Johnson discusses 2-1 win and a potential change to Nats rotation

Johnson discusses 2-1 win and a potential change to Nats rotation
Ross Ohlendorf improved to 3-0 on the season with today's 2-1 Nationals win, this after the veteran righty allowed just one run over five-plus innings, lowering his ERA to 2.49. What did it get him? Well, it might have gotten him knocked from the Nats rotation. Tough crowd. Ohlendorf was pulled by manager Davey Johnson just one batter into the sixth inning tonight, having thrown only 78 pitches. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Christian Yelich in the sixth, and then saw Johnson emerge...

Johnson admits Nats need left-handed specialist going forward

Johnson admits Nats need left-handed specialist going forward
The Nationals were hoping that left-hander Zach Duke and right-handed relievers that could get left-handed hitters out would be the answer to the southpaw specialist role in the 2013 bullpen. Things did not turn out the way the team had hoped, at least with 32 games remaining. It is an issue that manager Davey Johnson believes will need to be addressed. He said it is a top concern going forward. "Not having the left-handed presence that we had last year," Johnson said when asked what...

Detwiler probably won't return this season, plus Harper and Werth notes

Detwiler probably won't return this season, plus Harper and Werth notes
Ross Detwiler hasn't pitched in a game since July 3, and it appears unlikely that he'll be back on a mound in a big league game again the rest of this season. Detwiler has been out more than seven weeks with a herniated disc in his back, and while the left-hander was back out at Nationals Park running with resistance bands around his waist and doing drills this afternoon, manager Davey Johnson said that Detwiler probably won't have enough time to work back up to the majors before the season...

Patrick Reddington: It's just not Strasburg's year

Patrick Reddington: It's just not Strasburg's year
It's just not Stephen Strasburg's year. It was supposed to be, but it's not. Strasburg was efficient Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. He was pounding the zone. He was striking batters out, with eight Ks. He was inducing ground balls, with eight groundouts. He had seven scoreless innings on 86 pitches. He gave up a leadoff home run by Brian Bogusevic on the first pitch of the eighth. That ended Strasburg's bid for a shutout, but he got the next three outs on 10 pitches to finish the...

Johnson discusses Nats' 5-4, 13-inning win

Johnson discusses Nats' 5-4, 13-inning win
CHICAGO - Chad Tracy joined MASN's Julie Alexandria for a walk-off interview on the field at Wrigley after today's 5-4, 13-inning win. Tracy's 50-foot swinging bunt RBI groundout ended up bringing in the game-winning run, so he was tabbed as the guy to get the questions on the field. "I know he was on the after-game show as the hero. But we gotta do better than that!" manager Davey Johnson said with a laugh. It was yet another wild win for the Nationals today, the second straight day...

Updates on Desmond, Haren and a funny clip from last night (we're under way)

Updates on Desmond, Haren and a funny clip from last night (we're under way)
CHICAGO - After three straight gorgeous days in Chicago, the rain has hit Wrigley Field this afternoon. The tarp is on the field with about a half-hour to go until the scheduled time for first-pitch, and the radar isn't looking good for the next couple hours. We might be here for a while. Ian Desmond is out of the Nationals' starting lineup today due to a tight back that he first felt during batting practice yesterday. Desmond said last night that he hoped to be in the lineup for this...

DeJesus claimed off revocable trade waivers

DeJesus claimed off revocable trade waivers
CHICAGO - David DeJesus' wild week continues. Hours after being acquired by the Nationals in a trade with the Cubs on Monday, DeJesus was placed back on revocable trade waivers by the Nats. Today, DeJesus heard multiple reports that he'd been claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Nationals have three options when it comes to DeJesus now that he's been claimed: They can pull him back off waivers and keep him, which would leave them on the hook for the $2.5 million still owed to...

Johnson recaps Nats' 11-6 win

Johnson recaps Nats' 11-6 win
CHICAGO - The self-deprecating one-liners from Davey Johnson in relation to the Nationals' offense keep on coming. "Eleven runs? You'd think it's Christmas!" Johnson quipped after tonight's 11-6 Nats win over the Cubs. The Nationals jumped out on top of the Cubs 6-1 tonight, only to see their hosts even things up with a five-run fifth inning. Ross Ohlendorf - making his first start back off the disabled list - gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo, and Illinois native Tanner Roark...

On Espinosa and a possible September call-up (plus Roark note)

On Espinosa and a possible September call-up (plus Roark note)
CHICAGO - When the Nationals optioned Danny Espinosa to Triple-A Syracuse in mid-June, they certainly hoped that the struggling second baseman would be able to get on track in the minors and then come back up to help the big league club in some capacity this season. At this point, however, it's not looking likely that we'll see Espinosa in the majors the rest of this year. Manager Davey Johnson seemed to indicate today that Espinosa's chances of being among the Nats' September call-ups...

Johnson, Desmond and Span talk missed chances, clutch hits late in 4-2 win

Johnson, Desmond and Span talk missed chances, clutch hits late in 4-2 win
CHICAGO - It's easy to chuckle about the fact that the Nationals put 21 runners on base and scored just four runs now that tonight's 4-2 win is in the books. Had the end result been different, Davey Johnson and the guys in the Nats clubhouse wouldn't have been laughing. The Nats had 14 hits and drew seven walks off Cubs pitching tonight. But somehow, entering the ninth inning, they still had put just two runs up on the scoreboard. They got two big insurance runs in the ninth on RBI...

