Nationals Park

The Phillies fan in a Roy Halladay jersey turns his back to rightfield, where former Phillie Jayson Werth plays for the Washington Nationals. The fan resembles those you might see walking around Citizens Bank Park or Northern Liberties or Xfinity Live! on a game night, the type who became emblematic of Phillies euphoria amid the team's late-aught success, before the winning begat sky-high expectations — and equally high levels of anxiety about being in last place after the first six weeks of this season.

WASHINGTON - One of baseball's newer rivalries resumes when the Washington Nationals begin a three-game series with the Phillies on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Of course, when these teams last met earlier this month, much that makes a rivalry compelling was in place - including bad blood. This will be their first meeting since the Phillies' 9-3 nationally televised Sunday night win May 6 in Washington. That's when Cole Hamels plunked Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and later admitted that it was his way of welcoming the rookie phenom to the major leagues.

The Washington Nationals' front office worked hard this offseason to lather up a real hatred for the Phillies with a D.C. campaign that reached its zenith earlier this month when the teams met in the "Take Back the Park" series. You could feel the buzz in Nationals Park during that three-game series and a real animosity between the teams emerged in the aftermath when Cole Hamels shockingly admitted he hit 19-year-old rookie Bryce Harper on purpose in the Sunday night nationally televised series finale.

WE'RE GOING. We're getting into our cars and onto trains or buses and we're going. The Washington Nationals only think they can keep Phillies fans from swarming into Nationals Park with the ticket campaign that they inaugurated earlier this year: "Take Back the Park. " Think again. Philadelphia will be well-represented when the Phillies visit Washington for a three-game series beginning Friday night. We know this because you told us on our Facebook page. Luck Nucky: "I'm already booked!"

WASHINGTON - Our Park. The Series. That was the only message being advertised Wednesday as the Washington Nationals took batting practice in their home ballpark along the Anacostia River. The plea for ticket sales, visible on every last bit of electronic advertising space in Nationals Park, had nothing to do with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team Washington was playing in a three-game series that concluded Thursday night. It was all about the long-awaited weekend series against the Phillies - the team whose fans have piled into buses and invaded the nation's capital in recent years.

Recently, the Washington Nationals, a club that ranked 20th in attendance in 2011, filling on average less than 60 percent of their stadium, announced that there were some fans whose money they'd rather not take. In hopes of preventing the annual migration of Phillies fans to the Nationals stadium, Washington has implemented a "Take Back the Park" plan that would restrict sales of tickets to 2012 Nats-Phillies games to fans whose credit cards are tied to D.C., Maryland, or Virginia zip codes.

Phillies fans took over Nationals Park for the season opener, with seemingly more Phillies fans than Washington fans in the sold-out stadium. The rooting interest of the crowd was not lost on the players on either team. That could be the case again with the Phillies beginning a three-game series in Washington tonight with a chance to wrap up their fourth consecutive NL East title. As of yesterday, plenty of good seats were still available, Nationals spokesman John Dever said.

As far as ballparks to make his new home, Jayson Werth selected a pretty good one in Nationals Park. Werth is a career .307 hitter there, with six homers and 13 RBI in 25 games. This past season, he hit .419, with two homers and six RBI in eight games. Among those teams that have to face Werth often is the Phillies, now that he remains in the National League East. "We'll get him out a lot. That's what I think," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "I believe that we will.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - One of the perks of living in Philadelphia is the luxury of showing up to work every day without being surrounded by tens of thousands of New Yorkers. So imagine how Ty Wigginton felt one day in Baltimore when he sent a fly ball sailing over the outfield wall, only to be greeted as if he had finished the last of the corned beef. "I can remember hitting a home run one time that gave us the lead at home," Wigginton said yesterday, "and then hearing boos.

7:05 p.m. Nationals Park, Washington. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Phillies RHP Joe Blanton (9-6, 3.80) vs. Nationals RHP Livan Hernandez (7-10, 5.44) Phillies update: Blanton has thrown 11 consecutive quality starts (minimum 6 IP, 3 or fewer runs), going 5-2 with a 2.33 ERA and a .236 opposing batting average ... Blanton is coming off a no-decision in a 5-4 loss to Houston, when he allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five in six innings of work ... Blanton is 7-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 18 starts since May 21 ... Chase Utley is 10-for-26 in his career off Livan Hernandez ... Ryan Howard is 3-for-19 with two homers.

