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A Triumphant Return
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Castilla, who had missed the previous two games with a strained right shoulder, gave Hernandez everything he needed to win. After the triple, he came to the plate in the fifth with two outs and Ryan Church on first. He sent an 0-2 pitch from Arizona starter Javier Vazquez -- a former Montreal Expo -- high into the sky in left, sailing into the Nationals' bullpen, a 5-0 lead that had RFK's upper deck swaying again.
That would have been enough. But in a way, Castilla also provided the moment that many of the Nationals found most encouraging for the rest of the season -- even without lifting his bat from his shoulder. In the bottom of the eighth, he came to the plate with a man on and no one out, needing just a single for the cycle.
"I wanted to do that," Castilla said. "I never do that in my career. It would be great."
But Arizona reliever Lance Cormier plunked Castilla with the first pitch. No cycle. Before Castilla could take two steps toward first, the crowd booed, a sound that resonated as if it came from the bottom of 45,596 throats.
"I mean, it's 5-0," left fielder Brad Wilkerson said. "A lot of fans would've been out of there. . . . But they were paying attention. They knew he was going for the cycle. They booed the whole inning. That showed me a lot, right there."
The Nationals, in turn, showed their fans a lot. Hernandez would have loved to finish the game; he led the majors in complete games in each of the last two seasons. But he allowed the last of his six walks to Gonzalez to open the ninth, then, with one out, a Shawn Green single.
"He was tiring," Schneider said, "but what more can you ask?"
Diamondbacks first baseman Chad Tracy then pulled a drive over the right field fence, the three-run homer that finally drove Hernandez from the game. In 10 quick games, though, this team has developed a personality. The Nationals pick each other up. Thus, Cordero came in, induced one ground-out, allowed a single, and then got pinch hitter Tony Clark to fly harmlessly to center, the ball settling in Church's glove just before smoke and explosions celebrated the moment.
"I didn't know it was going to be like this," Church said, long after the ball was secured. "But these people are hungry for baseball. . . . Hearing the screams and the yells, it's not Montreal at all. It just gave me chills."
