Haren Plus Untuck Equals Win

Nationals 3, Braves 1

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

Dan Haren came out of nowhere to shut down the Braves as Washington defeated Atlanta 3-1 on Thursday night.  Haren gave up just 4 hits in 8 innings of work as the Nats rotation is on a roll.  As Soriano closed out the game and salvaged the series (2-2) with the Braves everyone untucked their shirts.  From Soriano, to the fans, to Ian Desmond, to even FP Santangelo, shirts out!

Zimermann Is The Mann

Nationals 2, Braves 0

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

Ok, we are joking...sort of, but Jordan is en fuego.

A little over 2 weeks ago, Jordan Zimmermann pitched just his 2nd complete game of his career.  It was the first one where he picked up a win.  Then, just 5 days ago, Zimmermann pitched another complete game, this one a 1-hit shutout gem.  So on Wednesday night as Jordan completed the 8th inning, his 5th straight 1-2-3 inning (17 batters in a row) with only 2 hits up on the Braves scoreboard, fans were wondering if Davey would send Zim out to finish the job.

Walks And Baserunning Hurt Nats In Loss, Strasburg's Arm In Question

Nationals 2, Braves 3

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

The Washington Nationals lost to the Atlanta Braves in the first of a four game series 3-2 on Monday night in Atlanta.  Walks by both the starter and the bullpen and a few baserunning mistakes were the downfall of the Nats.  Mistakes seems to be the ongoing trend for the Nats this season as they fall back down to .500.

Nats Lose Again, Lineup To Change

Cardinals 2, Nationals 0

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

Well...the Nationals lost again.  The pattern is getting repetitive   Whenever the Nats play a decent team, they can't seem to generate any offense on a consistant basis.  On Tuesday night at Nats Park the Cards defeated the Nats 2-0 after the Nats failed to score a run.  You won't believe the stats the Nats have been putting up in losses this year.

The Cardinals Are Evil, The Nats Lose

Cardinals 3, Nationals 2

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

Another game against the Cardinals, another tough loss for the Washington Nationals.  On Monday night after returning home from a 6 game road trip, the Nationals lost to the Cardinals 3-2 as the evil Cardinal watched from hell.  Rumor has it, if you stare into his dead eyes for 30 seconds you will burst into flames.  Nobody has had the guts to test him...

Wait, what happened?  Oh, I guess there was a baseball game played too.  It was much of what you would expect.  Pete Kozma was booed, and the Nats lost.  A few good things happened...sort of.

Decision Making At An All Time Low For Nats

Nationals 0, Mets 2

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

A lack of hitting, some errors in the field, a running mistake, and a bad decision by Jayson Werth were all showcased during Sunday's 2-0 loss to the New York Mets.  The Nats managed just 4 hits on the day, only one more than errors committed, as the Mets took the series victory and the shutout in New York despite also getting just 4 hits.  It was a rough roadtrip for the Nats who ended 3-3 against subpar teams and who will now head home to face a tough upcoming schedule.

Bryce Is The Man, Nats Beat Mets

Nationals 7, Mets 6

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

"You're the f**king man!"  That's what the Bryce Harper fan who recorded Harper's second homerun, the game winning homerun, that gave the Nationals the 7-6 victory over the New York Mets.  The Nationals scored all 7 runs on homers, helping out Gio Gonzalez who struggled on the day before he was knocked out of the game early.

Matt Harvey Outduels Stephen Strasburg, Mets Beat Nats

Nationals 1, Mets 7

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	4	1
Mets	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	x		7	8	1

In a matchup between two big name pitchers, Matt Harvey out-dueled Stephen Strasburg to lead the Mets to a 7-1 victory over the Nationals on Friday night.  Harvey was nearly unhittable, and Strasburg made a few mistakes in one of the biggest early season pitching matcups of the year.

Detwiler Gets 1st Win, Kurt Suzuki Rollin, Nats Beat Fish

Nationals 6, Marlins 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	2	0	0	1	1	1	0	1		6	11	1
Marlins	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	7	1

Bryce Harper had a Jordan-esque day, Kurt Suzuki continued his hot hitting, and Ross Detwiler pitched nothing like a typical 5th starter to help the Washington Nationals defeat the Miami Marlins 6-1 on Wednesday night and take home the series victory.  The Nats offense got their mojo back and if not for a bad call by an ump at home plate, Detwiler would have picked up the shutout.

Rick Petino Not Impressed By Nationals Rough Outing In Miami

Nationals 2, Marlins 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0		2	8	1
Marlins	0	0	0	4	3	0	1	0	x		8	11	0

Read the full box score at MLB

Miami Marlins season ticket holder Rick Petino has seen a lot of winning in his days.  Most of it has not been from his prime seats at Marlins Park.  But on Tuesday night, the National Championship winning coach (of a team called the Cardinals...BOOO!) got to witness just the third Marlins win in 14 games this season.  Unfortunately, it was against the Washington Nationals...and I'm so sad...

Jordan Zimmermann Completes, Nats Crush Marlins

Nationals 10, Marlins 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	4	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0		10	16	0
Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0		3	6	0

Read the full box score at MLB

Ok...Maybe Jordan Zimmermann didn't complete Jerry Maguire.  But he did complete a game.  Plus he totally had me at Hello Play Ball...

