Nats bats still cold in Atlanta OR Where is William Tecumseh Sherman when we really need him?

In the 8th inning of tonight's 8-3 Nats loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Nats began to show some real life. Entering that inning, the Nats were behind 5-0, but by the middle of that inning they were only down 5-3. Suddenly, they had a game on their hands. But the Braves continued their mastery of the Nationals and racked up three more runs to put themselves safely into the "W" column for the second consecutive evening.

I had begun to think that the only way that the Nationals' bats would catch fire is if General Sherman returned from the grave for another Atlanta barbecue.

Ryan Church had another good evening, though. He went 3 for 4, had a double, too. If he is, indeed, suffering from flu-like symptoms, then I wish that he'd sneeze on every single one of his teammates, except perhaps Belliard and Kearns.

One more night in Hot-lanta, one more night to try and get the better of the Jones Boys, before heading off to Queens. Can Jason Bergmann take John Smoltz to the cleaners? (Bergmann. Cleaners. Get it? Well, I wish I'd thought of it first...) Find out tomorrow at 7:35 EDT.