Ronnie Belliard (L) and Wil Nieves congratulate each other postgame. Both hithomers to help some fantastic pitching in a 2-0 Nats win. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
- 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.
