Great Win by the Nats

It took 13 innings but what a win it was. Bryce Harper ends a very long dry spell and blasts a home run to win the game. This is hopefully the end of his long slump.

As the Post put it:

Mired in a slump, the focus of constant scrutiny, Harper blasted a two-run, walk-off home run in the 13th inning that represented both the decisive blow in the Nationals’ 5-3 victory over the New York Mets and a burden lifted. Harper smashed the afternoon’s 374th pitch four rows deep to the left of the visitors’ bullpen — an “oppo-boppo,” in Harper’s parlance.

Teammates spilled from the home dugout. Harper floated to first base. He raised his bat in the air and dropped it like a used toothpick. He raised his right fist as he rounded first and pumped it as he trotted to second.

“I haven’t felt like that in a while,” Harper said.

You could tell the moment Harper hit the ball that it was gone and just about everyone in the stadium knew it too.

It was a long afternoon. A game that started at 12:45 didn't end until around 5. The Nats took the early lead off of a two run homer from Ian Desmond. They had were ahead 3-1 until the 7th inning when the Mets struck back:

The Nationals took a 3-1 lead into the seventh before Jordan Zimmermann ran into trouble and left with two runners on. Drew Storen allowed both to score, and the teams engaged in a stalemate through extra innings. The Nationals marooned base runners. The Mets flailed against Tyler Clippard, Rafael Soriano, new addition Matt Thornton and Stammen.

 Here's my look of concern as the game continued into extra innings. Would they be able to pull this out? Or would this be the on that got away?

But up came Harper and we had the answer. An the team emptied the dug out"

Harper escaped from the pack between the mound and third base. Span grabbed him, gave him a high-five and hugged him. Jayson Werth wrapped his arms around him. Teammates formed a line to embrace him. Harper slicked his hair back and smiled. What must that have felt like?

“When everybody is pulling on the same rope, it’s fun to play,” Harper said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun this next month and a half.”

Here's the sequence of pictures of Harper coming home. What a great game!