Rendon's Throw Knocks Storen Down Again, Nats Season Slipping Away

On Wednesday night the Nationals former closer (and semi-current 8th inning "setup man...now seemingly demoted again to 8th inning matchup guy) Drew Storen gave up another 2 runs thanks to a horrible throwing error by Anthony Rendon. The season is starting to slip away from Matt Williams and the Nationals, now 3 1/2 games out of first place behind the Mets.

Jimmy Rollins Respects Michael A Taylor's Arm On Throw From Center

With Denard Span out of the lineup, Michael A. Taylor has earned his way into the everyday center field position. On Tuesday night in a loss against the Dodgers Taylor had the chance to show off his arm to the LA crowd. With a runner on 2nd Taylor scooted under a deep fly ball and fired a strike to third base to hold an impressed Jimmy Rollins at 2nd base. After the throw Taylor and Rollins shared a moment as the veteran gave the youngster some props for his toss. Here's how it looked in GIF form.

Gio Swings, Gio Misses, Gio Falls, Gio Wins

During Gio Gonzalez's latest pitching victory against the Dodgers he had a very comical plate appearance. The pitcher took a huge cut at a Zack Greinke pitch and his body twisted as he fell down to one knee. Here's Gio falling and his reaction to the situation:

Wilson Ramos Rally Horn Good For 3 Runs And A Win

During the 14th and deciding inning of the Washington Nationals Wednesday night never-ending game against the Dodgers, the MASN cameras picked up a great shot of Wilson Ramos in the dugout. The Nats catcher, nicknamed the Buffalo, had his Rally Hat on, a sideways cap that television announcer FP Santangelo dubbed the Rally Horn (because buffalo).  The horn was good for 3 runs that inning, and the Nats picked up the hard fought playoff-like victory. Here's another shot:

A Game Of Victory

We just showed you a few sad shots of agony from the Nationals marathon game vs the Dodgers on Wednesday. They were quite sad. But as you know the Nats actually WON the baseball game. Here are some shots after the win. Hint: It isn't a joyous celebration...it is what you would expect after a tough battle...

A Game Of Agony

Here are some of the reactions from the Washington Nationals at different moments during their 14 inning victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. So much agony in one game. Thankfully, all these moments disappeared with a Nats win (victory reactions here).

Dodgers Sunbather Greatest Thing Ever

If you were watching yesterday's marathon Nats vs Dodgers game (and hanging out on Twitter) you probably saw the sunbathing Dodgers fan chilling shirtless in the bleachers down the first base line. The guy was so visible that it looked like Nats Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann even took a quick peek from the mound before an inning.

Later in the game, after the original sighting, a Dodgers fan at the game posted the ultimate photo of the guy. This may be the greatest baseball fan photo of all time. Check it out.

Yesterday's Dodgers vs Nats Game, GIF'd

It would take 39 blog posts to describe what happened during last night's Nats 14 inning victory over the Dodgers. So we'll just let these GIFs do the explaining...

Vin Scully Does A Spot On Gio Gonzalez Impersonation

On Monday night, Gio Gonzalez pitched for his first win in almost 2 months. But more important than that, Gio had the great fortune of being impersonated by Dodgers play by play announcer Vin Scully. The great broadcaster let the fans know exactly what the Nationals pitcher is saying when he talks to himself on the mound. It was pretty darn funny.

So this is what it sounds like when one of the greatest announcers in the history of sports does an impression of Gio Gonzalez.

Wilbon & Kornheiser Yell About Nats vs Dodgers On PTI

PTI is talking Washington Nationals baseball again. During the shows mini-game called Toss Up, where both hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon pick between two choices, the following toss up question was asked.

"Who is the National League favorite, the Nationals or the Dodgers?"

Here's what Tony & Wilbon had to say:

Bryce Harper Is Using A Yasiel Puig Bat

MASN showed a zoom in close up picture of the bat Bryce Harper was using during his 2nd at bat today...a Yasiel Puig.

Nats announcer FP Santangelo said it was pretty common for players to share bats.

Nats Fan Faceplants, But Gets The Foul Ball

This was hilarious.  A fan was going after a foul ball, jumped up to get it, and ended up landing face/chest first on the seats.  It looked like it hurt pretty bad but the Natidude (as FP calls them) gets up and celebrates his new prize.  One of the fans who got a bat earlier actually tries to hit the baseball with the bat too. The fan makes the catch and hangs on after his jaw smacks the seats. Check out the GIF.

Series Preview: Nationals @ Dodgers

Pitching Matchups, Times, & TV Listings

Monday, May 13^th, 10:10PM – Jordan Zimmermann v. Josh Beckett (MASN HD)

Tuesday, May 14^th, 10:10PM – Dan Haren v. Clayton Kershaw (MASN2 HD)

Wednesday, May 15^th, 10:10PM – Ross Detwiler v. TBA (MASN HD)

The Nationals concluded a disappointing series with the Cubs on Sunday, and will now head out to the west coast.  A ten game road trip is what the Nationals have in front of them as they will get a tour of California, while playing three of the NL West’s clubs. The Nats will hope to bounce back after dropping two in a row, looking for that form that led to a five game winning streak.

