Fourth of July and Nats Win!

What better to do on the Fourth than to take in a ballgame?

I suspect a doubleheader might have been nice but a Nats' game and a win at that was all that was necessary to make the day. It was finished off with a cookout, with family, and with some local fireworks.

The ballgame:

Special pregame guest was former Virginia Governor and Senator George Allen who read Lou Gehrig's comments from July 3, 1939 ("...luckiest man on the face of the earth...") in commemoration of a tribute to both Gehrig and those suffering from ACL. Apparently this was a day throughout all of baseball in which the 70th anniversary of Gehrig's comments were commemorated.

Pitcher was John Lannan who was steady and went a full 8 innings. He won his 6th.

This was the 1st time I had watched Nyjer Morgan in a Nats uniform and he has an entertaining presence on the field. For offense he is a constant threat to bunt or poke the ball here or there and when on base a constant threat to steal.

In the field he seems to float. It's the most confidence we've enjoyed in CF this year although it would have been nice to have seen more of Roger Bernadina earlier before he fractured his ankle.

Lannan was aided by 4 double plays. Here Anderson Hernandez has more than enough time to get the throw off to first...

where Nick Johnson digs the ball out to complete the double play.

This was the swing. Adam Dunn with this swing sends his 300th home run into the RF upper deck. Although only a solo it put the Nats on track for their comeback. Dunn is now the 123rd player to hit 300 home runs in his career and is only the 13th to do so by age 30; he is 29.

A tighter crop on the last pic.

While rounding the bases he was receiving congratulations from all.

The 3rd base turn.

Making it official while the ump watches.

Back to Nyjer. Again, comfort in CF!

This was Nyjer's sacrifice bunt in the 8th that pushed runners to 2nd and 3rd and that eventually led to 4 runs and a win.

With bases loaded Ryan Zimmerman drives 2 home with a solid single.

You get the feeling that no ball will be free to fall in CF with Nyjer in the lineup. Seems a step in the right direction for the Nats, thus far severely humbled by their lack of defense.

Although Mike MacDougal came in to pitch the 9th, there were moments. Still, he held on, saved the game, and the Nats won.

Lenny Harris, who came in to replace Adam Dunn for defense in the 9th, joins with Nyjer in celebrating the win.

Nyjer and Cristian Guzman also celebrate ... as did 24,000 fans.

The game and win were reminiscent of the 1st half of 2005 when the Nats were winning the close games and the fans were into the games as well. The stands don't shake at Nats Park, unlike RFK, but the fans were alive on this Fourth.

'til later...