The Atlanta Braves are fairly cruising toward a wild-card berth in the upcoming National League playoffs.  They've also been off a few days dealing with the fallout of Hurricane Irene.  So you can imagine if they came in to tonight's game with the Washington Nationals with somewhat of a lack of focus.

The Nats used the long-ball to bust this game open in the middle frames, scoring seven runs in innings five through seven, as they walked away with a 9-2 win over the Braves before just 16,674 at Turner Field in Atlanta.

The Nats, who struggled all last week to score runs of any kind, had a very nice night at the dish, homering four times off Braves starter Jair Jurrjens (L, 13-6, 2.96) and reliever Christhian Martinez.  All told, the Nats pounded out 12 hits and went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position, after leaving what seemed like the population of Rhode Island on base in their now-concluded six-game losing streak.

The middle of the order led the way, as Ryan Zimmerman (3-for-5, 3 RBIs), Michael Morse (3-for-5, 3 RBIs) and Laynce Nix (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) all homered, doing the bulk of the damage.  Danny Espinosa added a solo home run, his 19th of the year, but just his third since the All-Star break.

On the other side of things, "Good Livo" was back.  Veteran hurler Livan Hernandez went seven strong innings, holding the Braves potent attack to two earned runs on just five hits and three walks, striking out one.  Livo even doubled and scored on Zimmerman's fifth inning home run, his 10th of the season.  Tom Gorzelanny came on in relief and threw two hitless, scoreless innings, striking out two.

The win ups the Nats record to 63-70, and while the prospect of reaching the elusive .500 mark is dimming, the final 29 games almost certainly will see them eclipse 73 wins, the second best mark this team has achieved since moving to the District in 2005. 

One more thing: with the New York Mets loss to the Florida Marlins last night, the Nats pull within one game of third place in the division.  It might not mean much, but with Stephen Strasburg set to rejoin the rotation next week, and Tom Milone making his MLB debut Saturday, it's just another step in the right direction.

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THE GOOD:  Ryan Zimmerman.  A breakout game from him, considering he was just four for his last 27 plate appearances with just one walk.

THE BAD:  Rick Ankiel, hitting second, went 0-for-5, lowering his season average to .236.

THE UGLY:  Jesus Flores.  The backup catcher went 0-for-4, striking out three times.

THE STATS:  12 hits, two walks, 10 strikeouts.  4-for-9 w/RISP, four LOB, one GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME:  Wednesday at 7:10 pm against the Braves.  John Lannan (8-10, 3.59) faces Derek Lowe (8-12, 4.63).

With the lightning from passing storms flashing in the skies all around in the distance, the threat of dangerous weather at Nationals Park remained just that.  But the bat of Rick Ankiel provided all the thunder inside the stadium, as he crushed two solo home runs to pace the surging Washington Nationals past Jair Jurrjens and the Atlanta Braves, 5-3.

It was the Nats third straight win, raising their record to 52-56, putting them on a 78-win pace for the season, though they remain in last place in the division.

Ankiel, forced into the leadoff spot due to the Nationals shipping Roger Bernadina to the minors to create roster space for Chien-Ming Wang last Friday, went 2-for-4 to raise his average for the season to .242.  Since returning from the disabled list July 1, Ankiel is hitting .338 with four home runs and ten RBIs in 63 plate appearances.  He's gotten on base at a .396 clip.

Manager Davey Johnson credited Ankiel's recent success to getting a chance to play more often, and his offensive production is a boon to a team that is still ranked at or near the bottom in most offensive categories.

"Ever since he's come back from the disabled list he's swung the bat really good," Johnson said from the winning clubhouse.  "He's giving me a little bit more than what you would expect from a leadoff hitter.  It's nice."

Johnson joked that he doesn't expect Ankiel to "hit forty homers and steal forty bases" like Bobby Bonds famously did hitting leadoff for several teams in the 1970's, but he doesn't mind the power Ankiel's generating right now from the top of the order.

"I don't have a problem with a guy that can drive in runs hitting leadoff," said Johnson, who employed Brady Anderson in that role for the 1996 Baltimore Orioles, the year Anderson hit 50 home runs, 35 of which came in the leadoff spot.  "Typical guys have a high on base percentage but I don't have a problem bunting a guy over [with the pitcher's spot] for somebody that can go deep."

The other story last night was the performance of Livan Hernandez.  He rebounded from a couple of tough outings to turn in a very strong performance, going six innings and allowing just one run, the first of two Dan Uggla home runs on the evening.  Hernandez was economical with his pitches, needing just 81 to get through six innings, and he was in command, throwing 55 of his pitches for strikes.  He did not walk a batter, gave up just six hits and struck out three.

Johnson lauded his veteran hurler.  "He was outstanding.  I love to watch him pitch and he seemed to get stronger as the game went on."  Asked what the change was last night in comparison to recent outings when he couldn't get past the fourth inning, Johnson replied, "He was going after hitters more -- he wasn't pitching around hitters and he had good command.  It was vintage Livo."  He even drove in a run in the second inning, pushing a single to right field that plated Jayson Werth with two outs.

So the Nats have kind of turned things around a little bit.  After losing six in a row, they've reeled off three straight wins, all against division opponents.  The playoffs might be out of reach, but once again they're within shouting distance of .500, just four games back of that elusive mark. 

They have two more games at home with the Braves, a team on pace to win 93 games, before going out on a 10-game, 11-day road trip through Colorado, Chicago and Philadelphia.  That trip would be daunting any time of year, much less during the dog days of August.  It will be yet another interesting test for a team trying to find it's personality.

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THE GOOD:  Subbing for Tyler Clippard, who was unavailable last night, Ryan Mattheus pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout.  He turned the lead over to Drew Storen, who picked up his 27th save of the season, despite allowing Uggla's second home run of the game.

THE BAD:  Storen.  Working his third game in as many days, he gave up a home run for a second consecutive game.  Todd Coffey also allowed a solo home run in one inning pitched.

THE UGLY:  Danny Espinosa.  He went 0-for-4, lowering his batting average to .226.  In fact, Espinosa has now gone 4-of-51 (.078) in his last 13 games and 9-for-73 (.123) in his last 19 games -- all with just two extra base hits and three runs driven in.  He struck out an astounding 34 times in 26 games in July.

THE STATS:  Eight hits, two walks, five strikeouts.  2-for-9 with RISP, five LOB, zero GIDP, three DPs.  E: Espinosa (9).

NEXT GAME:  Tuesday against the Braves at 7:05 pm.  John Lannan (7-7, 3.63) faces Derek Lowe (6-9, 4.52).