The Washington Nationals' front office worked hard this offseason to lather up a real hatred for the Phillies with a D.C. campaign that reached its zenith earlier this month when the teams met in the "Take Back the Park" series. You could feel the buzz in Nationals Park during that three-game series and a real animosity between the teams emerged in the aftermath when Cole Hamels shockingly admitted he hit 19-year-old rookie Bryce Harper on purpose in the Sunday night nationally televised series finale.

WASHINGTON - One of baseball's newer rivalries resumes when the Washington Nationals begin a three-game series with the Phillies on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Of course, when these teams last met earlier this month, much that makes a rivalry compelling was in place - including bad blood. This will be their first meeting since the Phillies' 9-3 nationally televised Sunday night win May 6 in Washington. That's when Cole Hamels plunked Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and later admitted that it was his way of welcoming the rookie phenom to the major leagues.

WASHINGTON - One of baseball's newer rivalries resumes when the Washington Nationals begin a three-game series with the Phillies on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Of course, when these teams last met earlier this month, much that makes a rivalry compelling was in place - including bad blood. This will be their first meeting since the Phillies' 9-3 nationally televised Sunday night win May 6 in Washington. That's when Cole Hamels plunked Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and later admitted that it was his way of welcoming the rookie phenom to the major leagues.

The Phillies fan in a Roy Halladay jersey turns his back to rightfield, where former Phillie Jayson Werth plays for the Washington Nationals. The fan resembles those you might see walking around Citizens Bank Park or Northern Liberties or Xfinity Live! on a game night, the type who became emblematic of Phillies euphoria amid the team's late-aught success, before the winning begat sky-high expectations — and equally high levels of anxiety about being in last place after the first six weeks of this season.

WASHINGTON - Sports fans love a phenom. They enjoy the buildup and want to see if the player can match the seemingly unbearable hype. That explains so much interest in Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who is now hitting .261 with no home runs, three RBIs, and a .378 on-base percentage in barely a week as a big-leaguer. Forget the small sample size of statistics. Harper has been in the public consciousness since appearing on the Sports Illustrated cover at the age of 16. Now just 19, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Harper is a player people can't stop watching.

WASHINGTON - This was desperately billed as a rivalry in the nation's capital. Signage around Nationals Park was changed to read "Natitude Park" as part of a marketing campaign designed to attract more home than visiting fans to see baseball. It was a success; Nationals fans filled the place to watch their first-place team. They stood and cheered in the 11th inning as Wilson Ramos spread his arms, carrying a 4.5-game lead over the Phillies into the night. It ended as a 4-3 Nationals victory while the message "OUR PARK" was flashed on the scoreboard.

WASHINGTON - Our Park. The Series. That was the only message being advertised Wednesday as the Washington Nationals took batting practice in their home ballpark along the Anacostia River. The plea for ticket sales, visible on every last bit of electronic advertising space in Nationals Park, had nothing to do with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team Washington was playing in a three-game series that concluded Thursday night. It was all about the long-awaited weekend series against the Phillies - the team whose fans have piled into buses and invaded the nation's capital in recent years.

WE'RE GOING. We're getting into our cars and onto trains or buses and we're going. The Washington Nationals only think they can keep Phillies fans from swarming into Nationals Park with the ticket campaign that they inaugurated earlier this year: "Take Back the Park. " Think again. Philadelphia will be well-represented when the Phillies visit Washington for a three-game series beginning Friday night. We know this because you told us on our Facebook page. Luck Nucky: "I'm already booked!"

Gene A. Woock, 75, of Fairmount, a resource specialist with the National Park Service, died Wednesday, March 14, of leukemia at home. Mr. Woock was with the National Park Service in Philadelphia from 1990 until retiring in 2002. His projects included developing hiking and biking trails over abandoned rail beds, his wife, Patricia Pronz Woock, said. Before moving to Philadelphia, Mr. Woock studied water management for two years on a fellowship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and then was on the staff of the university's Sea Grant Institute for 10 years.