Big-game Lannan comes through again (Porter reportedly named Astros manager)

Big-game Lannan comes through again (Porter reportedly named Astros manager)
PHILADELPHIA - In the vast majority of John Lannan's seven career starts at Citizens Bank Park prior to tonight, he'd gotten into trouble and had a hard time working his way clear of it. That wasn't the case tonight. Lannan went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, and improved to 4-0 on the season in the process. "I've always come in and always thought I've pitched well (in Philadelphia), but some stuff didn't go my way," Lannan said. "But tonight, I told myself I wasn't...

Werth discusses his big hit and his fake-out ball toss

Werth discusses his big hit and his fake-out ball toss
PHILADELPHIA - The momentum had completely swung in the Phillies' favor. They had cut the Nationals' lead from five all the way down to one after eight innings. Despite only being about half-full by the time the top of the ninth rolled around, Citizens Bank Park was starting to rock again. Then, as Jayson Werth stepped to the plate to a chorus of boos, he delivered a monster base hit to center, scoring two runs and all but putting the game out of reach. The Nats went on to win 8-4, cutting...

Postgame chatter from Werth, Desmond, Zimmerman

Postgame chatter from Werth, Desmond, Zimmerman
The baseball gods might have known they gave the Brewers a break yesterday when the Nationals lost two fly balls in the sun, both of which turned into Milwaukee runs. Today, it was the Nats that got the benefit of a sun-aided hit, which came when Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez lost track of a Jayson Werth fly ball in the fourth inning. Had Gomez made the catch, the inning would have ended. Instead, the Nats took advantage, scoring five runs from that play on before the fifth inning...

The sun monster strikes again (Nats win 12-2)

The sun monster strikes again (Nats win 12-2)
The Nationals lost two fly balls in the sun yesterday afternoon, helping the Brewers pick up a 6-2 win at Nats Park. After the game, Bryce Harper said that the "sun monster" got the best of the Nats. Apparently, the sun monster doesn't discriminate, though. It's attacked the Brewers today. With the Nats leading 2-1 today with two outs in the fourth and runners at the corners, Jayson Werth lifted a lazy fly ball to center. Brewers center field Carlos Gomez had plenty of time to track the...

Blinded by the light, Nationals outfielders must figure out how to block out the sun

Blinded by the light, Nationals outfielders must figure out how to block out the sun
It was an uneven defensive performance for the Nationals Sunday, as they committed two errors and lost two fly balls in the sun in a 6-2 loss to Milwaukee. Outfielders Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth each lost fly balls in the sun. The fly balls dropped to the ground in front of them for base hits. Harper said it was tough to see the ball as the afternoon sun moved through the sky. "You can't catch what you can't see," Harper said. "Nothing you can do about it. The sun monster got me and...

Knorr believes Nationals' team chemistry key component to postseason drive

Knorr believes Nationals' team chemistry key component to postseason drive
Team chemistry in baseball can be an undervalued commodity. Take the Los Angeles Dodgers. They can pretty much put an All-Star lineup on the field every night. Players like Shane Victorino, Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez. You look down that Dodgers lineup and gasp. It is filled with on-base guys, home run hitters, powerful pitchers and battle-tested postseason players. But the one thing this talented crew does not possess? It has not worked together from spring training,...

The Davey Johnson effect

The Davey Johnson effect
The last time Davey Johnson managed a playoff team, the year was 1997 and he was in Baltimore. Johnson led the Orioles to a 98-win season and a spot in the American League Championship Series. He was named AL Manager of the Year after that season, and then, due to a disagreement with ownership, was promptly was out of a job the same day that he was given the award. Fifteen years later, Johnson again has managed his team to the postseason and again finds himself in the Manager of the Year...

Nats celebrate, "but the next one will not be as subdued"

Nats celebrate, "but the next one will not be as subdued"
The Nationals have been talking for the last couple weeks about how they didn't have their eyes set on a mere playoff berth. Loftier goals were ahead, they said, like the NL East title. Once they clinched a wild card spot tonight, they weren't about to get too caught up in this moment. After all, as Ian Desmond noted tonight, "This pretty much means that if we lose every game from here on out, we get to play one more game." Still, the Nats couldn't help but pop open a little champagne...

A taste of what's to come

A taste of what's to come
ATLANTA - Most of the Nationals beat writers covering last night's game at Turner Field felt that there was a bit of a playoff vibe surrounding the division battle between the Nats and Braves. The pitching was excellent, the game was tight, the crowd was large and rockin', and the game ended in dramatic fashion. Not all the guys in the Nationals' clubhouse agreed with our line of thinking. Some brushed off the idea that last night's game had a postseason feel to it, saying that it was...

Clubhouse quotes from Desmond, Werth, Bernadina

Clubhouse quotes from Desmond, Werth, Bernadina
ATLANTA - Think the Nationals were emotionally beat-up after being on the losing end of a 2-1 walk-off loss to their chief division opponent? Think again. They'll be just fine. "No one in here is hanging their head," Ian Desmond said afterwards. "More scratching their head than hanging their head, I guess." "It's just one of those days, one of those games," Jayson Werth said. "You can't really hang your head too much. It was a tight game. Both teams battled, and they were able to...