NATS NOTES:  After the game, the Nats returned LHP Athualpa Severino to AAA-Syracuse and are expected to recall RHP Collin Balester to serve as a long-man in the Nats pen.  Severino has now been on the active MLB roster twice in his career -- and is still yet to throw his first big league pitch.

For the better part of three hours and fifteen minutes Wednesday night, the Washington Nationals slogged their way to a big deficit to the visiting Florida Marlins.  The veteran starter did not go deep into the game, two usually dependable relievers gave up late runs that at the time looked like padding, and the offense looked as it has all season: befuddled.

But something funny happened on the way to that eventual loss.  The Nats finally showed some life, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth against a little-used reliever that most media in attendance had to look up in their stat service of choice when he entered the game. Unfortunately, the rally fell short, as Laynce Nix - representing the tying run -- flied out to right fielder Mike Stanton with his back against the outfield wall to end the game.

"I thought it was out," manager Davey Johnson said after the game.  So did many of what remained of the 21,974 that came out to see if the Nats could beat a team that traditionally has owned them in the W-L column.  They could not, and the Nats fell for the fourth straight game and sixth time in their last seven games.  Johnson's record since taking over is a regrettable 9-16.

Ultimately, the 7-5 defeat to the Marlins was just another loss.  We won't know if the momentum the team built in the ninth inning rally will even carry over to the next game.  But at least, after almost 3 1/2 hours of pretty lousy baseball, they showed up.

There were many ways this game was lost.  Nats starter Livan Hernandez was ineffective, as he needed 80 pitches to get through four innings.  And when he allowed the first two batters to reach in the fifth, Johnson yanked him.

"Livo used a lot of pitches in four innings. I've never seen him around 80 pitches in four innings. He was close to 90, and I took him out. He is usually in the seventh inning by that time," Johnson commented.  Ross Detwiler was called upon and he allowed one of the inherited runners to come around, but figuring he entered with no outs and runners on the corners, he managed to get out of the inning fairly well.

All told, Hernandez gave up four earned runs on five hits and three walks, striking out five.  This marks the second time in three games that he has pitched just four innings.  Detwiler put a lot of runners on in his two innings of work, but kept the Marlins off the board, which is more than Todd Coffey and Drew Storen could say.

Coffey gave up a solo home run to Mike Cameron (hitting .167 entering play) as Johnson tried to get a second inning out of the hefty reliever, and Storen gave up Cameron's second homer of the game, a blast in the top of the ninth that at the time seemed gratuitous, putting Florida up 7-1. Little did anyone know that it was actually the game-winning hit.

As for the other side of things, the offense again was non-existent up until two outs in the ninth. At that point, a Jerry Hairston single, Ryan Zimmerman ground rule double and Michael Morse ground ball single the opposite way plated four runs off reliever Steve Cishek. But Marlins closer Leo Nunez got Laynce Nix to fall mere feet short of tying the game with what would have been his second home run of the night.  Instead, the ball fell harmlessly into right fielder Mike Stanton's glove to kill the rally.

The loss drops the Nats to 49-54, five games below .500, and honestly, the team looks more like the second half squads of the last few seasons than the plucky team that as late as two weeks ago looked like they would challenge the .500 mark this season.  With another game against Florida, then series against the Mets and Braves in this homestand, if the Nats don't turn things around in a hurry they once again won't be playing any meaningful games in September.

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THE GOOD:  Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with an RBI ground rule double in the ninth inning.

THE BAD:  Jesus Flores went 0-for-4, weakly grounding out twice and striking out.

THE UGLY:  The normally reliable Drew Storen. His name is being floated in trade rumors by national writers and he went out last night and laid a stinker. He recorded the first two outs of the inning easily, but a line drive single to Stanton and Cameron's second shot of the night ended up hurting his team.

THE STATS:  10 hits, four walks, seven strikeouts.  3-for-10 with RISP, nine LOB, one GIDP. E: Hairston (8).

NEXT GAME:  Thursday at 12:35 pm against the Marlins.  John Lannan (7-6, 3.51) hosts Brad Hand (1-3, 2.77).

NATS NOTES:  One night after having a perfect game tossed against them, the Nats Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse tried to turn the tables.  Chiefs starter Brad Peacock took a no-hitter against Columbus into the eighth, but lost his bid to the first batter of the inning, ending the no-hitter and ending his evening.  The Chiefs held on to win 2-0.

Double-A Harrisburg OF Bryce Harper hit his first home run for the Senators, a solo shot that contributed to a 6-3 win over Bowie.

"That was a tough one. I'm going to have a hard time sleeping tonight on that one." Davey Johnson, on surrendering 8-0 lead to lose 10-9.

The Cubs celebrate Blake DeWitt's three-run home run off Livan Hernandez. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

This one hurt.

The Washington Nationals were finally enjoying one of those "laughers" that manager Davey Johnson referred to the other day, scoring eight runs before the fourth inning was over.  But starter Livan Hernandez ran out of gas in a big way in the sixth, reliever Sean Burnett poured gas on the fire when he entered in the seventh, and Henry Rodriguez fanned the flames as he gave up the lead in the eighth and ninth innings.  That's how an 8-0 lead turned into a 10-9 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the finale of the four-game series.

In the grand scheme of things, if someone had told you on your way into the park on Monday that the Nats would take three of four from the Cubs, you would have had to be happy with that.  But with the series all but swept after the bottom of the fourth, this loss will sting for a little while.

The loss drops the Nats to 45-44 heading into a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies this weekend before the much-needed All-Star break.

Things looked real good for the Nats in the third inning, as they batted around and scored seven runs off Cubs starter Matt Garza.  Washington wasn't really pounding the ball, but was finding holes in the Chicago defense with every at bat.  Livo led off with a hard-hit single to right center. Roger Bernadina doubled down the line in right and Livo needed the oxygen when he got to third base.  Danny Espinosa singled to center scoring them both.

Ryan Zimmerman reached on an infield single. Michael Morse lined one to center scoring Espinosa.  Jayson Werth was late on a Garza fastball, but muscled it off the second baseman's glove for an infield hit, scoring Zimmerman.  Carlos Pena couldn't handle Rick Ankiel's hard bouncer to first, one of three errors on the night for the Cubs, and all hands were safe.

Wilson Ramos delivered the big blow, a two-run double to right field, and later Bernadina gathered his second hit of the inning, driving in Ankiel on a flare to left field.  Seven runs, easy peasy.

The Nats even tacked one on in the fourth when Ankiel doubled in Zimmerman, who reached on an error by right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, as a ball landed between him and center fielder Marlon Byrd.

That's when the fun ended for the Nats.

