How Did Fans Fare Getting To the Game?

Even though fans were discouraged from parking on the street, some managed to do so.

"I'm a Washingtonian, so I'll find a spot," said J. Harrison of Northwest. He parked on Ninth Street just north of M Street SE. He said he thought his spot was not metered, although he might have a surprise awaiting him after the game.

The city has installed 120 meters in the neighborhood that take credit cards. Four hours costs $40.

The Nationals sold parking spaces for as much as $35 a game to season-ticket holders. Fans who did not purchase parking were encouraged to use a lot at RFK Stadium and take a shuttle to Nationals Park. The lot and the shuttle are free. Throughout the afternoon, it was easy to pull into Lot 8 at RFK, which had plenty of parking. More than a dozen motor coaches, dubbed "Nats Express," were lined up. As they filled, they headed out to Nationals Park, a 10-minute ride. Fans were deposited on M Street about four blocks from the ballpark.

"It's the way to go," said Dowell Muse, who drove from Leesburg with his wife, Leigh. They have been season-ticket holders since the Nats arrived in Washington and said yesterday's drive was as easy as it had ever been. "I'd say take the Nats Express."

Last night, spectators began leaving in the seventh inning, with the Nats ahead and the night getting cold. That appeared to ease congestion.

After the game, the Navy Yard Metro station had a high volume of people but little backup on the platform. A few blocks away, the line to get on the buses to RFK was a block and a half long at 9 p.m.

But Ray Walker of Northeast, who was standing in the line's midsection, said he'd only been waiting three or four minutes. "It's free, that's what I'm saying. . . . You're paying nothing, so you know, hey."

Staff writers David A. Fahrenthold, Jenna Johnson, Mary Beth Sheridan, Clarence Williams and Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.