Nats can't solve Hamels, fall to Phillies 4-1

Nats can't solve Hamels, fall to Phillies 4-1
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have won 10 series this season. They still only have one sweep, and that was of the two-game variety. For the ninth time this season, the Nationals entered a series finale with a chance to earn a sweep and came up short. They lost to the Phillies 4-1, with Cole Hamels again cruising through an outing against Nats hitters. He held them scoreless over eight innings, allowing just four hits and three walks and striking out eight. The Nats had chances, but Hamels was...

No hits for Nats through five (a blown chance in the sixth)

No hits for Nats through five (a blown chance in the sixth)
PHILADELPHIA - While Cole Hamels' actual outing against the Nationals back on May 6 might have gotten overlooked because of the Bryce Harper plunking, the Phillies lefty dominated Nats' hitters that day, allowing just one run and five hits over eight innings. Hamels has continued that dominance tonight. The Nats have yet to record a hit off Hamels through five innings, and they've been set down on strikes five times. Hamels has walked three Nats, but the scoreboard at Citizens Bank Park...

Strasburg feels "great", Johnson expects no Hamels/Harper carryover

Strasburg feels "great", Johnson expects no Hamels/Harper carryover
PHILADELPHIA - Stephen Stasburg threw a bullpen session earlier today at Citizens Bank Park, and all went well. The Nationals' ace felt no effects from his last outing, in which he was pulled after five innings due to fatigue, and said he felt "great" during today's mound session. He will make his next planned start, this Saturday against the Braves. Strasburg thinks that if he wasn't coming back off Tommy John surgery, he would've been allowed to stay in the game on Sunday, even after...

Zimmerman back in Nats lineup

Zimmerman back in Nats lineup
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have a two-game sweep over the Marlins, but have yet to register a three-game sweep this season. They've got yet another shot tonight. Ryan Zimmerman, who sat out last night with shoulder soreness, returns to the Nationals lineup, playing third base. Here are the lineups for tonight's game: For the Nationals: 2B Danny Espinosa RF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond CF Rick Ankiel LF Xavier Nady C Jesus Flores P Edwin Jackson For the...

Munching on a few mid-afternoon stats

Munching on a few mid-afternoon stats
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals will go for the sweep of the Phillies tonight when Edwin Jackson opposes Cole Hamels, but even before tonight's game, Washington has already locked up another series win, its 10th of the season. Of those 10 series wins, six have come on the road. How much better is this Nats team on the road than the 2011 version? Last season, the Nats didn't earn their sixth road series win until Sept. 12-14 when they swept the Mets. With last night's win, the Nats matched...

Harper shows not just skill, but smarts

Harper shows not just skill, but smarts
PHILADELPHIA - Cole Hamels will take the hill for the Phillies in the series finale against the Nationals later tonight. I'm pretty sure if Hamels hits anyone this time, he'll remember to say the pitch just got away from him. Just a hunch. We all know about Bryce Harper's immense skill and the intensity with which he plays the game. Those are aspects the phenom brings to the table which can't be ignored. But last night, Harper showed us a less-talked-about part of his overall repertoire...

Final notes, quotes from Johnson, Zimmermann, Desmond

Final notes, quotes from Johnson, Zimmermann, Desmond
PHILADELPHIA - Roy Halladay had gone 11-0 in his last 13 starts against the Nationals/Expos prior to tonight. Jordan Zimmermann entered tonight 0-3 in four career outings against the Phillies. Those scripts got flipped. Davey Johnson likes the line he got from Zimmermann tonight - six innings, seven hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts - but he doesn't like how much of an effort it took the righty to get there. Zimmermann needed 98 pitches to get through five innings and he finished...

For once, Nats smack around Halladay (Nats beat Phillies 5-2)

For once, Nats smack around Halladay (Nats beat Phillies 5-2)
PHILADELPHIA - Roy Halladay normally dominates the Nationals. I mean dominates them. Coming into today, Halladay was 11-0 with a 2.09 ERA in his last 13 starts against Montreal/Washington. Today has been a different story, however. The Nats have struck for five runs and eight hits off Halladay through five innings, and hold a 5-1 lead over the Phillies as we go to the sixth. Halladay allowed four runs in the third inning, two coming on a triple to right-center off the bat of Bryce Harper....

Lombardozzi gets second straight start in left

Lombardozzi gets second straight start in left
PHILADELPHIA - For the second straight day, Steve Lombardozzi will start in left field for the Nationals and will hit out of the leadoff spot. Danny Espinosa again will hit in the six-hole and play second. Jordan Zimmermann gets the ball for the Nats tonight. The righty is 2-4 this season with a 2.58 ERA. This will be the second time Zimmermann has faced the Phils in a span of four starts. He got the loss back on May 6, allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks over six innings. In...

Johnson believes Gonzalez can do more with less

Johnson believes Gonzalez can do more with less
Everyone loves to see the strikeouts. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez had plenty of them Monday in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at a wet Citizens Bank Park. Finishing with nine strikeouts, Gonzalez yo-yoed back over Stephen Strasburg (64), for the team lead, and is now holding onto the major league top spot with 69 punchouts in nine starts. More importantly, Gonzalez tallied another team first: win No. 6 on the season. Plus, the win was against the perennial top seed in the NL East,...