Livo had two down with a man on first in the sixth and had been cruising up to that point.  But four straight hits scored three, and Cubs manager Mike Quade sent left-handed hitting Blake DeWitt up to pinch-hit for his pitcher's spot.  Livo got DeWitt down 1-2, but left one out a little over the plate, and DeWitt turned on it.  The ball hit half-way up the right field foul pole and the 8-0 lead was cut to 8-6 in an instant.

"[Livo] left one out over the plate to DeWitt," Johnson said from a somber clubhouse following the game.  "And that was the big blow as far as I'm concerned. That was the momentum shifter."

"I really felt I had confidence in Livo he could get one guy, I think six or seven guys straight got hits. Even though my bullpen was a little messed up, obviously I went a little long him. Put that one in my corner, I'll take full responsibility for that one."



Livo making the walk of shame. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The next inning, Todd Coffey got Starlin Castro to fly out but he walked Aramis Ramirez, setting up a lefty-lefty situation with Sean Burnett and Carlos Pena.  Pena clobbered the first pitch he got from Burnett for a two-run home run, stunning the crowd.

Johnson was matter of fact describing the play. "[Burnett] made a bad pitch, hung a curveball right in the middle of the plate. [Pena] just crushed it."

The manager was asked if Burnett's struggles this season have him re-thinking how to use the lefty.  "He was going to get some work tonight, but I didn't want it to be that close. I didn't want to get him up in the sixth [to face DeWitt] that early. It called for me to have a left-hander up in the sixth with the pinch-hitter coming up. But I said 'I'm just gonna stay with Livo. Livo'll get me an out."

"I'll have to re-evaluate how I want my left-hander up. I really don't like using Sean in the sixth inning, I try to use him later."  When reminded that in his first home press conference Johnson remarked that he said he'd like to have a second situational lefty in the pen, he started to answer in the affirmative but slid into a discussion more of just being short in the pen for this game with Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard unavailable due to overuse and Ryan Mattheus on an emergency-type basis for last night's game.

Burnett has been okay this season against lefties, holding them to a .224/.304/.347 line, but right-handed batters are killing him with an OPS of .816. His overall ERA of 5.76 is unsightly and his strikeout rate has completely disappeared, going from 8.9 per nine innings last season to a miserable 4.7 this year.

Johnson remarked that he talked to his clubhouse immediately after the game. "I said a few words.  And I'll say a few more. But that one you chalk up to me. I was just trying to save some guys in the bullpen that have been overworked. I thought if [Livo] could just get me through six I could save a bunch of people.  But it didn't work out."

And how.

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THE GOOD:  The Nats scored nine runs on 13 hits.  Bernadina went 3-for-5, and Espinosa and Morse had a pair of hits each. Every starter had at least one hit.

THE BAD:  The bullpen.  All three reliever that pitched gave up earned runs.

THE UGLY:  Matt Stairs. With a runner on third and one out in the ninth inning, trailing by one run and the infield playing in, he popped out to third.

THE STATS:  13 hits, three walks, 10 strikeouts.  7-for-21 with RISP, 10 LOB, zero GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME:  Friday against Colorado Rockies (41-47, 3rd N.L. West)  at 7:05 from Nats Park.  Jason Marquis (7-3, 4.11) faces Jason Hammel (4-8, 4.31)

NATS NOTES:  Pudge Rodriguez was slated to start last night's game, but strained an oblique muscle during pre-game stretching and batting practice.  Johnson showed obvious concern when speaking about Rodriguez with reporters after the game, and mentioned that Rodriguez wanted to avoid the D.L. But the tone of Johnson's voice indicated that the D.L. was a definite possibility.  Rodriguez will be re-evaluated by trainers at the park Friday morning.

Chien-Ming Wang made this third start in his minor league rehab assignment last night, suiting up for Double-A Harrisburg.  Wang pitched five shutout innings for the Senators in a home game against Erie.  He allowed just two hits, walked none and struck out two.  He generated nine ground ball outs and just three fly balls, and according to reports was throwing 90-91 with his fastball.  In three starts, Wang is 1-0 in 12 innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out seven and getting three ground outs per fly out.  His batting average against is a cool .125.

Ryan Zimmerman reaches on an error. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)



Marlon Byrd takes out Espinosa with a hard slide. C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The Shark slides in safe for a run in the third inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Danny Espinosa clubs one of his two hits last night. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Michael Morse delivers for the Nats. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)



VETERAN HURLER TOSSES NINTH CAREER COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT

For much of this season, the Washington Nationals offense has lied dormant, languishing at the bottom of the National League in most categories.  But Tuesday their leader returned and seemed to flip a switch in this team, as an eight-run outburst Tuesday night gave way to a 15-hit, four homer, 10-0 shellacking of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, before 27,130 at jubilant Nationals Park.

The Nats winning streak reaches five games, the longest since August 2009, and inches them one step closer to the elusive .500 mark at 32-36.  The Cardinals, who came into the game tied for the lead in the N.L. Central, have lost five straight.

Not to be forgotten in the offensive fireworks, veteran starter Livan Hernandez pitched his finest game of the season: a complete game, three-hit shutout of the N.L.'s leading hitting team.  Livo did not walk a batter and struck out six.  In fact, Hernandez lowered his ERA to 3.77, earning his fourth win against eight losses.  He allowed just one batter to reach as far as second all night.

Often the hard luck loser this year, Livo had all the runs he needed last night.  The complete game was his 50th of his career and ninth complete game shutout.

Washington got to Cardinals starter Kyle McClellan in the second, when Michael Morse hit his 11th home run of the season.  That was just the beginning, though, as Ryan Zimmerman drove in his second run since rejoining the team Tuesday with a single up the middle that plated Jayson Werth in the third.

Things turned ugly for McClellan (L, 6-3), making his first start since being activated from the D.L., in the fourth inning.  Morse and Danny Espinosa both doubled to start off the inning, and Ivan Rodriguez singled to right, scoring Morse.  After a Livo sacrifice -- from the No. 8 spot in manager Jim Riggleman's order -- Ian Desmond bounced a ball to third that Albert Pujols could not handle, and Espinosa scored.

A batter later, Roger Bernadina continued his hot stretch, dumping a ball into left that Jon Jay couldn't get to, and Pudge came around to cap the three-run frame.

Deposed closer Ryan Franklin relieved McClellan, though Cards manager Tony LaRussa will think twice before calling his name again.  The Nats got one off Franklin in the sixth, as Desmond singled in Pudge from third, once again after Livo had sacrificed the runner up a base.

But that wasn't the end.  In the seventh, Michael Morse hit a colossal two-run shot over the visitor's bullpen and into Section 101, and Espinosa followed on the next at bat, clubbing one off the facing of the upper deck in right field above the Nats bullpen.  It was the first time Nats have gone back-to-back since August 2010 when Morse did the deed with the departed Jason Maxwell.

