. >> rob: back here at natio bark, 3-3 tie as we go to the top of the 12th inning. and we have an e-mail. rob, have you enjoyed living in the d.c. region? absolutely. i love this area. i love all the history here and have great neighbors. except, you know, mr. carpenter makes a lot of noise late at night. that's annoying. i have to bang on the ceiling. >> bob: i munch on that popcorn pretty loud. thanks for saying that because i was going to say you have great neighbors i. it's i do have great neighbors. >> bob: joe inglett top of the 12th. >> rob: people may not know

this about me. i grew up in connecticut. >> bob: east coast guy. >> rob: i'm an east coast guy. if i could unload my house in california, i would move back here. >> bob: not great market right now. >> rob: not a good selling market but when it becomes one. i was in the area of the d.c. zoo today and my wife informs me that we need to get over there because the pandas are leaving yoo. >> leaving. >> bob: wow. >> bob: right center, willie harris is after it. that means that it's going to be caught. >> rob: we have willie there. not a problem. >> bob: we made an attempt at the aquarium over in the commerce building but it was kind of a no-parking saturday in the district. >> rob: oh, yes. >> bob: there were a lot of people in town today. >> rob: hopping and popping in d.c. >> bob: we're going to do the metro thing on monday on the

day off. marco scutaro, 0-for-3, a sacrifice and a walk. the nats have done a good job of keeping this scooter off base. he has only been on twice in two extra inning games. it's come to this i. it's yeah, they are playing marco polo. >> bob: yes. >> rob: how many times as a kid have you played that game? >> bob: marco scutaro. he has

been one of the better hitters in the american league, one of the better onbase guys. >> rob: once again. i just think that nick johnson came from the yankees, they teach it in that organization pressure on the pitcher when the fire stands there and just keeps taking, taking and taking. >> bob: but it's been a while since the oakland athletics has been in the playoffs. i guess they have not been in there since derek jeter made that miracle play in the colyseum and they are 8 game out of first place. all this money ball stuff, you

have to ask, is it working? evidently not. >> rob: the onbase percentage is key. you need some talent, pitchers, bullpen. now, they have not had a lot of dave stewards running through there, mike welshs and mike moore and hall of famer dennis eckersley. they have honeycutt, pitching cope for the dodgers, their pitching staff is amazing. >> bob: 2-2. got him. >> rob: nice. >> bob: it looks like when tavarez makes that turn away from the hitter, if there is a runner at second base, he is scrambling backwards and then the hitter gets all discombobulated even if there is no runner. >> rob: i was going to say that's tavarez's best luis teon

imitation. look at that. >> bob: here is hill. aaron hill is 1-for-4 with an rbi single and a walk. the oakland atlantic city, bob, are in the same situation as the nationals are in. they have a lot of youth in that rotation. >> reporter: what purpose did it serve for them to get matt holliday. >> rob: they will trade matt holliday again before the trade deadline. unless they were to sign him to an extension which i don't think they will shell out money for him. they will trade him again like they did danny haren. you get them in, then trade for

mortal more talent. more talent. huston street has been a vital part of that rockies trade. >> reporter: colorado in a 2-2 game in the 6th. they won three in a row again after that 11-game winning streak. 2 balls and a strike to hill. tavarez has some kind of breaking ball tonight. >> rob that's a tough position he puts manny acta in. do you run him one more inning? because then you lose him for tomorrow. >> bob: villone pitched last night, although only a 1/3

inning and beimel, a full inning. the two lefties. top of the 12th inning. nats in extra inning for the 10th time this year. nice. >> bob: that ball made it way. see, mom, i told you if you let me stay. and here is the 2-2. right to ryan zimmerman. that's why you guard the line in the late innings. rolen in the 11th. zim here in the 12th. gonzalez, harris and bard coming up. ÷pñ)y

. >> bob: on to the bottom o the 12th inning. scott red mopped, the starter. nationals have harris gonzalez, harris and bard. aaronharris' batting average is

now at .325. he keeps producing whenever manny acta calls on him. that's going to drop into left center. 3-for-5, alberto gonzalez. let's see if willie harris can do anything on top of the amazing defense he gave us earlier. get catch by willie harris, then a double, stole third and then a sac fly by the number 8 hitter, wil nieves. that lasted five minute and then wells hit a homerun. and then the nationals came roaring back. if willie hit it down the first baseline, you have a left handed throwing first baseman

in lyle overbay who can flip that thing to the shortstop. so this will not be an easy bunt if willie has that in mind. he pulls the bat back. can't bunt a pitch that up and away. that's ball 1. the switch hitter follows in josh bard. then you have the pitcher's spot and the only player available is ronnie belliard. runner going. down the line but it's hooking foul. and willie harris flirting with a long ball for the second time tonight. >> rob: willie harris. >> reporter: it looked good for a while and then it had that

big hook. >> rob: there is a huge whole between first and second and a great swing right here with the toronto defense and richardson. he laid a fastball down broadway. >> bob: now, he shows bunt early. a throw to first base not even on the bag. that's ball 2. 2-1, good

