Series finale. Nats go for three out of four.

Washington
Lopez - 4
Guzman - 6
Zimmerman - 5
Boone - 3
Milledge - 8
Kearns - 9
Mackowiak - 7
Flores - 2
Bergmann - 1

New York
Reyes - 6
Castillo - 4
Wright - 5
Beltran - 8
Church - 9
Delgado - 3
Castro - 2
Anderson - 7
Pelfrey - 1

That's the latest. Nationals are putting their first baseman on the 15-day DL. An MRI this morning revealed a tear of the tendon sheath in his right wrist. The injury problems for Johnson continue. Dmitri Young will rejoin the club tomorrow to take his place.

Here's what Manny Acta said about the news.

Q: Thoughts on Nick?

A: I feel bad for him because, as always, we want to see him play a full season. He worked extremely hard to come back to spring training and be in the shape he is. And now this happens. He's a big part of our club. That being said, now Dmitri is coming up and he'll be able to help our offense too. We're lucky to have two guys at first base.

Q: Are you confident Dmitri is 100 percent?

A: Yeah, and he feels good. The reports we had from Double AA are that he's swinging the bat well, and he feels that he's ready to go through it. We don't push anybody. He's going to come in, DH, play first base here and there. And he can hit.

Q: What's the plan with Dmitri and Aaron Boone?

A: Well most of the time Dmitri will be playing first base, that's what he did here last year. Whatever we accomplished last year was with Dmitri out there, so we could be doing the same thing. We won't run him down; he's coming back from a back injury. But, he's going to handle that.

Q: How significant is the loss of Nick from a baseball standpoint?

A: Very significant, but you have to consider we played the whole season without him last year. I'm glad we have guys like Aaron Boone and Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard that give us the depth. It is very significant, because he is a big part of our club, not only as a player but as a clubhouse guy.

Mega computer problems last night. About nine minutes before 11:30 deadline, my laptop pulled a Palmeiro-in-Congress and lost all memory of its past. When I rebooted, the story I'd been writing entirely vanished. Wasn't on the desktop. Wasn't in some temporary folder. Wasn't recovered by some miracle MS Word mining expedition. Though I'd saved the story frequently, it left no residual trace.

Gotta admit, as I started rewriting something to make midnight's deadline, I kept thinking that this might be the time to try the ol' six-word game story. ("Nats perform better than Dell Latitude.")

Anyway, turning attention to more relevant topics...

The Nats play the series finale at Shea this afternoon. Jason Bergmann versus Mike Pelfrey.

Especially given their top-shelf play last night, Washington has the chance to claim a little momentum here, such as it exists in baseball. If you can come to New York, win three out of four and never even have to face Johan Santana... well, that's the kind of magic that Frank Sinatra sings about.

Just a few final things to point out before we carry on with our days and I head out to Shea.

* Luis Ayala. Big (and potentially confidence-boosting) outing last night. Washington needs him to look like the guy he was last year and this April, not the guy he's been this month. Acta called on him to get one out yesterday in a critical eighth-inning jam, and he Ayala responded by getting David Wright to fly to center.

* Jesus Flores. Stellar game, clutch hit. He has a lot of fans in his own clubhouse, and Washington will keep playing this guy 5 or so times every week. Right now, he's impressing all of the right people.

* Nick Johnson. He'll find out more about the extent of his injury in the next days, perhaps even today. Aaron Boone went 1-or-4 last night as his replacement.

Injury update on Nick Johnson.

He's heading back to DC this evening for a wrist examination that will determine the extent of an injury he sustained in his final at bat yesterday. The team is still saying he's day-to-day, but it seems like Johnson is concerned. He left the clubhouse today with his right wrist wrapped in a splint.

"I hope it's nothing serious, but today it's pretty sore," he said. "Last night I couldn't really sleep, it was pretty sore, and today I can't really move it. I hope the drugs kick in."

Chances are you know the backstory here; if not, try a Google search of "Nick Johnson + injury-plagued." The guy has missed time in his career with a fractured right femur, a lumbar strain, a fractured cheekbone, an injured lower back, a right hand stress fracture, a left wrist strain, and a strained muscle in right hand. Just to name the worst of 'em.