Jayson Werth, who was the only National position player to go hitless into the eighth inning, corrected that by adding a solo home run to left center as icing on the cake.

All that was left was for Livo to complete the game, and in the ninth he had no trouble at all.  He struck out Tyler Greene and Mark Hamilton, and coaxed a pop-up from Colby Rasmus to Zimmerman to end the game.  Livo needed just 105 pitches to dispatch St. Louis, and after the last was mobbed by his teammates and even received a pie in the face from Thursday's starter and clubhouse prankster John Lannan for his accomplishment.

The Nats have banged out 18 runs and 28 hits in the last two games, an almost inconceivable thought when they were slogging up and down the west coast last week, playing 2-1 games like that was the objective.  Is it mere coincidence this outbreak has happened with the return of the Face of the Franchise?  Entirely possible.  Zimmerman has contributed but one hit a night to the attack. 

But perhaps the entire team -- maybe the whole organization, fans included -- has taken a proverbial sigh of relief just seeing No. 11 back at his customary third base spot, hitting third in the order.

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THE GOOD:  Four players had multi-hit nights, but the star was Michael Morse.  He went 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs, upping his batting average to .312.  Hot streaks don't get much hotter than the one Morse is riding right now.

THE BAD:  The Cardinals defense.  They made three errors, including two by out-of-position Albert Pujols at third base.  LaRussa assumes he's the smartest man in whatever room he's in, but he's out-thinking himself putting Prince Albert in a can over at third.

THE UGLY:  Ryan Franklin.  He was throwing meatballs up there.  Charlie and Dave on the radio remarked how everything Franklin was throwing was right over the heart of the plate, like he wasn't even trying to get guys out.  Guess what?  He didn't get guys out, and he now has an 8.17 ERA this season.

THE STATS:  15 hits, zero walks, three strikeouts.  5-for-10 with RISP, six LOB, two GIDP. No errors, making

NEXT GAME:  Thursday against St. Louis at 7:05 pm from Nats Park.  John Lannan (4-5, 3.60) faces Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.67).

NATS NOTES:  Before the game, the Nats sent ineffective starting pitcher Yunesky Maya back to Syracuse, and recalled frequent flyer reliever Collin Balester back for the pen.  The team is expected to activate LHP Tom Gorzelanny from the D.L. to start Sunday against Baltimore.

The Nats extended their errorless streak to 122 2/3 innings across 13-plus games, extending their franchise record streak.

Roy Halladay continued his dominance of the Washington Nationals. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Through three innings on Monday, traditional roles were reversed. Livan Hernandez was working quickly, efficiently and dominantly, shutting down the Philadelphia Phillies prodigious offense.  On the other hand, defending Cy Young winner Roy Halladay was struggling with his command, throwing a lot of pitches, and had already surrendered two runs to the Washington Nationals on a solo home run and three more hits in the second inning.

But in the third, Livo melted down in the mid-nineties heat and humidity, giving up a three-spot in the frame.  Halladay found enough of his edge, despite allowing two more solo home runs later.  And the surest thing in all of sports was the result: Halladay earning yet another victory over his personal pin-cushion, extending his career record to 11-1 over the Nats with a 5-4 win before 34,789 on Memorial Day in the Nation's Capital.

It was the Nats third loss in a row and eighth out of nine games. They are 4-13 in their last 17 contests, and their overall record sits at 22-31, third worst in all of Major League Baseball.

Michael Morse, Danny Espinosa and Laynce Nix all homered off Halladay, but they were all solo shots.  The only run driven in not via a home run was Livan Hernandez' safety squeeze in the second inning that plated Jerry Hairston.

Halladay (7-3, 2.56) worked out of trouble all day long, but held the Nationals to 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.  His biggest out, though, might have come with his glove.

In the bottom of the seventh, with the Nats trailing 5-4, Alex Cora led off with a bloop double down the right field line and Ian Desmond followed with a beautiful bunt to third base that he beat out for a single, moving Cora to third.  Rick Ankiel tapped an 0-2 fastball back to the mound, and Cora inadvisably broke for home. Halladay fielded the nubber cleanly and tossed to catcher Carlos Ruiz, who worked Cora back toward third before tossing to Placido Polanco to tag Cora for the first out of the inning.

With Desmond now at second and Ankiel at first, Danny Espinosa flied out to right and Jayson Werth struck out.  The Nats would not threaten again.

The Nationals are next to last in the N.L. in total number of base runners, so when they squander opportunities on the base paths like they did in losses Sunday to San Diego and Monday to the Phillies, it's all that much more painful.

The Nats found themselves down in the seventh due to Sean Burnett's failure to do his job once again. Washington entered the frame ahead 4-3 on the strength of those solo homers and the right arm of Livan Hernandez.  The big right-hander managed the Phillies offense most of the day, but finally exhausted his reserve of pitches with one out in the seventh with a runner on first. Burnett entered to face three consecutive lefties, the role that the team envisions him to be a specialist in. He did not find success in that role on Sunday.

Burnett walked Chase Utley after an eight-pitch at bat. The next batter, Ryan Howard, got enough of a 93-MPH sinker to muscle it through the right side of the infield, scoring Polanco from second and moving Utley to third.  Nat-killer Raul Ibanez then drove a Burnett fastball to the track in right, plating Utley and sealing the Nats doom.

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THE GOOD:  The offense worked Halladay for 10 hits and three home runs, but the Phils ace got the big outs when he needed them the most.

THE BAD:  Burnett. That's his fourth blown save and his second loss.  His ERA is 5.59 and he's just not pitching with the same authority as he did earlier this season or last year.

THE UGLY:  Matt Stairs. He grounded out to second in his only at bat, with two outs in the eighth inning and a runner on second.  He's now 3-for-34 this season, and 2-for-23 pinch-hitting.

THE STATS:  10 hits, no walks, seven strikeouts. 1-for-8 with RISP, six LOB, 0 GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME:  Tuesday against the Phillies at 7:05 pm. Jason Marquis (5-2, 4.26) faces Cliff Lee (4-4, 3.50).

Danny Espinosa connects for one of the Nats three solo home runs. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Jayson Werth was out by a mile on a stolen base attempt. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Matt Stairs grounded out his only at bat. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Henry Rodriguez needed 25 pitches to work his way through a scoreless ninth inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

BULLPEN ALLOWS FOUR RUNS IN LATE INNINGS SPURRED BY WALKS

The Washington Nationals seemed to have things going for them last night, as they took a 6-3 lead into the late innings with a rested bullpen.  But as is their way right now, the Nats couldn't seal the deal, and the Milwaukee Brewers scored four runs across the seventh and eighth innings to snatch victory from the Nats, 7-6, before 24,722 at Miller Park.

