Ryan Church lashed a line drive to right in the sixth inning, harder hit than his homer in the second for sure, and he paused momentarily in the batter’s box to watch the ball’s trajectory.
Once he saw Austin Kearns hesitate, he knew he had another hit.
The liner-turned-double drove in two of Church’s four runs against his former team, and John Maine pitched six sharp innings to lead the New York Mets over the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Tuesday night.
“I saw it start tailing a little bit and I saw him freeze, like ‘Whoa,”’ Church said, adding a shimmy for visual effect. “I’ve been in that position before.”
A night after Mets starter Nelson Figueroa called the Nationals “softball girls” for cheering in the dugout during his loss, Maine (5-2) hit Felipe Lopez with his first pitch of the game. The ball grazed Lopez’s right leg but the leadoff hitter angrily threw his bat in front of the plate and briefly glared at Maine as he walked down first base.
Maine said he was just trying to establish the inside of the plate.
