Nats blank Braves in finale  —  Bergmann, three relievers combine on two-hit shutout  —  ATLANTA — At 9:32 p.m. ET on Thursday night, the Nationals took a lead for the first time since beating the Marlins on a walk-off single by Dmitri Young on April 4.  The lead stuck and they blanked the Braves …

Ringolsby: Diversity, for one, is thriving  —  On Sunday, baseball will honor the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, an event that not only marked the breaking of the color barrier in baseball but began to open doors in society in general.

Mets know they're in for lots of nervous time  —  Carlos Beltran was wearing a neophrene hood that made his face look as if it was peering out of a small ship's porthole.  Julio Franco came in from batting practice rubbing his hands together and said, "Look.  They're freezing."

Blogger Beat: Capitol Punishment  —  This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to get the perspective of the opposition and their fans.  From this, we hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series.  It also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team blogs.

No act: Reyes balanced  —  They sound like baseball oxymorons, phrases that appear contradictory but make perfect sense upon closer examination.  Be quick but don't hurry.  Be intense but not tense.  Or Willie Randolph's favorite when it comes to Jose Reyes' hitting style: Be aggressive but be patient.

Offensive Falloff  —  Runs per game are way down this season over the previous year.  So far it's huge:  —  Offense through second Thursday of the season.  —  Category20062007  —  Games  —  137  —  132  —  Runs  —  1475  —  1080  —  R/G  —  10.8  —  8.2  —  Home Runs  —  359

Waiver Wired: Lidge Out  —  The baseball season is about 5-6% over for most teams, yet like clockwork, fantasy owners are panicking.  My teams, packed to the brim with Mark Teahens and Kelly Johnsons, are hitting about .200.  Can't...resist...must...drop Lance Berkman for Akinori Iwamura …

Westbrook signs three-year extension  —  One down and two to go.  —  The Indians have signed right-hander Jake Westbrook to a three-year extension worth an estimated $33 million.  —  It's believed Westbrook will make $11 million a year under the extension.  He's making $6.1 million this year.

Ahead of the pack  —  Angels stand out as top World Series contender  —  Also in this column:  —  Everyone in baseball is talking about the current state of parity, how there are no superpowers anymore and about how almost anyone can win any division (no, not the Nationals).

Prior leaves game with sore shoulder  —  Mark Prior's first extended spring outing ended badly on Thursday when the injury-plagued right-hander was forced to leave his start early.  —  Prior experienced discomfort in his right shoulder, according to a statement by the Cubs.