Washington has lost four in a row, six of seven, and nine of 12.  The loss lowers their overall record to 21-27 and their road record to 10-18.  Milwaukee has won five in a row.

The Nats cruised through the middle innings with a three-run lead.  But Tyler Clippard gave up two runs in the seventh on a massive Rickie Weeks home run after walking veteran light-hitting middle infielder Craig Counsell with one out.  Clippard managed to get through the rest of the inning with a one-run lead intact.

Manager Jim Riggleman called on Sean Burnett to start the eighth, and he did his job, retiring Prince Fielder on a grounder to third.  At that point, Riggleman had his choice of right-handed relievers.  Unfortunately, Riggleman chose Henry Rodriguez instead of Todd Coffey or Drew Storen. 

Rodriguez (L, 1-1, 2.53) immediately allowed a line drive single to Casey McGehee. The fireballer was then able to strike out Mark Kotsay on a 100-MPH fastball for the second out of the inning.  But Rodriguez lost the strike zone, walking pinch-hitter Brandon Boggs, a lifetime .209 hitter -- on four pitches.

The following Jonathan Lucroy soft liner down the right field line that drew chalk was almost predictable.  Two runs scored on the play, and all that was left was for Brewers closer to walk a tightrope after striking out the first three batters of the ninth inning.

Axford K'd Laynce Nix and Roger Bernadina easily to start the ninth.  He should have ended the game with a swinging strikeout of Ian Desmond, but Lucroy couldn't handle the breaking ball in the dirt that Desmond swung through and Desmond hobbled down to first  in obvious discomfort, perhaps a recurance of the quadriceps injury that forced him to sit a game last week. 

Axford then ran into some trouble, as he allowed a looping single to Jayson Werth and walked Wilson Ramos to load the bases for Michael Morse, who in the third inning hit his first career grand slam.  Unfortunately for the Nationals, Axford found his composure and did not allow Morse to be the hero, coaxing a lazy fly ball from the new first baseman to end the game.

The bullpen implosion robbed Livan Hernandez of a win.  The Nats starter pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk, striking out four.

The final game of the series is today at 1:10 pm, pitting Jason Marquis (5-1, 4.08) against Zack Greinke (2-1, 6.43).  The Nats then head home for a six-game homestand.  I'm sure they are looking forward to some home cooking for a little while.

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THE GOOD:  Michael Morse went 3-for-5 with a double and a grand slam, the first of his career.  He's hitting .282 now for the season.

THE BAD:  Roger Bernadina went 0-for-5 out of the leadoff spot, dropping his average to .246.

THE UGLY:  Both late inning rallies were started by walking light hitters.  Craig Counsell and Brandon Boggs shouldn't scare anybody, and neither are threats to hit one out.  But Clippard and Rodriguez couldn't find the strike zone to either of them, allowing more dangerous hitters to come to bat with runners on in the seventh and eighth.

THE STATS:  11 hits, three walks, nine strikeouts.  4-for-11 with RISP, eight LOB, two GIDP.  E: Espinosa (4)

NEXT GAME:  Today at Milwaukee at 1:10 pm.  Jason Marquis (5-1, 4.08) against Zack Greinke (2-1, 6.43)

NATS NOTES:  During the game, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reported 1B Adam LaRoche, placed on the 15-day D.L., was injured more extensively than previous reported.  Not only does he have a large tear in his labrum, LaRoche also has a small tear in his rotator cuff.  LaRoche told Ladson by phone, “Hopefully a miracle happens so we can get it playable. If not, I’m not going to milk it here and hope for the best. If this doesn’t work, I’m pretty sure I’ll make the decision to get it fixed.”

The Washington Nationals have not scored since the seventh inning of Monday's 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The scoreless streak spans three days, 19 innings and two shut out losses to the injury-depleted New York Mets.

Today's three-hit, 1-0 loss to Dillon Gee, Tim Byrdak and Francisco Rodriguez is just the latest example of the Nationals' struggles all season long to muster any sort of offensive production.  This was the seventh time the Nats have been shut out this season, and the loss drops them to 20-23, falling behind the Mets into last place in the N.L. East.

And it's a shame, really, because their own starter, Livan Hernandez, pitched a gem himself.  The veteran gave up just one earned run on seven hits and two walks, striking out seven.  He even broke up Gee's no-hit bid in the sixth with a single up the middle.

On top of their own problems, the Nats had their final rally in the ninth cut off by first base umpire Phil Cuzzi, who called Jayson Werth out at first on a play where Daniel Murphy was clearly pulled off the bag by third baseman Justin Turner's throw.  With two outs, Adam LaRoche's terrible start continued, as he grounded weakly into the shift for the final out of the game, stranding Laynce Nix at third base.

"Look, we put this ballclub together," manager Jim Riggleman said to MASNSports.com after the game.  "There's not other people who are gonna -- waive a magic wand and somebody else is gonna show up.  This is our ballclub, this is what we put together, this is what we have confidence in and we gotta turn it around.  But, let's turn it around yesterday.  This early stuff is nonsense, it's not early."

The frustration in Riggleman's voice and mannerisms on the video were obvious.  And he's absolutely correct in that it's not early anymore.  This team has been able to keep within hailing distance of .500 all season thus far, scraping by offensively while receiving solid starting and usually excellent relief. 

But things have a tendency to snowball, and if the Nats can't find some success this weekend against the Baltimore Orioles, another team with offensive troubles of their own, the season might ultimately fall victim to their lack of production.

It's not early anymore.  If the Nats are going to be respectable this season, they need to find their bats yesterday, just like the manager said.

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THE GOOD:  Livo! His record drops to 3-6, but his ERA is a solid 3.64 after another great job.  Has lost his last two games by identical 1-0 scores.

THE BAD:  3-for-29 with three walks.  That's it.

THE UGLY:  Hate to keep harping on a guy, but Adam LaRoche in the middle of the order is killing this team right now.

THE STATS:  Three hits, three walks, three strikeouts. 0-for-4 with RISP, five LOB, two GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME:  Friday at 7:05 against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Jason Marquis (5-1, 3.54) goes for the Nats. Orioles have not announced a starter as of this posting.

"I got no problems with anybody's approach, the way they're going about it, as long as they keep a positive attitude about it and just keep getting after it the way they are and don't accept it." -- Manager Jim Riggleman, on Nationals' approach at the plate.

Jayson Werth symbolizes the Nationals offensive struggles thus far in 2011. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The Washington Nationals have the lowest batting average and on-base percentage in the National League.  They have struggled all season to score runs, and Saturday's 1-0 loss to the Florida Marlins was no exception.  The Nats were limited to four hits and three walks by Anibal Sanchez and Leo Nunez in another dominating pitching performance against them.

