Seriously, the boos aren’t helping.

Last night, in the top of the third with two outs and two on, John Patterson struck out Barry Bonds to end the threat. Patterson returned to the dugout in happy kid form, practically skipping his way off the field. Bonds went down again in the fifth and was intentionally put on in the seventh. It was almost an uneventful night for the slugger.

Except for that time up in the top of the first, walking to the plate with two outs and a man on, as boos cascaded from the RFK seats, and flashbulbs popped. He looked at a strike. He looked at a ball, and he promptly hit one over the right field fence, giving the Giants all the runs they’d need against the typically anemic Nationals offense. It was the Barry show. People line up to buy tickets to see Barry, boo him mercilessly, and take his picture as he puts the hometown boys down. And Barry just takes it. Up in the left field stands, fifty feet over the head of the Giants left-fielder, insults fell on Barry like rotten tomatoes. Bad ones, man. But he didn’t flinch. He just ran on his thrice-operated-upon knee to snag a fly ball for an out, while the RFK crowd booed and booed some more. Two games in D.C., two moon shots, and two losses for the Nats, who’re watching the teams above them sail off into the distance, like smart boaters in Galveston.

(AP Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari)