Last night was the first Ladies Night of the 2008 season.  The very successful event was held in a tent outside the first base gate.  Female fans of all ages gathered before the game to sample wine and beer, get massages, win prizes and enjoy samples of food from Nationals Park.  It was well worth the $30, for those of us that paid to attend.  The ladies were also treated to appearances by Joel Hanrahan, John Lannan, Jesus Flores and Luis Ayala - as well as Desperate Housewives star Ricardo Chavira.  It was also a special treat to meet Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney, authors of It Takes More Than Balls.  Their book is a guide to understanding baseball, designed specifically for women and we’re looking forward to reading it.

Of course, it was Elijah Dukes that really gave the ladies something to celebrate.  There’s nothing better for getting new fans hooked than a walk off home run in extra innings. And it wasn’t just that home run that made Dukes the star last night.  Elijah went 4 for 6 with 4 RBI, 2 singles, a triple and a walk off home run in the 10th inning.  Were it not for the official scorer’s decision to score an error on Skip Schumaker in the second, Dukes would have hit for the cycle.  He also made a fantastic diving-somersault catch in the 8th inning to rob Ryan Ludwick of a hit.  It was a great performance by Dukes and a glimmer of what all that potential and power could become if he continues to work hard and stay out of trouble.  Congrats to Elijah on a fantastic night.  It was great to see a win - even if it came after blowing a 7-0 lead.

The Nats scored in each of the first 4 innings to accumulate 8 runs heading into the 5th inning.  Dukes’ RBI triple came in the first inning to score Guzman.  Boone and Casto got things going in the 2nd with 3 RBI between them.  In the third, Guzman and Dukes drove in 2 more runs.   Guzman will get overlooked by Dukes’ heroics, but the Short Stop also had a 4 for 6 night with 3 runs and an RBI.  He did bobble a ball that scored the tying run in the 9th - a mistake that his teammate Dukes would help erase.

Tim Redding cruised through the first three innings before things got bad.  He got out of an ugly 4th inning with a 7-3 lead.  Glaus’ home run was followed by a string of singles and a 2 RBI double to pitcher Mike Parisi.  In the 6th, Tim faced more problems.  A walk, a wild pitch and a single put 2 men on for Mark Worrell.  The rookie reliever hit his first home run to put 3 more runs on the board, closing the gap to an uncomfortable 8-6 lead.

Rivera finished the 6th and Manning and Ayala pitched the 7th and 8th with scoreless frames.  The save situation was set for closer Jon Rauch.  After getting La Rue to ground out, Rauch gave up a double to pinch hitter Brendan Ryan.  We were getting a little nervous.  Albert Pujols came out of the dugout to pinch hit and the Cardinals fans in attendance went wild.  But Rauch went after Pujols aggressively and got him on three called strikes to collect the second out.  Unfortunately, Skip Schumaker hit a ball hard to Lastings Milledge, who misplayed the ball off the wall and watched it bounce back into center field before he could retrieve it.  It was scored an RBI triple.  The Cardinals had come within 1 run, with the tying run on 3rd base.   Aaron Miles singled on a ball to Guzman to score Schumaker and the game went to extra innings.

Sanches pitched the 10th, but gave up a homer to Joe Mather, his first career home run.  The game was quickly slipping out of reach.  Sad fans left lamenting over how their team could blow a 7 run lead.   But Elijah Dukes, whose hard work in the cages is finally starting to pay off, would have none of it. 

With Cristian Guzman on first, Dukes faced pitcher Ryan Franklin. The new, more patient Dukes took 6 pitches and waited through 4 pick off attempts before driving a slider to straight-away center field for a walk off home run in extra innings.  His teammates celebrated the win, which went to Sanches.  A happy ending for a team that watched an impressive early lead slip away quickly.

Tonight, Jason Bergmann faces Lincecum (2.23, 7-1).  Willie Harris is the only guy that has seen Lincecum a few times with some success (Double, Triple in 6 at-bats).

This entry was posted on Friday, June 6th, 2008 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Events, Game Recaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.