That in turn would have likely loaded the bases so the Mets could avoid facing Harper, and the Nats would have been able to tie it up on something as simple as a sac fly or a well-placed grounder.
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The Nationals are now six games back from the Mets in the NL East with 24 to play.
Consider the situation: Not only were the Nats down by one run with no outs and a runner on first base, but they had the best hitter in the world on deck in Bryce Harper. Anthony Rendon-who has had a rough, injury-plagued season but played like an MVP in 2014 and is hitting.324 over his past 17 games-came up next with two hits on the night already and a chance to get a rally started.
On Monday, the focus was on Bryce Harper’s postgame comments about the fans instead of the game itself.
Critics were particularly critical of how Williams had handled the bullpen in the late innings of consecutive losing efforts, after the Nationals blew leads late in both games, and Williams had chosen to go with Casey Janssen in the highest leverage situations rather than calling for closer Jonathan Papelbon who is conditioned to pitch in high-pressure situations.
The team begins next season in Atlanta on April 4. Rendon has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games, batting.316 (24-for-76) with three home runs, three doubles, 10 walks, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored over the hot stretch.
It made for the second straight brutal loss for the Nats in their biggest series of the season, allowing the Mets to increase their lead in the division to six games and firmly erasing whatever momentum Washington had gained from its series sweep over the woebegone Braves.
Counter logic would say Williams could have had Rendon – one of the Nats’ best hitters – swing away without sacrificing an out, although, to be sure, that would be more of a gamble.
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Hindsight is 20/20, of course. “We’ll talk about it now, but those discussions will stay between us”. But the decision looked awful at the time and now appears even worse in retrospect. Williams turned to left-hander Felipe Rivero, who walked the only two batters he faced.
