"I don't like to get beat. It wasn't any fun today." Davey Johnson, after a 10-2 loss to the Pirates

Jason Marquis' day lasted just four outs -- and seven runs. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

At a point earlier this season, Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis was gaining support locally to garner the nod to represent the Nats at this summer's All-Star festivities.  Moments before today's game, however, it was learned that distinction belongs to reliever Tyler Clippard, selected by manager Bruce Bochy to his first All-Star appearance.

Marquis then went out and had a performance that looked more like his miserable, injury-riddled 2010 season than anything he's done so far this year, giving up seven runs before being lifted with one out in the second inning.  The Nationals never recovered and lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-2, splitting a four-game series.

The loss drops the Nats back to one game below .500 at 42-43. They are a game and a half behind the New York Mets for third in the N.L. East.  Though the Nats earned the split with the Bucs, they went just 5-for-34 with runners in scoring position for the series, 0-for-9 in Sunday's game.

Marquis was, in a word, brutal.  Pirates leadoff hitter Alex Presley singled to start the game, and Marquis (L, 7-3, 4.11) got the next batter, shortstop Chase d'Arnaud, to bounce back to hit for a tailor-made double play. But Marquis' throw to Danny Espinosa was low and scooted into center field, allowing Presley to go to third.  Marquis coaxed a pop-up from Garrett Jones, but then allowed three consecutive singles to score three runs.

It got worse in the second inning. Pitcher Kevin Correia smashed a single down the left field line leading off. Presley then hit a grounder to first baseman Matt Stairs, and Stairs -- filling in for Michael Morse, who was hit on the forearm in Satruday night's win -- was able to get the lead runner, but the relay throw was late to complete the double play.  d'Arnaud singled to left, moving Presley to third, then consecutive doubles to Jones and Andrew McCutchen made it 5-0, bringing an end to Marquis' day.

Collin Balester entered, and the first two batters reached against him, raising the Pirates lead to 8-0 after 1 1/2 innings.

Balester would settle down though and ended up giving the Nats four important innings, saving most of Davey Johnson's bullpen for the next game.  Balester was charged with two more runs in the sixth after he departed, as Henry Rodriguez came on with one out and two on in the frame and allowed both inherited runners to score, including walking the Pirates No. 8 hitter to force in a run.  Yup, it was that kind of day for the Nats.

Collin Balester gave the Nats four much-needed innings. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

When asked about his performance, Marquis said, "Obviously, not good.  I left too many balls in the zone. I didn't have the good late action on my ball.  It was just one of those days, you know?"

The only thing to really cheer about at Nats Park today was Wilson Ramos' seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot off Pirates starter Kevin Correia (11-6, 3.74).  Otherwise, it was a long, hot, frustrating day for Nats fans.

The Nats got more injury bad news, as right fielder Jayson Werth was hit by a pitch on the outside of his left wrist area in the sixth inning.  He reacted very angrily when hit, slamming his bat down before taking his base. Manager Davey Johnson lifted him for a pinch-runner and after the game Johnson announced that Werth was day-to-day, but would probably give him the day off Monday against the Cubs.



Jayson Werth heads for the dugout after getting his on his left wrist. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

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THE GOOD:  Ramos went 2-for-4 with the two-run homer. Roger Bernadina went 2-for-5. Ryan Zimmerman went 1-for-2 with two walks.  It's not like the Nats didn't have any base runners Sunday.

THE BAD:  Ian Desmond. He went 0-for-4 with two Ks.

THE UGLY:  Marquis.  He left everything up and just got tattooed.  Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar. If he falls apart in the second half of the season, it'll be damaging not only to the Nats record, but to their ability to trade the pending free agent for anything of real value. Remember, he will not qualify as a Type-A or Type-B free agent, so if he walks at the end of the year the Nats will get no compensation for him.

THE STATS:  Nine hits, two walks, nine strikeouts.  0-for-9 with RISP, 10 LOB, zero GIDP.  E: Marquis (1), Desmond (12).

NEXT GAME:  Monday, July 4 at 1:05 pm against the Chicago Cubs. Jordan Zimmermann (5-7, 2.63) faces Casey Coleman (2-4, 7.78).



The Shark ate up a sinking line drive in left field. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Nationals celebrate Canada Day! (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson held an extensive, wide-ranging press conference early Friday afternoon, and in it he remarked more than once that in order to win, he would need the best efforts of all 25 men on his roster.  He also spoke about the necessity of having a power bat on his bench to give the other manager something to think about in the late innings, using the euphemism of having a guy with a "big, hairy chest" sitting next to him in the dugout.

Last night, in the Nats 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Matt Stairs was that big, hairy guy Johnson needs him to be. As it happens, the New Brunswick native played the hero on Canada Day, which celebrates Canada becoming an independent kingdom on July 1, 1867. 

Stairs drove a 95-MPH fastball from reliever Tim Wood off the right field wall, scoring pinch-runner Alex Cora from third to deliver yet another walk-off win at Nats Park.  The embattled veteran has but seven hits to his credit this season, and certainly none were as big as the one last night.

Veteran Matt Stairs came though for the Nats. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The win pushes the Nats back to the .500 mark, kicking off this 10-day, 11-game homestand in grand fashion. It also marks Johnson's first win as a major league manager in eleven years.

“You win pennants with 25 players,” Johnson said in the pre-game press conference. “They’re all invaluable. You can’t win with 24, 23, 22, so my job as manager is to try to take care of all 25. [Stairs] had some sporadic at-bats, and he wasn’t hitting too good. We need his capabilities coming off the bench late in the ballgame.”

