An early missed opportunity might loom large (Nats lose 2-0)

An early missed opportunity might loom large (Nats lose 2-0)
It's not often you can put up a crooked number against Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers left-hander came into today with a 1.62 ERA on the season, having allowed more than two earned runs in just two of his eight starts in 2013. The Nationals had a chance to get to Kershaw early on in tonight's game, when they loaded the bases with two outs. Kershaw had already thrown 25 pitches in the first inning by the time Tyler Moore stepped into the batter's box with the sacks packed and two down. The...

Harper out of Nats' lineup after yesterday's wall collision (Span out, too)

Harper out of Nats' lineup after yesterday's wall collision (Span out, too)
Not surprisingly, Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals' lineup the day after crashing face-first into the right field wall at Dodger Stadium, a collision that left him with a bruised knee and shoulder, as well as 11 stitches in his chin. Harper will miss his third game in the last five days. He sat out last Friday and Saturday's games against the Cubs after having surgery to remove an ingrown toenail. That procedure surely hurt (I had an ingrown toenail removed a handful of years ago, and...

On Harper and his all-in, all-the-time mentality

On Harper and his all-in, all-the-time mentality
What is it about Bryce Harper that has allowed him to have so much success at such a young age? Well, he's immensely talented, of course. At 20, Harper can do things on a baseball field that many players with a decade's worth of experience cannot dream of doing. Beyond that, however, is Harper's work ethic, his drive, his desire to give his all in every single facet of the game. Harper's going to outwork you off the field, then he's going to outhustle you on it. That's his goal every...

11 stitches, bruises, but no concussion after Harper collides with wall

11 stitches, bruises, but no concussion after Harper collides with wall
Scary moment out in Los Angeles, as Bryce Harper left tonight's game against the Dodgers after colliding face-first with the right field fence. Harper was chasing a deep fly ball hit by A.J. Ellis, and lost track of where he was in relation to the wall. As the ball came down over his head, Harper turned and went face-first into the wall, colliding with the chain-link portion of the fence that protects the video board. He went down in a heap, and after the Nationals were able to corral the...

Zimmermann keeps rolling as Nats beat Dodgers 6-2

Zimmermann keeps rolling as Nats beat Dodgers 6-2
Eight starts, seven victories, a 1.69 ERA. Jordan Zimmermann keeps on rolling. Zimmermann went 7 2/3 innings tonight, allowing two runs on nine hits, striking out five and walking none as the Nationals beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the first game of a three-game set. He's now 7-1 on the season. The main concern coming out of this game, however, is the health of Bryce Harper, who left in the bottom of the fifth inning after colliding face-first with the right field wall. We'll wait for updates...

Breaking down the bench blues

Breaking down the bench blues
As productive as the Nationals bench was last season - with Chad Tracy, Roger Bernadina, Tyler Moore and Steve Lombardozzi coming through with countless pinch-hits in clutch spots and getting significant playing time in the place of a few injured starters - that group has been pretty quiet through the first six weeks of the 2013 campaign. In 51 pinch-hit opportunities this season, Nationals hitters have gone just 7-of-48 with two extra-base hits and three walks. That's good for a .146 batting...

Lombardozzi in left for second straight game

Lombardozzi in left for second straight game
The Nationals kick off a 10-game West Coast road trip with a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the MASN broadcast beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time with "Nats Xtra" pregame. Jordan Zimmermann pitches for the Nationals and will be opposed by the Dodgers' Josh Beckett. The two right-handers have had distinctly different seasons: Zimmermann is 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA, while Beckett is 0-4 with a 5.13 ERA. Steve Lombardozzi will make his second straight start in left field for the...

Zimmerman and Zimmermann remain hot (the lead increases)

Zimmerman and Zimmermann remain hot (the lead increases)
That headline would have been a heck of a lot smoother if Ryan Zimmerman and Jordan Zimmermann would just get together and agree to have their last names spelled the same way. Make it happen, fellas. Do it for the sake of my headlines, if nothing else. The Zimmerman(n) boys have helped the Nationals to an early 4-0 lead over the Dodgers after three innings. Zimmerman has a two-run double and three RBIs, and Zimmermann has thrown two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Both guys are on...

Looking for the offense to heat up out west

Looking for the offense to heat up out west
After going 3-2 on their brief homestand, the Nationals packed the bags and took off for the west coast, where they'll play 10 games in 10 days. First is a stop in Los Angeles for three against the Dodgers, who shockingly have started the season 15-21 and are currently last in the National League West. Yup, the team with the $216 million payroll sits behind the Rockies and Padres nearly a quarter of the way through the season. You can't predict ball. Following their three-game set...

Suzuki on rough ninth-inning throwing error and subsequent ejection

Suzuki on rough ninth-inning throwing error and subsequent ejection
The last inning was not exactly how catcher Kurt Suzuki wanted it to go. A double steal attempt by the Cubs was set up Alfonso Soriano racing to third base in the top of the ninth of a 1-1 game. Suzuki's throw to third base hit Welington Castillo's bat. The ball rolled into foul territory, which allowed Soriano to score the go-ahead run. Later, a called third strike and subsequent argument with home plate umpire John Tumpane got him tossed. Who could have thought the Nationals appeared...