Nats escape with 2-1 win over Phillies

Nats escape with 2-1 win over Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Breathe, Nats fans. Facing a Phillies team which came into tonight having won seven of its last 10, scoring 4.9 runs per game over that span, the Nationals' pitching staff did the trick yet again. But that's not to say it wasn't interesting. Gio Gonzalez pitched six shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing just three hits. Craig Stammen delivered two monster frames in relief, serving as the bridge to the ninth inning. Things then got very tricky (and I mean very...

The Ian and Gio show (plus a Gonzalez strikeout note and more)

The Ian and Gio show (plus a Gonzalez strikeout note and more)
PHILADELPHIA - Ian Desmond has provided the offense. And despite a quickly rising pitch count, Gio Gonzalez has done the job on the mound. The Nationals have a 2-0 lead after four innings thanks to a solo home run and RBI single by Desmond and a really sharp start by Gonzalez, who has struck out eight Phillies hitters. Desmond is now 5-for-8 with four RBIs since being moved into the No. 5 spot in the Nats order. Gonzalez, meanwhile, has needed 76 pitches to get through four innings, but...

Strasburg appears OK, plus other notes from Philly

Strasburg appears OK, plus other notes from Philly
PHILADELPHIA - This is my first time in Citizens Bank Park in a working capacity, and man, this place is nice. The press box is pretty spiffy and the park just has a nice intimate feel to it. I'll stop complimenting a division rival, I promise. For anyone concerned about Stephen Strasburg after yesterday's health scare, you can probably stop worrying. Strasburg was out on the field a bit ago running around playing Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of the Nationals pitchers. He appeared to be...

Catch him if you can: Burns flying in Hagerstown

Catch him if you can: Burns flying in Hagerstown
Outfielder

Hamels suspended five games for plunking Harper

Hamels suspended five games for plunking Harper
What's the price of honesty these days? Five games, apparently. Phillies starter Cole Hamels has been suspended five games for intentionally throwing at Bryce Harper last night. In reality, however, Hamels was suspended not because of his actions, but because he was honest about his actions. If he had denied any wrongdoing, no suspension would have come down. Major League Baseball did not announce any disciplinary action had been taken against Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann, who hit Hamels...

Final thoughts on the Hamels/Harper situation

Final thoughts on the Hamels/Harper situation
I swear, this is my last entry on the Cole Hamels/Bryce Harper plunking and subsequent stealing of home. Well, that is until someone else steps in and tosses more fuel on the fire and makes this an even bigger deal. Hey, it could happen. This story has taken on a life of its own over the last 14 hours or so, after Hamels admitted that he hit Harper on purpose because he wanted to carry on the "old school" way of handling things and then Nationals GM Mike Rizzo called out Hamels, telling the...

Still digesting Werth's injury and a thrilling weekend

Still digesting Werth's injury and a thrilling weekend
Instead of doing another "Clubhouse Cliff Notes" entry, which I plan on posting Monday mornings when the team is coming off a homestand, I decided to put that aside for now. There's just too much to discuss coming out of the Nationals' exciting three-game series with the Phillies this weekend. I'll start with Jayson Werth's wrist injury, which unfortunately will in some ways overshadow all the fantastic baseball we saw over the past three days. Even a good hour after the game last...

Hamels on Harper: "I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it"

Hamels on Harper: "I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it"
These days, you rarely see a pitcher admit that he hit a player on purpose. Fans and media members get all over pitchers when they deny intentionally plunking a hitter, but in reality, there's no reason to come clean about it. All it will get you is a fine and possible suspension. That's why the postgame comments made by Phillies starter Cole Hamels are so surprising. Hamels drilled Bryce Harper in the back with a first-pitch 93 mph fastball in the first inning of today's game. It surely...

Nats lose game, probably lose Werth

Nats lose game, probably lose Werth
The sweep was not to be. Unfortunately for the Nationals, tonight's series finale against the Phillies might not be the only thing they lost. Washington fell to the rival Phillies 9-3 tonight, preventing the team from winning its fifth straight game. But the injury to Jayson Werth, who looked to hurt his left wrist while diving for a ball in the sixth inning, is the bigger story. The Nats might be without their $126 million man for a while, providing another blow to an offense which is...

Nats lineup remains the same in series finale

Nats lineup remains the same in series finale
As promised, Davey Johnson's lineup for Sunday night's game against the Phillies is exactly the same (minus a different starting pitcher) as the one he put up for yesterday afternoon's contest in which the Nationals pounded out 15 hits. If it ain't broke, don't ... Here's how things will look for the Nats tonight: SS Ian Desmond 3B Steve Lombardozzi LF Bryce Harper RF Jayson Werth 1B Chad Tracy 2B Danny Espinosa CF Rick Ankiel C Wilson Ramos P Jordan Zimmermann