Weekend Watch

By: By BRIAN WRIGHT For the Stafford County Sun | Stafford County Sun
Published: June 29, 2009

Potomac Nationals vs. Frederick Keys
Thursday 7/2 – Sunday 7/5
Fresh off an eight-game road swing against the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Winston-Salem Dash, the Potomac Nationals host the Frederick Keys in a four game set. The Nationals, trying to defend their 2008 Carolina League championship, finished the first half of the season with a record of 37-30 – tied with Wilmington for second in Northern Division and a full seven games behind Lynchburg. Leading the club in hitting has been Sean Rooney. The catcher is hovering just around the .300 mark. First baseman Christopher Marrero and right fielder Michael Burgess are the two top run producers. Pitching, however, is more of a struggle. Potomac is next-to-last in terms of earned runs allowed. On the other side, things are more troubling for the Keys. Frederick is in the cellar, but they have their share of bright spots.Caleb Joseph leads the Carolina League in batting average while Brandon Waring is near the top of the home run leaderboard.

AT&T National
Thursday 7/2 – Sunday 7/5
The Tiger Woods-hosted event at Congressional Country Club will take place for the third year. However, a change in location is already in store for next year. The tournament is set to move from the Bethesda course up to Aronimink Golf Club just outside of Philadelphia in 2010 and 2011. The reason is to get Congressional’s putting greens renovated for the 2011 U.S. Open. Starting on Thursday, Woods and more than 100 of the world’s best players — including Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and defending champion Anthony Kim — play for a near-$6 million purse. Kim took home the winner’s trophy this past July with an overall score of 268, 12-under par.

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves
Friday 7/3 – Sunday 7/5
Due to the struggles of the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, the Braves are still within reach of the lead in the National League East division. Atlanta is taking a relative breather against bottom-feeder Washington after coming off home sets against the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies. Outfielder Nate McClouth has been a welcome addition since being acquired via trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season. The former all-star leads the team in home runs. Another newcomer is rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson, a highly-touted prospect. Hanson so far has lived up to his high billing. Scheduled to pitch on Saturday at Nationals Park, his last start against the Boston Red Sox pushed his consecutive scoreless streak to 20 innings. All of this came while battling the flu. Hanson’s two-hitter on June 28 gave the youngster consecutive victories against Boston and the Yankees.