Washington

Dan Haren had been making steady progress after a rough start to his first year as a Washington National, but last time out in San Diego, California's Petco Park, the 32-year-old right-hander, who signed a 1-year/$13M dollar deal with the Nats this winter, had a setback. The 11-year veteran threw 97 pitches in just five innings of work and allowed nine hits and seven runs in what ended up a 13-4 loss to the Padres. That outing left the Nats' no.4 starter with a (4-5) record, a 5.54 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 10 HRs (1.79 HR/9) allowed, eight walks (1.43 BB/9) surrendered and 36 Ks (6.44 K/9) collected in nine starts and 50.1 IP so far in a Nationals uniform. Haren's 51st inning of the year went well with the Philadelphia Phillies' hitters going down in order in a 14-pitch top of the first tonight in D.C. By the end of his 10th start of 2013, Haren had collected 10 Ks, thrown 88 pitches in six innings and given up two home runs and three runs total in a game that was decided after he was off the mound. Denard Span singled to start the Nationals' first, but one out later, after a Bryce Harper K, Span was 5 for 8 in stolen base attempts this season after Phillies' catcher Erik Kratz threw him out at second for the second out of the Nationals' first. Ryan Zimmerman K'd swinging for right-handed rookie Jonathan Pettibone's second strikeout of the night and the third out of the inning in a 16-pitch bottom of the first for the Phils' 22-year-old starter. Dan Haren struck both Ryan Howard and Delmon Young out with fastballs in the first two at bats of the Phillies' second, but Domonic Brown and Erik Kratz followed with back-to-back, two-out solo home runs on consecutive pitches to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead at the end of another 14-pitch frame that had Haren at 28 overall after two innings in Nationals Park. Ian Desmond singled with one down in the Nationals' second. One out later, the Nats' shortstop took second on a single by Tyler Moore, who took a 2-2 change from Pettibone to left for a two-out hit, but both runners were stranded when Steve Lombardozzi grounded out to end the bottom of the inning. Still 2-0 Philadelphia. Tyler Moore dropped a two-out fly to left-center that he got to only to have it go in and out of his glove on what was ruled an E:7 instead of a double for Phillies' second baseman Freddy Galvis. The hit brought Michael Young up with a runner in scoring position, but Philadelphia's right-handed hitting first baseman, who entered tonight's game 19 for 58 vs Haren with a .328/.341/.431 career line against the right-hander, was 0 for 2 vs the Nats' starter in the nation's capital after flying out to center to end the top of the third. The 12-pitch inning had Haren at 40 overall after three. Denard Span was 2 for 2 vs Jonathan Pettibone tonight after beating out a ground ball to Jimmy Rollins at short in the Nationals' half of the third. Span took second on a Bryce Harper single to right-center. Ryan Zimmerman lined to center for out no.2, allowing Span to take third, and Adam LaRoche came through with a two-out RBI single to right that cut the Phillies' lead in half, 2-1 Philadelphia. Ian Desmond walked in front of Kurt "Clutch If It Existed" Suzuki to load the bases with two down, but the Nats' catcher rolled a weak check-swing grounder to first to end the bottom of the third. Still 2-1 Phillies. Ryan Howard was strikeout victim no.6 of the night for Dan Haren and the Phillies' first baseman was 0 for 2 with 2 Ks after two at bats in D.C.. Haren got Delmon Young swinging for the second time too and had 7 Ks on the night after retiring the side in order in the top of the fourth. The 12-pitch inning had the right-hander up to 52 pitches total after four. Jimmy Rollins committed his second error the series with one down in the Nats' fourth when Steve Lombardozzi grounded to short and the Phillies' infielder bounced a throw to first that Ryan Howard couldn't scoop up. Dan Haren K'd looking in the next at bat, but Denard Spa

USA Today Sports ImagesDan Haren struck out 10 over six innings but received no decision.Game in a nutshell: Dan Haren gave the Nationals a performance that at times was dominant (10 strikeouts in six innings) though it did include back-to-back homers in the top of the second. His lineup, meanwhile, had plenty of chances to take out rookie right-hander Jonathan Pettibone and the Phillies bullpen but managed only three runs. With the game tied in the eighth, Drew Storen surrendered back-to-back, two-out, RBI hits to put Philadelphia on top. The Nationals lineup then couldn't complete a rally late, going down in the ninth against Jonathan Papelbon to suffer a frustrating loss. Now 25-24, they'll need to beat the Phillies in Sunday's series finale to avoid falling into a second-place tie with their division rivals.Hitting lowlight: How many chances did the Nationals give themselves tonight, only to come away with very little? Far too many chances. Though Adam LaRoche and Denard Span eachRead more »

The past six months have been a whirlwind for Jeff Kobernus. The Nationals didn’t protect him ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft and the Boston Red Sox selected him. He was immediately traded to the Detroit Tigers and spent his … Continue reading →

The Nationals have won two straight thanks to Friday night’s offensive outburst, the largest in a week. Manager Davey Johnson hasn’t shaved since the San Diego series, insisting he would only after the team’s bats came to life. They did … Continue reading →

