Brad!

Whatever else you want to say about them, the Nationals are a roller coaster of a team. After losing the first game by giving up too many runs and squandering golden offensive opportunities, the Nationals won game two in electrifying fashion.

The Nationals started strong. With the game tied 1-1 after one, Livan Hernandez pretty much shut down the Braves through the sixth. Having scored a run in the fifth and one in the seventh, the Nationals were leading 3-1 in the bottom of seventh.

That's when things started to turn. With no outs, Todd Hollandsworth and Johnny Estrada singled. Fortunately, the Nationals picked off Hollandsworth. That would prove to be a very costly mistake for the Braves. Wilson Betemit then singled, advancing Ryan Langerhans, who was running for Estrada, to second. Hernandez then walked Jeff Francouer.

We think that Frank Robinson tends to leave in his pitchers too long, and the seventh was a prime example of that. In a tight playoff race, we don't think it makes sense to leave in a starter when he is obviously getting into trouble late in a game. That's why we have a bullpen, and, like it or not, we have to use it in situations like this. We would have pulled Hernandez after Betemit singled, but that's probably why we're in front of a computer and Robinson is in a dugout. Anyway, Hernandez got Pete Orr and Kelly Johnson to ground out to end the inning, but Orr's grounder scored a run.

So it was 3-2 Nationals after seven.

If you weren't going to take Hernandez out in the seventh, there was no excuse for not taking him out after Marcus Giles doubled to open the bottom of the eighth, or after Andruw Jones advanced Giles to third on a grounder, or after Hernandez intentionally walked Adam LaRoche, or after Hernandez unintentionally walked Hollandsworth to load the bases with one out! Robinson finally made the change, bringing in Mike Stanton. Stanton struck out Brian McCann, but Betemit singled to center, scoring Giles. Thankfully, Jose Guillen threw out LaRoche at home to end the inning. That, dear readers, was a huge play.

Now it was 3-3 after eight.

And here's where the Nationals did something amazing. With Chris Reitsma on the mound, Brad Wilkerson singled to open the inning, and Vidro sacrificed him to second. We would never have anticipated this, but Wilkerson tried to steal third. McCann's throw was wild, and Wilkerson charged home with the go-ahead run. Chad Cordero closed down the Braves in the ninth, and the Nationals won.

The Nationals can break your heart, but they can also make your heart jump. Last night they did both to us.