running count. willie not showing bunt early this time. and the count's even 2-2. now with more of a possibility of the runner going, the second

base umpire has shifted from the shortstop to the second base side of the bag. there is the umpire. he was right over right between the pitcher and the shortstop before. kind of interesting to watch how they change positions and get ready for certain plays. 2-2. >> rob: if you send the runner right here, try to hit the ball to the right side, still moves the runner up. >> bob: yep. >> rob: maybe get through that hole. >> bob: he is holding. that's a breaking ball inside and gonzalez is back. 3-2 now. when you are working with a short bullpen like both of these managers are, it's hard to believe they would not start the runner here. >> rob: that's a dangerous throw coming behind a left handed batter there. he makes an amazing throw to overbay. once again, x-mo catches it.

okay, chavez, we know you have a great arm. >> bob: 3-2. willie harris, right field, how far is it going? this game is over. and the national walk off and go to the hop again. willie harris, his second homerun of the year, the 22nd of his major league career and he did everything in his power to help the nationals win this game tonight. and i emphasize power. >> rob: bob, i told you earlier with the conversation i

had with yily, he was upset. he didn't hit more yesterday, especially later in the ballgame and i told him, your glove's going to come through for us. your hits will come. tonight was willie's night. >> bob: 3-9-0 toronto, 5-11-0 nats. there is no doubt who is the star of this game. >> rob: willie harris had that double to lead off an inning, stole third base, was driven in with a sac fly and then he just wins the game with one swing of the bat. >> bob: there is that swagger. >> bob: julian tavarez gets the win, richmond the loser. rob, your point well taken. starters don't like doing things like this. >> rob: no, scott richardson will not be happy after this

ballgame. comes in relief, gets the loss, left after two innings of work. debbi taylor is right there with wee willie harris who was aflly big tonight. >> debbi: thank you very much. you did it all tonight. talk about the homerun, take us through that at-bat. >> one of those at-bats where, initially, we had the bunt sign on and then we switched that and went to the hit-and-run. he went after me and i'm glad i was able to hit the ball up in the air and be able to hit it out of here. >> debbi: and your reaction from your teamates, i didn't think you were going to get out of that mile. >> i tell you what, we are having fun here. everybody is starting to do their part. everything is coming together. hopefully we can continue to do what we have been doing and see if we can do it again tomorrow. >> debbi: earlier in the at-

bat, you crushed one foul. what were you thinking? >> i was trying to hit it in the gap, that was when the hit- and-run sign was on. and i just tried to drive it in the gap. >> debbi: earlier, you made an unbelievable catch. you have unbelievable with the glove. >> i just go out and try to play hard and if you do those things, the game will give back to you. tonight, it gave back to me. >> debbi: i have to ask you about the fans who stayed around to watch this game. >> thank you, fans, for staying around and sticking for us. it really helps. >> debbi: back to bob and rob. >> bob: well, debbie and willie playing to the crowd. they stuck around for the reward. they win it. where are we going? 13 tomorrow?

join us for masn 2. visit masn sports.com for all the latest news on the nationals. this has been a presentation of masn. stay tuned. nats xra post game coming up right now. phil and johnny and from the booth, so long for just a while.  into here was the scene m ago at nationals park. willie harris with that two-run homerun. the nats win their second consecutive extra inning game. it's now 5-3 over toronto and the winning streak goes to fou four. >> phil: that's willie harris' world and we are allowed to live in it. >> johnny: that's right. how about it? the fans are hanging around as they should and you heard debby

telling willie, thanks to the great support. we have a lot more to talk about in this ballgame and what a tremendous comeback for this ball club. it's the third time they have had 12-inning ball games. now they got back-to-back extra inning wins after losing eight straight. >> phil: as bob threw it to us back here to centerfield plaza. >> johnny: two hours ago. >> phil: he said, 13 tomorrow? let's hope not. they got the first monkey off their back and here is nor one, the first four-game winning streak of the moment. >> johnny: the defining moment of this ballgame, the bottom of the 12th inning, alberto gonzalez leads off with a base hit and then watch what happens. >> phil: here we go, base hit, gonzalez base hit between the right fielder and

centerfielder. and then willie harris, the remaining two pitchers there, jumping up and down. and he crossed home played with julian tars wanting to show him the way to home plate, riding his back. three nights in a row, great, great catches in centerfield. tonight, of course, the game- winning hit. >> johnny: you talk about a guy who is carrying the ball club on his back with his defense and offense, standing there behind home plate. stan kasten is said this guy is playing unbelievably well. >> phil: we mentioned this in the show. manny said he would love to have a real, real centerfielder. and we look at willie harris to came up as an infielder, became an outfielder to be verse tile, he is the best centerfielder they have.