Johnson discusses decision to pull Gonzalez after seven

Johnson discusses decision to pull Gonzalez after seven
It's hard to see any moment in this afternoon's 2-1 Nationals loss looming larger than Davey Johnson's decision to pinch hit for Gio Gonzalez leading off the bottom of the seventh inning. The Nationals held a 1-0 lead at the time, and Gonzalez had thrown seven scoreless innings, needing just 86 pitches to do so. He still appeared to have plenty left in the tank, but with the Nats managing almost nothing offensively and with a rested Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano in the bullpen, Johnson...

Marty Niland: Nats must learn to overcome their own failures - and success

Marty Niland: Nats must learn to overcome their own failures - and success
A baseball team can't win on talent alone. It also takes discipline, maturity and courage, qualities that key members of the Nationals seemed to be lacking against the Chicago Cubs this weekend. In dropping games Saturday and Sunday to the last-place team in the National Legaue Central, the Nats' 24-year-old pitching phenom and 70-year-old manager both showed they have something to learn about handling both adversity and success. Stephen Strasburg has shown plenty of talent since the Nats...

An interesting call to the bullpen (Nats lose 2-1)

An interesting call to the bullpen (Nats lose 2-1)
Davey Johnson jokingly calls himself "Captain Hook" because of his quick calls to the bullpen. We got another Captain Hook sighting at Nationals Park this afternoon. Johnson decided to go to his bench with Gio Gonzalez set to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. Gonzalez had thrown just 86 pitches through seven scoreless innings, and he had bounced back from a shaky sixth inning to retire the side in order in the seventh. Instead of sticking with his starter, however, Johnson...

Four perfect innings for Gio Gonzalez (Cubs finally notch a hit in sixth)

Four perfect innings for Gio Gonzalez (Cubs finally notch a hit in sixth)
Like Stephen Strasburg yesterday, Gio Gonzalez has been dominant through four innings today. We'll see if things go better for Gonzalez the rest of the way out than they did for Strasburg, who melted down in the fifth. Gonzalez has been perfect through four, retiring all 12 Cubs hitters he's seen, with three strikeouts. He's thrown just 43 pitches thus far, 29 for strikes. The velocity on Gonzalez's fastball has been a touch down today - he's sitting at 92-93 mph - but the Cubs...

Duke still adjusting to inconsistent workload

Duke still adjusting to inconsistent workload
A very happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially my own, who is as good as they get, in my book. Players will be wearing pink cleats, wristbands, batting gloves and arm sleeves and using pink bats today in support of breast cancer awareness, and all baseballs used across Major League Baseball today will have pink stitches. Bryce Harper will even use a pink glove. I discussed Stephen Strasburg's fifth-inning struggles at length yesterday, but the guy who followed him to the...

Another throwing error has Zimmerman facing questions about shoulder again

Another throwing error has Zimmerman facing questions about shoulder again
The Nationals' 8-2 loss to the Cubs Saturday was difficult to take on a couple of levels. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg unraveled following a throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman with two outs in the fifth. It was Zimmerman's sixth error of the season. In the seventh, Zimmerman allowed a hard-hit grounder by Alfonso Soriano to get past him at third base into left field. That was Zimmerman's second error of the game and seventh of the season. But the first error is the one that will be...

Harper returns to Nats lineup, Lombardozzi playing left

Harper returns to Nats lineup, Lombardozzi playing left
After two days out of the Nationals lineup, Bryce Harper is back in there today, playing right field and hitting third. Harper had a minor surgical procedure Thursday night to remove an ingrown toenail on his left big toe, and he missed the Nats' last two games as he recovered from the operation. He returns for the finale of the Nats' three-game series with the Cubs. Steve Lombardozzi will get his first start in the outfield this season. He'll play left field, replacing Tyler Moore, who...

Johnson talks Strasburg's drop-off after 8-2 loss

Johnson talks Strasburg's drop-off after 8-2 loss
For a while, it looked like this afternoon's outing was going to be Stephen Strasburg's best of the season. Through his first 4 2/3 innings, he'd allowed just two Cubs baserunners and had struck out seven. He was mowing hitters down with a fastball that topped out at 98 mph and worked in dazzling off-speed pitches. By the time the fifth inning ended, Strasburg had allowed five hits, two walks and four runs, and the Nationals suddenly trailed 4-0. A Ryan Zimmerman error with two outs and...

Hearing from Strasburg, Zimmerman and Desmond

Hearing from Strasburg, Zimmerman and Desmond
Stephen Strasburg retired 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced today. He then retired just one of his last eight hitters before being pulled after five innings of work. Strasburg started off dominant, then faded after Ryan Zimmerman's throwing error with two outs in the fifth inning. Following that error, Strasburg walked the Cubs' No. 8 hitter, Darwin Barney, who came into today hitting .153 on the season. He then allowed a two-run double to Edwin Jackson, the opposing pitcher, who didn't...

It all falls apart in the fifth (Nats lose 8-2)

It all falls apart in the fifth (Nats lose 8-2)
Boy, did things turn in a hurry. Stephen Strasburg was working on an absolute gem this afternoon, having held the Cubs to just one hit over his first four innings of work, striking out seven and needing just 53 pitches to get through those four dominant frames. Then in the fifth, after a Ryan Zimmerman throwing error prolonged the inning, it all fell apart for Strasburg. He had been nearly halfway to the dugout when Zimmerman's throw sailed wide of the first base bag, then needed to walk...