Moments That Mattered: Blown Lead Begets Loss In Extras

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If only it had rained some more.

Today’s game was another miserable one for the Nats, who are finding new ways to lose every day. They had a 2-0 lead, but blew that and then blew the whole game in extras. They missed plenty of opportunities with a lack of timely hitting, as they often do, and the pitching would have had to be perfect for the Nats to win. The fact that the Nats are near .500 means the pitching has been near perfect on a lot of nights, but the offense has disappointingly bad almost every day. The Nats are 25-18 (.581) when Bryce Harper plays, but 4-13 (.235) when he does not. They need him back extremely badly, but this team cannot contend if his absence is so fatal.

Jun 5, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Craig Stammen (35) throws during the fifth inning against the New York Mets at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Most Important Nationals Hit: Jayson Werth‘s two-run homer (+22.8%)

The game started off pretty well for the Nats. With Denard Span on first in the third inning, Werth deposited a Kevin Correia pitch deep in the left field seats, putting the Nationals up 2-0 on his fifth of the year. The team is fortunate to finally have production from the two-spot, where Steve Lombardozzi could never produce, but the rest of the lineup needs to step up too.

Most Important Nationals Pitch: Ryan Doumit‘s RBI single (-28.9%)

Even a usually reliable Nat stumbled in extras to give the Twins the advantage. A walk, a sacrifice, and an intentional walk of Joe Mauer brought Doumit to the plate against Craig Stammen with one out and a runner in scoring position. To no one’s surprise, he delivered a single that drove in Chris Herrmann and put the Twins on top by the eventual final of 4-3.

Champ of the Game: Thanks to the offense’s ineptitude, this award goes to a rookie reliever. Ian Krol (+18.9%) entered with one out and a runner on second in the tenth after Erik Davis put him there, but Krol handled the pressure situation well by inducing two outs to escape unscathed. Doumit (+29.5%) earns it for Minnesota with his timely single. He was 2-5 with a walk overall.

Chump of the Game: Stammen (-31.5%) pitched a complete inning with two strikeouts, but allowed the winning run to score on two walks and a hit. Leadoff walks always come back to haunt you. Correia (-27.9%) allowed three runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings.