Given what happened last night and what's still to come tonight, Edwin Jackson knew what he needed to do in Game 1 of the Nationals' doubleheader with the Braves.
"Days like we had last night, it's pretty important that as a starter the next day, you can go as deep as you can to save the bullpen," Jackson said. "Those guys worked hard last night and they battled a lot. It was just one of those things where you want to come out today and you definitely want to go deep in the game."
He...
After yesterday's 11-inning slopfest in which the Nationals used five relievers, they needed Edwin Jackson to eat innings and give them a chance to win Game 1 of today's doubleheader.
Eat innings - check.
Give the Nats a chance to win - check.
Jackson has worked six fantastic frames so far today, allowing just one run on four hits.
The righty has struck out eight and has benefited from a fantastic slider which has left Braves hitters flailing all afternoon.
Unfortunately for Jackson and...
Catcher Jesus Flores left tonight's game in the seventh inning with a stiff back. He said after the game that he should be fine for tomorrow's doubleheader.
Also, Xavier Nady's rehab stint ended today with a 1-for-3 performance at Single-A Potomac. There's no official word from the Nationals yet, but it sounds like the team is planning on designating Nady for assignment.
Now back to the shocking nine-run blown lead ...
The game lasted 4 hours, 21 minutes. It saw the Braves come all the...
Something is going on with Tyler Clippard and he knows it.
In last three outings, he has surrendered seven runs in three innings. His third blown save of the season came in an historic collapse for the Nationals, who were leading 9-0 only to fall to the second-place Atlanta Braves 11-10 in 11 innings.
With his team leading 9-8 on Friday night, Clippard was handed the ball to get three outs in the ninth.
Getting three outs had been something he had pretty much mastered since his return to...
What was a 9-0 Nationals lead entering the sixth turned into a 10-9 deficit.
How the heck did this happen?
The Nats were cruising over the Braves through five, smacking Atlanta pitchers around and putting up crooked numbers. Then Stephen Strasburg got ambushed in the sixth, allowing hits to four of the five hitters he faced and getting charged with four runs.
In the eighth, the Braves hit up Drew Storen and Sean Burnett for four more.
Storen, who manager Davey Johnson surprisingly went to...
It was announced this afternoon that Bryce Harper was named as the Nationals' team winner of the 2012 Heart and Hustle Award, given out by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
The award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game and best embody the values, spirit and tradition of the game of baseball.
What a shocker - Harper winning an award for demonstrating passion and hustle. If there was ever was an award that screamed out "Bryce Harper," it's this...
As Giants first baseman Brandon Belt failed to secure a low, skipping throw and Adam LaRoche crossed first base safely in the ninth inning of last night's game, plating the game-winning run for the Nationals, a group of ballplayers about 650 miles away let out a frustrated groan.
According to reporters in Atlanta, Braves players watching the end of last night's Nationals game on a clubhouse TV made a loud, exasperated noise and dropped a few expletives when it became clear the Nats had...
The 104-degree heat in Atlanta got the better of Stephen Strasburg today.
The Nationals ace was pulled from today's game after just three innings due to what the team is calling "heat-related issues."
Strasburg was really laboring this afternoon and clearly wasn't himself. He walked four hitters and needed 67 pitches to get through his three frames.
The righty's final line: three innings, three runs, two hits, four walks and four strikeouts. Only 36 of his 67 pitches were for...
The Nationals look to improve to 6-1 on the season against the Braves, and 5-0 at Turner Field, as they send Stephen Strasburg to the mound today.
Here's manager Davey Johnson's lineup for today:
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Michael Morse
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
LF Tyler Moore
C Jesus Flores
P Stephen Strasburg
For the Braves:
CF Michael Bourn
LF Martin Prado
RF Jason Heyward
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Dan Uggla
C Brian McCann
SS Andrelton Simmons
3B...
The Nationals did not win the game, but they did get a key ninth-inning play from an important player that could open the door to a surge before the All-Star break.
The Rockies ended up beating the Nationals 11-10 in 11 innings Thursday, but it would not have been that way had it not been for Bryce Harper.
