Garrett Mock had his strongest start of the season last night and led the Nationalsto their seventh straight victory. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
- 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).