Certainly the burly Canadian had tried everyone's patience this season, batting just .138 with a lone RBI until last night's game-winner.  But the 43-year old has had rough stretches before, and he figured eventually he would pull out of this one too.  While that remains to be seen, he's appears to have benefited from getting three starts in a row as designated hitter while the team was out in Anaheim taking on the Angels. 

While the decision to give him all those at bats might not have paid off in that series, rarely this season has Stairs hit a ball harder than the one that he lashed halfway up the wall to the left of the Nationals bullpen in right field.

"[Stairs] swung the bat pretty good out in L.A., and he's still not quite 100 percent, but that looked like 100 percent right there. That was a rocket," Johnson said from his office after the game.

Johnson sent Stairs up to hit for Ian Demsond, who is struggling in his own right.  "I told Desi, 'Look, you're not swinging like I know you're capable of. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but there's a chance. I got to try to put everything I got in this thing,' " Johnson said.  The 68-year old skipper had already lifted his first baseman, Michael Morse (who singled to start the inning), for the pinch-runner Cora, and now was pulling his starting shortstop in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth.

As Johnson described, he rolled the dice a little bit, and on this night he came up a winner.

The heroics came too late to do anything for starter Tom Gorzelanny, who threw another terrific ballgame.  He went seven innings and allowed just one unearned run on six hits and one walk, striking out eight.  The Pirates got a run off him in the third on a single, an error on a sacrifice and a ground out.

The Nats first run of the game came courtesy of Roger Bernadina's fifth home run of the season, who also singled in the game.  The Nats center fielder got support from his new manager during the post-game as well.  Johnson said Bernadina "deserves a chance to play every day, and I'm gonna give it to him."

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THE GOOD:  A win!  Davey Johnson is as crusty a manager as there ever was, but even he admitted feeling relief notching his first win after three consecutive losses to start his Nats tenure. "Now I'm going after number two." he said post-game. "First win... [being out] 11 years in the big leagues, here in front of the home crowd. That's special. ... It's been a while."

THE BAD:  Ryan Zimmerman. 0-for-4 with a K and a couple of ground outs. The Z-man isn't making very good contact right now.

THE UGLY:  Wilson Ramos went 0-for-3 with a walk, and did drive a ball to right that moved the runner up in the ninth inning.  But after his strong start this season, he's now hitting just .235.

THE STATS:  Six hits, five walks, six strikeouts. 1-for-7 with RISP, eight LOB, Three GIDP. E: Gorzelanny (2), Morse (1).

NEXT GAME:  Doubleheader Saturday against the Pirates. Game One is at 3:35 pm and pits John Lannan (5-5, 3.48) against James McDonald (5-4, 4.52).  Game Two is at 7:05 pm and Livan Hernandez (5-8, 3.81) will start for the Nats.  Pittsburgh has not announced a starter for the second game as of this post.

NATS NOTES:  Before the game, the Nationals announced they dismissed first base coach Dan Radison and replaced him with Trent Jewett, who was serving as bench coach when John McLaren was reassigned. Radison was a very close confidant of former manager Jim Riggleman.

Morse made his first error at first base. In fact, it's his first error since when he was with the Seattle Mariners in 2005.



Danny Espinosa shows off his high jumping skills. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)



Alex Cora advanced to third on Wilson Ramos' fly ball to right in ninth inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Danny Espinosa is congratulated by Laynce Nix on his two-run homer. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Washington Nationals rookie second baseman Danny Espinosa has really been struggling, hitting just .128/.255/.310 in the month of May. In his first two at bats, hitting right-handed, be drove a ball to the track and scorched a line drive, but both times the ball fell into center fielder Andrew McCutchen's glove.

What do they say about the third time being the charm?

On his third at bat, in a game tied at two in the seventh inning, Espinosa took the first pitch he saw from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Jose Ascanio into the Nats bullpen in right field, driving home two runs and delivering the Nats their 20th win of the season.  He did so left-handed, where he's only hitting .175 this season.

Espinosa's fifth home run of the season made a winner out of Cole Kimball for the first time in the Majors, pitching for the third day in a row since his recall.  Kimball unfortunately could not strand the runner he inherited from starter John Lannan, as McCutchen tripled home Ronny Cedeno, who had reached via walk from Lannan earlier in the inning.  But Kimball stranded McCutchen on third to end the inning before Espinosa's heroics.

All that was left was for Drew Storen to do what he does, and he did it once again, completing his 21st consecutive scoreless inning and earning his ninth save of the season.  Storen gave up an earned run on opening day and has not been scored upon since.

Drew Storen delivers in his ninth save and 21st consecutive scoreless outing. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Jerry Hairston also homered, his second of the season, off Pirates starter Paul Maholm in the fifth inning.

Lannan was not particularly effective though he only allowed two earned runs, especially considering one scored after he left the game.  He gave up seven hits and four walks in his 6 1/3 innings.  But he had some good defense behind him, got a ground ball double play when he needed it the most, and made the pitches when he had to.

"Sometimes that's the way it's gonna be," manager Jim Riggleman said about Lannan's performance.  "You're not gonna have your good stuff, you're not gonna be sharp, but you've just got to battle through it and that's what he did."

"[Lannan] did a great job, he kinda found it there in about the sixth, he really went out and had a clean inning and then the lead off walk did him in there with Cedeno.  He struggled, first guy [every inning] was getting on and not throwing first-pitch strikes, but he was battling out of it and we played good defense behind him."

It helped that the Pirates ran themselves out of a big inning in the fourth. 

