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Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Mets game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat.
If you want to participate in the chat via our Gamezone space, which includes live stats, matchup data, pitch tracking and more, head here. And if you're not into in the live chat experience, that's fine, too; I'll provide periodic updates below the chat window.
Thru 3: The Nationals and Mets are still scoreless, with Livan Hernandez and R.A. Dickey trading zeros. Both teams have managed a walk, and the Mets got a runner aboard on a Ryan Zimmerman throwing error, but that's been it. And speaking of zeros...Stephen Strasburg has pitched two scoreless innings in Rochester; he walked a batter in the second, and another Red Wings hitter reached on an error. But he got a double play, and froze long-time big-league Jacque Jones on a 2-2 curveball. He's thrown 37 pitches through two innings, 21 strikes.
Thru 6: That was one of the stranger three-inning stretches of baseball I've ever seen. In the fourth, Angel Pagan put the Mets on the board with an inside-the-park homer after Nyjer Morgan crashed hard into the wall trying to make a leaping grab in center, Josh Willingham was slow with a long relay and Ivan Rodriguez's tag at the plate was just late.
But that was just a prelude for the fifth inning. The Nationals put Hernandez and Morgan on base to start the inning. As Cristian Guzman hit a low liner, though, Pagan made a shoetop catch. Both runners were going on the play, and they each remained frozen at their base - Hernandez at third, Morgan at second, as Pagan fired to the infield. Perhaps not knowing if he'd caught the ball himself, or perhaps just making a wild throw, Pagan overshot the cutoff man and threw home. But Morgan and Hernandez stayed, and catcher Henry Blanco had enough time to throw to shortstop Jose Reyes to double Hernandez off second, and Reyes threw to first to double off Morgan. So we're still tied at two, and in the last three innings, the Nationals have stranded two runners, hit into a triple play and hit into a double play.
