A Wonderful and Exciting Come from Behind Win

What an incredible game last night. The Nationals came from behind something they haven't done a great deal of this year. It started out rocky with the Mets scoring two runs in the first inning. Then they added another run in the third. I was thinking oh no this is going to be a repeat of Friday night. If they lost any hope of reaching the playoffs (which is very slim) would be gone.

But the Nats scored a couple of runs and it was 3-2 Mets. The Mets scored again in the fifth and seventh inning. The Nats scored one run in the seventh.

Along came the eighth inning and it was the Mets ahead 5-3. But then the Nats of ole showed up to play and play they did. Bryce Harper played a pivotal role in getting the win but not in the usual way:

The rally hinged on a crucial sacrifice bunt by Bryce Harper three batters into the inning. It was a curious move at the time, but Harper’s decision to move his teammates into scoring position helped the Nationals pull within 6¹ / ₂ games of the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild-card spot.

Trailing 5-3 in the eighth, the Nationals changed the course of the entire contest — and perhaps their final 26 games. Scott Hairston led off the inning with a single off left-hander Scott Rice. Pinch hitter Denard Span, who has struggled against left-handers this season, entered with a 14-game hitting streak on the line. He smacked a single up the middle. This was the first clue to Werth that something special was at work.

“I didn’t even know he had that streak going on,” Werth said. “To extend [it] that like that, when that happened, I knew we had some magic working.”

Up came Harper with two runners on and no outs. Harper has struggled against left-handers as well this season. He had a slight limp earlier in the game, but both he and Manager Davey Johnson said later his left knee wasn’t bothering him. In this situation, Harper decided to trade an out for a base for each of his teammates. Johnson didn’t signal for the sacrifice attempt; Harper made the choice himself.

“You’ve got to get him over,” Harper said. “You don’t want ground into a double play or anything like that. Down 0-1, he actually hung me a curveball I probably could’ve drove, but I was lucky enough to get it down and get those guys over and get into a big inning.”

Harper’s bunt prevented the following hitter, Anthony Rendon, from hitting into a double play. Rendon’s groundball to shortstop Omar Quintanilla allowed Hairston to score and trim the deficit to 5-4. Ryan Zimmerman then hit a groundball up the middle toward Quintanilla, who gloved the ball but couldn’t get much on the difficult throw to first base. Span raced around the bases and beat first baseman Lucas Duda’s throw home. The Nationals had tied the game at 5. While curious at the time, the bunt proved vital.

Then along comes Jayson Werth and he doubles and that scored Zimmerman. And for the first time that night the Nats were ahead and they stayed ahead. A very exciting win. A much needed win. Keep it up guys!

The Nationals celebrate after a come from behind win.

Screech waves the Nationals' flag in victory.