Nationals' Morse and Zimmerman launch HRs for lead in Anaheim, 2-0

Nationals' Morse and Zimmerman launch HRs for lead in Anaheim, 2-0
Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman connected with solo homers in the second and fourth innings, respectively, giving the Nationals a two-nothing lead over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Zimmerman's third homer of the season was down the left field line off of starter Ervin Santana to lead off the fourth frame. Morse's bomb led off the second to right center field, his 15th on the campaign. Morse also added a double deep to center field off the wall. John Lannan had trouble in the...

Morse gives Nationals early advantage in Anaheim, 1-0

Morse gives Nationals early advantage in Anaheim, 1-0
The Nationals first baseman Michael Morse smacked a solo homer to lead off the top of the second inning, giving Davey Johnson the early lead in his first game as manager for Washington. Morse took the second offering in the at-bat off of Ervin Santana to deep right center field over the wall for his 15th home run of the season. John Lannan got out of a two on jam in the first inning. Nationals lead the Angels1-0 in the second inning.

Starting lineups: Nationals at Angels game one

Starting lineups: Nationals at Angels game one
Starting lineup for the Nationals in Game One against the L.A. Angels at Angels stadium: John Lannan opposes Ervin Santana. The National starting nine: Roger Bernadina CF Jayson Werth RF Ryan Zimmerman 3B Laynce Nix LF Michael Morse 1B Danny Espinosa 2B Wilson Ramos C Matt Stairs DH Ian Desmond SS The Angels lineup: Izturis 2B Aybar SS Abreu DH Wells RF Kendrick LF Trumbo 1B Callaspo 3B Bourjos CF Wilson C

Davey Johnson the right answer for upward trending Nationals

Davey Johnson the right answer for upward trending Nationals
Circumstances seem to be falling the Nationals' way this season. Those circumstances usually take the form of injuries to players. Injuries befell every baseball team, every year, and usually it means a tailspin that good teams figure out a way to recover If a team has depth on its roster, the downward spiral can be avoided. This season, the Nationals have found a way to get through injuries that would disrupt most team's rhythm. The Nationals watched as first baseman Adam LaRoche and...

Dominican prospect Estevez bounces back in second start

Dominican prospect Estevez bounces back in second start
Nineteen-year-old Dominican right-hander Wirkin Estevez settled in quite nicely to his second start Thursday for the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. After getting knocked around in his first New York-Penn League start June 18, Estevez was very impressive Thursday against Mahoning Valley, throwing five innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit and one walk, and striking out five. The 6-foot-1, 170-lb. prospect has his velocity up between 87 to 93 mph on his fastball, and hit 88...

Peacock's slight adjustment keys pitching consistency

Peacock's slight adjustment keys pitching consistency
One of the best stories of the season has been the rise of right-handed starter Brad Peacock with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. Peacock has been stifling opposing hitters, going 8-2 in 12 starts (14 games). Opponents are hitting just .182 against the Miami, Fla., native, and Peacock has notched 114 strikeouts, which leads the Eastern League by a wide margin. The 23-year old Peacock also is tops in victories (8-2) and third overall in ERA (2.28) in the entire league. Alongside No. 1...

Hernandez drops White Sox, sends McLaren off with another win, 2-1

Hernandez drops White Sox, sends McLaren off with another win, 2-1
Livan Hernandez bounced back from a rough outing to go 6 2/3 innings, striking out a season-high nine and throwing a season-high 123 pitches in the Washington Nationals' 2-1 series clinching victory at the Chicago White Sox. Danny Espinosa provided the offense with a two run-homer in the seventh and Drew Storen came on in the ninth to record his 19th save. It was a special win for interim manager John McLaren, who took over as skipper Friday following Jim Riggleman's resignation. McLaren...

Dave Nichols: New era for Nationals baseball?

Dave Nichols: New era for Nationals baseball?
The Washington Nationals have won 13 of their last 15 games. That's pretty heady stuff. When play ended Sunday, the Nats owned a 40-38 record, a mere 3 1/2 games out of the Wild Card. This run that they're on right now can only be described with one word: ridiculous. On this streak, the Nats have won close games and blowouts. They've pitched over their heads and picked up the bullpen on the few occasions they've faltered. The Nats blew three saves in Friday's game alone and still won. In...

Nationals name Davey Johnson field manager

Nationals name Davey Johnson field manager
The Washington Nationals today announced that Davey Johnson has been named to serve as field manager and will be in uniform Monday for the Nationals game against the Los Angeles Angels. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Johnson, a senior advisor to Rizzo since 2009, will direct the Nationals on the field for the remainder of the 2011 season. He also agreed to a three-year consulting contract that will have him remain...

Lombardozzi continues in groove following promotion to Triple-A

Lombardozzi continues in groove following promotion to Triple-A
Nationals prospect Steve Lombardozzi has been promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs after being with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators since the beginning of the season. In 65 games with the Senators, Lombardozzi batted .309 with 12 doubles, seven triples, four homers, 23 RBIs and16 stolen bases. In his first four games with the Chiefs, Lombardozzi has hit 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles, one RBI and four runs scored. The 22-year old from Fulton, Md., is playing second base, but has...