>> johnny: you know what i like, he told debby, i play the game the way it is supposed to be played. i show up and give my best efforts every single time. >> phil: you can't say that and say that was the measure of his worth. this is guy who makes the plays in the field. he had great timely hits going back to last season and, of course, he got rewarded with a new contract in the offseason. we didn't want to say last night, johnny, that last night was necessarily a turning point to the season but top's game might be one of those games that, when we look back in 60 for 90 days and see where the club is then, if things have improved significantly, this will be the game you will take a look back and say, this is where it happened. >> johnny: we are very pleased that ross detwiler will put the headset on. i imagine you heard inside there was a lft celebration with this win tonight. >> definitely. >> johnny: congratulations to you, my friend, on a terrific outing this evening. it seems like you had everything going for you.

>> yeah, thanks a lot. you know, i can't say enough about willie harris tonight. >> >> phil: ross, much has been made of the fact that you are once again throwing across your body and you seem to have gotten back that magic you had after you were drafted by the nationals and they tried to coach that out of you tonight worked extremely well and, sometimes, a no-decision is almost as good as a win. >> any time the team wins, tone matter who gets it. >> johnny: i want to ask you about your fellow young stitching staff, the starters surrounding you on this ball club and how they have really responded to the challenge of what's been taking place these last ten days or so. >> yeah, it's been unbelievable. i mean, you know, john lannan is pretty much our ace. he has been throwing well. and then jordan zimmerman has been, you know, yow standing, with his performance last night and then we had shairon going tomorrow who has been throwing

the ball very well. and then stammen who gets his first win at yankee stadium throwing a shutout. >> phil: can you give us an indication as to how many innings total they are looking for you as to where you will be in a month or in august? >> no, they said go out now and we'll think about that when it comes. >> johnny: ross, thank you, my friend. i will let you go back to your fellow teamates. gals on your outing. congratulations on a terrific win. talk to you later on. >> thank you into into thank you, my friend. manny acta talking to the media downstairs brought to you by verizon wireless. >> threw the ball very well, was aggressive with his fastball, threw some change- ups, too. it was really tough because ins like, that 8th inning, that's where we are at right now. that was not a very good inning. we left a lot of pitches up. we didn't play fundamentally sound. fortunately for us, we were able to come back and win the ballgame but i felt really bad

for the kid because he deserved to win the ballgame today. >> talk about willie not letting the umm pure decide that at-bat when he gets the count that deep. when you thought about what happened last night, he is up there swinging. >> good to see him, especially when you have guys that are not legit power hitters, they shut be able to put the bat on the ball when the guy is running in a situation like that and the pitcher is throwing it over the plate. that was our thought. you know, he hit the ball out of the park. so that was better. >> were you going to have him go as long as he could in the 8th or was it just one batter? >> who? >> ross, because you left him in there for the first batter. >> in that inning, his velocity dropped. he was throwing just 88, 89. we felt he was losing some and we didn't want to give him an opportunity to lose the ballgame himself. unfortunately, we could not save it for him.

>> he has done the job for you all through day 1 coming off the bench. how good is that to have security blanket. >> he is was the bright spot for us last year when we had very few. this year, willie understands his role. he brings energy every single day. his average is probably not where he wants it to be but he comes out and plays good defense and he does his thing. you know, he had a good game yesterday, had another great game today and it's a luxury to have a guy like him. he is your dream utility guy. >> talk about this run, this four-game run, the best of the year the way you have been battling tonight. >> it's good. we have a ways to go and this is something that we will be looking for for a while and we are doing it against some good clubs in the american league east and we're going to do it better, continue to pitch the way we have been pinning because our starters have been

fantastic so far. these young kids go out every day and really give us a chance to win the ballgame. i think for middle of the order guy, getting going again offensively, you know, we will be playing more consistent baseball fort rest of the season. >> these guys have been in your minor league system for years and you heard the philosophy, throw fastballs, throw strikes and get ahead. how much does that help when they hear that philosophy? >> it's very important and that's what we are trying to develop here from top to bottom. we have the kid in rookie ball do the same thing. same play and everything he is that they do here, continuity and that's why we try do that. when the guy gets up here, he knows what is expected of him at the major league in every situation because he has been in the minor league. that's how you build winning franchises. that's what is happening with these kids, they have been

drafted here, they know what's happening up here, bunting and all that kind of stuff, it's consistent throughout the system. we preach that down there so when they get up here, they have enough repetitionings and it milwaukee our job easier. >> macdougal has been doing the job for you. what has been the key? >> he is throwing strikes. we told him from day 1, you do have a very good fastball with movement. should not be trying to trick guys. at times, guys wait for that. he is pitching well. he was tremendous today. he and tavarez saved our day. colome has a little strain in his quad. the doctor evaluated him. it anot so bad. right now, he is day-to-day. if we have to make a decision, we'll make one. >> one more question about macdougal. he has been throwing nothing

but fastball. is that something that the team suggested him to do or is it a game-by-game? >> it's not mandated that he throw fastball. but when he brought him in to pitch to sheffield, we say, you know, that's something that we instilled. when he does that, why throw a slider or something look that that can get hit. but he is being aggressive. >> willie has been a bench guy for you all along. what he has done over the