Byron Kerr

Nationals' Morse and Zimmerman launch HRs for lead in Anaheim, 2-0

June 27, 2011, 7:00pm

Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman connected with solo homers in the second and fourth innings, respectively, giving the Nationals a two-nothing lead over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Zimmerman's third homer of the season was down the left field line off of starter Ervin Santana to lead off the fourth frame. Morse's bomb led off the second to right center field, his 15th on the campaign. Morse also added a double deep to center field off the wall. John Lannan had trouble in the...

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Morse gives Nationals early advantage in Anaheim, 1-0

June 27, 2011, 6:38pm

Nationals

The Nationals first baseman Michael Morse smacked a solo homer to lead off the top of the second inning, giving Davey Johnson the early lead in his first game as manager for Washington. Morse took the second offering in the at-bat off of Ervin Santana to deep right center field over the wall for his 15th home run of the season. John Lannan got out of a two on jam in the first inning. Nationals lead the Angels1-0 in the second inning.

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Starting lineups: Nationals at Angels game one

June 27, 2011, 6:30pm

Nationals

Starting lineup for the Nationals in Game One against the L.A. Angels at Angels stadium: John Lannan opposes Ervin Santana. The National starting nine: Roger Bernadina CF Jayson Werth RF Ryan Zimmerman 3B Laynce Nix LF Michael Morse 1B Danny Espinosa 2B Wilson Ramos C Matt Stairs DH Ian Desmond SS The Angels lineup: Izturis 2B Aybar SS Abreu DH Wells RF Kendrick LF Trumbo 1B Callaspo 3B Bourjos CF Wilson C

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Davey Johnson the right answer for upward trending Nationals

June 27, 2011, 4:57pm

Nationals

Circumstances seem to be falling the Nationals' way this season. Those circumstances usually take the form of injuries to players. Injuries befell every baseball team, every year, and usually it means a tailspin that good teams figure out a way to recover If a team has depth on its roster, the downward spiral can be avoided. This season, the Nationals have found a way to get through injuries that would disrupt most team's rhythm. The Nationals watched as first baseman Adam LaRoche and...

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Dominican prospect Estevez bounces back in second start

June 27, 2011, 7:04am

Nationals

Dominican prospect Estevez bounces back in second start

Nineteen-year-old Dominican right-hander Wirkin Estevez settled in quite nicely to his second start Thursday for the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. After getting knocked around in his first New York-Penn League start June 18, Estevez was very impressive Thursday against Mahoning Valley, throwing five innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit and one walk, and striking out five. The 6-foot-1, 170-lb. prospect has his velocity up between 87 to 93 mph on his fastball, and hit 88...

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Hernandez drops White Sox, sends McLaren off with another win, 2-1

June 26, 2011, 1:34pm

Nationals

Hernandez drops White Sox, sends McLaren off with another win, 2-1

Livan Hernandez bounced back from a rough outing to go 6 2/3 innings, striking out a season-high nine and throwing a season-high 123 pitches in the Washington Nationals' 2-1 series clinching victory at the Chicago White Sox. Danny Espinosa provided the offense with a two run-homer in the seventh and Drew Storen came on in the ninth to record his 19th save. It was a special win for interim manager John McLaren, who took over as skipper Friday following Jim Riggleman's resignation. McLaren...

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Peacock's slight adjustment keys pitching consistency

June 26, 2011, 6:05am

Nationals

Peacock's slight adjustment keys pitching consistency

One of the best stories of the season has been the rise of right-handed starter Brad Peacock with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. Peacock has been stifling opposing hitters, going 8-2 in 12 starts (14 games). Opponents are hitting just .182 against the Miami, Fla., native, and Peacock has notched 114 strikeouts, which leads the Eastern League by a wide margin. The 23-year old Peacock also is tops in victories (8-2) and third overall in ERA (2.28) in the entire league. Alongside No. 1...

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Lombardozzi continues in groove following promotion to Triple-A

June 24, 2011, 8:06pm

Nationals

Lombardozzi continues in groove following promotion to Triple-A

Nationals prospect Steve Lombardozzi has been promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs after being with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators since the beginning of the season. In 65 games with the Senators, Lombardozzi batted .309 with 12 doubles, seven triples, four homers, 23 RBIs and16 stolen bases. In his first four games with the Chiefs, Lombardozzi has hit 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles, one RBI and four runs scored. The 22-year old from Fulton, Md., is playing second base, but has...

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Do the Nationals need a team president?

June 24, 2011, 7:07am

Nationals

After witnessing the end of Jim Riggleman's tenure as manager of the Washington Nationals, it is interesting to wonder what difference a Stan Kasten-like leader would have made during the last few months. Kasten resigned as team president at the end of the 2010 season. His leadership and experience guided the Nationals, for better or for worse, through some rough waters as they wrestled control of the franchise back from Major League Baseball and rebuilt a decimated farm system. Mike Rizzo...

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Knorr says he hasn't been contacted for Nats' skipper post

June 23, 2011, 2:39pm

Nationals

Knorr says he hasn't been contacted for Nats' skipper post

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs manager Randy Knorr told MASNsports.com that he has not been contacted about the position vacated when Nationals manager Jim Riggleman resigned after Thursday's victory over Seattle. The Nationals are very high on Knorr as a manager within their system. He has moved up from Single-A Potomac to Double-A Harrisburg and now to the Chiefs in the past three seasons. It is his sixth season as manager in the Washington organization. Knorr was the Nationals' bullpen coach...