Brandon Wood walked on four pitches to lead off, then tried to go to third on Chris Snyder's single to center field.  Roger Bernadina made a strong throw -- but up the third base line a little -- and Jerry Hairston made a great play to catch the throw and get back to the bag to put the tag on.  Wood was out easily, breaking the old baseball code about not making the first out of the inning at third base.

Later that inning, Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm couldn't get a bunt attempt down on a squeeze play, and Snyder was caught stealing home on a run-down, catcher to third back to the pitcher.

The Nationals once again sit on the precipice of .500, one game below entering Tuesday's day game with the Pirates.  They go right back out on the road for eight games after closing with the Pirates, so the Nats should make hay where they can.

Another "Curly W" in the books. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

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THE GOOD: Espinosa hit the ball hard all three of his at bats.  His first at bat he took a ball to the track in left center that would have been five rows deep at Camden Yards in Baltimore.  Perhaps he's starting to come out of his slump that dropped his average below .200.

THE BAD: Lannan survived and managed to keep runs off the board, but 11 base runners in 6 1/3 on most nights is going to get your team killed.  Lannan's BB rate keeps going up, not a good sign for a guy that lives on the edge as it is.

THE UGLY: Adam LaRoche was 0-for-4 and took some really feeble swings striking out twice.  His average is down to .182/.306/.286 for the season and is hitless in his last four games and hasn't had an extra-base hit since hew doubled May 5.

THE STATS: Six hits, three walks, nine strikeouts.  1-for-3 with RISP, four LOB, one GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday at 1:05 pm against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nats Park.  Jordan Zimmermann (2-4, 4.13) takes on Charlie Morton (4-1, 3.13).

Congrats to Cole Kimball on his first win in the Major Leagues. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Ryan Zimmerman can only gaze out at the scoreboard from the dugout. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Jayson Werth looking, well, hairy.  (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The Nationals game against the Pirates has been postponed due to poor weather in Pittsburgh. The game has been rescheduled for Monday, April 25 as both teams have a scheduled day off. Game will be played at 7:05 p.m. ET and will be aired on MASN-HD.

Series Preview

Washington Nationals (9-9, 3rd NLE) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (8-11, 5th NLC)

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Fri. Apr. 22, 7:05 pm: Livan Hernandez (2-1, 2.88) v. Jeff Karstens (1-0, 4.50)

Sat. Apr. 23, 7:05 pm: Jason Marquis (1-0, 2.57) v. Kevin Correia (3-1, 2.00)

Sun. Apr. 24, 1:35 pm: John Lannan (2-1, 3.60) v. Paul Maholm (0-3, 14.73)

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The Nationals travel to Pittsburgh licking their wounds after losing two of three to St. Louis this week, hoping to get back on track and looking for their lost offense after getting shut down and shut out by the Cardinals this week.  The Nats managed just seven hits in the two losses to the Cards, and their team slash line is dreadful at .218/.305/.333.

It's not just a couple of spots in the order that's hurting the Nats right now, it's almost everyone.  Adam LaRoche is hitting .211.  Michael Morse is at .196.  Rick Ankiel a robust .221.  But no where are the struggles more evident than in the three-hole, and $126 million dollar man Jayson Werth. 

The slugger, brought in to fill this lineup out, is hitting .209/.293/.358 with two home runs and four RBIs in 75 plate appearances.  He's struck out 16 times, and what's worse, he's hitting ground balls outs at double his historical pace.

The Pirates enter play as the usually do, looking up at the rest of the Central Division.  They've won just three of their last ten games, and were shut out twice by Florida earlier this week.  They aren't hitting much more than the Nats, going .233/.313/.350 as a team.  While the Nats are getting some decent starting pitching , the Pirates are fourth worst in the N.L., giving up 4.89 runs per game.

Pittsburgh has some very good young talented players, such as CF Andrew McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, LF Jose Tabata and 2B Neil Walker, but all have struggled so far this season at the plate.

The Nats are expexcted to add INF Brian Bixler to the roster before tonight's game unless it's called by rain, and he's with the team in Pittsburgh.  He'll needed to be added to the 40-man roster, so the team will have to remove someone to activate Bixler. Bixler is insurance for when Ian Desmond leaves the team to be with his wife Chelsey, due any day with the couple's first child.

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STARTING LINEUPS

NATIONALS: Espinosa-4, Ankiel-8, Werth-9, LaRoche-3, Ramos-2, Morse-7, Desmond-6, Hairston-5, Hernandez-1

PIRATES:  McCutchen -8, Tabata-7, Overbay-3, Walker-4, Jones-9, Doumit-2, Alvarez-5, Cedeno-6, Karstens-1

THE RESULT:  John Lannan had a thing or two to prove once he returned from his exile to the minor leagues.  For his last seven starts he's looked like a different pitcher than before he was sent out.

For seven innings Lannan fairly dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates batting order, leading the Washington Nationals to a 9-2 victory before 30,263 at PNC Park, one of the finest arenas for Major League Baseball in the country.

Lannan gave up just one earned run on five hits and one walk, striking out seven Bucs hitters.  He kept the young Pirate order off balance and earned his seventh win of the season against six losses.  Only once in the seven games since his return from the minors has Lannan given up more than two earned runs in an appearance.

The Washington batting order helped their pitcher by beating up on Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (L, 7-14).  They got five in the fourth and another two in the fifth against the lefty before he was lifted.

The attack was led by veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs.  Six Nats hitters drove in runs, including rookie Danny Espinosa, who went 2-for-5 and is hitting .455 after three major league games.

THE GOOD:  In addition to their starting pitcher, the offense really got the job done, despite Adam Dunn watching this one from the bench.  The Nats pounded out 15 hits against Maholm and four Pirates relievers. 

