Two weeks ago, Stephen Strasburg was taken to task in this space for basically acting childish on the mound. He lost his composure after a throwing error in a scoreless game against the Chicago Cubs, allowing four unearned runs to score and letting the game get out of hand. It was a game he - and just about all Nationals fans - would like to forget. It seems that's exactly what happened. In three starts since that tragic outing at Nationals Park, Strasburg has pitched more like the mature...

First of all, I don't have great answers to the two pressing questions of the day: What is wrong with Jim Johnson and will Buck Showalter give Johnson the ball today at Washington if a save situation presents itself? As for the second question, Showalter did say he would go to Johnson today on the MASN postgame interview Sunday. However, you have to wonder if Johnson will even be available after throwing 14 pitches Saturday and 37 yesterday. Now here are the raw numbers: Over his last six...

If the Orioles take a slim lead into the bottom of the ninth inning today at Nationals Park, I'd bet that Darren O'Day would be used as the closer. Not because manager Buck Showalter is ready to assign Jim Johnson's duties to another reliever. I still don't believe that he's reached that point. But Johnson threw 37 pitches yesterday and 51 over the past two games. He's probably not available today. Tommy Hunter's right hand was swollen yesterday after fielding Jose Bautista's hard...

Bryce Harper aggravated his bruised left knee and expects to deal with the injury the rest of this season. Ross Detwiler will need to land on the disabled list with a strained oblique and won't be able to make Tuesday's start. "Other than that," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said with a smile, "it was a great day." The Nats got eight tremendous innings from Stephen Strasburg and a big five-run seventh inning broke a scoreless tie, lifting the Nats to a 6-1 win in this afternoon's...

The violent collision between Bryce Harper and the right field wall at Dodger Stadium won't just affect Harper in the short-term. It seems it will pose at least somewhat of a problem for the reigning National League Rookie of the Year throughout the remainder of this season. Harper has been held out of the starting lineup in four of the Nationals' last 12 games, and he was pulled from today's game for a pinch runner in the seventh inning after aggravating his bruised left knee in the first....

The injuries continue to mount for the Nationals. Davey Johnson revealed after today's game that left-hander Ross Detwiler, who hasn't started since May 15 because of a right oblique strain, will need to land on the disabled list after feeling tightness in the oblique while working out today. "He went out and was doing some running and playing catch and complained," Johnson said. "Whereas it's better than it was, it's tight and we didn't feel like it was the best thing. ... We're not...

A shaky save would have been better than a blown save, but the O's didn't get one today. Toronto No. 9 hitter Munenori Kawasaki drilled a two-run double on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the last of the ninth as the Blue Jays stunned the Orioles 6-5. Toronto scored four in the ninth off Jim Johnson, who suffered his fourth blown save in his last five chances. The O's went to the bottom of the ninth up 5-2 but Toronto pulled within 5-3 on a J.P. Arencibia RBI single and 5-4 on a Mark DeRosa...

After six more innings of offensive futility, the Nationals have broken open this ballgame with a monster five-run seventh inning that has given them a 5-0 lead and will allow Stephen Strasburg quite a cushion to work with as he takes the mound for the eighth. The Nats had managed just three hits off Cole Hamels entering the seventh inning, but a few well-placed hits and a couple of sub-par defensive plays from the Phillies allowed them to pile it on. Ryan Zimmerman led off the inning with an...

The Orioles haven't had a starter complete six innings in the last four games, including today, when Miguel Gonzalez fell an out short. Gonzalez allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, with three walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, 58 for strikes. Brian Matusz stranded a runner to end the sixth. Matusz has stranded 18 of 20 inherited runners this season and 32 of 34 since moving to the bullpen last summer. In two starts since coming off the disabled list, Gonzalez has...

The type of battle we're getting between Stephen Strasburg and Cole Hamels could be one we'll see many times for years to come. Strasburg and Hamels have both thrown four scoreless innings today, with each allowing just two hits. Hamels has six strikeouts to this point, while Strasburg has four. Both teams have put two runners in scoring position thus far, but neither has done anything with those opportunities. Bryce Harper reached third with one out in the first inning (and he put his...