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Riggleman's agent: Rizzo would not discuss extension

June 23, 2011, 2:23pm

Nationals

Riggleman's agent: Rizzo would not discuss extension

In a stunning end to the Washington Nationals' best homestand this season, Jim Riggleman announced his resignation as manager following Thursday's victory over the Seattle Mariners. Riggleman's agent, Burton Rocks, said his client had wanted to talk for some time with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo about a contract extension, but never was granted a meeting. "What set (Riggleman) off was all he wanted was a personal meeting with Rizzo to talk about the contract," Rocks said....

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Auburn catcher Nieto off to hot start

June 22, 2011, 7:25pm

Nationals

Something has clicked for short season Single-A Auburn Doubledays catcher Adrian Nieto in the first week of the 2011 new season. The 21-year old Cuban backstop struggled last season for Single-A Hagerstown Suns, batting .195 with 44 strikeouts in 60 games. But Nieto came out of the blocks swinging a hot bat this campaign, grabbing attention in the Doubledays' first game last Friday. Nieto went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. He went 0-for-2 in his second game but has gone 5-for-12 the...

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Kimball shut down; Ankiel may go to Florida to rehab

June 22, 2011, 1:16pm

Nationals

Kimball shut down; Ankiel may go to Florida to rehab

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman updated the status of reliever Cole Kimball. Kimball is still feeling pain in his shoulder after throwing light sessions over the weekend. The medical staff has decided to shut him down for two weeks. Kimball has been on the disabled list since June 10 and had been making fairly good progress. "He is not feeling as good as he should be at this point," said Riggleman. Outfielder Rick Ankiel will not go with the team on their road trip to Chicago this...

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The impact of young Nationals learning how to win

June 22, 2011, 7:49am

Nationals

The Nationals' young catcher Wilson Ramos made a coming-of-age play Tuesday with his dramatic three-run walk-off home run to stun the Seattle Mariners, 6-5. It is one of those hits that can make players and fans believe the Nationals can win any game at any time. The fact that it was the 23-year old Ramos who hit the homer shows that the Nationals' younger players are learning how to win games when given the opportunity. Last Thursday, 24-year old second baseman Danny Espinosa came to the...

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P-Nats lefty Rosenbaum fine-tuning fastball to start second half

June 21, 2011, 4:10pm

Nationals

P-Nats lefty Rosenbaum fine-tuning fastball to start second half

Single-A Potomac Nationals left-handed pitcher Danny Rosenbaum concluded the first half of the season as the team leader in innings pitched (85) and continues to keep the opponents off the board with a 2.65 ERA and 62 strikeouts. But the team is working on fine-tuning his fastball as they embark on the second half of the season. Potomac Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart said the former Xavier Musketeer needs to hit his spots with his best pitch. The coaching staff would love to get the...

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Riggleman updates the progress of Kimball, Gaudin and Wang

June 21, 2011, 1:13pm

Nationals

Riggleman updates the progress of Kimball, Gaudin and Wang

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman updated the status of a few pitchers before Tuesday's game against the Seattle Mariners. Reliever Cole Kimball told me over the weekend his shoulder is pain free after a couple of throwing sessions from 60 feet. He was scheduled to throw from 90 feet Sunday. Riggleman said Kimball is throwing a little bit and the reports his arm feels great. "His nature is very positive," Riggleman said. "He said he felt great before he went on the DL. He is just a...

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Morse team's MVP for the first 70 games

June 20, 2011, 7:42pm

Nationals

There is really no underestimating how crucial Michael Morse has been to the Nationals' surge the last few weeks. It is not farfetched to say that Morse has been the offensive Most Valuable Player for the first 70 games of the season. Not only has Morse's bat been the biggest in the lineup, but his play at first base has really solved two problems for the price of one. His defense has kept the team in ballgames and his bat has won them. When Adam LaRoche started nursing his shoulder injury,...

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Harper out of home run derby, will start All-Star Game

June 20, 2011, 11:50am

Nationals

Harper out of home run derby, will start All-Star Game

Bryan Holland, Director of Communications for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns, told MASNsports.com that Nationals top prospect

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Harper thumb update and P-Nats notes

June 19, 2011, 4:19pm

Nationals

Nationals top prospect Bryce Harper sat out the last two games of the first half of the South Atlantic League season continuing to nurse his sore left thumb. He originally jammed the thumb during last Sunday's game and has missed four games off and on during the last week as a precautionary measure. Harper will travel to Salisbury, Md., and is expected to play in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game on Tuesday. He batted .330 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in 64 games for the Single-A...

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Rodriguez, Ramos catching runners at high percentage

June 18, 2011, 1:25pm

Nationals

Rodriguez, Ramos catching runners at high percentage

There are many factors to explain why a team goes on a roll. The big reasons usually center around timely hits, solid defense and quality pitching. Two other factors are veteran leadership and a bench that contributes. The Nationals are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, the longest streak in almost two seasons, dating to an eight-game streak in August 2009. In Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Orioles, Washington displayed one of those key ingredients in successful teams: a...