In fact, the Nationals only managed one fly ball out all afternoon; everything else was on the ground, a strike out or an infield pop up.

The loss drop sthe Nats to 18-21, last place in the N.L. East pending the New York Mets result with Houston Saturday night.

The Nats had their chances though, especially in the later innings.  In both the seventh and ninth innings, Jayson Werth led off, got on base safely, and reached second with no outs, only to be stranded both times.

In the seventh, Werth doubled off Sanchez to get things going. But Laynce Nix struck out and Adam LaRoche rolled a weak ground ball to second that moved Werth over to third.  After a five-pitch walk to Wilson Ramos, Jerry Hairston grounded to third on the first pitch of the at bat to end the threat.

The ninth inning failure was even worse.

Werth drew a walk against N.L. saves leader Nunez and moved up to second on Nix' single to right.  LaRoche then hit a slow chopper to third that Greg Dobbs gobbled up and forced Nix at second, so the Nats had the tying run at third in the bottom of the ninth with just one out.  But Ramos lunged at the first pitch he saw, an 84-MPH slider, and popped out softly behind the bag at first. Jerry Hairston needed just two pitches to fly out to left to end the game.

After the game, most of the questions for manager Jim Riggleman were about his team's lack of firepower.

Was Riggleman disappointed or upset in his team's approach at the plate, especially late in the game? 

"I never get into any of that, the mechanics of hitting. To me, there's so many things that contradict themselves in the game. The first pitch strike is the highest average in baseball so if you take a strike, is that the way right way to go? If you make an out on the first pitch certainly it can be perceived as 'What was your hurry?' or get a better pitch.

But, you know what, that's all hindsight. I got no problems with anybody's approach, the way they're going about it, as long as they keep a positive attitude about it and just keep getting after it the way they are and don't accept it. Don't accept the level that we're at offensively right now, keep pushing to get better."

What did Riggleman think about his team's attitude or confidence in the dugout?

"You'd be surprised. The energy level, the confidence in the dugout has not wavered. The guys are just doing everything they can.  Looking at tape, they're getting extra work, doing everything they can to come out of this. 

We're running into some good pitching, which in the National League East you're just, that's the way it's going to be. The National League East has got really good pitching -- including ours. To answer your question 'What's the feeling in the dugout?', the feeling is positive in the dugout. Nobody has ever wavered from that."

What did Riggleman think about the team's early season struggles?

"I don't ever really get into that anyway. I don't think it's early now, I don't think it was early three weeks ago. The schedule says it's early but every game is a big game. Every at bat, you're striving to have a good at bat and you're trying to come out of any struggles that you're in and that's what our players do.

Whether it's early or late, whatever the case is, every game counts the same on the schedule. Like I said, I stick by our players. They're doing everything they can. The work they put in, you can't exceed that. They do what you can do to get ready to go have good at bats.

They go out there and they battle and as I've said, I'm proud to be a part of them."

Riggleman was stoic in his defense of his players.  He said on the first-pitch swing Hairston took in the seventh that he "just missed his ball."  I suppose you have to credit the manager for protecting his players and keeping a positive attitude when the team is having such a hard time being productive.  Riggleman continues to describe how much effort his team is putting forth, and that's probably a testament to the quality of people that GM Mike Rizzo assembled this season.

At some point soon for the Nationals though, production has to outweigh effort.  Their $126 million man has to start hitting.  Their free agent first baseman, a notorious slow starter, has to fill his yearly consistent production.  Their rookies need to learn patience.

Because Riggleman's right, it isn't early any more.  We're a quarter of the way through the season and the Nats are only three games below .500.  They've now lost three imminently winnable one-run games in a row.  After such a positive road trip, where they went 4-5, the last three games have shown signs of cracking under the pressure and stress of the buildup of offensive futility.

They need to figure things out, because there isn't any help coming from the minors.  Now that Bernadina's here, presumably for the future, there really just isn't any other hitter down at Syracuse ready to step up and help the big club.  No, the guys wearing the uniform today have to figure things out for themselves.

Because, sooner or later, the lack of offensive production is going to catch up with this team.  You can't win over the course of the season hitting .225 as a team.

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NATS NOTES:  Reliever Cole Kimball made his Major League debut Saturday, throwing  a scoreless ninth inning in a one-run ballgame.  He struck out Gaby Sanchez with a couple of curveballs, got Logan Morrison to line out to second, walked Mike Stanton on a diet of breaking stuff and coaxed a lazy fly ball to left from Greg Dobbs. [Photos]

Cole Kimball made his MLB debut for the Nats in the ninth inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Henry Rodriguez struck out both batters he faced in the eighth inning without incident.

Livan Hernandez threw another beauty.  He went seven innings and allowed just one run, Stanton's mammoth shot to the Red Porch restaurant.  He gave up six hits and two walks total, striking out four. Livo also reached a career milestone of 3,000 innings pitched.

It was also Pups in the Park day. [Photos]

Jayson Werth dives back to first safely against Marlins. (C/Nichols/Nats News Network)

Cole Kimball delivers in his Major League debut. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Laynce Nix looks for a kid to toss the ball to at the end of an inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)



After hot start, Wilson Ramos has joined rest of Nats stuggling offense. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

With Thursday night’s crushing 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals record is one game below .500 at 18-19. They've accomplished this despite being dead last in the league in hitting. So how are they doing it? Primarily with decent starting pitching, (mostly) excellent relief pitching from a few key relievers, and improving defense. The team is 14-9 when not committing an error and 4-10 when they do. That's how close their margin of error has been.

But just how good has the pitching been? Well, they are right at  league average in runs allowed per game at 4.19, and the team ERA is slightly better than average at 3.77. The Nats are fifth in fewest walks allowed per nine and have surrendered the fourth fewest home runs overall, but also next to last in strikeouts per nine. Their ERA+ according to Baseball-Reference.com is league average. They are right in the middle of the pack overall.

There are some pretty fancy stats out there if you really want to get involved with that sort of thing. I like to dabble in them myself from time to time. But pitching is pretty elementary: fewer base runners means fewer runs against. You can use all the new-fangled stats you want, but you can still do a pretty good job evaluating a pitcher by a few simple stats. And you can make a reasonably educated prediction on whether a player is going through a streak or slump just as easily.

All it takes is to know what you're looking for. For general performance, you want to look at hit rates, walk rates and home run rates, and for projection you want to look at BABiP. And you need to compare them to the league average and the player's career average.

Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABiP) measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits (minus home runs). For pitchers, obviously, BABiP against is the percentage of batter balls that fall in for hits against. Typically, around 30 percent of all balls in play fall for hits. This is based on decades of MLB data. This season so far, BABiP across Major League Baseball is .299.