Do the Nationals need a team president?

Do the Nationals need a team president?
After witnessing the end of Jim Riggleman's tenure as manager of the Washington Nationals, it is interesting to wonder what difference a Stan Kasten-like leader would have made during the last few months. Kasten resigned as team president at the end of the 2010 season. His leadership and experience guided the Nationals, for better or for worse, through some rough waters as they wrestled control of the franchise back from Major League Baseball and rebuilt a decimated farm system. Mike Rizzo...

Nationals name John McLaren interim manager

Nationals name John McLaren interim manager
The Washington Nationals today announced that John McLaren will serve as the club's Interim Manager. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. McLaren's appointment begins effective today when Washington begins a three-game road series against the Chicago White Sox. The 59-year-old has served as Nationals' bench coach for the last two seasons (2010-11), after being named to the post on Nov. 20, 2009. This is McLaren's...

Drew Kinback: Selfish Riggleman played chicken, lost in a walk-off

Drew Kinback: Selfish Riggleman played chicken, lost in a walk-off
I really don't want to write about Jim Riggleman. First, he doesn't deserve it, considering his actions yesterday; resigning only moments after the Nationals organization hit a peak after sweeping the Seattle Mariners and moving over .500. Second, he ruined my Thursday night because as a Nationals blogger I tend to have to keep on top of these sorts of news stories and it kept me from spending time with my daughter and eating out at Wayside Chicken. I love Wayside Chicken. However, I...

Knorr says he hasn't been contacted for Nats' skipper post

Knorr says he hasn't been contacted for Nats' skipper post
Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs manager Randy Knorr told MASNsports.com that he has not been contacted about the position vacated when Nationals manager Jim Riggleman resigned after Thursday's victory over Seattle. The Nationals are very high on Knorr as a manager within their system. He has moved up from Single-A Potomac to Double-A Harrisburg and now to the Chiefs in the past three seasons. It is his sixth season as manager in the Washington organization. Knorr was the Nationals' bullpen coach...

Riggleman's agent: Rizzo would not discuss extension

Riggleman's agent: Rizzo would not discuss extension
In a stunning end to the Washington Nationals' best homestand this season, Jim Riggleman announced his resignation as manager following Thursday's victory over the Seattle Mariners. Riggleman's agent, Burton Rocks, said his client had wanted to talk for some time with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo about a contract extension, but never was granted a meeting. "What set (Riggleman) off was all he wanted was a personal meeting with Rizzo to talk about the contract," Rocks said....

Statement from Mike Rizzo regarding Jim Riggleman's resignation

Statement from Mike Rizzo regarding Jim Riggleman's resignation
The Washington Nationals have announced the resignation of Manager Jim Riggleman effective immediately after today's 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. "I learned of Jim's decision just prior to today's game. He told me that unless his current contract was extended for another season by the end of today's game he intended to immediately resign as manager and would not be accompanying the team on the scheduled road trip to play the Chicago White Sox. "I believe, and I told Jim,...

Drew Kinback: Reeling from Rizzo's rope-a-dope

Drew Kinback: Reeling from Rizzo's rope-a-dope
The greatest sporting event I never witnessed took place on Oct. 30, 1974 in the Mai 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was a title bout for the boxing heavyweight championship of the world. It pitted champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali. Labeled "The Rumble In The Jungle," the match went on to become one of the most legendary sporting events in history - and I missed it. Foreman was the supposed favorite. He was bigger and younger than Ali and from what they say,...

Auburn catcher Nieto off to hot start

Auburn catcher Nieto off to hot start
Something has clicked for short season Single-A Auburn Doubledays catcher Adrian Nieto in the first week of the 2011 new season. The 21-year old Cuban backstop struggled last season for Single-A Hagerstown Suns, batting .195 with 44 strikeouts in 60 games. But Nieto came out of the blocks swinging a hot bat this campaign, grabbing attention in the Doubledays' first game last Friday. Nieto went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. He went 0-for-2 in his second game but has gone 5-for-12 the...

Kimball shut down; Ankiel may go to Florida to rehab

Kimball shut down; Ankiel may go to Florida to rehab
Nationals manager Jim Riggleman updated the status of reliever Cole Kimball. Kimball is still feeling pain in his shoulder after throwing light sessions over the weekend. The medical staff has decided to shut him down for two weeks. Kimball has been on the disabled list since June 10 and had been making fairly good progress. "He is not feeling as good as he should be at this point," said Riggleman. Outfielder Rick Ankiel will not go with the team on their road trip to Chicago this...

Free tickets!

Free tickets!
Don't worry, Nationals fans. I wouldn't create such a tantalizing headline without actually meaning it. Thanks to Venga, the mobile application that gives subscribers the scoop on what's happening at bars, restaurants and nightlife venues around you, fans will have a chance to win tickets to the Nationals' doubleheader against Pittsburgh on July 2. Claiming the tickets couldn't be easier. Simply follow Venga on Twitter (@GoVenga) and tweet that you want to go to the game. It's that...