Bergmann loses no-hitter late

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Of all the scenes that played out last night in the Washington Nationals' 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves -- a near no-hitter, a future Hall of Famer dislocating his finger, a dramatic strikeout to end the game from an unlikely closer -- perhaps none was as unexpected or heartfelt as the chant that began circling RFK Stadium in the top of the ninth.

It began perhaps behind the third-base dugout, spread out from there and grew in stature until the crowd of 18,829 in attendance chanted:

"Bergmann! Bergmann!"

From the Nationals' dugout, Jason Bergmann, a 25-year-old pitcher who said he had never heard his name called out like that before, sheepishly walked to the top step and doffed his cap as the crowd roared.

"I never thought I'd get a curtain call or anything," he said later. "That's fantastic. That's just a good feeling. It warms me."

It was well deserved. On an otherwise pedestrian Monday night in mid-May, Bergmann made an unlikely run at history and walked away with the most satisfying pitching performance of his young life. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before surrendering a leadoff homer to Brian McCann and ultimately settling for a two-hit, 10-strikeout gem, not to mention his first major league win in nearly 20 months.

"It was an unbelievable feeling," said Washington manager Manny Acta, whose club has won four in a row. "It got to a point where I really thought he was going to do it. ... He was spectacular."

And yet, for all Bergmann's brilliance, this easily could have been remembered as one of the Nationals' most devastating losses since they came to town three years ago if not for a truly unexpected escape act in the ninth by closer-for-a-night Jesus Colome.

With regular closer Chad Cordero easing his way back after leaving the club for a week because of his grandmother's death and with top setup man Jon Rauch unavailable after pitching the last three days, Acta entrusted the game to Colome.

The 29-year-old reliever last recorded a save in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and he nearly blew this opportunity. With two outs, he surrendered a single to Edgar Renteria to put the tying run on second and then fell behind 3-0 to slugger Andruw Jones as the ballpark fell silent.