With the help of Hanrahan and Lopez, the Nats managed to secure the split against the Giants and leave San Francisco, Barry Bonds and all the buzz to return to normal baseball.

Hanrahan pitched well and was backed up by oustanding defense. He lasted 5 1/3 innings, gave up one run on seven hits and picked up his second Major League victory. And — he can hit. In his MLB debut, Hanrahan hit a triple at Shea. At home in RFK, he hit a double. At AT&T Park, he hit another double. Hanrahan is 3-6 at the plate. He was relieved with great performances by King, Rivera, Ayala and Cordero. Rauch struggled in the 8th but managed to work his way out of it — partly because Flores caught Feliz stealing second. Out of nowhere, Felipe Lopez seems to be riding a hot streak — blasting a homerun to left field to put the Nats on top. Lopez and Flores shared an exciting defensive play catching Roberts stealing home. Logan is starting to look more comfortable too — perhaps a result of his conversation with Jim Bowden, according to Bill Ladson.

Other Stuff to think about:

Bergmann and Hill are close to returning, but the starting five (3 rookies and 2 minor league free agents) have been doing quite well. Thoughts on who will get sent down?

In other MLB news — Looks like things got pretty interesting for Clemens and the Yankees this week.

The Potomac Nationals game was rained out — so Detwiler makes his debut tonight.

The Nationals are still tied with the Marlins with a 53-62 record.

Ryan Zimmerman’s weekly column (which I can’t seem to find online at the moment, but will link if it shows up) says that watching Bonds hit is HR was an electrifying experience that he’ll never forget. He said the starting 9 had to sign a ball that will go to Cooperstown and he was pretty honored by that. He saved a game ticket. One of the Nats players filmed the game from the dug-out. Ryan didn’t talk to Bonds as he rounded third and he was pleased to see Willie Mays come down onto the field.

A Look Ahead:

Tonight, Matt Chico takes the mound to face Livan Hernandez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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