TEN AGAIN

Nationals 3, Mets 2 (WAS: 51-32; NYM: 41-42, 10 GB)

Oops. I made a mistake in yesterday's posting, saying the Mets were sending Pedro Martinez* against the Nationals' best pitcher in Livan Hernandez on Tuesday night. Well, it was actually Esteban Loaiza, not Hernandez...but it might as well have been Cy Friggin' Young. The Mets couldn't get anything going against Loazia until it was too late.

The worst thing about it was I couldn't watch, because I was at work, and following it on GameCast I couldn't tell if the 2 9th inning runs the Mets got were an exciting, legitimate threat, or just afterthoughts. If nothing else, it proves Chad Cordero (who got his 30th save) can be scored on...and it shows that the Mets don't quit. I think.

The good news out of this game: there are still 2 more against Washington, so the Mets can still take 3 out of 4. The bad news is that Pedro* took the loss - they needed him to get them a win in this series.

THE KID'S KIDS: Revenge for the Marlins - after a 10-5 Mets win Monday, the Marlins struck back with a 15-5 win. Hall of Famer Gary Carter's career managerial record is now 7-3, 2 and a half games in front of the Marlins.