What a great time to be a baseball fan! History is being made around the league and our very own Nats have chance to be a part of it this week. John Lannan will take to the mound tonight as the Nationals prepare to take on Barry Bonds and his Giants. Bonds tied Hank Aaron by hitting number 755 this weekend, and is looking to hit number 756 this week during the Giants’ homestand. Several Nats players have expressed their thoughts on this potentially historic series. Austin Kearns, who has seen a HR bounce back into the field has wondered what he should do if that were to happen on this trip with number 756. Ryan Zimmerman, says that Kearns should give the ball back to the fans, while Dmitri Young would keep the ball and “double dog dare” a fan to get it. Meanwhile, John Lannan recieved some advice from Ray King on how to pitch to Bonds. Bonds is only 2-16 against King. The Nats enjoyed a FANtastic weekend. They won their 6th straight game (8th straight at RFK) and also gnabbed their 4th series sweep of the season! The girls and I spent yesterday sitting in 301 (next to the bullpen). The shade gave us a little break from the heat and it is always fun to watch the guys warm up. We were also treated to a great view of Austin Kearns’ game ending, spectacular catch. While Matt Chico had a bit of a shakey outing, he was able to get key outs and keep the game tied at 3. Then the bullpen came out and did what they do best: shut down the opposition’s offense. Rivera pitched a 1 hit 6th inning and Ayala pitched a hitless 7th. Ayala came back out for the 8th and got himself in a little trouble with a double and a walk, but Ray King came through to end the inning. Ryan Zimmerman and Dmitri Young came through with clutch hits that drove in 3 runs. Chief pitched a hitless 9th inning to collect his 23rd save of the year. With the win the Nats improved to 51-60, a game better than the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. All those critics out there who placed bets that the Nats would win only 50 games or less this season…sorry but you lost. In addition to Bonds, Tom Glavine and Alex Rodriguez also made history this weekend. On Saturday, A-Rod became with the youngest player to reach 500 homeruns with his three shot homer to left field. Last night, on his second attempt to record win number 300, Tom Glavine pitched a great game and watched as his bullpen secured his 300th victory. In an age when the game has turned to favor hitters over pitchers, Glavine could very well be the last to ever reach the 300 win mark.Quote of the Day:“We are just looking at the next series. We are going to try and take three out of four games. We are not worried about the media spectacle that’s going to be there because a guy is chasing history. Whoop-de-woo.” — Dmitri Young, on facing the Giants
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