This entry was written by DCist contributor Jeff Beam.
This is not how the Nats wanted to start things.
After losing five of seven in New York and Houston to start the season, the Nats returned home to RFK for a mid-week tilt with the Mets. After last week’s parade of hit batsmen and subsequent suspensions, tension built between the teams to the point of a warning from the league extending the rest of the season. Fans hoping for fireworks were disappointed—there were none between Pedro Martinez and Jose Guillen, none from the Nats’ bats, and none shooting from above centerfield to celebrate a win. The good news coming from off the field was buried by the mediocrity on it.
The Tuesday afternoon home opener was only remarkable in contrast to last year. No sellout, no raucous crowd, no Presidential first pitch, and no win for the home team. Some of the comparisons are a bit unfair—the 40,000+ in attendance on a mid-week afternoon in cavernous RFK is more than the capacity of many stadiums around the league. Fan apathy could hardly be blamed, since the show on the field was far from exhilarating. Ramon Ortiz dropped to 0-2, allowing the Mets to get a 4-0 lead in his six innings, while rookie Brian Bannister again frustrated Washington, allowing three hits while getting two of his own. The top of the Mets order (Jose Reyes, Paul Lo Duca, and Carlos Beltran) combined to drive in five runs on their seven hits, including Beltran’s two-run shot off the facing of the upper deck off Felix Rodriguez in the 9th. Alfonso Soriano provided the only offense for the home team, hitting a solo homer in his first game in RFK in the 7th, as the Nats lost 7-1.
The season’s first night game on Wednesday took on a bit of a Yankees-at-Camden-Yards feel , as many among the almost 30,000 fans in attendance wore Mets jerseys and started “Let’s Go Mets” chants, as New York won again, 3-1. On the field, Tony Armas pitched well enough to keep the Nats close while Pedro plowed through the first five innings, allowing only a solo homer to Jose Vidro.