Bryce Harper's Over The Shoulder Catch

On Wednesday night, the Dodgers hit a long fly ball to deep center.  Bryce Harper took off towards the wall, looked up for a second, saw the ball, lost the ball, then reached his glove out awkwardly to make the astonishing catch.  Good joooooob, Gif after Jump:

Nats Get Swept By Dodgers

Dodgers 2, Nationals 0

On Sunday afternoon in LA, the Washington Nationals were swept by the Dodgers (their 4th straight loss) losing the game 2-0 and are no longer in first place in the division.

Gio Gonzalez pitched a great game until the 6th inning where he had somewhat of a meltdown.  After almost getting killed by a line-drive earlier he walked 3 straight batters.  Gio ended up getting out of the situation with only 2 runs against, but with the Nats offense that was not going to be good.  He ended up with 5 total walks.

Bryce Harper came into the game wearing eye black down to his cheeks and every time he walked into the dugout he applied more chapstick.  I don't even think he has an endorsement deal but that dude loves Burt's Bees.

Four hits.  That is how many the Nats ended the game with.  And half of those hits were from minor leaguers in their first week of big baseball.  Ian Desmond finally got his first hit in 15 at bats but the Nats 1 and 2 spots are not producing.

Capuano for the Dodgers gave up only 3 hits and struck out 9 Nationals.  The guy is a decent pitcher, but the Nats just can't hit good pitching.

H-Rod Blows Save & Dodgers Win 2nd Straight

Dodgers 4, Nationals 3 (10 Innings)

The Nationals took a 3-1 lead to the 9th inning but Henry Rodriguez blew the save, and the Nats eventually lost to the Dodgers in extra innings 4-3.  The Nats have now lost 3 games in a row, and look to avoid the sweep on Sunday against the Dodgers.

Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 innings of 1 run baseball, giving up 5 hits and striking out 9.  And what does he have to show for it?  Not a win.  The offense didn't give much support to Strassy but the bullpen lost the game.  Matt Kemp homered in the 10th off Gorzelanny to win it for the Dodgers.

Bryce Harper made his Major League debut and went 1-3 with an RBI Sac Fly.  His hit was a crushed double where the threw his helmet off his head rounding 2nd base like a d-bag as his necklaces and faux-hawk/mullet waved in the wind.

Adam LaRoche had another 2 hits, a homer, and an RBI.  The top of the lineup with the falling Desmond and Lombardozzi went 0-10.  Not gonna win games that way.  Once again our pitcher hit a double, and our pitching staff continues to hit better than some of our everyday players.

Game on Sunday in LA at 4:10...Tyler Moore starting and making his major league debut...

Nats Lose By A Few Inches

In the 9th inning Danny Espinosa hit a shot to right field that went about 6 inches to the right of the foul pole.  That homer would have been a clutch game-tying strike, but it did not count and the Nationals lost to the Dodgers in L.A. 3-2.

Ross Detwiler pitched OK and aside from a 2 run mistake in the first that was crushed out by Ethier he had a good game (6 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 4 strikeouts).

The Nats offense was not around once again and the only runs scored were produced by the only 2 guys on offense that can do anything lately.  LaRoche jacked a 2 run homer in the 6th to cut the lead to 3-2, but that was that for the O.  LaRoche had 2 of the teams 3 hits.  That's right, the nats only had THREE HITS.  Bryce Harper ain't the solution.

This was the first time all season that the Nats lost two games in a row and the Dodgers are going for the series win tomorrow night (9:10).  The Dodgers are the first decent team the Nats have played, and both teams are being carried by a few offensive players and pitching.

Remember, Harper will be up tomorrow!

Series Preview: Nationals @ Dodgers

The Nationals won yet another series against the Padres and are traveling up the west coast to continue on their road trip.  The next three games will be the toughest test the Nat's have faced since...the Mets.  So lets just call this upcoming series the first REAL test the team has faced all year.  We are going to need our starters to keep being great, our offensive to put up runs, and our bull pen to sort of its issues (looking at you T-Clip) if we want to come out on top this series.  Time to make a statement guys.

• Friday: 10:10 PM, Detwiler (2-0) vs Kershaw (1-0)
• Saturday: 9:10 PM, Strasburg (2-0) vs Billingsley (2-1)
• Sunday: 4:10 PM, Gonzalez (2-0) vs Capuano (2-0)

Normally when I pick my game of the series I try to look at the pitching matchups and think about the other baseball related factors.  If I was going with that strategy for this series I'd probably tell you all to watch Saturday night.  However, my pick for the Must-See game for this series is Sunday.  Basically, this game is the only one out of the bunch with a reasonable start time for us East-coasters.  Sure, it wont be Strasburg, but with the way Gio has been performing this season odds are we will be treated to a good show.