The Nationals are 60-59, and seven games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East after another heartbreaking loss on Monday night in St. Louis. And again, the loss was thanks to the bullpen collapsing in the late innings.
The Nats took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Cardinals’ Jedd Gyorko led the inning off with a homer against Washington reliever Justin Miller.
Later in the inning, St. Louis had runners on second and third when MVP candidate Matt Carpenter stepped up to the plate vs Nats’ left-hander Sammy Solis. Predictably, Carpenter cranked his NL-leading 33rd homer, and MASN broadcasters Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and F.P. Santangelo gave it the Hawk Harrelson silent treatment. They were even silent for a bit *before* the home run, like they expected it to happen.