Hope You Skipped Work

I seem to remember saying earlier in the week that today's game between Strasburg and Santana would be a good one to call in sick to watch.  Well I sure hope some of you took my advice because this was a great game.

Highlights:

• Strasburg v Santana.  That match up just jumped off the page when I was doing the series preview.  Whenever Stras takes the mound you get the sense that something special could happen.  Pair that with another fantastic pitcher and you have all the makings of an instant classic.  Strasburg got his first win of the season today by pitching 6 scoreless innings while striking out 9.  On the other side, Santana kept pace through 5 innings, giving up 1 run and striking out 8.

• It wasn't all pitching today.  The Nats managed to put 4 runs up before all was said and done in New York.  Basically everyone contributed in some way towards the win which is a great thing to see and bodes well for the lineup, which will only get better once Morse rejoins the club.

• Finally, a bit of redemption was had.  Rodriguez came into the game in the 9th and got 3 outs, 2 of them on strikeouts.  Yes, it was a none save situation since the Nat's were up by 4 runs.  However, H-Rod (has anyone coined this nickname yet?) was one of the large factors in yesterday's loss, so it was nice to see him get back on track with a good performance.

But yeah, seriously, if anyone took my advice about skipping out on work today congrats because the Nat's did not disappoint.  I mean, if you got fired for it than it probably wasn't worth it, but otherwise, good call.

The Nats are 4-2 on the year and heading into town for an 11 game home stand.  Should be fun!