Stephen Strasburg can breathe a little easier now. With a 6-2 victory against the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, Strasburg garnered his second victory of the season, his first since opening day on April 1. The Washington starter worked eight innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out four. This was the first time in Strasburg’s major league career that he pitched in the e ...

Adam LaRoche  could be on the verge of  ending  a season-opening slump. Over the last 20  plate appearances LaRoche is reach base 14 times.  Those are nearly Hall of Fame numbers coming from where he has been. Even with the recent uptick in offensive production LaRoche is  still hitting just .196/ .291/ .314  with a grand total of three home runs and 10 RBI. La Roche suffered through an 0 for 26 slump  with ...

Dan Haren gave the Washington Nationals  the kind of performance they were expecting when they signed the veteran right-hander to a free-agent deal this off-season. Haren  tossed eight solid innings and Denard Span  had a two run double to lead the Nats  over the Atlanta Braves 3-1. Haren allowed four hits and one run to go along with four strikeouts and one walk. "He's a consummate pitcher," Washington man ...

Bryce Harper won't turn 21 years-old until his season is coming to an end. He has the upside of being the next Ken Griffey Jr. and is already a middle of the lineup bat and a five tool player. In other words, he is the offensive version of fellow teammate, Stephen Strasburg. Both will be perennial all-stars if they play healthy and both may be the best at what they do for the next decade. Last season, the N ...

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman will play two rehab games at class a Potomac on Tuesday and Wednesday and barring any  unforeseen setbacks will rejoin the team on Friday. "Unless happens between now and Thursday,” Zimmerman said, he will be playing again Friday. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since last  weekend with a hamstring strain.  The plan calls for Zimmerman to take two at ...

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson didn't think that ace Stephen Strasburg looked quite right in his start against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night. Strasburg gave up two runs and six hits, while walking four and striking out eight. "His command was way off, so I knew something was off," Johnson said. After an examination by doctors  as it turns out Johnson was correct. "I think he's got a little ...

Washington Nationals  right-hander Jordan Zimmermann struck out four, walked one, completed his first career shutout and limited the Reds to just one hit for the second straight game to beat  Cincinnati 1-0. Washington won Thursday night when Gio Gonzalez pitched eight  strong innings in an 8-1 victory. After watching Gonzalez the night before Zimmermann had a game plan for the Reds. They were swinging earl ...

Ryan Zimmerman's latest injury consists of a hamstring strain but the DL stint presents an opportunity for Washington's top prospect. At 22-years-old, Anthony Rendon is being relied on as the full-time replacement at the hot corner for Zimmerman, the cornerstone veteran of the team. Rendon delivered his first career RBI in his sixth career at bat, punching a double on Monday against the Cardinals. Rendon ha ...

Stephen Strasburg tossed 80 pitches over seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out three and Bryce Harper hit home runs in his first two at-bats to lead the Washington Nationals to a 2-0  opening-day win over the Miami Marlins.  Tyler Clippard earned a hold in the eighth-inning and Rafael Soriano earned his first save as a member of the Nats  in a 1-2-3 ninth-inning. Harper  starting in his first ...

Would the Washington Nationals have won the franchise's first World Series title in 2012 if ace Stephen Strasburg was not shut down for the season before the playoffs arrived? That is a subject for debate that will remain vibrant in D.C. for decades, and it is a question without a definitive answer. The Nationals captured the National League East title but then fell to St. Louis, 3-2, in the NLDS. The Natio ...

Gio Gonzalez  followed Alex Rodriguez in denying the report published this morning by the Miami New Times  that linked the Washington Nationals left-hander to a Miami-based clinic that reportedly supplied performance-enhancing drugs major league players. Gonzalez, 27, went 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA last season, his first with the Nationals after being acquired from the Athletics last winter. He signed a five-yea ...

Even after last offseason's trade that sent catcher Derek Norris, and pitchers Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole to Oakland for left-hander Gio Gonzalez, the Washington Nationals  farm system remained well-stocked, and it remains that way as the 2013 campaign nears. With Stephen Strasburg shut down on an innings limit in his first season on the mound after Tommy John surgery, the Nationals fell to St ...

Ninety eight wins. Only four teams have won 98 games or more since Opening Day in 2006. None of those teams did it two years in a row. The Washington Nationals are the newest potential juggernaut and a perfect storm is forming for "Natitude" to be around for awhile. With players like: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa just getting their careers underway and already contributing ...

When the Washington Nationals re-signed first baseman Adam LaRoche, it was assumed that it would only be a matter of time before the Nats traded Michael Morse. Today the Nationals sent Morse to the Seattle Mariners in a three-team trade involving the Oakland A's. In the deal Morse goes to the Mariners, right-handed pitching prospect A.J. Cole is headed to Washington from Oakland, and the Mariners sent catch ...