Zimmermann threw 103 pitches on Monday night in Miami.  The way the Nationals season is going you might assume that pitch count was through 6 innings.  If you assumed that, you would be wrong.  Zimmermann logged his 2nd career complete game (the first with a W) in a 10-3 victory over the Marlins.

But Zimmermann wasn't the only story of this baseball game.  The Nationals offense was hitting Marlins pitches like they were giant kickballs.

Gio Gonzalez Struggles, Braves Sweep Nats, Doh!

Braves 9, Nationals 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Braves	3	0	4	0	0	2	0	0	0		9	12	0
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	4	2

Read the full box score at MLB

It may be early in the season but the Atlanta Braves just laid an ass-whooping on the Washington Nationals.  The Nats could only manage 4 hits for the 2nd straight day, and were shutout by the Atlanta Braves 9-0 giving them the series victory on a sweep.  Gio Gonzalez had his worst outing of the season and the offense made Braves starter Paul Maholm look like Nolan Ryan. (Although Maholm hasn't given up a single run all season!)

ZimmE5rman Errs, Harper Throws, Nats Lose

Braves 3, Nationals 1

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

Read the full box score at MLB

For the second straight day a Ryan Zimmerman throwing error proved costly.  In the 3rd inning, the Nats third baseman made a bad throw to first base with 2 outs, giving the Braves an opportunity to knock out a costly 2 run homer in a 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon at Nats Park.   It was another tough loss for the Nationals coming off a blown 9th inning just one day ago sending 42,000 people home with frowns with just a Gio Gonzalez bobblehead to comfort them.

Bryce Harper Goes Deep, Nats Win

White Sox 2, Nationals 5

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
White Sox	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		2	9	1
Nationals	0	0	0	2	1	2	0	0	x		5	11	0

Read the full box score at MLB

Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the 4th inning and sent a baseball towards outer space, sparking a mid-game rally that helped the Washington Nationals defeat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Wednesday night at Nats Park.  But Harper, who has 6 2-hit games in the first 8, wasn't the only one who was on point.

Viva LaRoche! Nats Beat White Sox Behind 4 Homers

White Sox 7, Nationals 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
White Sox	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	2		7	11	1
Nationals	0	0	0	1	1	4	1	1	x		8	13	0

Read the full box score at ESPN

Adam LaRoche was stuck in a rut.  He hadn't gotten a hit in his first fifteen at bats this season.  But on Tuesday night at Nats Park, after missing 2 straight games with a sore back, the slugger crushed his first two hits of the season, both homeruns, in a 8-7 win over the Chicago White Sox.

(A character from an HBO show joined the President's Race...lame...)

Gio Gonzalez started for the Nationals, but struggled early on raising his pitch count.  Much to his dismay, Captain Hook yanked Gio after 5 innings at 99 pitches.  Gio only gave up 1 earned run, on a bases loaded balk, and struck out 7.

Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, and Adam LaRoche aptly named by FP as Murderer's Row

The Nats were in great position with a 6-2 lead heading into the 7th inning but Tyler Clippard gave up 3 runs and made the game much closer than it should be.  The Nats picked up insurance runs in the 7th and 8th, and Rafael Soriano came on in the 9th to seal the 8-5 victory.  Instead the new closer gave up a 2 run homer to Alex Rios and walked the game winning run before closing the game for his 3rd save of the season.

The Nationals finished the game with 4 homers, all big.  Ian Desmond a solo shot in the 5th, Jayson Werth (with a new walk-up song) hit a 2 run homer in the 6th, and LaRoche added one a few batters later in the 6th for his first hit of the season.  Bob Carpenter (continuing the hits) was so excited he exclaimed, "VIVA LAROCHE!" as the ball cleared the centerfield wall.

Later, in the 8th inning, LaRoche belted a second homer.

"He's baaaack!" - FP Santangelo

The Nats are now 5-2 with another 2 games against the White Sox starting tomorrow at 7...

An Espinosa Mistake Proves Costly In 6-3 Loss To Reds

Nationals 3, Reds 6

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	8	1
Reds	3	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	x		6	11	0

Read the full box score at MLB

In a game featuring an epic matchup between two of the top pitchers in baseball that didn't turn out too epic, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ballpark (or smallpark as FP calls it) with a barrage of grounders and line drives.

Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg each gave up 3 early runs and amassed high pitch counts.  Cueto lasted 6 innings hurling 108 pitches.  Surprisingly, Strasburg threw even more in 5 1/3 inning, 114 pitches coming off a season in which he was shutdown early.

In the 6th inning of a tie game with a runner on first and the Reds fastest baserunner on third, Danny Espinosa made a huge mental mistake.  On a ground ball to second base, Espy overlooked the easy double play and decided to try to throw out the speedy Derrick Robinson at home to preserve the tie.

Not only did Espy's wide throw allow the runner to score, but he passed over 2 crucial outs.  The play caused the inning to be extended, which was a disaster for Strasburg who already had thrown over 90 pitches.  The Reds went on to score 2 more runs and take home the 6-3 win.

The Nats only scoring was a 3 run homerun in the 2nd inning by Kurt Suzuki who finished with 3 extra base hits (2 doubles and the homer).  Despite Cueto's early struggles, he hit the zone, and the Reds bullpen shut down the Nats ending with Aroldis Chapman making Denard Span look silly tossing 100+ stuff past him.

The Nats get Monday off before a 3 game interleague set at home against the White Sox...