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For Kearns, Nats' Win Is Still Painful to Watch
Catcher Brian Schneider gets away with his second stolen base of the season as the ball skips by Jose Valentin.
(By Julie Jacobson -- Associated Press)
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Kearns's burden is lessened because Johnson is expected to be at full strength for spring training. Johnson didn't travel back to Washington with the team Monday night, but he received visits from roughly 15 Nationals players and Robinson on Sunday evening, and owner Mark Lerner stopped by Monday.
Head athletic trainer Tim Abraham said the team hoped to move Johnson to Washington within a couple of days. "It just depends on how quickly he can get up and comfortably moving around," Abraham said.
Jose Vidro, the team's regular second baseman, took Johnson's spot at first on Monday, and he went 3 for 3 with two doubles as the Nationals knocked around Mets left-hander Tom Glavine, scoring four runs in his six innings -- three on Zimmerman's double in the third that gave the rookie 104 RBI.
But the Nationals could have had far more. They had two runners thrown out stealing, Schneider and Zimmerman, both on failed hit-and-run plays. Vidro was cut down trying to score from third on a grounder to Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.
"Just being a little aggressive," was Robinson's explanation.
Still, Perez -- who dazzled in his first major league start last week, allowing a single hit over six innings against the Atlanta Braves -- was good enough to make the runs hold up, albeit barely. He didn't walk a batter in that first start. On Monday, he walked six in 6 1/3 innings. He was unable to spot his fastball, yet gave up only two runs.
"I like what I see with this young man," Robinson said. "He doesn't get frustrated."
When the Nationals scored three in the top of the eighth -- two on a single from second baseman Bernie Castro -- they ensured beating the Mets three times in the four games here.
And when it ended, Kearns emerged from the dugout to congratulate his teammates. He is buoyed by the fact that Johnson continues to send text messages to him, a sign his spirits are good. But even in victory Monday, Kearns walked slowly off the field, the second-to-last National to reach the dugout, the forgotten man in his team's most jarring moment of the year.