Pregame notes on Moore, Storen, Harper

Pregame notes on Moore, Storen, Harper
CHICAGO - Adam LaRoche is making the most of his day off today, as the first baseman spent part of batting practice getting some ground balls at shortstop, rotating in with Ian Desmond. LaRoche was casually scooping grounders with his first baseman's mitt and then whipping the ball across the diamond to first. It's a bit weird seeing a left-hander on the left side of the infield, I'll tell you that. The day off for LaRoche comes as a result of Davey Johnson wanting to get Tyler Moore into...

Source: Strasburg, Johnson won't be suspended for Atlanta incident

Source: Strasburg, Johnson won't be suspended for Atlanta incident
According to a Major League Baseball source, neither right-hander Stephen Strasburg nor manager Davey Johnson will be suspended for Saturday's incident in Atlanta during which the Nationals starting pitcher hit Justin Upton with a first-inning pitch and later threw behind Andrelton Simmons, earning ejections for both himself and Johnson. After Strasburg drilled Upton with a first-pitch fastball in the first inning, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson warned both benches that any further...

Already reaching one 2012 mark

Already reaching one 2012 mark
CHICAGO - I failed to mention this here on the blog last night, but if you're able to stomach a depressing stat, I've got one for you. Last night's loss marked the 64th defeat for the Nationals this season. That evens their number of losses from all of 2012. In other words, in order for the Nats to match their record from last season, they'll need to go 38-0 the rest of the regular season. I'm no Major League Baseball scout. I'm no mathematician. Neither of those roles would suit me...

Johnson discusses Nats' 11-1 loss

Johnson discusses Nats' 11-1 loss
CHICAGO - Coming into today, the Cubs had only scored 10 or more runs once this entire season. They had scored one run or fewer in four of their last six games. They put up 11 on Jordan Zimmermann and company tonight. The Cubs had nine hits today, five of which left the ballpark. Three of those longballs came off Zimmermann, who worked just five innings and allowed a season-high eight runs, falling to 14-7 on the season with the loss. "Zim left the ball up. This is a ballpark, you leave the...

Rizzo and Johnson discuss DeJesus addition and Bernadina release

Rizzo and Johnson discuss DeJesus addition and Bernadina release
CHICAGO - The Nationals came into this year feeling like they had a solid, well-rounded bench, based largely upon what guys like Roger Bernadina, Chad Tracy, Tyler Moore and Steve Lombardozzi had done in 2012. After watching those guys struggle for much of this season, however, the Nats made another deal with the Cubs to add a bench player today (their second such deal with Chicago in six weeks), acquiring veteran outfielder David DeJesus for a player to be named later. The move led to the...

Breaking down the head-to-head beatdown

Breaking down the head-to-head beatdown
CHICAGO - Why do I have a feeling the Nationals are plenty happy to be out of Atlanta and done with trips to Turner Field for the rest of the season? The Braves have absolutely dominated the Nats this season, and if that wasn't already evident just by watching the games, you can look down at the game logs and see that yesterday's 2-1 Braves win boosts their record in the season series between these teams to 12-4. Yeah, that would qualify as domination. The strange thing, however, is that...

Johnson discusses Nats' 2-1 loss to Braves

Johnson discusses Nats' 2-1 loss to Braves
ATLANTA - In many ways, today's 2-1 Nationals loss was a microcosm of their season to this point. The Nats got pretty solid starting pitching, as Gio Gonzalez allowed two runs over seven innings. They gave themselves chances to do damage offensively, putting 12 runners on base and getting 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position. And yet, they drove in a single run and ended up on the losing end of another tight ballgame. The Nats couldn't capitalize on putting the first two runners on...

Johnson and Knorr discuss Nats' 15-inning win

Johnson and Knorr discuss Nats' 15-inning win
ATLANTA - Anything to discuss after this one tonight? Pretty boring night of baseball, eh? The Nationals didn't just beat the Braves 8-7 in 15 innings tonight. They outlasted them. Neither starting pitcher tonight went more than two innings. Stephen Strasburg hit Justin Upton in the first and then was ejected in the second for throwing behind Andrelton Simmons. The Nats blew a 6-2 lead and then saw their two-run advantage in the ninth disappear when Rafael Soriano surrendered a two-out,...

Tyler Moore: "I'm very confident in myself. I just want to help this team"

Tyler Moore: "I'm very confident in myself. I just want to help this team"
ATLANTA - It'd be pretty tough to argue that Tyler Moore didn't earn his promotion back to the big leagues. After getting optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on July 8 following another tough stretch with the Nationals, Moore caught fire. He hit .367/.442/.664 over 33 games, with eight home runs, 12 doubles and 38 RBIs. During that stretch, Moore walked 18 times compared to 24 walks, a very impressive ratio for a power hitter. This comes after Moore struggled mightily with the Nats this season,...

Harper scratched with triceps bruise, plus retaliation talk

Harper scratched with triceps bruise, plus retaliation talk
ATLANTA - Bryce Harper was originally written into the Nationals lineup as their leadoff hitter and center fielder. That has since changed. Harper has been scratched from today's lineup due to a bruised left triceps, suffered last night when he was hit by a 91 mph fastball from Braves left-hander Luis Avilan. Harper had a bandage on the triceps after last night's game, and while he intended to start today, that won't end up happening. Manager Davey Johnson went to Harper at around 2:30...