Nationals 6, Phillies 4

Having completed my first two assignments in my journey around Pennsylvania, I headed into Philadelphia to catch the Nationals play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park (CBP). Even if my ballpark road trip proves impossible to arrange, I'm still crossing ballparks off my list.

The Nationals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a leadoff home run by Alfonso Soriano and a two-run homer by Ryan Zimmerman. My standing ovations as they circled the bases were not appreciated by the surrounding Phillies fans, but the fans weren't drunk enough to be a problem. The Nats added two more in the second, freeing me up to wander around the ballpark.

CBP opened in 2004, and is similar to other parks built in the last ten years. Brick facades and wide concourses offer a stark contrast to the dinginess of RFK. Unlike PNC Park in Pittsburgh, CBP doesn't have a distiguishing skyline, and is generally unremarkable. It certainly offers a pleasant enough baseball experience, but is in no way a classic stadium.

Wandering around the stadium, I took an opportunity to sit in the bleachers with "Howard's Homies," the cheering section for Philly slugger Ryan Howard. They weren't too impressed with my Nationals cap, but other than a bit of good-natured heckling, were controlled enough. With the Nats up 6-3 in the seventh, I headed out for dinner. Even without me, the Nats held on to win, 6-4.