Johnny Holliday

A difference you can see and feel

by Johnny Holliday

The Los Angeles Dodgers came to DC as one of the highest scoring teams in baseball. Throw in their hit total, along with RBIs, and you have a pretty high order of business to take care of if you're the Washington Nationals.

So what did the Nats young pitching staff do? They allowed one run in game one, four in game two, and didn't allow a runner to get across the plate in game three.

Taking two out of three from the two-time defending NL West champions felt mighty good. It marked the third time this season Jim Riggleman's ballclub had won a series. They previously did it against the Mets and the Brewers.

The 1-0 shutout of the Dodgers was the club's second of the season, and with pitching like we saw from Olsen, Clippard and Capps, there will be many more before this season comes to an end.

Flying to Chicago Sunday night with a season record of 10 and 9, winning 6 of 10 on the most recent homestand, and posting the club's second shutout of the season had to feel great!

Nyjer Morgan, aka Tony Plush, continues to impress me with his enthusiasm, speed, and quick bat. Nyjer is the perfect lead-off batter. He scored the game's only run in the Nats half of the first and collected two of the team's four hits against Joe Torre's club. Over the past 13 games, Nyjer is blistering the baseball at a .340 clip.

Morgan is the first to admit his baserunning Saturday left a lot to be desired. Still, GM Mike Rizzo made a great move in getting Nyjer from Pittsburgh - not to mention the best closer in the bigs, Matt Capps.

The club is playing so well these days. The pitching has come around, the defense is there, and the base hits are coming at the right time.

I for one can see and feel such a difference in the Nationals compared to the past couple of years. These guys make it fun to go the ballpark or to catch every out of town game on MASN.