John Matthews
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) The dream was exciting, but in the end it was just a dream.
What had been hyped around the Beltway as the biggest night in DC sports in decades fell flat, as both of the city’s playoff teams lost in low fashion.
The Capitals’ “Groundhog Day” scenario continued as they fell in the playoffs – again – to the Penguins, 2-0, in game seven of their Stanley Cup playoff series at Verizon Center.
The Caps, who had won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s best regular season team for the second year in a row, has never survived the second round of the playoffs in the Alex Ovechkin era. They are now 1-9 against Pittsburgh in postseason series, and with several players’ contracts expiring, it seems unlikely they will have as strong a chance to advance next season.
The Wizards’ playoff hopes are still alive, but they are now in a “win or go home” scenario themselves after sleepwalking through a 123-101 loss to the Celtics in game five of their second round NBA playoff series in Boston. After winning two straight over the Celtics to tie their series at two games apiece, Washington never showed up at the TD Garden, trailing by double digits early and never making a run to comeback.
The Wizards have only won at home in the series and if there’s any good news, it’s that they’ll have a chance to stave off elimination in the friendly confines of Verizon Center in Game six Friday night.
For most of the evening, it appeared there would be no joy in Mudville at all. The Nationals fell behind early at home to the visiting Orioles, after dropping two straight games to the Birds at Camden Yards. Even on Wednesday night, they trailed 6 – 2, entering the eighth inning.
But the sports Gods apparently took pity on the Nations’ Capital in the form of Dr. Longball. Good-glove-no-bat Michael A. Taylor slammed his first home run of the year in the eighth, driving in Daniel Murphy to pull the Nats to within two runs of Baltimore, then Jayson Werth knocked another ball into the stands in the ninth to get the Nationals to 6 – 5.
Now, Washington has perhaps the worst bullpen in baseball, but they also have the most potent offensive lineup in the game – and sometimes a flare for the dramatic.
After Werth’s homer, the Nats filled the bases on a Bryce Harper double, an intentional walk to Daniel Murphy and a single by Anthony Rendon. And that’s when the drama really went into overdrive.
Matt Wieters, a former top draft pick of the Orioles, stepped to the plate for Washington, and promptly fired a shot down the right field line. Harper and Murphy scored, giving the Nats a 7 – 6 walkoff win and salvaging at least some pride for old D.C.
A Nats loss would have been their fourth straight – a season high – and meant a guaranteed loss in the Battle of the Beltways with Baltimore. Instead, the Nats still own the best record in the National League, and have a shot at a draw in Thursday night’s finale against the O’s.
Washington has never been known as one of the nations’ top sports towns, and nothing changed that rep on Wednesday. But considering where we’ve been in recent decades, there’s no hall of shame in DC either, these days.
Now what about Kirk Cousins?
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