Nats sweep Reds out of D.C. OR Undefeated in August!

How nice to begin the month of August with a sweep of another team.

On "Walter Johnson Night", as the Nationals honored the anniversary of the legendary Washington pitcher and inaugural Hall of Fame member, the Nats completed their sweep of the Cincinnati Reds 7-3 in front of 26,223.

The Nationals are now 109-109 in R.F.K. Stadium.

Starter Mike Bacsik got his 5th win of the season. He allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (2 of which were homeruns), walked none but struck out 6. He threw an incredibly economical 81 pitches (51 strikes, 63%). Bacsik appears to have found his pitching groovc of late.

The bullpen of Jon Rauch and Saul Rivera were their usual selves, allowing no runs, but Rivera did give up 2 hits. The Nationals still have the best bullpen in the National League.

Ryan Report: Not too shabby! Church went 2 for 5 with a double, Zimmerman went 3 for 5 with a double and 3 R.B.I.'s, Langerhans did not bat, and Austin Ryan Kearns went 1 for 5.

The big hits came from Ronnie Belliard (2 for 3 with a double, with 1 R.B.I. and 2 walks) and D'Angelo Jimenez (a double), Dmitri Young went 2 for 4 with 2 R.B.I.'s. Even pitcher Mike Bacsik had a double!

It was 89 degrees at gametime, clear and with a nice little breeze, which was most welcome. As usual, I got to the ballpark late, but not as late as I had expected - I left work at 7:05 and was walking towards the stadium by 7:33, there just wasn't much traffic to contend with. I made my usual rounds. Rico was in fine voice at the program stand, Ellie and Jonathan enjoying the cool of the press cafeteria a/c, and the good folks at Capital Q Barbecue doing what looked like a land-office business, to which I was happy to contribute. I was sorry to have missed the pre-game festivities honoring Walter Johnson, but I caught some of it later on the MASN broadcast. Since all of the Nats were wearing replica caps from the 1927 season (Johnson's last) the whole game had a little of that "Field of Dreams" throwback aspect to it.
Very cool to see. I also liked seeing the "countdown calendar" over in left field, marking how many home games are remaining in R.F.K. Stadium (now 26).

Nice short game, two and a half hours. I had a nice leisurely drive home. I always enjoy driving up the George Washington Memorial Parkway and viewing the illuminated monuments across the Potomac - the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center, and darkened Theodore Roosevelt Island. Always a pretty drive.