Even embattled Nyjer Morgan went 2-for-5 with an RBI, though both hits were flares to the opposite field and not hit very hard.  It was one of those nights that everything fell in for the Nats.

THE BAD:  Doug Slaten.  He was not very sharp in his one inning of work, giving up a run on three hits.

Ian Desmond had two errors, though the first was a tough call by the Pirates official scorer.  The second one, on the next ball put into play, simply rolled underneath his glove.  No runs scored as a result.

THE UGLY:  Justin Maxwell.  The poor guy just can't make contact at the major league level.  He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, though he drove in a run with a sac fly.

THE STATS:  6 Ks, 3 BBs, 6-for-14 with RISP, 8 LOB, 1 GIDP.

NEXT GAME:  Sunday at 1:35 pm (or about 10 hours from this post).  Jason Marquis (1-7, 8.13) looks to continue his streak of competance against Charlie Morton (1-10, 10.03).  If you look at the ERAs, it should be a barnburner.

THE RESULT:  The rest of the 2010 season for the Washington Nationals is going to be about finding parts that will be able to contribute at the major league level next season.  Danny Espinosa is ceratinly off to a good start.

But despite Espinosa going 2-for-4 with his first major league home run and an RBI double, the Nats fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5, before 19,734 at PNC Park.

The loss drops the Nats record to 57-78 for the season.  The Nationals have lost three straight.

Espinosa, 23 was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse Wednesday when rosters were able to expand, and somewhat lost in the excitement of the brawl and all the aftermath was Espinosa' major league debut. 

He was inserted into the lineup against the Marlins, replacing Adam Dunn in the batting order when things got out of hand.  His first MLB hit was a hard grounder that took a bad hop on second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, bouncing over his head into short right field.  Espinosa hustled the entire way, and earned himself a run-scoring double on the play.

The switch-hitting second baseman followed that performance up Friday night with two more extra-base hits.  Batting right-handed against Pirates left-handed starter Zach Duke (W, 7-12), Espinosa poked a solo home run to the opposite field.  Two innings later, he drove a double to left field batting left-handed against righty reliever Sean Gallagher.

The slick fielder is already major league ready with his glove, so the Nationals hope that he can hit -- and get on base -- enough to battle for the starting second base job next season... and stick there.

Espinsosa's minor league strike out rate was fairly high, but his on base skills are still pretty decent.  In three minor league season, he hit .270/.365/.455, and this season between AA and AAA he hit .268/.337/.464.  He got off to a slow start this season, but thrived once he was moved up to Syracuse, hitting .295/.349/.463 in 108 plate appearances.

When he was called up, he was one of two minor leaguers to reach the 20-20 plateau this season (22 homers, 25 stolen bases), and the power seems to be translating to the bigs.

Unfortunately, Livan Hernandez did not have his best stuff Friday night.  In his first effort since signing a contract for next season, the veteran was pounded for eight earned runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4 1/3 innings.  He dug a hole the Nats just weren't able to dig out of, though they did make a game of it in the end.

THE GOOD:  Other than Espinosa, Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman both had two hits as well.   And Miguel Batista, Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett threw 3 2/3 shutout innings to give the bats a chance to get back in it. 

THE BAD:  Ivan Rodriguez.  He went 0-for-4 and grounded into a double play during the Nats four-run fourth inning, killing the rally.  He later struck out with another runner in scoring position.

THE UGLY:  Nyjer Morgan.  Just hours after finding out about his eight-game suspension for multiple disciplinary problems, Morgan went 0-for-4 and contributed nothing to the Nationals offense.

THE STATS:  11 Ks, 5 BBs, 2-for-7 with RISP, 7 LOB, 1 GIDP.

NEXT GAME:  Saturday at 7:05 pm.  John Lannan (6-6, 4.95) takes on Paul Maholm (7-13, 5.18).

NATS NOTES:  Nats News Network is heading to Pittsburgh for Saturday and Sunday's games and will file reports and photos from PNC Park.

The Washington Nationals got three solo home runs, six good innings from Livan Hernandez and three shutout innings from the bullpen to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2, taking their first series sweep of the season, before 21,767 at Nationals Park.

Hernandez (W, 5-3) was up to his old tricks, mowing down Pirates left and right, until tiring in the sixth inning.  He allowed just two hits and one walk through five, with Jason Jaramillo's double in the third representing the lone scoring opportunity through the fifth.

On the other side of the ledger, the Nats were getting just enough offense against Pirates starter Zach Duke.  Adam Dunn hit a towering shot to right with one out in the third inning--his third homer in as many games and 13th for the season. 

After a Ryan Zimmerman ground out, Josh Willingham took one to the Red Porch seats in left center, his 12th of the campaign.

Washington got another run in the fourth off Duke (L, 3-7).  With two outs, Dunn singled to the right field corner on a hard hit ball, went to second on a balk, and scored on the combination of Ryan Zimmerman's infield single and third baseman Andy LaRoche's throwing error.

Dunn was moved into the third spot this evening by manager Jim Riggleman against Duke, a lefty.  Hitting in the third spot in the lineup this season, Dunn was hitting .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs.  He only added to those totals in this contest.

"Anytime it's a left-handed pitcher we think about doing that," Riggleman said after the ballgame.  "Dunn is very well protected by Zimmerman in that situation."

Dunn is hitting .330 (38-for-115) with seven home runs and 20 RBIs in his last 30 games.

Hernandez ran into his only trouble in the sixth, when Duke and Jose Tabata hit back-to-back doubles, followed by a single from Neil Walker and a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen. 

