The men in blue — namely umpire Joe West — ensured that Jim Riggleman would have plenty of time to make the team flight out of Milwaukee this evening. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)
- Brewers 7, Nationals 3: It’s kind of amazing that with all the negativity the Nationals have experienced this year, the team’s manager had only been ejected once in 2009. (Once the losses start piling up, screaming at umps probably seems like a waste of energy.) Of course, there’s a new guy in charge, so let’s chalk this one up to him getting his feet wet. Nationals skipper Jim Riggleman got tossed in the third, after Anderson Hernandez was ruled — incorrectly — to have missed the ball on a check-swing. The ejection and a couple of other poor calls seemed to give the Nationals a slight boost in momentum, as Ryan Zimmerman crushed a three-run home run the following inning. But other than Zim’s blast and Nyjer Morgan’s three-hit day (which raised his average to a team-leading .310), Riggleman didn’t have a whole lot worth arguing for. The rest of the lineup went a combined 1-21 (man, that’s just…bad), as Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo (10-7) led the Wisconsonians back to .500. Washington’s J.D. Martin (0-2) allowed five runs in six innings and took the loss in his third career start. For this team, a series split on the road is nothing to sneeze at — though one can’t help but think that it could have been better.
- Mystics 78, Liberty 75: The Mystics jumped all over New York from the outset, with a 34-12 run in the first quarter. The Liberty made a game of it, though, even tying the game at one point. New York center Janel McCarville paced the comeback with 28 points — but fortunately, Washington’s Alana Beard had 28 points of her own to answer. This game was really won on the boards, where the Mystics held a large advantage, especially on the offensive end.
