Thoughts from Livo

At the end of the night, the Nationals lost another ballgame. The bullpen (or more specifically, Jorge Sosa) imploded and handed the Cubs a 9-4 win.

Really, though, the story of tonight's game was Livan Hernandez and his triumphant return to the Nationals. Livo went six innings, allowed two runs, struck out six and threw 113 pitches (more than any other Washington starter this season).

And afterward, he went out of his way to say how much he's wanted to come back to the Nationals since he was traded three years ago. Here are some of Livo's postgame comments...

On his performance tonight: "It was a couple of days since I threw on a mound. I thought it was going to be a little tough. But I feel pretty good. I threw a lot of pitches today."

On returning to Washington: "I love the city. I loved playing there. Always I'm asking every year to bring me back over there. Inside it's very emotional. Everyone is my family. I got like 60 text messages saying: 'Congrats, you're back in D.C. where you wanted.' I've got a lot of fans in D.C. too. I'm very happy. I want to say thank you to the people who gave me a chance to come home."

On possibly returning next year: "I'm really hoping. It's something I want to do. It's something I've wanted for a couple years. It's something that I help the team win more games. I feel healthy. I feel physically good. Now I'll pitch and we'll see what happens."

On the feeling of putting on the Nationals uniform again: "I feel proud when I put the hat on today and the uniform. It's very nice. Trust me. It's a dream come true. And it happened today. It's very nice."