Washington Nationals fans have been watching rookie pitcher Tom Milone have a fairy tale debut Saturday night, but they are also seeing that not all fairy tales might not have happy endings. Milone wowed the crowd at Nationals Park for three innings before the New York Mets were able to put up a crooked number in the fourth and the Nats are clinging to a 5-4 lead in the fifth.
Milone started off the game strong. The Mets could record no hits in Milone's first two Major League innings and in the bottom of the second, Milone took the first pitch he saw in a Major League game from Dillon Gee and put it into the Nationals bullpen for a three-run jack to give the Nationals a 5-0 lead. Ian Desmond hit a lead off home run in the first and Jesus Flores scored a RBI double in the second.
Milone broke down in the fourth however. He gave up a two-RBI single to Angel Pagan and a two-run home run to Nick Evans. Milone made it into the fifth inning, but was quickly pulled by manager Davey Johnson for Tom Gorzelanny which eliminated Milone from possibly picking up the win if the Nationals can hold on. Milone's final line was 4.1 innings of six hit ball. He gave up four runs, issued no walks and struck out two.