Manny Acta's take on the latest bad news?

"There are people like that," Manager Manny Acta said. "He works hard, and some of that stuff you just can't control it. You feel badly, because he's such a talented guy and you always want to see him do good and be healthy for the whole season."

He also said the Nats would make their next roster move tomorrow morning. (They need to make room for Thursday afternoon starter Jason Bergmann, who's coming from Columbus.)

Today's lineups from Shea.

Washington
Lopez - 4
Guzman - 6
Zimmerman - 5
Boone - 3
Kearns - 9
Dukes - 8
Pena - 7
Flores - 2
Redding - 1

New York
Reyes - 6
Church - 9
Wright - 5
Beltran - 8
Alou - 7
Delgado - 3
Schneider - 2
Easley - 4
Vargas - 1

The heavy reading, for those interested. (This comes courtesy of Nats PR man Bill Gluvna.)

I'll paste it below.

---

NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

VINCENT VANALLEN: LHP Cory VanAllen is a combined 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA (3 ER/ 40.0 IP) in 7 games (6 starts) with Double-A Harrisburg and Single-A Potomac...among starters, the 23-year-old leads minor league baseball in ERA and ranks 2nd with a .137 (16-for-117) batting average against...VanAllen was selected as both the Bank of America Eastern League Pitcher of the Week and the MILB.com Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 5-11 after going 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA (1 ER/12.2 IP) and 11 strikeouts in his first 2 career starts at the Double-A level...before his May 3 promotion to Harrisburg, he went 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA (2 ER/27.1 IP) in 5 games (4 starts) with the P-Nats...VanAllen, who was selected in the 5th round of the 2006 First-Year-Player Draft, is scheduled to make his next start Friday vs. Altoona (Pirates).

Triple-A Columbus Clippers
International League West Division
22-19, 3rd Place , 4.5 Games Back

BERGALICIOUS: RHP Jason Bergmann has allowed 3 earned runs in 21.0 innings (1.28 ERA) over his last 3 starts...the 26-year-old, who began the season as a member of Washington's starting rotation, is 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA in 5 starts with the Clippers...he went 0-1 with an 11.68 ERA in 3 appearances (2 starts) at the big league level before being optioned to Columbus on April 12.

BROWNLIE SUNDAE: RHP Bobby Brownlie has tossed 8.1 scoreless innings in 3 games (one start) since joining the Clippers May 3...he struck out 7 in 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win in his first start on Sunday at Lehigh Valley (Phillies)...the 27-year-old owns a combined 5-0 record with a 2.28 ERA in 9 games (7 starts) with Columbus and Harrisburg...Brownlie was selected by Chicago (NL) in the first round (21st overall) of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.

NATURAL DE CASTER: INF Yurendell de Caster is 16-for-46 (.347) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 9 RBI and 2 steals in 14 May contests...the Curacao native is hitting .326 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI in 25 games since being promoted from Harrisburg April 19...de Caster, who signed as a minor league free agent in the off-season, is batting a combined .319 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI in 40 games with Columbus and Harrisburg.

PAPER CLIP-PARD: RHP Tyler Clippard is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA (6 ER/21.2 IP) in his last 4 starting assignments, lowering his ERA from 7.32 to 4.79...Clippard, 23, was acquired in the off-season from the Yankees in exchange for RHP Jonathan Albaladejo...overall, he is 2-3 with 41 strikeouts and 17 walks in 7 starts.

