Results tagged “garrettmock”

Rockies 4, Nationals 1: Obviously, the Nats just have trouble matching up with the Rockies -- Colorado completed the sweep after another quiet night from the Nationals' lineup and a good pitching start which somehow lost its way. Adam Dunn smoked a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning, but otherwise Colorado hurler Jason Hammel (8-7) shut down the home bats and allowed only three hits in seven innings. It was the third straight game in which the Rockies got fantastic starting pitching: over the three games of the series, Colorado starters allowed six earned runs in 21 innings, for a sparkling 2.57 ERA. Nats starter Garrett Mock (2-5) started just as strong, with eight strikeouts in four scoreless innings -- but he just threw too many pitches and the Rockies hopped on him in the fifth. The Rockies certainly enjoyed their quick trip to the nation's capital, increasing their lead in the race for the NL Wild Card to 2 games over San Francisco. Washington will try to get their offense back on track as Milwaukee visits tomorrow -- perhaps the unveiling of the much-ballyhooed Stephen Strasburg and a big crowd from dollar ticket sales will help nudge them back on the right track.

• Nationals 2, Reds 0: Ronnie Belliard is hardly known as a guy with a ton of power -- after all, he's never hit more than 17 longballs in a season, and he's a player from whom ten homers in a season would be a solid return. But his blast in last night's game against the Reds could probably count for two -- Belliard absolutely crushed a first-pitch breaking ball from Reds starter Aaron Harang (6-14) to open the scoring in Cincinnati. Thanks to a great outing from Garrett Mock, that was enough offense to lead the Nationals to a victory. Mock (2-4) looked dominant at times in posting six shutout innings to earn his second straight victory. Washington's bullpen also reverted to its form from the team's recent eight-game winning streak -- four Nats relievers held the Reds in check, capped by Mike MacDougal, who retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save. More good news for the Nats: the team has acknowledged that the front office has held meetings with holdout #1 pick Stephen Strasburg and superagent Scott Boras -- the deadline to sign the stud pitcher is Monday. Will the Nationals get a deal done? Only time will tell.
• Mystics 91, Sun 89: It was a big game for both teams -- a win for either would do a whole world of good in the logjam that is the race for second in the WNBA's Eastern Conference: perhaps it should come as no surprise that it took double overtime to settle matters. Connecticut and Washington played one of the more entertaining matches of the WNBA season at the Verizon Center, with the Mystics coming out on top, despite missing chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first extra period. Crystal Langhorne came to the rescue: the Maryland product had a sensational game, with career highs in points (22) and rebounds (16) -- she also hit the game-winning shot with nine ticks left in the second OT. With the win, the Mystics pull into a three-way tie for second place with the Sun and Atlanta.

• Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 2: Garrett Mock (1-4), who spent two-plus years in the Arizona farm system before coming to the Nationals, earned his first win of the season against his old organization. Mock had easily his best outing of the season, striking out seven in six innings. The righty's only real mistake was a two-run homer in the fourth off the bat of D'backs powerhouse Mark Reynolds -- but that was quickly evened out by a longball from Josh Willingham in the bottom half of that inning. The Nationals offense exhibited balance, with seven players getting at least one hit against Dan Haren (11-7). Washington also didn't make an error in the field, and the bullpen was perfect -- Jorge Sosa (getting his first save of the year) and Sean Burnett combined for three innings of flawless relief. The seven game streak is the longest for the team since a ten-game rip in June of 2005, and the Nationals now find themselves but four and a half games away from shedding the title of worst record in the majors (hey, baby steps).
• Freedom 3, Sky Blue FC 1: The Freedom closed out the regular season with a victory against Sky Blue FC, clinching a third place finish in the league's inaugural season and the right to host next Saturday's opening-round playoff match. Abby Wambach and the side came out firing at the SoccerPlex, and the fiery forward had a tally within the first 20 minutes. Connecting again with Lisa De Vanna (who also scored), Wambach sealed her brace on a low cross shortly after the interval. The Freedom will either host Sky Blue in a rematch or Boston next Saturday at 4 p.m for the chance to move on to the semifinals -- they're probably hoping for SBFC (against whom they are 2-0-1 this year) rather than Boston (who has defeated the Freedom twice in three games).