Nats Snake Away 8th Straight

Nationals 6, D-Backs 5

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	1	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0		6	10	0
Diamondbacks	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		5	9	3

Read the full box score at MLB

Edwin Jackson had a rough night, but the Nationals offense picked him up with a huge 5 inning rally to help him earn his 7th win of the season (7-7).  The Nationals remain 4.5 games up on the Braves and have now won 8 in a row.

Jackson pitched just 5 2/3 innings giving up 5 runs on 8 hits.  The Nats bullpen wasn't exactly perfect, but they didn't allow the D-Backs to score and secured the win for the Nats.  Clippard picked up his 24th save.

Ryan Zimmerman had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, but outside of the 5th inning the Nats didn't really do much.  Bryce Harper had the night off but came in as a pinch hitter but struckout.  Harper is now the worst hitter in baseball since the All-Star break and may need to be moved down in the lineup or something to break his slump.

One more against the D-Backs Sunday afternoon...

Nationals @ Diamondbacks: Game Preview

Nationals vs Diamondbacks

9:40 PM Chase Field

MASN-2

Story Lines:

• Nats are looking to win their 5th straight game after sweeping the Astros.
• The D-backs are currently in third place, but are over .500 and looking to stay in the playoff picture. 

Pitching Match Up:

• Stephen Strasburg
• 12-5 with a 2.97 ERA

• Trevor Cahill
• 9-9 with a 3.76 ERA.

Who to Watch:

• Adam LaRoche
• Hitting .667 against Cahill in the last 5 seasons.

Player Pick Em: Mid Week Update

One series in the book, here is how the competition is setting up.

Out Front:  Gio Gonzalez (9.0 innings, 3 runs, 7 Ks)

On Deck:  Michael Morse (.333 with 2 homeruns and 4 RBIs)

In the Hole:  Danny Espinosa (.412 with a homerun and 3 RBIs)

Best of the Rest:  

• Ryan Zimmerman (.235 with 3 RBIS)

• Jayson Werth (.308)
• @meganreio
• @turtlezoot

• Adam LaRoche (.105 with 2 RBIs)

Standings:
@turtlezoot (3)
@meganreio (2)
@natsrgreat (1)
@DArkMEATHOOK (1)
@Sc0ttieDoesntNO (1)
@SCviaDC (1)
@Natsgirl19 (0)
@Yop1963 (0)
@MrNatsVL (0) 

Series Preview: Nationals @ Diamondbacks

After sweeping the Lastros, the Nationals look to continue their successful road trip in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.  That means more weird start times as the Nats head either further west.  The D-backs are over .500 and still in the hunt for a playoff spot, so they should prove to be a better challenge than the Astros were.  Here is how the series stacks up.

• Friday: 9:40 PM, Strasburg (12-5) vs Cahill (9-9).
• Saturday: 8:10 PM, Jackson (6-7) vs Miley (12-7).
• Sunday: 4:10 PM,  Detwiler (6-4) vs Corbin (3-4).

Game of the Series: Sunday.  Picking Sunday because it has the most reasonable start time and should be the closest of the three games.

Sound of the Series: Jimmy Eat World.  They are probably the only band I know from Arizona.
   

Prediction Time:

Putting my baseball knowledge to the test to say what the outcome of each game is going to be.  Sometimes I even get it right! Comment here or on twitter @Dru90.

• Nationals WIN Friday.
• Nationals LOSE Saturday.
• Nationals WIN Sunday.

Nationals WIN the series 2-1.

Bryce Harper Bryces Harpers

Every time that MASN had a chance, they cut the camera to Bryce Harper.  What seemed like every time back from commercial they showed a highlight package of Bryce Harper.  When a random National was up to bat, the announcers talked about Bryce Harper.

See I didn't even mention Ian Desmond in this post yet and he hit a 2 run walk off home run to give the Nats a 5-4 win.  But guess who scored on the play...BRYCE HARPER!!!

Enough about guys not named Bryce Harper...Harper didn't disappoint and he went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles off the wall (one drove in a run) and an infield hit.  He also got picked off and would have been thrown out at home if he didn't knock the ball out of the catchers hand.

He even turned a routine fly ball in the outfield into a barehanded grab.  (not what it sounds like) No doubt the energy is there at all times, and there is excitement every inning at Nats Park from here on out.

The Nats starters are starting to come back to earth, E-Jax gave up 8 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings.  Stammen went 2 scoreless and H-Rod pitched a scoreless night ending up with the win.

Final D-Backs game tomorrow night...then the rats come in...

Harper-mas Turns Into Harper-Flag-Day

Bryce Harper made his home debut on Tuesday night at Nats Park and less than half the stadium was full of people.  One of the most hyped up prospects of all time, and the fans didn't even come out to see him.  It was pretty disappointing.




While Harper didn't do much on offense he did make one play that was worth the price of admission.  On a deep fly to left field with a runner on third Harper caught the ball and fired a strike to home plate to get the runner out.

Wilson Ramos of course did not get over quick enough and the ump called the runner safe.  When that play happened people in the crowd just looked at each other wondering if what they saw was real.  Stay tuned tomorrow on PTI and SportsCenter when they feature this as the 3rd National's outfield highlight of the year...all of which resulted in 0 outs.

A surprising number of fans were left in the bottom of the 9th inning when Espinosa struck out to strand the Chosen One on deck.  Overall it was a fun game to be at, but you can tell how much DC isn't a baseball town by the turnout.

Oh and by the way, the Nationals lost their 5th straight, (5-1 D-Backs) could barely get on base, and scored only one meaningless run.  7 runs in their last 5 games.  That is pathetic.  Zimmerman pitched fine again, only 3 earned runs.  It seemed like the second 2 were because he tried to make pitches because he knew his offense wasn't going to help him.

$1 hot dog night at the park.  If 20k were there tonight then expect like 14k tomorrow.  Philly fans invade on Friday.

Series Preview: Dimondbacks @ Nationals

Well, remember all that talk about how the Dodgers would be the National's first real test of the season?  Can't really say the team passed that test.  That's not to say everything was bad.  The pitchers continued to be lights out.  Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore both showed why they belong in the big leagues.  Adam LaRoche continued to be solid at the plate.  If only the rest of the lineup could score some runs.  The Nats look to bounce back after being swept by the Dodgers with a home stand against the Diamondbacks, would are playing .500 baseball so far this season.

• Tuesday: 7:05 PM, Zimmerman (1-1) vs Cahill (1-2).
• Wednesday: 7:05 PM, Jackson (1-1) vs Saunders (2-1).
• Thursday: 7:05 PM, Detwiler (2-1) vs Ziegler (0-1)*Injuries to the D-backs pitching staff make this up in the air

So Bryce Harper makes my job easy for this series.  The game to watch...neigh, the game to get tickets to and see in person is Harper's home debut on Tuesday night.  If the stadium isn't rocking Tuesday I will be disappointed in the fan base.  GET YOURSELF TO THE BALL PARK, or at the very least yell loudly in front of your TVs.  See Harper and his D-bag mohawk and eye blacking take on the D-backs (see what I did there).

Finally, lets Hope some home cooking will help the Nats lineup score some runs and give the pitching staff some much needed support!