Who's your most surprising National?

Who's your most surprising National?
As Ian Desmond's 23rd homer of the season sailed over the fence last night at Citi Field, I thought to myself, "Self, there's no way you could've seen this coming." Desmond hit .253 with eight home runs and a .656 OPS last season. Anyone that says they expected the Nationals' shortstop to be batting .295 with 23 homers and a .854 OPS and to have a suddenly near-flawless glove this season is lying to themselves. Given what he's done this season, Desmond is a sure candidate for the most...

The end is in sight

The end is in sight
Another night, another couple games are cut off of the Nationals' magic number. The magic number to clinch the division is now down to 13 after last night's Nats win and another Braves loss. In addition, the Dodgers lost last night, cutting the Nationals' magic number to clinch a playoff spot to seven. The Nats' lead in the NL East is up to 7 1/2 games, meaning the worst-case scenario has them leaving their three-game weekend series in Atlanta still up 3 1/2 games. After a long road...

Zimmermann not at his sharpest (Nats win 5-3)

Zimmermann not at his sharpest (Nats win 5-3)
For the second straight night, a Nationals starter is getting the job done against the Mets despite having some command issues. Last night, Gio Gonzalez walked five and was frustrated by his inability to locate his pitches, but he still worked six innings and allowed just a single run. Tonight, Jordan Zimmermann has walked three through four innings and has needed 83 pitches to get to this point, but he's thrown four scoreless frames. The Nats lead the Mets 1-0 thanks to Ryan Zimmerman's...

Hitting the road and going for gold

Hitting the road and going for gold
Of course, the Nationals were disappointed they couldn't pick up a win yesterday to close out their homestand on a positive note and stay even with the Braves, who won in 10 innings to cut the gap in the National League East to 5 1/2 games. The postgame frustration didn't linger too long, however. As the Nats packed up for a six-game road trip and put their 8-0 defeat behind them, they commenced with their annual rookie hazing, giving the veterans a chance to get a few laughs at their...

Nats get nada off Nolasco

Nats get nada off Nolasco
You'd think that when a team faces a starting pitcher twice in a 13-day span that they'd have a pretty good idea what was coming the second time around, wouldn't you? "Yeah, you would think," Adam LaRoche said. That didn't help the Nationals against Ricky Nolasco. The Marlins right-hander, who came into today with a 4.64 ERA this season, shut out the Nationals back on Aug. 28, and he did the same thing this afternoon, giving up just four hits over nine strong innings. "He did the...

A weird finish to a long day at Nationals Park

A weird finish to a long day at Nationals Park
When the word finally came down from the umpires that Saturday's game would resume after what wound up being a rain delay of 2 hours, 33 minutes, Nationals manager Davey Johnson noticed a spring in the steps of everyone in the clubhouse. Never mind that the Nationals were three outs away from absorbing a loss to the Miami Marlins on a day when it was announced that their ace, Stephen Strasburg, was done for the season. Never mind that the deluge interrupted whatever momentum Washington had...

Johnson: "We don't start things, but we're not going to completely back down"

Johnson: "We don't start things, but we're not going to completely back down"
There was a baseball game played tonight at Nationals Park, but as you might guess, the Nats' 9-2 victory over the Cubs wasn't what Davey Johnson spent the vast majority of his postgame press conference discussing. There were two bench-clearing incidents tonight, one in the bottom of the fifth inning and then another in the bottom of the sixth. The action all started when Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk began shouting at Nats third base coach Bo Porter, upset that the Nationals still had their...

Werth back in lineup, Zimmermann seeking first win since Aug. 9

Werth back in lineup, Zimmermann seeking first win since Aug. 9
After being given Wednesday off, Jayson Werth is back in the Nationals' lineup, leading off tonight's series finale against the Cubs. Jordan Zimmermann is taking the mound, as the Nats shoot for their fifth straight victory. Zimmermann, however, hasn't had the decisions going his way of late. He's been stuck on nine wins since Aug. 9, going 0-2 with a 7.91 ERA over his last four starts. Perhaps he gets on track tonight. For the Nationals: RF Jayson Werth CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan...

Hitting catching up with pitching, helping Nationals win again

Hitting catching up with pitching, helping Nationals win again
Starting pitching carried the Nationals for most of the first half of the season, but if this team is going to go far in the postseason, the offense will have to also carry a heavy load. On Tuesday, they looked like they could carry that burden with ease. The Nationals tied a team record with six homers in one game, two from Adam LaRoche, and cruised past the overmatched Chicago Cubs 11-5. "It feels good," LaRoche said. "On top of that, having guys surrounding us in the lineup, the way...

Various odds and ends involving Harper, Morse, Lannan

Various odds and ends involving Harper, Morse, Lannan
Bryce Harper's getting a rare day off today, but it's not due to anything injury-related, manager Davey Johnson said this afternoon. With the Nationals facing a lefty starter, Johnson figured this was a good time to rest one of his normal left-handed-hitting position players. It was either going to be Harper or Adam LaRoche, and Harper ends up being the one who will take a seat today. Johnson said he wants to get his rookie outfielder a bit of a breather while also allowing guys who...