Hernandez really bore down though, pitching around left-handed swinging Garrett Jones before retiring the next two batters, punctuated the effort by striking out Bobby Crosby for the final out of the frame.

The veteran gave up two earned runs in six innings total on five hits and two walks, striking out three.

Former Nationals' closer, Joel Hanrahan, pitched the seventh inning for the Pirates and gave up a hit to Desmond, got Dunn to hit a fly ball and struck out Zimmerman and Willingham.

With Matt Capps unavailable after throwing three straight days, the bullpen had a little different configuration, but to another excellent result.

Sean Burnett pitched two scoreless innings of relief, and Tyler Clippard was called upon for the ninth inning.  He responded as he has all season, striking out two in the process, including a called third strike on pich-hitter and former National Ryan Church, who had some words with home plate umpire Lance Barksdale after the call.

It was Clippard's first career save.

"I really wanted to give Matt [Capps] a night off...he's been up a lot," Riggleman said.  "It was gonna have to be someone else tonight and they got it done."

Including the scoreless effort tonight, Nationals relievers combined to throw 9 1/3 scoreless innings in the series with the Pirates.  Coincidence with the sweep?

Michael Morse, inserted against the lefty, also responded.  He went 2-for-2 with a walk off Duke and hit an insurance home run, his first of the season, to dead center field in the eighth inning off right-handed reliever Brendan Donnelly.

The Nationals now embark on a seven-day, six-game interleague road trip against the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers.  Tomorrow they face their former manager, Manny Acta, and the Tribe.  Luis Atilano (5-2, 4.24) gets the ball versus Jake Westbrook (3-3, 4.84) at 7:05 pm from Progressive Field.

NATS NOTES:  Willingham has hit safely in seven straight and 14 of his last 18 games.  Over that span, he is .339 with six homers and 16 RBIs.

Cristian Guzman was 0-for-5 in the leadoff spot and struck out twice.

Roger Bernadina, who has struggled mightily against left-handers this season, was on base three times with a single and two walks.

Pittsburgh has lost five straight and six of their last seven games.

The Nationals had 10 hits and four walks, struck out six times, and left nine on base.  They were 2-for-11 with men in scoring position.

All Photos 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/

Nationals News Network. All Rights Reserved

Adam Dunn hit his 13th home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth, and one batter later Josh Willingham took one to the Red Porch--his 12th of the season--giving the Nats a 2-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

It was the third straight game Dunn has homered in.

Livan Hernandez has allowed just two hits and a walk through four.

You can follow Nats News Network live on Facebook or Twitter @NatsNewsNetwork.

(All photos Cheryl Nichols/Nats News Network)

It was not the prettiest game of the season, but on a muggy, overcast night in the nation's capital, the home team found a way to pull one out.

Despite a rough appearance from their starter, two scored errors and several other defensive gaffes, the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5, before 18,876, less than half that witnessed the debut of Stephen Strasburg just 24 hours earlier.

The hangover effect from Tuesday's spectacular was pronounced, from the fans in the stands to the players on the field.  The debut was exhausting, and it took its toll on everyone.

It was a sloppy game from the start, and miscues contributed to much of the scoring, including two badly played balls by Nats ceter fielder Nyjer Morgan, who twice missed the cut-off man, allowing runners to move up a base and eventually score on singles.

Wil Nieves also had a throwing error on a stolen base attempt, and the Pirates swiped four bases off Nieves and starter John Lannan.

The Nationals broke a five-all tie in the bottom of the seventh, when Ryan Zimmerman bashed a single off the shin of Pirates relief pitcher D.J. Carrasco (L, 1-2) to plate Cristian Guzman.  The second baseman had reached on a single to center and was moved up on a sacrifice by Morgan.

Washington added an insurance run in the eighth.  Josh Willingham coaxed a walk off releiver Brendan Donnelly, went to third on a Roger Bernadina through the vacated shortstop hole on a hit-and-run, and scored on a Nieves sacrifice fly to center field.

Lannan, who looked like he might have turned the corner recently from his lousy start of teh season, reverted last night.  He was not sharp with his fastball, causing him to leave too many hittable pitches in the strike zone.  He gave up ten hits in and three walks (one intentional) in 4 2/3 innings, leading to five runs, four of which were earned.  He struck out two in the effort. 

Indicitive of his performance, Lannan gave up nine fly ball outs, comared to just two ground ball outs.  He would prefer those numbers switched.

Once Lannan was lifted one out from qualifying for the win, things turned around for the Nats.  Four relievers combined for 4 1/3 shutout innings of relief.

Tyler Walker struck out two in his 1 1/3 and Drew Storen (W, 2-0, 1.74) allowed a single in an otherwise clean frame.  Tyler Clippard continued his mastery with a perfect inning, and Matt Capps gave up a base hit, but closed things down for his 20th save of the season.

Livan Hernandez (4-3) will try to secure the sweep tonight at Nats Park against Zack Duke (3-6) at 7:05 pm.

NATS NOTES:  Pirates starter Brad Lincoln, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2006 draft,  made his major league debut.  He went six innings, allowing five earned runs on sevenhits and two walks, striking out three.  He also went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Bucs' left fielder Jose Tabata also made his MLB debut, leading off and going 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored.

Washington LHP Scott Olsen has experienced a setback in his recovery from left shoulder tightness that landed him on the 15-day disabled list on May 22. Olsen will be shut down and then restart his rehabilitation program when his shoulder feels better.

Adam Dunn hit a two-run home run--his second in two days--off Lincoln in the first inning.

Bernadina went 3-for-4 with a run, RBI and stolen base.

