Terry Francona bows his head during a moment of silence to pay respects to those killed in Monday's Metro train accident in Washington.

AP photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It's very easy to appreciate Nationals Park.

The home of the Washington Nationals offers a comfortable atmosphere for fans with a scenic view of the nation's capital. Capacity for the two-year-old ballpark is 41,888 and every single seat will be occupied this week with the Red Sox in town for the first time.

At 2:30 Tuesday afternoon there were only 10 tickets remaining for the series. The Nationals only had three sellouts in 2008 and Tuesday was the first of 2009.

While the fans are comfortable in their seats with plenty of standing-room only places to party, the players are very satisfied. The Nationals clubhouse is outstanding and the visitor's clubhouse got the thumbs up from every Red Sox player.

As far as the ballpark goes, David Ortiz stood near the cage during batting practice and said "Boston needs a place like this."

Others concurred with Ortiz's statement.

The new ballparks may have the amenities, but Fenway Park — site of 504 consecutive sellouts - has something not many ballparks have.

"Atmosphere," said Kevin Youkilis. "Nothing beats Fenway."

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It's not unusual for teams to face former players. In the Red Sox' case, their series against the Nationals is no different.

On Tuesday night, Washington had two former Sox in the starting lineup: Josh Bard behind the plate and Willie Harris in center field. And in the seventh inning, ex-Sox pitcher Julian Tavarez came into the game in relief . . . and wound up taking the loss when he allowed an unearned run.

For Bard, his two stints with the Red Sox were brief. He played only seven games for Boston in 2006 before the club traded him after the first month of the season. Bard signed with the Sox again last offseason and attended spring training before he was released in favor of George Kottaras.

"We just felt we had guys internally who got to the point in their progression where we thought they could do the job," said manager Terry Francona. "George has done a really good job. Nothing against Bardo, because he's as nice of a kid you're going to meet, but you don't make your decisions based on that. You make them on how guys fit on your team."

Harris split time between Boston and Pawtucket in 2006. He played a total of 47 games for the Sox.

Harris and Bard combined for Washington's game-tying run in the sixth inning. Bard cracked a two-out single, and rode home on Harris' double to right.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka stayed back in Boston when the team hit the road. The right-hander will work out, but will not throw.

While Sox make a three-city trip through Washington, Atlanta and Baltimore, management and the medical staff will meet with Dice-K to sort out a program moving forward.

He was placed on the disabled list on Sunday.

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Due to the loss of the designated hitter in the National League park, Ortiz didn't play Tuesday night against the Nationals. Francona said he's trying to balance the lineup during this road trip through Washington and Atlanta before Boston concludes interleague play when it faces the Orioles in Boston. At some point in the next six games against National League teams, Ortiz will play first and Youkilis will be given a day off.

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Nick Green continues to flash the leather.

The Red Sox shortstop turned in another highlight-reel play Tuesday night at Nationals Park. In the bottom of the third inning, the Nationals had one out and a runner on first and attempted a hit-and-run with Nick Johnson at the plate.

After Cristian Guzman broke for second, the left-handed hitting Johnson hit a chopper over the pitcher's mound. Green was already moving towards the bag to receive a possible throw, but when he saw the ball to the second-base side of the bag, he continued to range before snaring the ball. An off-balance Green tagged Guzman, spun to his knees and made the throw to first for the double play.

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The man Green replaced at shortstop, Julio Lugo, remains a bench . But according to Francona, Lugo has been working hard in the cage and taking ground balls.

"He's been real sharp in the cage," said Francona. "Some night I'll go down and he's hitting in the cage between innings. He not pouting and he's doing his best to stay ready. It's obvious because when he comes into the game he's getting hits."

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Red Sox catching prospect Dusty Brown is enjoying his time in the majors even though it will likely be brief until the club needs to activate pitcher John Smoltz on Thursday. Brown has been going about his business as usual, treating it as he would any other day off. He's working out and getting plenty of work in the cage. He was recalled from Pawtucket on Sunday after the Sox placed Matsuzaka on the DL.

Brown also made his major-league debut in the ninth inning of the blowout victory Tuesday night.

jmcdonal@projo.com