So, we ended up having two games on Labor Day weekend, Sunday vs. Atlanta and Monday vs. Philadelphia.  The Nats had just won five games in a row, sweeping the Dodgers plus Guzman had hit for the cycle in Thursday's game, so we were pretty excited about heading back to Nationals Park!  On Sunday, it looked like Atlanta was going to get the win.  The Nationals were down 4-3, when Ryan Zimmerman singled and Elijah Dukes walked.  The bunt sign was on for Aaron Boone, but he ended up fouling the ball away on the first pitch.  So, Manny Acta took the bunt sign off and let Boone swing away.  He ended up hitting a home run sending Zimmerman and Dukes home with him!  The Nats ended up winning the game 8-4, sweeping the Braves and making it six wins in a row! 

Monday's game was even better!  We had all four of our season tickets, so my Dad and brother joined us at the game.  It was a 3:05 game which was perfect, because we had more shade shielding us from the hot sun.  Unfortunately, we were surrounded by Phillies fans, but the Nats did a great job of keeping them quiet!  They were especially unhappy when they saw that the Mets had won their game.  But I will take the Mets over the Phillies winning the National League East any day.  Mets fans aren't quite as annoying as Philly fans!

So, about the game...It was all Washington until the sixth inning.  The Nationals had a 6-0 lead and Tim Redding had pitched a no hitter.  In the top of the sixth, things started to go Philadelphia's way though.  Redding was removed when the bases were loaded, and our bullpen was not able to help much.  But thanks to our offense, Redding was able to get the win, making it his tenth for the season.  The Nationals beat the Phillies 7-4, taking our winning streak to seven in a row! 

The Phillies did end up winning the next night, but we took two out of the three games to win the series.  Things haven't been going as well in Atlanta these past few days, but we still have two games left in that series.  But Zimmerman has an 11-game hitting streak going on right now and the team's morale seems to be back up, so I am looking forward to seeing a lot more wins in September.  Let's Go Nats!    

So, we ventured out to Nationals Park on Thursday for the last game in our series against the Mets, of course hoping that this would be the one we won.  They had just been shut out 0-12 the night before, so it was bound to be a better night, right?  Well, it just was not to be for the Nationals once again.  I consider myself a fan through thick and thin, but it is getting pretty depressing attending these games.  Although the weather was wonderful on Thursday night, so we tried to enjoy finally being at a game where we weren't sweating to death!

Right-hander Collin Balester was pitching for the Nats.  He gave up five runs on four hits and was able to pitch deep enough into the game to give our bullpen a little break.  It was really in the last three of his six innings pitched when he started to struggle.  Balester just had a tough time throwing strikes, so of course the Mets went to work on him.  And former Nat Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer in the fifth.  It was so sad seeing him in a Mets uniform!  I think this was the first game we had been at with Ryan Zimmerman back in the lineup, so at least we were happy to see him playing again at third base.

The Nats' offense struggled most of the game against left-hander Oliver Perez. It wasn't until the seventh inning that Washington scored, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning off the Mets' starter. 

We seemed to have the momentum for a bit, but then the Mets were able to get the momentum back in the top of the ninth inning by scoring four runs off our closer Joel Hanrahan.  Two runs were scored on a throwing error by Bonifacio at second base.  So, it was another tough loss for a team that is surely having morale issues.  Since we were swept by the Brewers and the Mets, we have been swept by the Rockies. That makes 10 losses in a row.  Yesterday was the Nats' day off, so hopefully they will be rested and ready for their road trip to Philly!  At this point, all we can hope for is that we don't finish the season as the worst team in baseball.  Let's Go Nats! 

We attended the last Nats game before the All-Star game on Sunday.  The Nats were playing the Astros, and each team had won one game in the series, so we were hoping the Nats would take the Sunday game and win the series.  Unfortunately, things did not go our way again.  We were shut out by Houston as they beat us 5-0 and gave the Nats their 60th loss for the season.  Brandon Backe just pitched a great game for the Astros.  The Nats couldn't get anything going offensively against him, and we struggled when we did have runners in scoring position once again.  But, it was still a fun game, as baseball games always are!  Plus we got to see Miguel Tejada play again.  He was one of my favorite Orioles players until he was traded to the Astros.

And Austin Kearns was back in the lineup, yeah!  Now if we can just get some of our other injured players healthy and playing again, we might just be able to turn this season around in the second half.

