Washington Nationals

Among many other traits, Bryce Harper has shown an uncanny ability to learn from his mistakes and rarely, if ever, repeat them. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Washington Nationals News

How many games can you win with a good start and Bryce Harper carrying the Nats to victory? Hopefully about 70 more. The Nats end the west coast trip 4-6, when 6-4 was the goal so they are now behind for May, but only by a couple games. A day off and a the Nats enter, to me, the most interesting stretch of games theyhave all year.3 home series that the Nats should win - Phillies, Mets, Twins4 games vs their interarea rival - The OriolesA road series vs their crucial interleague rival - The BravesIt just feels like a lot can go wrong here or a lot can go right. The blessing is that it ends with the Mets and the Twins so barring complete embarrassment to start there's that chance for a redemption with a strong 5-1 or 6-0 finish. The Nats still aren't hitting but they miss Cliff Lee and it's likely Chen will still be out for the Orioles when the two teams meet. So if there's any time to turn it on, it's now.At the same time if any problems after this break you feel they have to move on them. One month slump? Ok. Two months? Getting very tired of it. Three months? You don't go to 3 months. Not unless this is a star player you are talking about. As bad as they've been you can try one last stretch with the guys you have now. But after this stretch, with the All-Star break staring you in the face, you'll be forced to do something. Last chance boys.

Confront his fear of walls? Check (video here). Hit an opposite field home run? Check (video here). Make a great sliding catch in the eighth? Check (video here). Hurt his knee again on that catch and scare the crap out of Davey Johnson late in the game because of said knee? Check ("It’s a little swollen." said Harper after the game). Score the eventual game-winning run on an Ian Desmond single with his helmet flying off? Check (video here). Write "Pray 4 OK!" on the brim of his cap? Check (video here). Hold a baby? Check (Photo via his sister). The only thing Harper didn't do yesterday was untuck his shirt like Rafael Soriano after a must-win game (seems odd to say that in May). Still, all is apparently forgiven between Harper and Raffy. West Coast trip from hell ends 4-6. Nats 4 1/2 back of the Braves in the NL East. (Screencaps via MLB.com, MASN/TV) Befriend Nats Enquirer on Facebook. Follow on Twitter. Related articles Rafael Soriano rips Bryce Harper for miscue Bryce Harper runs into Dodger Stadium wall, leaves game shaken up and bleeding... Bryce Harper and Johnny Manziel hug it out at Petco Park Bryce Harper on that triple over his head: "I don't want to hit the frickin' wall full-on." Video: Bryce Harper's new GEICO commercial

Bryce Harper admitted Tuesday night to a specific kind of vulnerability, and Wednesday afternoon another deep flyball and another looming wall tested it. On Tuesday night, Gregor Blanco smashed a ball over his head that could have been the final … Continue reading →

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers Syracuse OFF DAY @ Columbus, 7:05 p.m. Mandel (0-1, 6.29) vs. House (1-2, 5.22) Harrisburg Lost, 7-6 @ Erie, 11:05 a.m. Jordan (1-0, 0.00) vs. Lobstein (5-2, 3.14) Potomac Postponed @ Frederick, 11:00 a.m. Hill (4-1, 2.31) vs. Petersime (1-4, 8.24) Hagerstown Lost, 6-2 vs. Lexington, 7:05 p.m. Pineyro (3-2, 3.96) vs. Stumpf (3-1, 1.49) Syracuse Chiefs — OFF DAY The Chiefs’ eight-game Ohio swing continues with a four-game weekend set in Columbus. After a 3-1 series win in Toledo, Syracuse is 13-9 on the road and has climbed out of the I.L. North cellar, a ½ game ahead of the Rochester Red Wings. Erie 7 Harrisburg 6 • Karns 6IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, BB, 9K, 2HR • Broadway 1⅓ 2H, 0R, 0BB, K • Barrett (BS, 1; L, 1-1) ⅔ IP, 2H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K • Head 2-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, OF assist at 2B • Hood 2-4, R, 2B, OF assist at HP • Nicol 1-3, R, HR, 4RBI, SF In a game that saw six lead changes, it was the last that hurt the most as a two-out single drove in the tying run and an error let in the winning run as the Seawolves stopped the Senators, 7-6. Starter Nathan Karns suffered his first multi-HR game as a pro, surrendering two solo shots and five runs total on eight hits and a walk while striking out nine. Sean Nicol drove in four, three with a HR in the 4th and fourth with a sacrifice fly in the 9th. Jerad Head and Ricky Hague also went deep. Aaron Barrett put on the first two batters he faced but then got two flyball outs before giving up a second hit for the single-and-error that halted the Harrisburg win streak at five. Roster moves: LHP Bill Bray was placed on the 7-Day DL to make room for RHP Rob Gilliam, who was promoted from Potomac. Potomac vs. Frederick — PPD Apparently, just the threat of rain can cause a delay as the P-Nats and Keys waited more than an hour before any rain actually fell at which point the game was called due to the “threat of increasingly torrential thunderstorms.” The game is scheduled to be made up on June 14th, when two teams next meet in Frederick and will turn a four-game set into a five-game series (and quite possibly six, given today’s forecast). Greensboro 6 Hagerstown 2 • Turnbull (L, 2-2) 4IP, 5H, 5R, 0ER, BB, K, 0HR • Henke 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K • Ramos 2-3, R, BB, RBI, SB • Severino 1-3, 2B, BB The good news is that none of the five runs Kylin Turnbull gave up were earned. The bad news is that they still count on the scoreboard, which ended with Greensboro on top of Hagerstown, 6-2. Turnbull gave up five hits and one walk, struck out one, but gave up no homers for the first time in five starts for the Suns. “Help Me” Wander Ramos singled twice, scored a run, drove in a run, and stole a base to pace the Hagertown offense, which was held to seven hits and four walks and mustered just one hit in 12 chances with runners in scoring position.

