Washington Nationals’ starter Jason Bergmann blows Brewers’ leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks away with a fastball for the first out of the afternoon tilt, and Bergmann gets a fly ball out to the warning track in center from Mike Cameron and a pop fly foul of first from Ryan Braun to end the top of the frame...Milwaukee righty Ben Sheets gets hit hard by Willie Harris on a fly out to deep center, and then Sheets floats a curve to Cristian Guzman, who gets all of it as The Guzzzzzzz smacks a solo shot to just right of center for a 1-0 DC lead after one. 

Prince Fielder doubles off the high wall in right, Elijah Dukes is all over it, fielding and throwing to second waaaayyy ahead of Fielder, who feebly slides and gets tagged out by a lunging Guzman. DUKES!!! Prince should have settled, cause Corey Hart singles to left, and would have advanced Fielder. Jason Bergmann drops a sinking fastball off the plate to get Russell Branyan swinging, and another sinker at 85 mph over the middle gets under J.J. Hardy’s bat for the third K of the day. DUKES!!! Doubles with two down in the home half of the second. What Will Jesus Do? Jesus Flores ropes a single to left that hops over Braun's head. Dukes scores. 2-0 DC after the second. 

1-2-3 third for Bergmann, who’s collected 5 K’s through three innings.  Sheets gets a fly out to left from Willie Harris and then throws gas by Guzman and Boone for his own scoreless third. Ryan Braun hits a one-out liner to center that gets under Lastings Milledge’s glove, allowing Braun to reach second safely. Prince Fielder backs Milledge all the way to the wall in center, but not far enough. Braun takes third, but gets stranded there when J.J. Hardy K’s to end the top of the inning...

(ed.note- "The following commentary is based solely upon perusal of highlights and box scores as long-standing friendship and the chance to see my old friend's new child won out over my devotion to baseball...")

Jason Bergmann lasts 5.2, allowing 4 hits, 0 runs and 1 walk with 8 K's. Charlie Manning relieves Bergmann, retiring Fielder with a runner on second to end the sixth. A double by Lastings Milledge is all the offense the Nationals muster in the home half of the sixth, and Manning heads back to the mound to start the top of the seventh...Corey Hart singles and moves to second on a wild pitch from Manning, who strikes out Branyan and is replaced by Brian Sanches, who gives up a legit single to to left scoring Hart, who'd already stolen third. 2-1 DC...and Sanches has another run score when DY fails to field pinch hitter Joe Dillon's ground ball and a run crosses to tie it at 2-2 after seven.

Mike Cameron's walked by "Wild" Joel Hanrahan. Cameron steals second and two sac flies later scores to give Milwaukee the 3-2 lead. That lead holds for three outs when DY initially appears to have legged out a triple, but is then rewarded with the round tripper when the fans, umps and replays all come to a consensus on the ball's having left the yard. 3-3 after eighth...and it doesn't end after nine...or ten, but in the top of the eleventh, Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera gives up a big double to Prince Fielder and then hangs a slider two outs later with Fielder on third and Lastings Milledge has to take it on one hop allowing Fielder to trot home, giving the Brewers the lead. 4-3 Milwaukee. Salomon Torres gets two ground outs and a K, and the Brewers leave DC with a split...

Nationals now 22-30.

HOMESTAND IN REVIEW...

After dropping two of three to Philly to open the seven game stand, the Nationals were able to earn a split in the four game holiday weekend matchup with Milwaukee, taking the first and third games of the series to end the homestand 3-4, and 22-30 overall, 8 games under .500, in last place in the NL East, 9.0 games behind Florida and 6.5 out of second, 4-6 in their last ten and headed out on the road where their record stands at 9-15 on the season...No one said this was going to be easy...

Luis "Efficient" Ayala pitched four scoreless on the homestand, appearing in all three Nationals' wins, and allowing just 1 hit in relief appearances against both the Phillies and Brewers. Against the eleven batters Ayala faced, the righty reliever, using just 40 pitches, got three fly ball outs, three grounders--(one a DP), and 2 K's with just one one-out double by Rickie Weeks and a walk surrendered.

DY's first dinger of the year was well-timed and all the more impressive for the fact that it came off that side-winding Brewer Brian Shouse. Even better was the way DY legged out what he thought was a triple without even a hint of the back injury that delayed the start of his season. With DY getting at bats and starting to hit, and Dukes, Pena and Milledge all starting to connect bat to ball, maybe the offense will finally start to click consistently. 

"Zimmerman Watch" - Federal Baseball's 24-Hour Coverage......

According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article entitled, "Sore shoulder nagging Zimmerman", Ryan Zimmerman, "...wasn't able to play," Sunday, "...because his shoulder is worse than what had been reported recently." The news of the injury which was first leaked by Paul Lo Duca when he filled in on the mic when sickness struck MASN's announce team, has been given credibilty first by Zimmerman's winces of pain while swinging and now by his absence from the starting lineup, with Mr. Ladson writing, that heading into the three game road series out West:

"There isn't a guarantee Zimmerman will play against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. So far, an MRI has not been scheduled."

According to Washington Post sports writer Chico Harlan's post at the "Nationals Journal" blog entitled, "Shoulder Issues, Commentator Issues", what Paul Lo Duca described during his time in the MASN booth were, "some 'nerve' issues in his right shoulder," in Mr. Harlan's words, and the writer then reports on Zimmerman's own assessment, writing:

"The truth? Zimmerman talked about it after the game. He does have a minor shoulder injury. But it's his left shoulder. Nothing nerve-related."

Finally, in a post on "Chatter: A Nationals Blog" at the Washington Times' site, Sports writer Ben Goessling notes in his post entitled, "A Zimmerman update", that Paul Lo Duca, "...said that Ryan Zimmerman has a little nerve issue in his left shoulder," and that Ryan Zimmerman had responded to questions about the injury after the on-air comments by telling reporters, as Mr. Goessling writes:

"For his part, Zimmerman said he'd prefer if no one had found out about the injury, 'because then I wouldn't have to answer all the questions.' he said. 'But it's all right.'"

...We'll get more news on Zimmerman when it becomes available. This is federalbaseball.com signing off until around 7:00pm EST tomorrow when I return to write the Game Thread and wait awkwardly til 10:05 pm when the Nationals and San Diego Padres kick off the first off three in PETCO Park...