And of course, I just have to add how exciting the All-Star festivities were this year.  Watching Josh Hamilton hit those record 28 home runs during the first round of the home run derby was unbelievable!  I would have liked to have seen him win it, but no one is going to forget his performance that night.  And then the game on Tuesday was just so much fun.  I really thought that the National League would finally take it, but of course the American League prevailed once again!

Okay boys, the break is over.  I hope that you are rested and ready for the second half.  Let's start by beating those Braves tonight.  Let's Go Nats!  

I definitely have been a bad blogger for the past month, but I have been in a baseball funk since our Nationals have been struggling so much.  I know that we are a young team and it will take time to build this franchise.  But, it has been disappointing watching loss after loss.  And the injuries that have been plaguing our team have certainly not been helping!

Darren and I did make it to two games in June.  That is usually the best month for baseball, but the hot humid DC weather seems to have arrived a little early this year.  We saw the Giants play the Nats at the beginning of June.  It was Garrett Mock's Major League debut.  He was doing pretty well until the fifth inning when he walked three batters and forced in a run.  Reliever Saul Rivera did not help the situation by allowing a two run-scoring hit and handing Mock his loss.  The Giants ended up scoring three more runs that game to beat the Nationals 6-3.  It had all started so well too with Lastings Milledge hitting a solo home run in the first inning, but alas it was not to be our day!   

Of course, we did still enjoy our hot day at Nationals Park and alternated between our seats directly in the sun and the cool air-conditioned Red Porch, which also allows for great views of the field.

Our next June game was against the Baltimore Orioles.  Since our Beltway Series game at Camden Yards was rained out, I was looking forward to seeing the O's play the Nats in Washington.  There is always a great crowd when the O's come to town, and both teams provided their fans with a good game.  Nationals right-hander Jason Bergmann had an excellent outing, pitching seven innings and only giving up one run on six hits.  But Ronnie Belliard was the hero of the game with his walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.  Thanks to Belliard the Nationals defeated the Orioles 3-2.  With the Nats taking two out of three games that weekend, the Nationals and Orioles ended up in a 3-3 tie for the Battle of the Beltway.  We will take it!

We are heading back to Nationals Park this Sunday to see the Astros play the Nats, so I will try to stay positive that we will be able to start winning again!  Zimmerman took batting practice yesterday, so hopefully he will be back soon to help our offense.  Until then, here is Tom to get us pumped up and excited for the next game.  Let's Go Nats!!!

Anyone who knows my husband Darren and I knows that we are huge baseball fans.  One of our goals is to visit each ballpark together, so each season we try to cross a few more off of our list.  This year we planned a trip to Los Angeles to visit my brother and sister-in-law, and we strategically planned it so we could see both the Dodgers and the Angels when we were there.  On Sunday, the Dodgers were playing the St. Louis Cardinals, and we had gotten tickets in the outfield in the "all you can eat" section.  This was a good plan, because not only did we have great seats, but we could eat all of the famous Dodger Dogs that we wanted!  Dodger Stadium is a classic ballpark, built in 1962, and it was returned to the stadium's original colors in 2006.  There are pretty amazing views of Los Angeles there, and it was exciting for us to visit, because the Dodgers were celebrating their 50th anniversary in L.A.  The weather started out looking pretty gloomy, but fortunately soon turned nice for the game.     

It was a great game!  The Dodgers had called up Clayton Kershaw from Jacksonville, so Sunday's game was his Major League pitching debut.  His first start was impressive with him striking out seven batters in six innings and giving up two runs.  The Dodgers were ahead when Kershaw left for the dugout, but the Cardinals rallied for a run in the seventh inning, and the game ended up going into extra innings.  The "Boys in Blue" did not let us down though with Andre Ethier getting a two-out run-scoring hit in the tenth inning.  It was so fun finally seeing a game at Dodger Stadium and pretty exciting to see Joe Torre there too.  I am not a Yankee fan, so I am very happy that he is a Dodger now, since I have always really admired him!

Monday was Memorial Day and it turned out to be beautiful weather.  The Angels of Anaheim were playing the Detroit Tigers, and we had club seats for this game.  Angel Stadium is a newer ballpark, since it was renovated in 1998, and it is a really nice stadium!  There are dugout-level suites and incredible landscaping.  We got there early so we could walk around, and it was a very impressive stadium.  Our seats were good too.  We were in the outfield again and had some pretty nice views, especially of the terraced bullpens.  The service in the club section was great and we were able to eat something besides typical ballpark food, which was a good idea since we had stuffed ourselves full of hot dogs and nachos the day before!