Double-A Harrisburg Senators
Eastern League Southern Division
23-14, First Place , 2.5 Games Ahead

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: 1B Dmitri Young went 1-for-2 with 2 walks in his first rehab game last night vs. Reading (Phillies)...he was placed on the 15-Day DL (lower back sprain) on April 8, retroactive to April 3... Young, 34, has appeared in 2 games with the Nationals this season, both appearances coming as a pinch hitter...Young, a 2-time All-Star (2003, '07), was named NL Comeback Player of the Year by both MLB and The Sporting News last season.
STAR ZECH: THE NEXT GENERATION: RHP Zech Zinicola had tossed 17.1 consecutive scoreless innings before giving up an earned run in a loss last night vs. Reading...he is a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities, and is limiting opposing batters to a .153 (9-for-59) BAA in 13 combined appearances with Harrisburg and Potomac...the Arizona State University product has a win and 3 saves in 5 appearances with the Senators since his promotion from Single-A Potomac...the 23-year-old was Washington's 2006 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

THE GUY WITH TWO FIRST NAMES: OF Mike Daniel ranks among the Eastern League leaders in batting (4th, .326) and hits (t-8th, 42)...Daniel, a 2-time Minor League All-Star, is 15-for-39 (.385) with 2 homers and 7 RBI in 15 games in May...the 23-year-old is hitting .402 (33-for-82) against right-handers, but just .191 (9-for-47) against lefties...Daniel was selected in the 7th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of North Carolina.

Single-A Potomac Nationals
Carolina League Northern Division
22-15, First Place , 2.0 Games Ahead
YO, ADRIAN!: RHP Adrian Alaniz is 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA (3 ER/29.0 IP) in his last 5 starts...he ranks among the Carolina League leaders in wins (t-3rd, 4), ERA (5th, 2.19) and strikeouts (7th, 35)...the 23-year-old was a 2007 NY-Penn League mid-season All-Star.

VAN DETWILER: LHP Ross Detwiler , Washington 's top pick (6th overall) in the 2007 draft, is scheduled to start tonight vs. Myrtle Beach (Braves)...in his most recent start, Detwiler allowed one run and struck out 6 in 6.0 innings to earn his first win since April 6...the 22-year-old, who became the first player from the 2007 First-Year Player Draft to reach the big leagues, is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 7 starts this season.

STAMMEN'S JAMMIN': RHP Craig Stammen is 0-1 with a save and a 1.67 ERA in 8 games (2 starts)...Stammen, selected in the 12th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, allowed 4 earned runs in 16.0 innings (2.25 ERA) in 6 relief appearances...since joining the P-Nats starting rotation, he is 0-1 with a 0.81 ERA (1 ER/11.0 IP).

Single-A Hagerstown Suns
South Atlantic League Northern Division
17-20, 5th Place , 6.5 Games Back
I'M JUST A BILL, HOPING TO PLAY NEAR CAPITOL HILL: Entering today's action, INF Bill Rhinehart leads the South Atlantic League and is tied for 3rd in minor league baseball with 39 RBI...he leads Washington farmhands in batting (.336), hits (46) and RBI...the 23-year-old has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, going 16-for-42 (.380) with 10 extra-base hits (6 doubles and 4 home runs) and 20 RBI...he has recorded at least one RBI in 9 of those 11 games...Rhinehart was a 2007 New York-Penn League mid-season All Star.
SONIC BOOM-ER: OF Boomer Whiting is hitting .357 with 9 runs scored, a home run, 7 RBI and 3 steals in his first 7 games after beginning the season at extended spring training in :placeViera , FL. ..Whiting, who led the New York-Penn League with 37 stolen bases last season, was selected in the 28th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of the :placeUniversity of Louisville .

One thing I managed neither to fit into the game story nor the notebook was the incident that opened last night's game. Because it involved a hit batsman one night after tensions ran high over the cheerleading episode, many -- at least in the press box -- interpreted John Maine's first pitch as the signal for a saucy night.

After all, before facing lead-off man Felipe Lopez, the Mets' pitcher had faced 181 batters this season. He'd plunked just one of them. He's known for average- to above-average control, and of course, baseball is a game whose history is rich with retaliation.

I suppose Lopez found out that retaliation can leave a welt. Maine's opening delivery darted toward the inside corner of the plate and hit Lopez in the midsection. But nothing serious happened after that. No stare-downs. No more hit batsmen. Rather, Lopez just jogged to first. We had a quiet baseball game after that, and another Nationals' loss. They're 16-24 now. Quarter point of the season. Better than last year, but perhaps more disappointing too.

One reminder. We have some time to talk about this good stuff today. Svrluga and I are teaming up for the traditional 2 p.m. Wednesday chat.

