Nationals Home Opener

So last night was the Washington Nationals’ Home Opener at RFK, and we won against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-3. Great pitching from Livan Hernandez, despite giving that three-run homer to Chad Tracey in the ninth. (Good batting, Arizona.) That ninth inning was close: they could have pushed us into a tenth or eleventh if they’d gotten a double play, but Chad Cordero pushed Tony Clark to a center field flyout — easy catch, on-time win, no need for Metro overtime.

And President Bush’s pitching? Pretty high; you can tell he didn’t want it to bounce. He walked into the Nationals’ clubhouse afterward to greet the team, and gave a special greeting to Joey Eischen: “Eischen, right?”

“He remembered trading me,” Eischen said, his eyes wide. “That was pretty cool. “I was some Single-A punk he got rid of to get a major-league pitcher. It was gratifying.”

Heh, Bush also visited the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse and wished them “Good luck.”