Finally, Nats get ahead

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ATLANTA -- The hit came off the bat of Ronnie Belliard, a line-drive single to right. The run was scored by Chris Snelling, who could have waltzed in from third base without fear of being thrown out. And the mood inside the Washington Nationals' dugout was one of pure joy.

As center fielder Ryan Church put it to manager Manny Acta: "We've got a lead!"

Mark it down: At 9:32 p.m. on April 12, in the eighth inning of their 10th game of the season, the Nationals took their first true lead of 2007.

And thanks to a subsequent RBI single by Ryan Zimmerman, a brilliant performance by starting pitcher Jason Bergmann and a trademark ninth-inning escape by closer Chad Cordero, Washington secured its second win of 2007.

And what a win it was, a tense-yet-gratifying 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves before 23,897 stunned fans at Turner Field that snapped a six-game losing streak and sent the Nationals (2-8) to New York feeling good about themselves for the first time in a long time.

"When we scored those two runs, it was like, 'Yeah, we've got them!' " Belliard said.

Said Church: "We stuck together and just grinded it out."

Added Acta: "We know we can do it now."

Having failed to hold a lead at any point this season other than the final moment of their 7-6, walk-off win over the Florida Marlins on April 4, the Nationals might have doubted the breakthrough ever would happen.

This game remained scoreless going into the eighth, but that's when Washington's lifeless lineup finally struck. With runners on the corners and one out, Belliard lined a sharp base hit to right off Atlanta ace John Smoltz, bringing Snelling home with the night's first run and putting Acta's team finally ahead.