Throughout the series against Colorado, Harper wasn't getting much to hit or, he felt, many calls.
"The whole series they were pitching me out and up," Harper said. "They didn't throw...
Davey Johnson's Sunday lineup looks exactly same as Saturday's.
Except Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching again. That'd just be weird and uncalled for.
Gio Gonzalez takes the hill for the Nationals, looking to improve on his 7-1 record.
Gonzalez went 5-0 in May. He'll try and carry that success into a new month and give the Nats a mini two-game sweep over the Braves.
Here are the lineups for the two teams:
For the Nationals
LF Steve Lombardozzi
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B...
I feel like we've seen this type of win once or twice this season.
A Nationals starter goes deep into the game, delivering a dominating outing, the offense provides just enough run support and the bullpen closes it down.
All the familiar pieces were there in the Nats' 2-0 win over the Braves this afternoon.
Stephen Strasburg bounced back off three consecutive subpar outings (by his lofty standards) and tossed seven shutout frames, allowing just four hits without a walk and striking out...
We've got a fantastic pitchers' duel here at Nats Park, with Stephen Strasburg and Brandon Beachy trading zeros and strikeouts.
Beachy was the first to blink, allowing a solo home run to Jesus Flores leading off the fifth inning. It was the second homer of the season for Flores, and it gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead.
Runs will be precious in this one, as both starting pitchers have been in a zone.
Strasburg has needed just 70 pitches to get through his five innings, which is remarkable...
Steve Lombardozzi wasn't in the Nationals' lineup yesterday. But after rain washed out the opener of this three-game series with the Braves, Lombardozzi is back in the leadoff spot and playing left field for Davey Johnson today.
Michael Morse will hit fifth today against Braves righty Brandon Beachy, with the left-handed-hitting Adam LaRoche staying in the cleanup spot.
Strangely, the Braves will hit Beachy eighth today, with left fielder Jose Constanza batting ninth.
Here are the lineups...
Tonight's game between the Nationals and Braves has been postponed due to severe weather in the area.
Details on a makeup date have not yet been announced, but I will obviously pass them along as soon as I hear anything.
Conditions in the area have been terrible tonight, and it's been raining nearly nonstop for the last couple hours. There have been tornado warnings nearby, as well.
Update: Tonight's game will not be made up during this homestand, and will instead be pushed back later in...
Following a nine-game road trip which seemed - to me, at least - to last a lot longer than a week and a half, the Nationals are finally back in the nation's capital and in the comfort of their own clubhouse.
The road trip might have ended, but the tough stretch of division opponents has not. The Nats will host the Braves for three games this weekend, then will welcome the Mets to town for a three-game set before heading up to Boston to kick off the next round of interleague play.
We still...
The Nationals have now won every series they have played against National League East opponents, currently 10-3 versus Atlanta (2-0), Philadelphia (4-2), Miami (2-0) and the N.Y. Mets (2-1).
This is a good time to be playing well because the schedule is all within the division for two weeks. The Nationals are in the middle of 15 straight games against NL East combatants. After tonight's finale at Atlanta, they go to Miami for three games beginning Monday afternoon. Next week, the Nationals...
VIERA, Fla. - We might be seeing a lot of Livan Hernandez this year.
The 37-year-old righty, who appeared certain to make the Astros' rotation entering spring, was released by Houston today, and then within a couple hours, Hernandez had signed with the Braves.
CBSsports.com first reported Hernandez's signing with the Nationals' division rival.
Hernandez allowed 10 earned runs in 16 Grapefruit League innings for Houston, although the bulk of that damage was allowed in one recent start.
As...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The balls are flying out of Champion Stadium tonight, as the Nationals and Braves have combined to hit four home runs through four innings of play.
Two have come off Nats' bats - a two-run shot from Chad Tracy and a solo blast by Jesus Flores - but the two that will draw the most attention were the homers hit off Nationals right Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg allowed four runs in his four innings of work, and surrendered longballs to Dan Uggla (a two-run shot in the...