Nats rally, beat Orioles 4-3 avoid Beltway sweep OR Nook, Nats, Zimmerman whacks, send Perlozzo home

The question of the day from Mr. P. Angelos of Baltimore, Maryland is, "Has Nook Logan been drinking more Gatorade lately, or what?"

A valid question, for Logan had an excellent day today as he stole second and third base on consecutive pitches in the 3rd inning and also drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th, as the Nationals rallied to win 4-3 and send Sam Perlozzo and the Baltimore Orioles back up I-95 to their home.

Today started off a little overcast and there was even a 5-8 second rain early on, but it was bright and sunny from then on. Another large crowd, too. Last night it was 30,600+ and today it was just over 29,000. My friend Randi and I got to the park early again and walked around visiting friends. I ran into some customers of mine who are also dear friends, Steve and Kate, and Randi ran into an old friend from school. Small world department.

I was wearing my new "Nats Power" jersey with the #19 on front and back, and that's how the Three Girls with Heart found me and stopped to say hello and chat a bit. They'd made up a sign to wish Austin Kearns a Happy Birthday and I was mildly embarrassed that I was unaware that it was Austin's birthday today. Happy 27th Birthday, Austin! Glad you guys got a win, now make your teammates treat you to dinner in Cincinnati.

We knocked around in the Team Store and checked out some more merchandise. Randi got some info from a guy representing a basement inspection company. You just never know what you're going to find at a Nationals game.

We got our hotdogs again and sodas and settled in for a day of baseball in the sun. Howard stopped by so I could get my one beer.

Nats reliever Micah Bowie, who was making a start for the Nats today in light of their injuries, did well for himself in the first 3 innings, but then allowed 2 runs on 2hits. All in all, he threw 69 pitches, 45 of them strikes (65%) and exited in the 4th inning for Billy Traber.
Taber was a little shaky, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and a walk and 3 strikeouts, but he threw 41 pitches and 29 strikes (70%). Then came Ray King, Jesus Colome and Chad Cordero, who each pitched one inning and each allowed 1 hit. Colome got the win and Chad got the save. Welcome back to the closer's role, Chad!

Ryan Report: Weird, because I think the stats I read are incorrect. Church had an at-bat but got struck by a pitch on his left forearm and he definitely walked, yet the MLB stats list him as having 0 at-bats. Church left the game later and I believe his examination showed no crucial injury. He's listed as day-to-day. Zimmerman went 2 for 4, both of them doubles, and he had a with a run. Langerhans went 1 for 2 with an R.B.I. and Austin Ryan Kearns went 0 for 3.

Nook Logan is definitely the hero of the day at the plate. He went 2 for 3 with a run, a walk and two R.B.I.'s That manufactured run of his was a thing of beauty.

So, 7-3 on this homestand. Not bad at all. Now onto Cincinnati and the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.