Break up the Nationals! Five wins in a row, six of seven from the hottest team in the Grapefruit League. OK, so it doesn't count. Still, based on the way things looked about two weeks ago, there have been some encouraging developments.

A few items of note from today's game:

-- John Patterson gave up one run on four hits in four innings, walked three and struck out two. Seemed to wear down as his outing went on, and John said as much afterward. He doesn't believe it's reason for concern, though, and he was very happy with the way he threw the ball early on (his fastball reached 93 mph, a good sign).

-- Chris Snelling gave everyone a brief scare when he hurt his left knee on a semi-collision at the plate. Limped off the field a bit, but turns out it was only a minor bruise and he should be back in the next couple days.

-- Nook Logan put on a hitting show, with a triple and what should have been another triple (except for the fact Ronnie Belliard held up at third in front of Logan, who caught trapped between bases and was tagged out). But man is he fast. If he sticks around all year, I have a hunch we'll see an inside-the-park home run eventually.