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6 months ago: Washington Nationals pitcher Shairon Martis reacts as the last out is made in a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Washington Saturday, May 2, 2009. Nationals won 6-1.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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HEADLINES...

Shairon Martis Goes The Distance, CG Win For Washington!!! 

I picked a great day to be stuck at work, but luckily I was able to tune into the XM feed all afternoon, so though I didn't see it, I heard the entirety of DC righty Shairon Martis' complete game win over the St. Louis Cardinals, which improved the 22-year-old right-hander to (3-0) on the season for a Washington Nationals team that has won only six of their first twenty-three. 

Martis held the Cardinals hitless through 5.2, before Yadier, (one of the "Catching Molina Brothers"), broke up Martis' chance at his second high-profile no-hitter with a single to center. Martis came back for the sixth and put St. Louis' SS Brian Barden, SP Joel Pineiro and 2B Skip Schumaker down in order, but in the seventh, Martis surrendered a solo shot to leadoff hitter Colby Rasmus (His 1st Congrats!), which made it 4-1 and normally...on a "normal" team, might have meant the end of the day for the young starter...

...So Martis stayed on after the Rasmus' dinger and even gave up a single before striking out the Cardinals' catcher to end the St. Louis' seventh. Cards' third baseman Joe Thurston singled to start the eighth, but still no call to the Duck Pond from DC Manager Manny Acta. (ed. note - "Yeah, we, uh, call our bullpen the Duck Pond now...what of it?") Martis got a ground ball out of Brian Barden, and a line drive off pinch hitter Khalil Greene's bat ended up in Ryan Zimmerman's glove, Zimmerman throws to second and nails Thurston, double play to end the Cards' eighth...(In the home half of the inning, the Nationals add two insurance runs when Adam Dunn walks, and Austin Kearns triples to score Dunn's pinch runner Elijah Dukes. Anderson Hernandez singles to bring Kearns in...6-1 Nationals...Oh, you know he's coming back out...)

Shairon Martis comes back out for the ninth. Skip Schumaker K's swinging!! ONE!! Colby Rasmus...singles! Ras-MUS!! Manny Acta's sticking with Martis!!! Ryan Ludwick pops it up, DC's backup backstop Wil Nieves gets under it and catches the second out!! TWO!!! Chris Duncan flies to right...Austin Kearns...makes the grab!!! THE NATIONALS WIN!! Complete Game For Shairon "CG" Martis!! Martis' line:

SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Adam Dunn Wakes From Slumber Goes YARD!!

Adam Dunn had hit in just 1 of his last 10 at bats heading into this afternoon's game with the St. Louis Cardinals. Called out on strikes in his first AB, Dunn disagreed with The Worst Umpire In Baseball, Angel Hernandez's call, but accepted the K, and then Dunn hit a ground ball to second in his second AB in the fourth to leave the Big Walky 1 for his last 12.

When he came up for the third time in the fifth, however, Angel Hernandez pushed the Dunn-K too far. A low fastball's called strike two, putting Dunn down in an 0-2 hole early, and the big lefty just shakes his head and takes a change from Cards' righty Joel Piniero, which not even Angel Hernandez could mistake for a strike, before ABSOLUTELY LAUNCHING a hanging slider to right and into the second deck, 3-run blast, 4-1 DC lead.

THE KIDS CALL IT "THE STREAK"!!! Ryan Zimmerman Extends Hitting Streak To 21 Games!!! 

It didn't take Ryan Zimmerman long to extend his current hitting streak to 21 games. The Nationals' streaky third baseman doubled in the first inning, and hit an RBI single in the fifth, ending the day 2 for 4 with a .306 AVG, 9 doubles, 5 HR's and 16 RBI's. 

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT HEADLINE OF ALL...

NATIONALS WIN. 6-1 Final.

Missed the Game? Check out the Federal Baseball.com GameThread!!!

(ed. note - "To satisfy the Completists, Since There Is No Complete Game Report, After The Jump, You Can Find DOGHOUSE'S LIVE REPORT from Nationals Park, which is well worth the jump, trust me...")

SHAIRON "CG" MARTIS!!! One more with the Cardinals tomorrow...

Let's Go Nats GO!!!

Nationals now 6-17. 

Doghouse Summarizes The High Points...

1. ANDY-HANDS!! - The terrific diving stop, followed by the throw-from-the-seat-of-the-pants for an out in the first told me that the defense came to play today—they were going to back up Smarty, and they DID.
2. SMARTY DOES IT ALL!! He pounded the zone, pitched to contact, and the defense came through for him. He got 6Ks and walked none in his CG. He even went first-to-third on Guz’ single after his botched sac bunt turned into a FC. He later scored the go-ahead run on NJ’s sac fly.
   
3. BIG WALKIE!! That 3-run jack came when it could do some good, providing the winning cushion. There was a row of knuckleheads out where I was sitting who were yelling a Dunn the whole game… after his dinger, he caught a fly ball and one of ‘em yelled, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut!” I replied, “Yeah, but does it hit a three-run dinger?!” He mumbled something and was quiet for an inning or so.
   
4. DOOOOOOKS!! He was really inside LaRussa’s head, or something—all those pickoff throws after he came in to PR for Dunn… I think that got the reliever rattled to set the stage for …
   
5. BLUEGRASS!! Didja see that triple? Didja? Didja?
   
6. TAWH!! Okay, no hilight reel plays today, but he gets honorable mention from last night.
   
7. ZIM!! Mr. 21…‘nuff said. Okay, and the spectacular line-out DP that ended the 8th.
   
8. CARDS FANS!!! Possibly the classiest in baseball. A guy in a Cardinals jersey was sitting with the jackasses who were yelling at Dunn, and I thought "Great, the one jerk STL fan in the park, and he’s in my section…" But after the game, he came up and shook my hand, saying “Good game!” (I was the only one in the section wearing a Nats Jersey/cap). Class act, in spite of the lowlife friends (one of them had a Phillies cap!)