Special preference to six-word questions.

Manny Acta's (brief) take on the Figueroa/cheering/clapping circus.

Q: Do you have a reaction to what happened yesterday regarding Nelson Figueroa?

A: I don't. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and we live in a world nowadays where everything you do and say, you're offending somebody. So I really have no reaction to it.

Q: Specifically he said if the coaching staff allowed that to continue, it's unprofessional. Is there any response to that?

A: I don't have any reaction to it. They weren't yelling names or anything like that. They were cheering their own guys. You don't see it every day in the big leagues, but I don't think they were doing anything mean.

Q: Do you take offense to that characterization, then?

A: No. he's entitled to his opinion. This is America.

Q: Are you surprised it's even an issue?

A: Yes, because half of Florida is almost going on fire, and we're hear asking questions about some guys yelling and clapping at a game. That shouldn't even be an issue.

Tonight's lineups from Shea.

Washington
Lopez -- 4
Guzman -- 6
Zimmerman -- 5
Johnson -- 3
Milledge -- 8
Kearns -- 9
Dukes -- 7
Nieves -- 2
Lannan -- 1

New York
Reyes -- 6
Church -- 9
Wright -- 5
Beltran -- 8
Alou -- 7
Delgado -- 3
Easley -- 4
Schneider -- 2
Maine -- 1

Until yesterday, I'm guessing, Nelson Figueroa was largely irrelevant -- and perhaps entirely unknown -- to the casual New Yorker. But last night's Figueroa-led controversy at Shea proves that a little smack-talk, at least in this town, is still the most direct path to ignominy.

Both the Post and the Daily News made entirely unsurprising decisions to fillet Figueroa on their back pages.

The Post headline: SOFTBALL GIRLS

The Daily News headline: SIS BOOM BLAH

The fact that all this happened in New York, where Lastings Milledge played last year, and where Manny Acta once managed, and where the Nationals visit three times annually, makes this a half-juicy story for the local press. All the assembled hacks are about to head down to the team clubhouses to get the latest he-said, he-said renditions. (Listen, nobody said the Fourth Estate helps lift the greater intelligence quotient.)

Anyway, we haven't yet gotten Acta's take on the matter. When we do, I'll relay it here.

By the way -- just tremendous stuff with the six-word responses. As a blogospheric community, the Nats Journal has put Hemingway to shame.

Svrluga's five favorites are listed below.

Dmitri: Each Word Equals Fifty Pounds.

Maine hits Dukes if he starts?

Clap? You throw like a girl!

My cat's named Nelson-- changing it

We're all a bunch of nerds.

There's a theory drifting out there that any decent idea can be summarized in six words, which, by the way, I said directly above in six succinct words. A cursory Google search of "six words," in fact, reveals that Hemingway once authored an entire short story in this format. ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.")

For reasons that only reveal my demented bookish side, I get a kick out of this stuff.

Anyway, allow me to introduce a little competition, which perhaps we can play here from time to time.

The Nats -- or at least their most recent game -- in six words:

My try for now?

"Better than softball-clapping? Softball hitting."

Have a go if you want.

I'll be back later this afternoon with far more elaborate thoughts on this burgeoning Mets-Nats rivalry.

Quick note here after watching Nick Johnson draw a bases-loaded walk to tie the game.

Johnson's .223 average is unsightly, sure, but he entered the game with a .413 OBP, just outside of the league's top-10. Here's a large reason for that discrepancy: Right now, Johnson leads MLB in the percentage of pitches taken. Exactly 69 percent of his pitches he simply watches. (Albert Pujols, by the way, ranks second in this statistic.)

Johnson's at bat here shows exactly why he's still a valuable player even when his average doesn't reflect it. He looked at his first two pitches, gaining a 2-0 edge in the count. Then he started fouling pitches -- toward the Mets dugout, over the backstop, down the right field line. He worked the count full, and then, with the Shea crowd rising in anticipation, drew a simple walk.

Didn't help his average, obviously, but it tied the game.

Well, briefly. We've got Odalis Perez on the hill here, and he's letting up a solid one run every inning.