Harris thwarts Mets' rally in Nationals' win

Too restless to stay home, Jose Reyes arrived at Citi Field shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday and noticed his name in its rightful place atop the lineup in the clubhouse. The first pitch couldn't come soon enough. Reyes had waited nearly 11 months for this day, yet for one of the few times in his seven-year career, he was nervous about playing baseball.

That soon became obvious. Reyes received a warm welcome when the crowd of 33,044 gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat, but he slapped the second pitch for a weak groundout to first.

It wasn't until the ninth inning that Reyes got his first hit, a hard single up the middle, and he clapped his hands when he saw the ball skip into the outfield. Two outs later, Reyes stood 90 feet away from tying the score - and that's when the stadium's attention shifted to the Nationals' Willie Harris.

That's because Harris, who had moved to leftfield from third base, made the latest in a series of game-saving catches against the Mets with his spectacular diving grab of Rod Barajas' sinking liner. So instead of a joyful return for Reyes, it produced mixed emotions as the Mets left the bases loaded - again - in their 4-3 loss to the Nationals.

"I don't feel too happy because we lost the game," Reyes said. "But it will make me feel better for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can come back to the ballpark more comfortable tomorrow."

With Reyes, it's all about baby steps. He hadn't played since May 20 of last season because of a right hamstring tendon tear that later required surgery. This year, Reyes missed the entire Grapefruit League schedule because of a hyperactive thyroid and was forced to skip the first four regular-season games as he worked to get up to speed again.

He's not quite there yet. On the plus side, Reyes shook off his 0-for-3 start for that key ninth-inning single and also made a nifty charging play on Nyjer Morgan's grounder, throwing to first on the run. Not so good was Reyes' clank on Ivan Rodriguez's line drive, which inexplicably kicked off his glove.

"Nothing happened," Reyes said. "I just missed the ball."

Unfortunately for the Mets, Harris did not in squashing their ninth-inning comeback. After Reyes' leadoff hit, Jerry Manuel kept him at first base and let Alex Cora move him over with a bunt instead of green-lighting a steal. Manuel said he didn't want to "chance that" in Reyes' first game back, and it didn't seem to matter anyway as the Mets loaded the bases with two outs.

That brought up Barajas, who did not start after Friday's pair of home runs but entered as a pinch hitter in Jenrry Mejia's spot. Barajas blistered the first pitch from Matt Capp on a line to leftfield, but Harris, in a do-or-die effort, laid out to snare the ball inches above the grass.

"Any loss is tough," Barajas said. "But when you see victory that close, it makes it even harder."

Harris did have some help. Willy Taveras had a career day with four RBIs off Oliver Perez - he had only 15 RBIs in 404 at-bats last season - and the Mets left 12 runners on base, going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. That included coming up empty after loading the bases with none out in the third inning against Long Beach's John Lannan.

With the score tied at 2, Jeff Francoeur hit a roller that died in front of the plate. Rodriguez grabbed the ball with his right foot still on the plate and threw to first base for a double play. Gary Matthews Jr. followed with a grounder that Lannan scooped as he jogged to first to end the threat.

Now that Reyes is back, the Mets are hoping that trend won't continue.

"He brings energy to this club," Barajas said, "and you can always use more energy."