Washington had 10 hits, walked four times, struck out three times and left six men on base.  They were 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

"That's not always easy with nobody out and the bases loaded, but I was trying to get a strikeout there. Luckily, it was a chopper back to me, and we were able to turn two, which is way better." -- Tyler Clippard, on the 1-2-3 double play in the fifth inning.

THE RESULT: Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn homered, and Tyler Clippard threw three perfect innings in relief, including escaping a bases loaded, no out jam in the fifth inning, as the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4, earning a split of the four-game series, before 11,630 at PNC Park.

Clippard entered the game in the fifth with bases loaded and no outs, courtesy of a single and two walks allowed by starter Garrett Mock (4 IP, 2 ER, 7 hits, 4 BBs, 1 K, 1 HR). Clippard (W, 2-1, 2.52) induced a comeback ground ball from Delwyn Young, he calmly threw to Josh Bard at home to get the force, and Bard relayed to first to complete the double play.

Andy LaRoche then popped up to end the threat.

"That could have changed the game around," Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "That was pretty much the biggest key for us, really. You figure you're getting one run from out of that inning and hope for two so you take a 5-0 lead."

The next inning, Cristian Guzman singled to right field to score Anderson Hernandez from second base, and Dunn hit a three-run home run (27) to take a 4-3 lead off Pirates starter Charlie Morton (L, 2-4, 4.03).

"I was kind of sitting on a pitch, and I got totally the opposite of what I was sitting on," Dunn said. "I have no idea how I hit it out. I just was late; that's why it went over there [left field]. By no means was it a good piece of hitting; it was very good pitching. If I'm not sitting on changeup and I'm sitting on fastball there, I probably pull it into a double play "

Zimmerman hit his 21st home run of the season in the seventh inning off reliever Jeff Karstens, a two-run shot that plated Guzman, who had tripled in Nyjer Morgan the previous at bat.

Elijah Dukes' RBI single two batters later capped the Nats scoring.

McCutcheon hit his fourth home run of the series and four Pirates had multi-hit games.

Mike MacDougal got one out in relief of a struggling Logan Kensing in the ninth inning for his eighth save of the season.

THE TAKEAWAY: The story of the game, despite the offensive fireworks, was Clippard. For the second time in a week, he entered the game early trailing, and pitched multiple outstanding innings, allowing his team a chance to get back in it.

He went three innings and did not give up a hit or a walk, and struck out two. His fastball-changeup combination had the young Pirates batters on their front foot in every at bat.

Mock struggled again, but after giving up three in the first inning, he fought back and stuck around until allowing the first three batters to reach in the fifth. He only threw 46 of his 87 pitches for strikes, and had trouble keeping the ball down all night.

But he avoided what could have been a disaster early on.

THE GOOD: Adam Dunn. 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and a double. He had trouble at first base with some routine plays that would have stood out much more in a loss, but he did what he gets paid to do last night.

THE BAD: Josh Bard. 0-for-5. Six men left on.

THE UGLY: Team defense. Three more errors, one apiece by Dunn and Belliard at first base and a throwing error by Dukes in right.

NEXT GAME: The team returns home for a three-game set with the Florida Marlins tonight. J.D. Martin (0-2, 7.50) faces Josh Johnson (10-2, 2.87) at 7:05 pm.

NOTES: Nick Johnson, traded last week at the non-waiver trade deadline, returns to Nationals Park to face his former teammates for the first time.

"I've never been booed before. It kind of pumped me up. It's not that emotion you wanted, but it got my adrenaline pumping." -- Sean Burnett, on the Pirates' fans reaction to his comments about the Pirates being the "laughingstock of baseball," August 2, 2009.

THE RESULT: Josh Willingham continued his hot streak, hitting a two-run home run and a run-scoring double, to lead the Washington Nationals over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3, before 21,894 at beautiful PNC Park.

The win halts the Nats losing streak at four, and pushes their season record to 33-72.

Burnett (W, 2-2, 2.42), booed lustily by Pirates fans when he entered the game, recorded one out and was the beneficiary of Willingham's work with the bat as the pitcher of record at the time of the blast.

Willingham is hitting .331 with 16 homers and 40 RBI in his past 66 games.

Nats starter Collin Balester had a decent performance, working ahead in the count most of the day. He left with two outs in the sixth inning, allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out three, and gave up Ronnie Cedeno's sixth home run of the season.

The middle of the Nats lineup did all the damage necessary backing Balester and the other pitchers. Ryan Zimmerman got on base, going 2-for-3 with a walk, and Willingham drove him in.

Ronnie Belliard, starting at first, also had two hits and a stolen base, and Alberto Gonzalez had two RBIs at the bottom of the order, scoring runs with a ground out and ground-rule double.

Pirates starter Paul Maholm (L, 6-6, 4.75) gave up four earned runs on seven hits and two walks to take the loss.

The day was also full of bad base running, as both teams had two runners thrown out stealing. And the Pirates Andy LaRoche was picked off at first base by Wil Nieves. Nieves had trouble coming up with a slider down and away, and LaRoche broke for second, but stopped and tried to retreat.

Nieves made a perfect throw and Belliard applied the tag, according to first base umpire Tim Timmons. Replays were inconclusive at best whether Belliard actually tagged LaRoche. Belliard stood on first base stroking his chin whiskers as Pittsburgh manager John Russell argued, to no avail.

THE TAKEAWAY: Willingham is just unconscious at the plate right now. His season averages of .305/.417/.598 all eclipse any previous career high or average. The truly interesting part of his hot stretch is that his BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) is not remarkably high at .330.

