Nyjer Morgan (right) is congratulated by Ronnie Belliard after scoring the winningrun to finish a game that had been previously suspended. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan).
- Nationals 11, Astros 10
(Game 1): If only they could start every game with a runner on first and the score tied in the bottom half of the last inning, then the Nats might win a few more. Plenty of crazy baseball oddities in this one, the completion of the May 5th game, which started in D.C. Numerous players who were involved when the rain came two months ago weren’t around last night: Nyjer Morgan took the place of the demoted Elijah Dukes on first and scored the winning run on an error by Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada. Joel Hanrahan (1-3), who now plays in Pittsburgh, was the winning pitcher of record; call it a belated going away present. (Although since the guy he was traded for — Morgan — scored the winning run, things seem kinda even.) Technically, this doesn’t stop the Nats current losing streak, but hey, a win’s a win, even when it only takes seven minutes to earn. Best of luck with the box score for this one, folks. - Astros 9, Nationals 4 (Game 2): Surprise, surprise — middle and late-inning pitching killed the Nationals yet again in their regularly-scheduled game at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Staff ace John Lannan (6-6) and Jason Bergmann allowed two big triples in the bottom of the sixth, and what was a 4-2 lead quickly soured into a 6-4 deficit. The National bats got to Houston starter Russ Ortiz early, but five Astro relievers went six scoreless to pick up his slack. Lance Berkman put the game out of reach in the eighth with a massive three-run homer to left-center field off Nats closer Mike MacDougal. That was more than enough for the normally run-challenged Astros, who scored nine runs in a game for the first time since June 5.
- Kastles 24, Lobsters 17: The Kastles finally got one in the win column in Boston, taking down Martina Navratilova and the Lobsters with wins in both women’s matches and the mixed doubles. (Party tennis: maybe not the best technical tennis, but plenty of funky team names to enjoy.)