It was an interesting game, not a typical one for an American League game, because there were no runs throughout the entire game.  The Tigers and Angels were both 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.  Jon Garland was pitching for the Angels and he was able to keep the Tigers pretty quiet for the 7 1/3 innings he pitched.  So, the game went into extra innings.  The Angels kept up the good pitching and defense and were able to make it to the bottom of the 12th inning.  With the bases loaded, Garret Anderson was walked by Bobby Seay, sending Maicer Izturis home.  It was not quite as dramatic a win as the day before, but winning is always a good thing!

So, now it is time to focus on our Nationals again.  We will be at the game against the Giants on Sunday.  I am so sad that my two favorite players are on the disabled list.  Austin and Ryan, please heal quickly, we need you on the team!  In fact, it seems like half the team is injured right now.  Boy, do I hope that things start improving, or we will never move out of the bottom of the National League East!

Every year, interleague weekend falls on my birthday weekend, so we always plan to go to one of the games in the Beltway Series.  This year, the Nats were playing the O's in Baltimore, so I was looking forward to heading out to Camden Yards.  As much as I love the new Nationals Park, Camden Yards will always hold a special place in my heart.  It is such a great ballpark!  We arrived there about an hour early to walk around and check things out.  Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, so we knew there was definitely going to be a rain delay.

We waited for an hour during the rain delay, eating, drinking and watching the Brewers/Red Sox game.  Since it looked like the rain was not going to let up any time soon, we decided to head home.  I was so bummed because we had great seats and I knew that the Nats would pull out a win this game after losing the last two.

Of course traffic was miserable for the ride from Baltimore to Reston, but by the time we were close to home, the second hour of rain delay was over, and we were able to listen to most of the game on the radio.  John Lannan pitched an incredible game!  He pitched into the seventh inning and only gave up one run on four hits.  Christian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman helped him out too.  Guzman hit a nice home run in the third inning and Zim drove Lopez in with a RBI double in the eighth inning.  So, the Nats did end up winning 2 - 1.  We are going to one of the games when the Orioles come to town at the end of June, so I will just hope to see another winning game then! 

Finally, Darren and I had baseball weather for one of our games.  We headed out to the Pirates game on Sunday under sunny skies and with temperatures in the 70s.  What a great day to be at the ballpark and since the Nats had won 2 of the last 3 games against the Pirates, we were feeling pretty confident that it was going to be a good game!

The Nats did not disappoint us.  Tim Redding had a great outing, giving up just one run and not allowing any walks.  Then reliever Saul Rivera came in for the seventh inning and kept us ahead.  There were two guys in scoring position, but Rivera was able to get the next batters to hit right back to him, and just like that we were out of the jam!  

The Nationals went on to defeat the Pirates, 5-2, mostly because of our pitching, but there were also some great hits in the game!  We scored two runs in the first inning off Pittsburgh starter Ian Snell.  Both Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns had RBI singles.  Then Aaron Boone, who was filling in for Zim, scored his first home run of the season in the fourth inning, and Felipe Lopez had a nice RBI single in the seventh, driving Willie Harris home.  To top off the game, Wily Mo came in with a RBI double in the eighth inning.  An inch higher and it would have been a home run, but what a great end to the game!

Since it was such a nice day, Darren and I  walked around the ballpark during the game and caught the views of the field from other areas.  We decided to check out the Red Porch and got some nice pictures from up there.

Now, we hit the road again, so it is off to Houston.  And then back home next weekend to face the Marlins.  I hope we can keep this winning streak going...Let's Go Nats! 

Well, April turned out to be a tough month for the Nationals, but by the time Darren and I headed to our next game against the Cubs, things were starting to look a little better.  It is always fun to see the Cubs play and of course there were plenty of Chicago fans in attendance.  The weather was still rainy and cold, but we were ready for a good game and it sure turned out to be one!

I didn't get many good pictures this time.  I was too focused on staying warm and of course watching the game.  But I did get one of Teddy taking the lead during the Presidents' Race.  I really thought this was going to be his night, but somehow there was a banana in his way and he slipped before he could cross the finish line.  You'll get them next time Teddy!

