Roger Bernadina conquered New York — slugging two home runs and executing a rally-killing circus catch in right field as the Washington Nationals took two of three from the Apples at Citi Field. The Nats 6-4 ninth inning victory left the Nationals in sole possession of second place in the NL East, with the Anacostia Nine posting a head-spinning 19-15 record, just 1.5 games behind the guaranteed-to-win-the-division Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets were left to lick their wounds after Tuesday’s victory, which not only came at their expense, but made them trailers to a Washington team that (shhhhhh … don’t say it) is now being talked of as a possible (shhhhh!) contender for a spot in the playoffs in September (now you’ve gone and done it, you idiot). Buster Olney commented openly on “Baseball Tonight” on Wednesday that if the Nats continue to play well, and if Stephen Strasburg is all that everyone thinks he is and (if, if, if if) someone like Chien-Ming Wang were to recover nicely from his shoulder problems — well, then, the Nats would be buyers and not sellers in July, and perfectly capable of adding another pitcher (like, say, Roy Oswalt) to an already formidable mix. And adding someone like Oswalt could make the difference between a nice finish to a good season, and a season in which the home towners play well into October.

Olney should know better. Not only is that a lot of ifs, but the baseball gods take painful retribution on those who think about October during a frigid May road trip. But that Roger Bernadina would be the hero of the Nats latest victory seemed to underscore the unlikely mix of solid pitching, improved defense and timely hitting that has made the Nats the head-shaking talk of baseball: the good-glove-light-bat Bernadina was hitting just .212 when he came to the plate on Wednesday, as skeptical Nats fans kept wondering what the front office was going to do about the “problem in right field.” But Jim Riggleman told reporters after the game that he has faith in Bernadina’s ability to shake a slow start and drive in runs: “He is just too good to be sticking [a hit] out there now and then,” Riggleman opined. “The coaches agreed. They all felt the same way that Roger is ready to break out. It’s one game. It’s not a breakout. It could be the start of something good. It couldn’t happen to a more wonderful kid. Again, we are lucky to have him.”

So? So while it’s still early, and while it’s difficult to believe the Nats will continue to find heroes to give them wins in unlikely places (heroes like the otherwise punchless Roger Bernadina), and while it’s absolutely nuts to tempt the baseball gods by talking about September in May, its hard to argue with what long-suffering Nats fans are seeing on the field: a team that is improved in every category and that is learning to win knock-em-down late inning games. And the rest of baseball is noticing.

The Nats must be ecstatic to get out of Denver. Swept by the Rockies, after yet another shakey start from Ross Detwiler and poor play from a team of subs, our Anacostia Boys are now headed to Minute Maid Park — what MASN  announcer Bob Carpenter calls “the pinball machine in Houston.” For good reason: there’s a train that chugs back and forth out in left field (a bow to Houston’s railroad beginnings), the roof moves back and forth (a bow to Houston’s weather), there’s a knee-buckling slope in center (Tal’s Hill) that’s an orthopedist’s dream (a bow to — gasp — Halliburton, the stadium architect) and fans can sit in the short-porch “Crawford Boxes” — so named (in a fit of what passes for creativity in Houston) because they parallel Crawford Street behind the stadium. 

What’s so surprising about “the pinball machine” is that, when built, it reflected the kind of high-scoring and free-swinging team that the Astros have rarely had. When established in 1962 (along with the Chokes) the then-Houston Colt 45′s decided to focus their expansion efforts on building a team of speed, defense and pitching. The result was that, while the Mets sank out of sight in their first year, the 45s were at least presentable. The ownership drafted and built wisely. By 1965, when the Colt 45′s became the Astros, the team had gained a solid reputation for signing young and aggressive players (Joe Morgan) and complementing them with savvy, if aging, pitchers (like Robin Roberts). The newly minted Astros were what an expansion club could be — a mix of veterans and tough kids.

So it must have seemed a dark injustice to Houston fans that it was the Mets, and not the Astros, who rose to prominence: the “Amazin’ Mets” (gag) of 1969 outdrew, outplayed and out-classed the Astros, with the result that the glow of the franchise’s early years (when the team played in the claustrophobic Astrodome), began to wear thin. It’s not that Houston was a bad team, but they were never able to put together a complete season until 2005. Even then, the Astros were less than amazin’ — they lost in four to the South Side Pathetics. In between, the Houston Astros became a team of nicknames: Richard Farrell became “Turk” Farrell,” Jimmy Wynn became “the Toy Cannon,”  Bob Watson became “the bull” and, in an era when Cincinnati was winning everything in sight (and dubbed “the Big Red Machine”), Houston Astro fans deemed it fitting to name their nine “the Rainbows.” Their uniforms were gaudy, their fans were fanatic — their team was mediocre.

Even now, perhaps most especially now, the more nicknames that Houston fans find, the less their team succeeds. “Los Cabillitos” root for Carlos Lee, “the O’s Bros” attend every game featuring Roy Oswalt, “the Little Pumas” cheer themselves hoarse when “the Big Puma” (Lance Berkman) appears and fans in “Byrdak’s Nest” make little chirping noises every time reliever Tim Byrdak trots in from the bullpen. Actually, it’s kind of sickening. Then too, you’d think that Houston fans would know better: the best teams ever fielded in Texas, ever, were called “the Killer Bs” — with nods to Craig Biggio (“Bijjjjj”), Derek Bell, Jeff Bagwell (“Bags”) Sean Berry (and others) — but the highly touted unit lost four division series prior to 2005. They could never win the big one. Which is to say: “the Killer B’s” might have been “B’s,” but they sure weren’t “killers.”

The 2009 version of the Bayou City ‘Stros fit well with this tradition: they’re a good ballclub that’s fortunate to play in a division where no one is playing well. But good or not, at one game under .500, this year’s version of the Astros are in desperate need of help, with everyone (including premier pitcher Roy Oswalt) on the block. Tonight’s Astros’-Nats match-up is a talisman of this desperation: Russ Ortiz is facing off against John Lannan. It’s a match-up of experience versus youth or (put another way), a match-up of “pitchers on their last legs” versus “pitchers with a future.”