USA Today Sports ImagesBryce Harper clubbed his 12th homer of the season during yesterday's win.Contrary to the mythology that has been constructed around him, Bryce Harper actually is human. He has flaws as a baseball player. And he even makes mistakes every once in a while.Here's the thing, though, about Harper and those mistakes: When he does make one, he learns his lesson and inevitably gets it right the next time around.We've seen it throughout his brief tenure with the Nationals, and we certainly saw it multiple times during a just-completed, 10-game road trip during which Harper experienced what felt like a season's worth of highs and lows.He crashed into the wall at Dodger Stadium, nearly decapitating himself and severely banging up his body. This led to all sorts ofRead more »

SAN FRANCISCO - Before this three-game series between National League powers, Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper took to Twitter to express his excitement about facing the Giants in a ballpark that he called one of his favorite places to play. Read more Bryce Harper news

Stephen Strasburg's tenth start of the season began with a 31-pitch, 16-strike bottom of the first Tuesday night in AT&T Park in which he gave up two hits and two walks but no runs. The one run the San Francisco Giants did score on the Washington Nationals' 24-year-old starter came in a 13-pitch second. Gregor Blanco singled to left to start the inning and scored from second two outs later when Angel Pagan drove him in. The run got the home team within one after Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond had given the visiting Nats a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against Giants' starter Matt Cain. Strasburg's catcher, Kurt Suzuki, caught Pagan stealing in the next at bat after the Giants' outfielder's RBI single, and the Nationals' starter retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced, including ten straight to end his start after seven innings of work in which he gave up five hits, three walks and the one earned run while recording seven Ks. Strasburg threw 108 pitches overall, 77 over his final six innings of work after the long first, but the lead he handed the Nats' bullpen was blown in the ninth and the Nationals lost the fourth-straight game when Yunkesy Maya gave up a Pablo Sandoval walk-off blast in the bottom of the tenth. "Stras had a rough start and threw a lot of pitches early, but gave us a good strong seven innings and we were in a position to win that and we didn't win it. It's tough." - Davey Johnson on squandering Stephen Strasburg's strong outing "We didn't get the hits when we needed to," Davey Johnson told reporters after the loss. The Nationals had their chances to add to their lead throughout the game, but after scoring twice early, they failed to add on over the next nine innings in AT&T Park. "When we had the table set and had the right guys up there," the Nats' skipper said, "we just didn't get it done and then we didn't hold them. Stras had a rough start and threw a lot of pitches early, but gave us a good strong seven innings and we were in a position to win that and we didn't win it. It's tough." Had it not been for the long first, Johnson said afterwards, he might have let Strasburg go deeper into the game than he did. "If he hadn't struggled the first couple of innings," Johnson said, "I think he had over 40 pitches or something after two. I probably would have even gone further with him, but he pitched a great game, set up for our pen and our pen just didn't hold it." "His velocity was good, his stuff was good, he mixed and matched three plus pitches in the strike zone for the most part," Nats' GM Mike Rizzo told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier on Wednesday morning, "and really kept a hot-hitting, very good lineup in check and certainly gave us a chance to win the ballgame, which is what we expect our starting rotation to do each and every night out there. We just couldn't close the deal out for him, but it was good to see him in command of a ballgame, go deep into a game when we really needed it." "His velocity was good, his stuff was good, he mixed and matched three plus pitches in the strike zone for the most part, and really kept a hot-hitting, very good lineup in check." - Mike Rizzo on Stephen Strasburg vs the Giants Strasburg threw 29 two-seam fastballs (18 for strikes; 62.07%), 37 four-seam fastballs (23 for strikes; 61.26%), 23 changeups (13 for strikes; 56.52% w/ six swings and misses) and 19 curves (8 for strikes; 42.11%). The changeup was filthy, but the fastball command wasn't there early as both the Nats' GM and Strasburg discussed. "He was spraying his fastball a little bit," Rizzo said on The Mike Rizzo Show, "and [he] had to battle through some long, leverage pitch type of innings and got through it and really pitched extremely well for us. And like I said, he did exactly what we expected him to do, is give us a chance to win and we were set up to win the ballgame, we just couldn't close the deal out and we lost another tight one." Your br

Nats southpaw Gio Gonzalez pitched brilliantly in San Francisco on Wednesday, and the Nationals denied the Giants a sweep of their series, winning in ten innings off of an Ian Desmond single. The team needed a pick-up after Tuesday night’s now-controversial debacle, and Gonzalez provided it. Gonzalez gave up only four hits and struck out [...]

We'd be remiss if we didn't post something about the t-shirt Dan Haren made for Nats pitchers featuring the pic of Steve McCatty in that 1984 issue of Playgirl, which officially blew up and became a "thing" on Tuesday: Haren got T-shirts of McCatty's Playgirl shot made today. "UNTUCK" on back. "Utter joy," Clippard said. "This is the best day of my life." — Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 21, 2013 Anyway, there's Gio above (Photo of TV via @NatitudeProblem) in a shot from Nats Xtra on MASN before Wednesday's Nats-Giants game. Sleeves cut off, too. Meanwhile, a pretty nice little outing for Gio on Wednesday: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 116 pitches, 73 strikes. Should've been good enough for the win, but, you know, these are the 2013 Nats. Befriend Nats Enquirer on Facebook. Follow on Twitter.