So, back to the game...John Lannan did a great job on the mound.  He threw seven shutout innings and was able to get himself out of some jams when the Cubs did have men on base.  Since Paul Lo Duca was still on the disabled list, Wil Nieves was behind the plate as catcher.  He and Lannan seemed to make a great team, plus he was batting .500 when he entered the game.  I really like this guy!  I don't know what is going to happen when Lo Duca comes off the DL, but I sure hope Manny Acta keeps him around!  Jon Rauch came in and got his fourth save of the season, and the Nats were able to beat the Cubs, 2-0. 

Winning the game meant we got our second series win of the season, but more importantly I think it was a big boost to the players.  Zimmerman ended up coming out of his slump at the next game against the Braves.  He went 3-for-4 and helped the Nats win that game.  Now that is the Zim we know and love!  Felipe Lopez ended up saving the day with his RBI single on Wednesday against the Braves.  Then, Austin Kearns had a big night last night against the Pirates.  He had two hits and his single in the bottom of the eighth inning helped the Nationals win the game.  So, we have a nice little winning streak going on right now.  Darren and I are heading to the Pirates game on Sunday, and I hope we get to see another win then.  Let's go Nats!

So, the road trip to St. Louis did not go too well for the Nats and we found ourselves below .500 when they returned to DC for the series with the Marlins.  Darren and I were excited for another night game, even though we knew it was going to still be cold.  Something is not right about watching a baseball game with hats, gloves and multiple layers on!  This was also the first game with our season tickets.  Our seats are not as good as last year, since everyone ended up getting moved over, thanks to the new Presidential seats.  But, we are closer to the field which is nice, and we are definitely in foul ball range!

The story of the night was two errors (both by the Nats), poor pitching (for both the Nats and the Marlins) and three home runs (unfortunately all by the Marlins).  So, the Nats ended up losing their fifth consecutive game.  This loss is especially hard to take since we had the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings, and we were unable to score either time.  But, it is a long season.  There is still a lot of baseball left to play.  Hopefully, the guys enjoyed their day off yesterday and are back with a vengeance tonight.  Plus, the weather is beautiful today.  Spring is in the air and baseball is in full swing, Let's go Nats!  

Opening Day is always exciting, but this year we got to celebrate in our new ballpark!  Darren and I left the house about four hours early, which was a good idea because traffic was still really light.  We ended up parking at RFK and taking the Nats Express shuttle bus to the new stadium.  They drop you off about four blocks away.  I highly recommend this form of transportation.  It was free and easy, and they did a good job of keeping things running smoothly (even after the game when people were rushing to get home).  Once we got there, the line was pretty long to get through security since President Bush was planning to attend.  The atmosphere was so festive and exciting once we were in the stadium!  Every fan received a rally towel and lanyard.  There were bands playing music and plenty of photo opportunities.  The fans were so excited to have baseball back and to be in our new stadium!

We missed seeing the Braves' batting practice, but we were able to watch all of the Nationals' batting practice.  And we walked around the entire stadium, so we could check out all of the different views!

After batting practice, we decided to grab some food and head to our seats.  It was great to have so many more concession stands to choose from for food.  The lines were pretty long, but not too bad.  My only complaint is that I desperately wanted hot chocolate since it was so cold, but there was only one concession stand in the whole stadium that had it, so you can imagine how long that line was!    

Then, it was time for the opening festivities to begin.  Don Sutton was the Master of Ceremonies and did a great job!  He introduced every player for both teams and they entered the field on a red carpet.  The National Anthem was done beautifully, with plenty of pomp and circumstance.  President Bush came out to throw the first pitch and unfortunately was met with a lot of booing.  I understand that there are a lot of people that disapprove of him right now, but I still think it is disrespectful to boo him at a venue like this.  That is just my opinion though!  Anyways, it was time to play ball and everyone was ready!

It turned out to be an incredible game with the Nats scoring two runs in the first inning!  Odalis Perez limited the Braves to one run over five innings.  With a 2-1 lead going to the ninth and Jon Rauch pitching, the Braves tied the game at 2.   But Nats fans did get a happy ending at the bottom of the ninth when third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-out walk-off home run!  It doesn't get any better than that!  Since Opening Day, the Nats have gone on to win their first series with the Phillies.  Although, our first loss last night was heartbreaking, when Jesus Colome walked in the winning run in the 10th inning.  But a 3-1 start to the season, I will definitely take that!  Now, it is off to St. Louis to face the Cardinals.  In other sports news, the Capitals are still in contention for the playoffs.  The games this week have been some of the best that I have ever seen.  It is a great week to be a Washington sports fan!