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Best Game: Nationals' win over Mets tops for the year
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AP photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
As part of Examiner.com's new Best Of series, I'm going to write about the best of the Nats season from time to time. First up is the best game of the year.
Naming the Nats' best game of 2008 would seem to be an easy proposition. With only 59 wins to choose from, the selections are thin, and even most of those wins were ugly. So no one would begrudge me for picking out the inaugural game at Nationals Park as game of the year.
That one was as satisfying as any all year for Nats fans, capped with a walk-off home run from the team's best player, Ryan Zimmerman. But to call that the best game of 2008 for the Nats would be misleading, as that game showcased exactly what the team would be lacking the rest of the year: timely hitting, a healthy starting nine, and a sellout crowd.
No, I'm going to September for the Nats' best game. Sept. 16 to be precise, and the Nationals' 1-0 win over the Mets. This win had no walk-off home run, no presidential sighting, no historical significance of any kind, really. What it did have was a nine-inning summation of just about everything the Nats were in 2008, for better or worse, and everything they hope to be next year.
A 1-0 game is obviously an indicator of a pitcher's duel, and that's exactly what this game had. Odalis Perez pitched his best game in maybe five years as he completed his journey back from baseball oblivion (also known as Kansas City). Mike Hinckley, bucking off his label as a draft bust, continued his amazing scoreless inning run that eventually reached 13.2 innings. And Joel Hanrahan, at that point still a question mark as a closer, knocked down the heart of the Mets' lineup in order to seal the win and notch his most impressive save of the year.
The game encapsulated just about everything the Nats were in 2008. Perez's performance was out of the ordinary for Nats starters, but the team did rely on its rotation to carry it throughout the year, and occasionally that reliance paid off big. The bullpen turned things around in the last two months, as young pitchers (Hinckley, Hanrahan, Garrett Mock, Steven Shell) took over and provided a spark. And the team learned where its future lies; namely, in Hanrahan and a talented young pitching staff.
The game also highlighted all that was wrong with the Nats this year: awful hitting, injuries (Hanrahan only got the chance to close because of Chad Cordero's injury, one of 15 players to spend extended time on the DL), and an over-reliance on retread players due to injuries and ineffectiveness. The Nats even needed help to score that one run, as Fernando Tatis made a bad dive for Perez's double and separated his shoulder. Perez scored two batters later.
The game also virtually sealed the Mets' fate to miss the playoffs. The Mets dropped from first place in the NL East after this loss, never to fully recover. So in at least an abstract way, the Nats can say they ruined the Mets' season. For what it's worth.
It's hard to pick out a best game from a 102-loss season. But a win that showcases your good young pitchers AND knocks the division leaders into second place? That's one very good game.
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