Why is this important? Wildly high or low fluctuation from the norm in BABiP signifies a player in -- or out -- of luck: hits are either falling in or not. But it always goes back to the general norm. From Fangraphs:

If a player has a very high or very low BABIP, it means that whatever the reason for the spike (whether it’s defense, luck, or slight skill), that player will regress back to their career BABIP rates. BABIP rates are flaky and prone to vary wildly from year to year, so we should always take any extreme BABIP rates with a grain of salt.

Hitters can have a little bit of control over their BABiP: fast guys that hit the ball on the ground on purpose, for instance, tend to have higher BABiPs (Nyjer Morgan's career BABiP is .339). But pitchers will hover around that .300 mark. There are obvious outliers, as there always are, and for a more detailed look into the subject, click here.

Let's take a look at the underlying numbers for the starting pitchers so far this season.

Livan Hernandez: 3-4, 4.29 ERA, 1.450 WHIP, 10.2 H/9, 2.9 BB/9, 4.5 K/9, 0.5 HR/9, .318 BABiP

Jason Marquis: 4-1, 3.66 ERA, 1.307 WHIP, 10.0 H/9, 1.7 BB/9, 5.6 K/9, 0.6 HR/9, .327 BABiP

Jordan Zimmermann: 2-4, 4.13 ERA, 1.229 WHIP, 9.0 H/9, 2.1 BB/9, 6.6 K/9, 0.4 HR/9, .307 BABiP

John Lannan: 2-4, 4.79 ERA, 1.597 WHIP, 10.5 H/9, 3.9 BB/9, 4.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9, .324 BABiP

Tom Gorzelanny: 2-2, 2.87 ERA, 0.903 WHIP, 5.0 H/9, 3.1 BB/9, 6.9 K/9, 1.2 HR/9, .168 BABiP

Those are a lot of numbers to digest. Who are the biggest surprises though? Marquis and Gorzelanny obviously. Can we expect them to continue pitching as well as they have?

Marquis' hit rate and K rate are right in line with his career numbers, but where he shows marked improvement is in his walk rate and home run rate. His career BB/9 rate is 3.5, and he's cut that by almost two walks per game this season. That accounts for his lower WHIP. He's also shaved a half a home run per game off his career home run rate, but he has shown a similar rate in previous seasons. Fewer base runners plus fewer home runs equals lower ERA.

So once those numbers look more like his career numbers, will he go back to his normal mid-4.00 ERA? Not so fast. He's also been pitching in bad luck, if you can believe it. His BABiP is 40 points higher than his career average. Maybe his improved control has him living in the strike zone more and hitters are getting more strikes to hit? Even so, even if his now-stellar walk rate climbs a bit, he should give up fewer bases hits as the season goes along, hopefully maintaining or only slightly elevating his ERA. Verdict: BUY.

Gorzelanny's numbers are downright unbelievable. In 37 2/3 innings, he's given up just 21 hits. His 5.0 H/9 is four full hits below his lifetime average (and 3.5 hits below 2011 N.L. average), and that shows up in his unsustainable .168 BABiP. But Gorzelanny hasn’t invented a new, unhittable pitch. Right now, everything put in play is being hit right at somebody. At some point soon, Gorzelanny's not just going to have a regression, he's going to give up hits at almost double his current rate, which obviously will lead to more base runners and more runs scored against.

One place where Gorzelanny has actually improved is his walk rate, reduced by one per nine over his career average, which is a significant improvement. But his K rate, while close to his career average, is down significantly from the last four years, where he averaged 8.4 per nine innings. On top of all of that, despite his BABiP being incredibly low, his home run per nine rate is up from his career numbers.

It's hard to imagine Gorzelanny continuing this run he's been on. Frankly, it's hard to figure out how he's done it at all. He's yet to give up more than five hits in a start, and he's given up more than two earned runs just once this season (his first start), and in that game he only gave up four hits (two of which were home runs).

Nats fans should applaud Gorzelanny for the string of starts he's made thus far but shouldn't expect it to continue. It's just not statistically possible.

The other three starters -- more or less -- are pitching the way we would expect them to and their BABiPs are all pretty much in line with their career norms. Zimmermann's strikeout rate is down overall, but his 11 K performance Thursday provides optimism, especially the way he was able to generate swinging strikes. Livo's K rate is disintegrating and his home run rate is half his career average, but he's doing pretty much what he always has done. Lannan's walk rate is back up to almost four per nine. Starters that don't strike out a lot of hitters just can't afford to give away free bases and Lannan has the least margin for error of anyone on the staff.

Overall -- barring injury -- I think we can expect most of the staff to continue their performance so far, with the exception of Gorzelanny, as his ERA will rise as the hits start to fall in more. The true test for him is to keep his walk rate down. Hernandez and Lannan should continue to eat innings and keep the team comepetitive when they can limit their walks and Marquis should enjoy his renaissance, hopefully to be flipped for assets as the summer wears on. And all Nats fans should hope Zimmermann continues to regain the command and control necessary to increase his strikeout rate and drop his ERA a little.

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One more interesting number to note is "Bequeathed Runners", that is, the number of runners on base when the starter leaves the game.  The Nats far and away lead the league in bequethed runners.  A rough translation means that Nats pitchers wear down in their final inning of work, and manager Jim Riggleman to this point generally hasn't allowed his starters to work out of jams in the middle innings. Not surprisingly, the Nats also lead the league far and away in most bequeathed runners scored.

We saw that in Thursday night's loss, as Jordan Zimmermann was cruising into the seventh, but gave up a walk and a soft line drive single and was pulled in favor of Sean Burnett, who threw gasoline on the fire.  The Nats have the second most "starters wins lost" in the N.L.; when a starting pitcher leaves the game in line for a win and the bullpen gives up the lead.  That speaks to the quality of the middle relief, a topic that seems to be on everybody's minds these days.

Maybe a couple days off was all that Ian Desmond needed.

In his first game back from paternity leave and the birth of his first child, the shortstop homered and tripled, scoring two runs, to lead the Washington Nationals over the streaking New York Mets 4-3, before 15,142 at Nationals Park.

The win halts the Nats losing streak at three games and ends the Mets winning streak at six.  The Nationals climb a half-game ahead of New York for fourth place in the N.L. East by virtue of having one less loss at 11-13.

Desmond went 2-for-4 on the evening, with the two extra-base hits.  He tripled to the left center gap and scored on Jerry Hairston's soft fly ball single in the fourth inning, and homered to the visitor's bullpen in the fifth.