Photo by USA TodayRoss Detwiler threw a bullpen session on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park, keeping him on track to return on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. The lefty has been sidelined with a mild oblique strain after aggravating the muscle on May 15 against in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.Detwiler took the field around 2:45 to stretch, threw some longball, and then went about his bullpen session as if it were any other.“It was a normal bullpen session. The only difference was I sat down halfway through there for about five minutes to simulate an inning, and then I got back up and threw and everything was good.”Detwiler feels fine, no soreness or pain to report on. He missed one start, but is ready to slot right back into the rotation.“Any time you get healthy again it’s definitely going to be a relief. But the thing [is] I kind of went and threw a little harder today than I normally would just so I wouldn’t have any, I wouldn’t hold back anything. I proved to myself that I was healthy and I’m ready to go.”Read more >>

Ross Detwiler threw a clean bullpen session on Saturday afternoon and, barring any issues in the meantime, was cleared from his slight oblique strain to make his next start on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles in Washington. The Nationals had … Continue reading →

Photo by the Associated PressA second round pick of the Nationals in 2009, Jeff Kobernus had done just about everything he could to earn a call-up to the major leagues.At 24 he had held a .288 average through four minor league seasons, stolen over 40 bases in consecutive years, and been a standout on defense. This season he’s held a .333 clip at Triple-A Syracuse, posted 21 steals through 43 games, and scored a team-high 33 runs: all top-five marks in the International League.This spring he perhaps got closest as part of the Detroit Tigers, but was sent back to Washington as part of the Rule 5 Draft late in camp. Close, but again no call-up.But on Friday night that dream finally came true for the young second baseman as before the Chiefs were set to take batting practice in Columbus, Kobernus was notified by coach Tony Beasley he would be headed to the majors. He said he called his father Jeff, a former minor league pitcher who topped out at the Double-A level, to tell him the news. His dad started crying, a dream the two had worked towards across two generations was about to come true.“I called my dad first and then my mom,” Kobernus said. “My dad, he was crying, which was kind of one of those things where he’s helped me a lot through my career and it was a dream come true to be able to call him and tell him to come out.”Read more >>

Washington Nationals' manager Davey Johnson told reporters before Friday night's game with the Philadelphia Phillies that the team had received some bad news about second baseman Danny Espinosa's wrist. Espinosa originally injured the wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Atlanta Braves' lefty Paul Maholm in a mid-April game in the nation's capital. When pain in the wrist continued to bother the switch-hitting infielder, the 26-year-old Espinosa saw a specialist in the Baltimore area who diagnosed a small fracture in the wrist and located a bone chip that was causing irritation. "About 25% of our lineup has really been struggling, along with some other guys at times, so seeing Lombo come in there and get three hits and drive in some runs, that was huge." - Davey Johnson on Nats' offensive woes "I looked at the films," Johnson told reporters, "and [Espinosa] has a little chip floating around in his wrist. The report I got from the trainers is if he can stand the pain it shouldn't get any worse." The plan is to let Espinosa rest and see if the discomfort goes away. The '08 3rd Round pick is already dealing with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Since he figured to be out for at least a few days, Johnson explained, the Nationals had to make a move. "We're going to make a roster change," Johnson announced after the Nats' 5-2 win over the Phillies. "[Assistant GM Bryan Minniti] isn't here, but I think we're doing something with [Yunesky] Maya and [we're] calling up [Jeff] Kobernus. We're already one player short with just four men on the bench. I like to have at least five and with Espinosa down for a number of days, we can't go with three." Kobernus, 24, has moved up a level in the Nats' system in each of the five seasons since the Nationals selected him with the first pick of the second round of the 2009 Draft. Last season at Double-A Harrisburg, the San Leandro, California-born, Cal State Berkeley-educated right-handed hitting and throwing infielder/outfielder had a .282/.325/.333 line over 82 games and 366 plate appearances in which he hit ten doubles, two triples and a home run while dealing with a thumb injury. The Detroit Tigers were impressed enough with Kobernus that they selected him in this past winter's Rule 5 Draft, but returned him to the Nationals when he didn't make their Opening Day roster. In 43 games and 193 PAs with the Nationals' top affiliate this season before he was called up last night, Kobernus had a .333/.378/.420 with eight doubles, two triples and one home run. Can he help out the Nats' offense? They could use the help. The Nationals' offense produced 10 hits and five runs last night in the nation's capital, but that was a rare offensive display for a team that's been at the bottom in team average, on base percentage and slugging in the National League early this season. Steve Lombardozzi, filling in at second for Espinosa, was 3 for 4 with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth last night. Tyler Moore got a start in left and went 1 for 3 in the win. Davey Johnson talked about his team's offensive issues with reporters after last night's game. "We haven't been getting -- early on, we got, we scored on passed ball, ground balls, or short fly balls," Johnson said. "We haven't been getting base hits. We got the first base hit I think in San Francisco with a runner on second and two outs, we drove a guy in, [Ian] Desmond did, but to see us do that... the big hit of course, Lombo, but we haven't seen much of that all year." "Our offense has really been down," Johnson continued, "About 25% of our lineup has really been struggling, along with some other guys at times, so seeing Lombo come in there and get three hits and drive in some runs, that was huge." "We just haven't been the kind of offensive club I know we're capable of being," Johnson said, "And today was a big day with Espinosa out for Lombo to do what he did and us to score five runs, we've been kind of stuck on none

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