Nearly everything went right at Nationals Park on July 4: John Lannan turned in another steady performance, the Nats infield backed him with four double plays, Nyjer Morgan showed his speed in centerfield, the numbers three, four and five hitters moved runners over and produced clutch hits — and Mike McDougal shut the door on the Chops in the ninth as the Nats rallied to take the second of three from the Braves. But the star of the show was Adam Dunn, who launched a 440 foot shot into the right-centerfield second deck for his 300th career home run in the seventh inning. In the eighth Dunn was the hero again, scorching a through-the-box game winning single to ensure the Nats’ win. Dunn went two for three with two RBIs in the game.

Lannan — victimized throughout the year by the Nats’ bullpen and lack of timely hitting — was on the other end of the win today, with Atlanta Braves new phenom Tommy Hanson taking the no-decision, the result of unusually ineffective stints by relievers Mike Gonzalez, Peter Moylan and Eric O’Flaherty. Gonzalez was particularly ineffective, giving up three runs in 1/3 of an inning. The Nats were buoyed by the win, and by Dunn’s heroics. “It says a lot about the way the team battled back,” Manny Acta said after the game. “They have been doing it the whole season. Forget about the record. These guys play hard.” Dunn complimented the fans for their support. “They made it great. It was awesome.”

In truth, the stellar play of the Nats seemed to reflect an energized crowd, with few Braves fans in attendance. The thirst for a win was apparent at the outset, even as it became apparent that the Nats best hitters were going to have difficulty solving Hanson, who pitched three-hit ball through seven complete innings. But, like Lannan, the crowd of 23,000-plus hung in, sensing that once Hanson was gone the Nationals might have a chance to put some runs on the board. They were not disappointed. After Dunn’s lone shot in the seventh, Nyjer Morgan’s timely sacrifice pushed runners to second and third in the eighth. Nick Johnson followed with a timely walk to load the bases. The next hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, delivered a ‘seeing eye” single to tie the score. Dunn then put the Nats ahead to stay with a first pitch single. Lannan had told Dunn between innings that he thought the Nats could win. “The double play helped me out,” Lannan said. “It was my best friend.”