Ryan Zimmerman’s hitting streak ends at 30 games when he goes 0 for 3 with two walks, but Washington beats San Francisco, 6 – 3, behind the pitching of Shairon Martis. Zimmerman falls one game short of the franchise record of 31 games set by Vladimir Guerrero in 1999, when the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos.
John Smoltz becomes the 16th major league pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters. The 40-year-old Braves hurler gets Felipe Lopez swinging on a 2-2 offering in the 3rd for his 3,000th K. He is the 6th-quickest to the mark in terms of innings pitched (3,386). Smoltz fans 10 in 7 innings in this win, showing that age has not yet caught up to him.
2008 – Nationals Park opens for action with the host Nationals beating the Braves, 3 – 2. Odalis Perez pitches a solid game and Jon Rauch gets the historic first win after blowing a save. Nick Johnson drives in a run with a double in his first at-bat in over 18 months. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ryan Zimmerman hits a walk-off home run off Peter Moylan.
The Philadelphia Phillies clinch the National League East Division title with a 6 – 1 win over the Washington Nationals. The Phils’ Jimmy Rollins hits his 20th triple of the season, giving him 20 or more doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. The only other players to do that in MLB history are Wildfire Schulte, Willie Mays and Curtis Granderson, who reached the marks earlier this season with the Detroit Tigers.
On October 1, 2006, Frank Robinson manages his final game for the Washington Nationals, as they lose to the New York Mets, 6-2. The Nationals had announced that Robinson’s contract, which expires on October 31, would not be renewed. Robinson managed the Expos/National for five seasons, beginning in 2002. The Hall of Fame outfielder was…
As the Nationals beat the Phillies, 10-4, Frank Robinson becomes the 53rd manager to win 1000 big league games. The first black skipper, who has also been the dugout leader for the Indians, Giants, Orioles, and Expos, has compiled a 1,000-1,095 record in 16 seasons.
After rejecting an earlier proposal by an 8-5 margin just a few hours ago, the District of Columbia Council reverses itself and approves a revised lease for a new Washington, D.C. ballpark. At the urging of Mayor Anthony A. Williams, the council reconvenes and votes 9-4 to approve the deal after attaching legislation capping the district’s total cost at a bit less than $611 million.
Major League Baseball files for mediation against the District of Columbia after the city failed to approve a lease for the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark by the December 31st deadline.
2005 – The Washington Nationals franchise, formerly the Montreal Expos, lose their inaugural season opener bowing to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8 – 4. The franchise, which played its initial 36 years in Canada, becomes the first team to represent the nation’s capital since the Washington Senators left to become the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.
At Comiskey Park, Bill Veeck employs eight Little People to work in the stands during the White Sox home opener against Washington. The Chicago owner’s hiring decision is a response to complaints that fans sitting in the box seats couldn’t see over the vendors.
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