"He really played relaxed tonight, had good at bats," manager Jim Riggleman said of his returning shortstop.  "[Desmond] looked relaxed on defense. I'm really proud of him. He's a great competitor and gone through some tough times here in April, but he's had some big games for us too and tonight was a real good ballgame."

"I thought he was very loose tonight," Riggleman said when asked if he thought the time off helped Desmond's game. "A couple days off probably helped him a little bit. Fatherhood exceeds anything we do out here anyway, but I know he's at a special time in his life and I'm just really happy for him -- really glad to see him have a nice, loose ballgame." 

The other offensive hero was also the pitching hero, as Livan Hernandez singled and scored in the third on Jayson Werth's ground rule double that right fielder Carlos Beltran lost in the lights and also drove in Hairston with a sacrifice bunt in the fourth.

Hernandez (W, 3-2, 3.23) was also quite sharp with his arm.  If the news this week that he's the subject of a federal investigation involving money laundering was bothering him, he did not show it on the mound.  He retired the first six batters in order en route to going eight innings with just three runs allowed (two earned) on seven hits and one walk, striking out five.

After Hernandez struggled in his last start, there might have been cause for concern, but Riggleman wouldn't admit to any.  "I don't worry too much about Livo.  Livo's just such a consistant competitor, a good thinker out there."

Drew Storen came in to earn the save in the ninth, punctuating the victory by striking out Mets center fielder Willie Harris on a filthy breaking ball on a 3-2 count.

The win marks just the second time this season the Nationals have won a game scoring fewer than five runs.  "It seems like most of the time we're playing in a real tight ballgame, we don't have too much margin for error really," Riggleman said.

If they are to retain hope of remaining relatively competitive for the next couple of weeks with a daunting 10-day, nine-game road trip looming after a four-game weekend series with the San Francisco Giants, the Nats better find a way to either score a few more runs, or duplicate last night's effort, playing good defensive baseball while getting a solid start and air-tight relief.

It's a tough formula to be successful with, but so far the Nats have kept within hailing distance of .500.  The next two weeks will be a challenge.

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THE GOOD: Desmond.  It was nice to see him have such a good game, offensively and defensively, upon his return.  The impending birth of his child had to have been weighing on him in the week leading up to it and he had one of his finer games all season.

THE BAD: Adam LaRoche went 0-for-4 and left three men on base, lowering his season average to .210.

THE UGLY: Pudge's error could have been huge; as it turned out it was just mildly embarrassing.  Mets starter Chris Capuano tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt and Pudge went out to pick it up, but he bobbled it twice trying to find the handle and all hands were safe, loading the bases.  Jose Reyes hit a sac fly to score one run, but Livo got Daniel Murphy on strikes to end the frame.

THE STATS: 10 hits, one walk, three Ks.  3-for-6 with RISP, 7 LOB, one GIDP.  E: Rodriguez (1).

NEXT GAME: Friday at 7:05 pm against the San Francisco Giants.  Jason Marquis (2-0, 3.55) takes on Tim Lincecum (2-2, 2.70).

Washington, D.C. -- Sometimes you look at the lineup card and wonder why you bother playing the game.  Well, in baseball sometimes the numbers take a night off -- the good ones and the bad ones.

Last night, before a smallish crowd under threatening skies at Nationals Park, Jim Riggleman and his band of journeymen, backups and age-defying starting pitcher, defended the home turf against their arch-nemesis and a band of marauding Phillies Phans.  The final was 7-4, but it seemed much closer due to some shaky pitching in the eighth and ninth innings by two usually trusty relievers.

The win evens the Nats record at 5-5, drawing them within two of division-leading Philly.

"It's one game, but I was really pleased with the way we played in general," manager Jim Riggleman said afterward.  "I thought there were a couple times there toward the end we could have tightened it up a little bit.  But overall really pleased that we got a great performance from Livo, and starting pitching is what it's all about.  And when your starting pitcher pitches like that you've got a chance.

"We've got a long way to close that gap [with the Phillies].  One game is not what we're talking about."

But when it's against the Philadelphia Phillies, one game is a start.  Especially when injuries forced bench players Laynce Nix, Jerry Hairston and 43-year old Matt Stairs into the starting lineup.

Jayson Werth went 2-for-3 with a home run to lead his new mates over his old ones, and Wilson Ramos drove in two with two hits.

But the big story was the job Washington Nationals starter Livan Hernandez turned in.  The seemingly ageless one hasn't let the statheads get him down just yet, as he once again defied the projections of regression for the crafty vet. 

Livo went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just one run, on Ryan Howard's opposite field home run.  He allowed seven hits without walking a batter, striking out six including the last batter he faced, pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr., with the bases loaded on a 61 MPH curveball.

Tyler Clippard then came in and got perhaps the biggest out of the game, striking out Shane Victorino, leaving all three runners on base.

Clippard wasn't as sharp in the eighth, allowing a single and two walks, prompting Riggleman to call on Sean Burnett for a five out save.  Burnett eventually got the job done, but not before allowing two of Clippard's runners -- and one of his own -- to score to make things tight in the final frames.

The earned run in the ninth off Burnett halts his scoreless innings streak at 22 2/3, the longest in club history since the move to D.C. in 2005.

No matter, as Burnett was still credited with his third save of the young season and Hernandez evened his record at 1-1.

The Nats big inning was the third, where they got three runs off Phillies starter Joe Blanton (L, 0-1, 10.45).  Wilson Ramos doubled in Werth, who doubled a batter previously, Jerry Hairston delivered a one-out single with the bases loaded to plate Ramos, and Livo placed prefect sacrifice bunt to push Laynce Nix across with the third run of the frame.

The collection of position players the Nats put on the field last night, along with their starting pitcher, might not have been sabermetrically approved.  But in a small sample size, and one game is about as small as it gets, even the numbers can get fooled.  Let's just hope the Nats don't have to rely on this lineup for very long.

The bigger you make the sample size, the more the underlying data is proven reliable.

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THE GOOD: Werth, Ramos and Nix all had two hits apiece.  Hernandez was masterful.  Espinosa drew two walks, once to load the bases.

THE BAD: Matt Stairs.  Hitting in the cleanup spot, the lefty went 0-for-3, struck out twice, and was lifted for pinch-hitter Michael Morse. 

THE UGLY: Ian Desmond.  0-for-5 drops his average down to .209.  Something has to give at some point.

THE STATS: Nine hits, five walks.  4-for-9 with RISP, 7 LOB, 0 GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday v. Philadelphia at 7:05 pm.  John Lannan (1-0, 3.60) v. Roy Halladay (1-0, 0.69).

NATS NOTES:  Before the game, the team officially placed 3B Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day D.L. and recalled catcher Jesus Flores from Triple-A Syracuse.  Flores has missed most of the last two seasons with two different shoulder surgeries.