For One Night, Life Is Grand

By the end of the day, what mattered was how Milledge handled the bat when he did get his chance. The decisive sixth inning began with singles from Wily Mo Peña and Aaron Boone. With two outs and runners on second and third, Acta sent up Milledge. Mets Manager Willie Randolph called on Heilman, the right-hander. Though Acta had left-handed hitters Nick Johnson, Rob Mackowiak and Johnny Estrada on his bench, he stuck with Milledge.

He was nearly rewarded in a big way, because Milledge scalded one pitch down the line in left. It landed foul, but barely. But with a full count, he drew a walk, bringing López to the plate with the bases full.

"I was in the game the whole game," Milledge said. "I knew I'd be called upon, so I came up there and had a big AB."

As Acta said: "He had his head in the game and had a great at-bat for us. That's part of the learning process."

It would have meant little had López not come through. He fouled off a pair of pitches from Heilman, but eventually worked the count full. Heilman then came with a change-up. López, who had just two RBI on the season headed into the game, unloaded on it, driving it to right.

"Coming from RFK [Stadium] last year," he said, "I was like, 'Wait.' "

But Mets right fielder Ryan Church drifted back and eventually ran out of room. The ball settled over the wall, just the fourth home run for the Nationals at their new park, the first grand slam, giving Washington a 7-3 lead.

Afterward, López stood in his home clubhouse. He did not sulk. Rather, he stood tall, another step in an image overhaul nearly unimaginable a year ago.

"You can have the whole world believe in you, and if you don't believe in yourself, it doesn't matter," López said. "I believe in my abilities, and I'm very positive."