The Washington Nationals gave up three runs in the 8th inning to the San Francisco Giants and they went on to lose the game by the score of 6-4 on Wednesday night.  This was a game that the Nationals should have won but once again they just couldn’t get the job done.  The Nats will now have to win Thursday afternoon to avoid the three game sweep by the Giants.

Luis Ayala gave up two doubles and three runs in the 8th inning to take the loss.  Ayala gave up a two run double to Rich Aurilia and then another double to Omar VIzquel and that is how the Giants came from behind to win.

Collin Balester got the start on the mound for the Nationals and got the no decision.  Balester threw five innings while giving up six hits and three runs.

At the plate, Jesus Flores hit a solo home run which was his sixth of the season.  Johnny Estrada also had a rbi signle while Ryan Langerhans went 2-3 and scored two runs.

So will the Nationals get the win on Thursday and avoid the sweep?  I really doubt it.  Nationals Baseball Blog

The Washington Nationals blew the lead in the ninth inning but Elijah Dukes made sure that they didn’t lose the game as he hit a game winning walk off two run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning.  The 10-9 win salvaged a split in the double header against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

After Jon Rauch gave up two runs in the ninth inning to blow the save, Brian Sanches gave up a home run to Joe Mather and it looked like the Nationals were going to lose for sure.  That is when Dukes bailed out his pitching teammates.  You always try to pick up your teammates if they have a bad day and that is exactly what Dukes did.  Sanches actually ended up getting the win in the game because of that.

I should mention that Nationals starting pitcher Tim Redding was rocked in his 5 2/3 innings of action.  He allowed nine hits and six runs.

Dukes led the Nationals with four rbi in the game.  Aaron Boone and Kory Casto both had two rbi while Cristian Guzman and Ryan Langerhans had one rbi.

The Nationals should be glad they were atleast able to come away with a split in the double header.  They will begin a weekend series with the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.

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The Washingon Nationals lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on a rainy night in the nations capital.  There was a 49 minute rain delay in the top of the fifth inning as the game took longer to play then what had been planned.

The Natinals had hardly any offense in the game as they were only able to come up with six hits and one run.  The one run came in the bottom of the fifth inning Ryan Langerhans grounded out to second and Jesus Flores scored.  The Nationals just weren’t able to string together two or three hits at a time to get a rally going.

Odalis Perez took the loss as he pitched three innings and gave up five hits and four runs.  The Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning with the big blow coming off the bat of Yadier Molina when he took Perez deep for a three run home run.

Jesus Colome came in after Perez exited and he didn’t have any luck either.  Colome gave up two runs on three hits in only one inning of action.  Brian Sanches, Charlie Manning, Saul Rivera, and Jon Rauch were finally able to hold the Cardinals down for the last five innings of the game.

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The San Diego Padres scored three runs off the Washington Nationals bullpen in the eighth inning on Thursday as they beat the Nationals by the score of 5-2.  The Nationals were going for the series win but instead dropped two of three games to the Padres.

Saul Rivera gave up two runs as he pitched in relief of starting pitcher John Lannan.  Rivera took the loss and is now 3-3 on the season while Lannan got the no decision.  Charlie Manning recorded the final two outs but still was charged with one earned run in the game.

Elijah Dukes had a sacrafice fly in the fourth inning that scored the Nationals first run of the game and then pitch hitter Ryan Langerhans singled in Dukes in the seventh inning for the Nationals second and final run of the game.

The Nationals will now travel to Arizona to take the Diamondbacks on in a three game weekend series.  This series spells trouble for the Nationals if you ask me.

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The Washington Nationals have made another round of cuts as they trim down their spring training roster as it gets closer to opening day.

Chris Schroder and John Lannan were optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Ryan Langerhans and Pete Orr were sent to the teams minor league camp.

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