reminded me of a Sixers-Cavs game I went to 2 weeks ago, where Lebron didn’t seem to be having a great game, but next thing I knew he had 27 points and a bunch of rebounds. Quiet dominance is the mark of a great player. I can’t wait till the middle of summer hits and this guy hits his stride, I’m predicting a ton of 0-2 runs, 8-12K type games all in a row.
The new stadium is absolutely gorgeous, and is actually better than CBP, which says something because I love CBP. The thing I like the most about it is that when you get off the Metro, you walk down this street and can see down into the stadium, and you’re with all the other fans, and right in the middle of a city street. It’s something that places like Camden Yards, Fenway, Wrigley, and Yankee Stadium (if you sit in the bleachers) have, that stadiums like CBP, Shea, and the front entrance to Yankee Stadium lack. That’s the only thing I’m not gonna like about Citi Field. Anyway, as gorgeous as the stadium is, there are still a lot of kinks they need to work out: my girlfriend and I got on line for Sausage and Peppers 20 minutes before the first pitch, and ended up missing the Mets entire first turn at bat, only to find out when we got to the front of the line that they had run out of Italian Sausage (they still had Brats and Kielbasa) and were out of Sauerkraut for hot dogs. Kinda ridiculous considering the 1st inning was just starting. Lines were terrible at almost all the concession stands, for pretty much the entire game. And the line to get on the Metro after the game was AWFUL, luckily we were able to catch a bus to Union Station. Just a few things to look out for if you’re planning on making it to the game.
Oh, one last thing: a bunch of Mets fans in rightfield were pretty loud all game, but the best part was when they started doing the “Angel Wave” after Pagan stole 2nd and then 3rd. My girlfriend got a kick out of it….I think I’m starting to convert her over from being an evil Yankees fan. If I can do that, I might just marry her…
Gotta go to Hard Times Cafe – great chili place right next to the Red Hot and Blue over by section 105. I also found out they have a Five Guys. The prices are a bit high for concessions – $7.50 for a bottle of Bud? But I guess that’s to be expected.
But yeah, I agree with you on the stadium. Hard not to improve on RFK. Had a great view of the Anacostia from the upper deck – and even sitting in the next-to-last row of the stadium, you still get a pretty good view of the game.
I parked at RFK and rode the shuttle. They have a good system and it didn’t take long, but I have to wonder why they park so far from the stadium – they drop off and pick you up in front of DOT on 3rd and M, about 5 or 6 minutes from the main gates. It’s the Nats’ own shuttle – you mean they can’t just drop you off at the stadium? But at least I can avoid the Metro crush.
There was a long line for food because all the Bozos in D.C. go to the game for social purposes, not to watch baseball. I grew up in that area and the sports fans there are pathetic!
Lets get back on a nice little win streak …nice to have Johan stopping the L’s and beginning the W’s
We won and Castillo hit second? that can’t be!