Sure, that's a touch above average, so a couple balls are falling in here or there for him. But mostly, he's just really putting good wood on the ball right now and "earning" his hits.

THE GOOD: Collin Balester. He threw 54 of his 84 pitches for strikes, including first pitch strikes to 12 of the 21 batters he faced.

THE BAD: Nyjer Morgan. He was 0-for4 and a caught stealing.

THE UGLY: Jorge Sosa. In his Nationals' debut, he gave up a home run to the first batter he faced. Welcome to the Nats, Jorge.

NEXT GAME: The finale of the four-game wraparound series with the Buccos. The 7:05 pm game features Garrett Mock (0-4, 7.09) gunning for his first 2009 win against Charlie Morton (2-3, 3.72), acquired from Atlanta in the Nate McLouth deal.

NOTES: Austin Kearns, scheduled to start, was scratched due to a contusion on his right thumb. Belliard was inserted at first and Willingham pushed back into left field. It would have been Willingham's first career start at first base.

All photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

THE RESULT: Andrew McCutcheon hit three home runs, Lastings Milledge had two more RBIs, and the rest of the new-look Pirates continued to make the team with the worst record in the majors look even worse, beating the Nats 11-6 before a healthy crowd in western Pennsylvania.

The Nationals are now 32-72 for the season, have lost four in a row, and are 6-11 under interim manager Jim Riggleman.

The ridiculously slow internet connection in our hotel in Pittsburgh will keep me from doing a complete story, but I'll offer these tidbits as a recap of last night's game, bullet-point style.

• PNC Park actually brands itself as the "Best Ballpark in America," and they might actually be right.
• Mmm, Primanti Bros.
• Nats fans were presently well-represented, sprinkled in amongst the black and gold. And according to my highly scientific study, I saw only two Red Sox hats and just one Yankees cap.
• Craig Stammen, despite having dozens of family members in town for the game, all proudly wearing "Stammen 35" red t-shirts (but without a Washington Nationals logo), struggled again last night. He threw very few curveballs, and his sinker was not getting the good action on it yet again.
• Ryan Zimmerman seems to have really picked up his contact at the plate in the last few days, but Adam Dunn has lost all semblance of it.
• Although, Dunn put on an exhibition during batting practice, at one point launching bomb after bomb OVER the grandstand in right field, sending a couple shots into the river beyond the fence.
• Nyjer Morgan was THISCLOSE to making several highlight reel catches, but the ball just seemed to elude him all night long. He also went 3-for-4 again.
• Josh Bard's leg injury continues to reduce his capacity and is a liability in the field. On one specific play, a throw from Morgan was well up the line, and a healthy catcher would have had plenty of time to go get it and keep it from going to the backstop. Alas, Bard stood firm, unable to get up from his crouch, and the run not only scored, but the batter advanced on the throw.
• The string of errorless games ended at six, the longest this season and longest for the Nats since 2005.
• Elijah Dukes went 0-for-3 with a walk, sacrifice fly and strikeout in his return from minor league exile.
• Logan Kensing may not be a major league pitcher.
• The Pirates batting order featured seven players to have played extensively int he minor leagues this season, and still pounded Nats pitching for 16 hits and 11 runs.
• To the contrary, the Nats got 12 hits and six walks, but left 11 men on base.

Game Three of the four-game set is today at 1:35 pm. Let's see if the Nats can muster the energy to come out and beat these new Pirates, because neither game so far has been remarkably competitive.

"[Stammen] was impressive. I think he has a chance to be around for a while. He's good." --Adam LaRoche, May 21, 2009.

THE RESULT: Making his major league debut, 25-year old rookie Craig Stammen worked quickly, efficiently and successfully into the seventh inning. Despite giving up three runs in the seventh and trailing 4-3, as he was lifted by manager Manny Acta he received a standing ovation from the 17,816 in attendance.

His teammates rallied to his cause, coming back in the eighth inning to salvage the finale of the four-game series, 5-4.

Stammen, recalled yesterday to replace Daniel Cabrera in the starting rotation, was the antithesis of the pitcher he replaced. He averaged around 11.3 pitches per inning up to the seventh. He walked just one batter in his six and one-third innings, and that wasn't until his last inning of work. He pounded the strike zone with a 92 MPH sinking fastball and induced 11 ground ball outs, opposed to just five fly ball outs.

He even mixed in three swing-and-miss strikeouts.

Stammen retired the first 12 batters he faced. He didn't allow a base runner until Adam LaRoche led of fthe fifth with a double down the right field line. LaRoche later scored on two ground ball outs.

In the seventh inning, it looked like the rookie just ran out of gas a little. He got Freddie Sanchez to hit a grounder to short for the first out, but then walked Nate McLouth. LaRoche then took him deep when he left a ball up in the strike zone. Brandon Moss followed with a double and Andy LaRoche singled Moss home.

That's when Acta went to pull his rookie, one of four now in the starting rotation.

Julian Tavarez entered and did his job, going one and two-thirds innings scoreless, allowing just one walk and no hits.

Washington got Stammen off the hook in eighth. Cristian Guzman hit a one-out single to left, took second on a Nick Johnson single to center, and scored on a Ryan Zimmerman line drive single to right. Adam Dunn followed with the Nats' fourth consecutive single plating Johnson, and the Nats took the lead into the ninth, as they have several times this season only to be rewarded with disappointment.

But that would not be the case on this night. Joel Hanrahan entered and looked like a different pitcher. He faced four batters and allowed one baserunner--a single to Moss on a slider he hung in the middle of the plate. At that point, Hanrahan put the slider in his back pocket and blew away Ramon Vazquez and pinch-hitter Delwyn Young on nothing but 96 and 97 MPH fastballs.

