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The Nationals and Giants are two of the more disappointing teams in the so-called Senior Circuit this year. They were both expected to contend for the top spot in their respective divisions, but instead they sit a combined 31 (!) games out of first place. Yikes.

The two clubs are playing a three-game series in Washington this week, and on Wednesday night the Nationals turned a two-run lead over to closer Rafael Soriano. He allowed a run on three singles and a defensive indifference, giving Hunter Pence a chance to bat down a run with two on and two outs. He hit the ball hard, very hard in fact, but Denard Span ran that sucker down for a game-ending (and game-saving) catch.

Since the MLB.com video is not embeddable, I instead give you a GIF:

You know what? I'm going to be the jerk that calls that a very nice catch but not a truly great catch. A solid eight out of 10. Span kind of flopped more than he dove, and it certainly wasn't full extension. The game situation -- tying run at second, go-ahead run at first in the ninth -- makes the catch more noteworthy than it would be if it happened in say, the fifth inning of a four-run game or something.

Don't get me wrong, it's a highlight reel play and a real nice catch. It's huge in the context of the game, no doubt about it. In a vacuum ... meh. Not something I need to see over and over again to believe, like this.