Lucky number 7 The boys took to the field last night and were ready to rebound from a tough loss on Tuesday night to the Phillies. Tim Redding headed to the mound after a solid warm-up and struck out 7 batters en route to his second win of the season. Coincidentally, Shawn Hill also struck out 7 Phillies on Tuesday night. Redding was apparently eager to get his second win because he took matters into is own hands at the plate. He hit a double into deep left during the second inning that drove in Ryan Church and Austin Kearns. It was Redding’s first RBI in nearly four years. Ryan Zimmerman was able to score in the bottom of the 6th after Kearns hit into a double play.Ryan Church scored the 4th and final Nationals run of the evening when he sent a ball flying into the upper deck over the Nats bullpen for a solo home run. Church, who has been criticized on and off throughout the season has certainly been producing recently. He is currently ranked 5th in the NL for doubles and has recently come up with a couple of big home runs in the past few days.The Nats ran into some trouble in the top of the 7th when the defense was unable to field what could have been a double play. Rivera came out to take over for Redding but had a rough night by allowing one hit and walking a batter. Ray King came out and recorded 2 outs before Luis Ayala, whom I nicknamed Lights Out Luis for his amazing performances of late, got the last out. Ayala came back out in the 8th and looked like the great set-up man he was in 2005 by breezing through the 8th inning. Chief came in and got the save! Last night we sat in Section 301 and enjoyed some lively discussions about the furture of the Nationals with several very enthusiastic Nats fans. One thing that we all seemed to agree on is that the Nats certainly have developed a great farm system that will likely carry them far in the future. We have sat near them a couple of times in that section and it’s always a great time with good discussions and a lot of cheering for the Nats!! Noteworthy Nats News: …The Nationals signed their sixth round draft pick, left hander Jack McGeary. …Teddy is one loss away from a 0-100 all-time record in the President’s Race. Maybe George, Tom and Abe can ban together and allow Teddy just one victory in RFK. I personally hope that the President’s Race continues in the new ballpark, the middle of the fourth wouldn’t be the same without it. 

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