THE TAKEAWAY: Despite losing three-of-four to the Pirates, the Nats have to think things are looking up. The insertion of Stammen (25) and Detwiler (23) to a rotation already featuring youngsters John Lannan (24), Shairon Martis (22) and Jordan Zimmermann (23 tomorrow) is encouraging, especially since it seems that all are ready to start living up to the promise we've heard so much about.

And maybe Hanrahan finally understands that it's hard to hit a 96 MPH fastball, even for major league players.

Sandy Koufax said, "I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."

THE GOOD: In the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Nats were rallying to take the lead, a spontaneous, unprompted "Let's Go Nats" cheer erupted in the upper deck and spread. No one, not the scoreboard, not Clint...NO ONE had to tell these Washington baseball fans when to cheer.

If you build it, they will come.

THE BAD: Anderson Hernandez left the game after grounding out in the bottom of the fourth inning. According to team trainers, he sprained his right pinky finger. According to The Times' Chatter, Anderson actually dislocated a joint and had to pull the finger back into place. Ouch.

THE UGLY: There was nothing really ugly last night. It was a perfect early summer night weather-wise, the bullpen didn't implode, every starter but Hernandez had a hit. The Nats even went a game without an error!

NEXT GAME: Tonight, the start of a three-game series with our neighbors to the north, the Baltimore Orioles. Jordan Zimmermann (2-1, 6.35) takes the hill against Rich Hill (1-0, 3.18), who is fresh off the disabled list, trying to resurrect a once-promising career.

NOTES: Zimmerman's RBI single extended his consecutive on-base streak to 39 games.

All Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

Another rookie starter making his major league debut tonight for the Nationals. Craig Stammen gets the call from Syracuse. The 25-year old right hander is a "pitch-to-contact" guy, meaning he throws strikes, changes speeds, moves the ball around, but does not have a great "out" pitch, something that fools hitters.

Also, he does not strike people out (14 Ks in 40 IP), so he depends on his defense to help him be successful. He has credited his recent success to the development of a two-seam fastball (a sinker), to induce ground balls.

More chances for the infielders. Goody!

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (19-21, 5th in NL Central--6.5 games back; five-game win streak)

Morgan - LF
Sanchez - 2B
McLouth - CF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Moss - RF
Andy LaRoche - 3B
Jaramillo - C
Wilson - SS
Snell - P

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (11-28-1, 5th in NL East--10.5 games back; seven-game loss streak)

Guzman - SS
Johnson - 1B
Zimmerman - 3B
Dunn - RF
Willingham - LF
Harris - CF
Bard - C
Hernandez – 2B
Stammen - P

STARTING PITCHERS

WAS: Craig Stammen (MLB debut; 4-2, 1.80 ERA, 14 Ks, 8 BBs in 40 IP at Syracuse)

PIT: Ian Snell (42.0 IP, 1-5, 4.93 ERA, 30 Ks, 25 BBs)

WEATHER

Absolutely freaking gorgeous. Sunny, then clear at night. First pitch: 75F, last out: 66F.

"I'm tired of talking about losses, period. You can only say the same thing over and over and over before you get fed up with it, and that's kind of what's going on right now." --Adam Dunn, May 21, 2009

THE RESULT: A 2-2 slider in the dirt from closer Joel Hanrahan got past catcher Wil Nieves, allowing Freddy Sanchez to scramble home from third with the winning run in the top of the ninth inning, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals for the third straight game last night, before 17,854 at Nationals Park.

Hanrahan (L, 0-2, 6.87), called into the game tied at one, was awful again. He allowed three hits and a walk in one inning, needing 35 pitches to get through the disaster.

The Nats' fates were sealed in the bottom half of the ninth, when Nieves hit into a double play, and Josh Willingham's fly ball came to rest in center fielder Nate McLouth's glove, about a foot from the top of the wall, some 402 feet from home plate.

The end-game gaffe put an ugly stamp on an otherwise tight, entertaining game. Starter John Lannan went seven full innings, and allowed just one earned run on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five and hit one batter. Ron Villone followed him and contributed a scoreless inning with a K.

The Nats got their run in the fifth off Pirates starter Paul Maholm. Cristian Guzman hit a one-out triple and scored on a Nick Johnson line drive single to center. Johnson later stole second base, for his first steal of the season, but was stranded.

Reliever John Grabow (2-0) got the win and Matt Capps recorded his eighth save of the season.

THE TAKEAWAY: Hanrahan has to start throwing his fastball more. He was touching 97 on the stadium gun last night and someone has to tell him that he can't get beaten on his second best pitch. He is pitching afraid of contact, constantly throwing that slider in the dirt, and it's a recipe for continuing disaster--especially with men on base.

Joel: throw the fastball. It's your best pitch.

THE GOOD: Lannan. That's the John Lannan we've come to expect. Not overpowering, hitting his spots. Keeping his team in the game. Unfortunately, as has been the case for the last season and a half, he got no run support.

Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

Ryan Zimmerman went 1-for-4, extending his consecutive on-base streak to 38 games.

THE BAD: Dunn, Belliard, Maxwell, Nieves: all hitless. The Nats got nothing out of the bottom of the order.

THE UGLY: Another ninth inning meltdown. The bullpen is now 1-15.

NEXT GAME: One more against the Pirates. Craig Stammen makes his major league debut against Ian Snell (1-5, 4.93) at 7:05 pm.

ROSTER NOTE: Reliever Garrett Mock will be sent down to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Stammen. Mock was 0-2 with a 6.92 ERA in 13 games. He struck out six and walked eight in 13 innings pitched.