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.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals pitched a great game on Monday night but the offense was no where to be found as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Nationals by the score of 1-0.  The Nationals are now 20-27 on the season after the loss.

Jon Rauch took the loss for the Nationals as he gave up the run in the ninth inning.  Rauch is now 2-1 on the season after losing the game tonight.  Starting pitcher Jason Bergmann pitched seven innings and only allowed five hits as he got a no decision.  Saul Rivera pitched a scoreless eighth inning as well.

The Nationals offense only had five hits in the game but did get a little rally going in the ninth inning.  Elijah Dukes walked and then stole second and third base, but was stranded at third base to end the game when Felipe Lopez grounded out to second base.

The Nationals keep on struggling and I’m not sure when things will turn around to be honest.  Nationals Blog

Four Washington Nationals pitchers combined to shut out the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.  The Nationals beat the Phillies by the score of 4-0 as they improved their record to 20-26.

Tim Redding got the start for the Nationals and pitched 6 1/3 innigs.  Redding gave up seven hits while walking and striking out two batters.  Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Joel Hanrahan pitched the final 2 2/3 innings without allowing a hit.

Lastings Milledge led the Nationals at the plate with two rbi.  Milledge had a two run double in the in the third inning.  Dmitri Young had a sacrafice fly in the first inning and then scored another run with a double play groundball in the seventh inning.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals scored four runs in the seventh inning as they beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Wednesday night.  Great win for the Nationals as they took two out of three games against the Mets.

The Nationals only had six hits in the game but they made good use of them all.  Cristian Guzman had two rbi in the game while Ryan Zimmerman, Felipe Lopez, Aaron Boone, and Jesus Flores all had one rbi.  Zimmerman’s rbi came on a solo home run in the sixth inning.

Starting pitcher Tim Redding tossed six inning and only allowed one run to pick up the win.  Redding improved his record to 5-3 with the win.  Saul Rivera came in to pitch after Redding left he game and didn’t fare to well as he gave up three hits and two runs.  Jon Rauch pitched 1 1/3 innings to pick up the save which was his eighth of the season.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals beat up on the New York Mets on Monday night by the score of 10-4.  The Nationals scored in every inning except for three as they kept pressure on the Mets pitchers the entire night.

Odalis Perez threw 6 1/3 innings to pick up his first win and improve his record to 1-3 on the season.  Perez did allow eleven hits and four runs including two home runs but this time he got some run support on the mound.

Chris Schroder and Saul Rivera both tossed 1 1/3 innings in the game as they pitched in relief and they did not give up a run.

Lastings Milledge, Jesus Flores, Perez all had two rbi each in the game.  Felipe Perez, Nick Johnson, and Rob Mackowiak had one rbi each in the game.  Now that is what I call production up and down the lineup.  You gotta love seeing that kind of production from that many players.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals picked up a very big win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.  The Nationals defeated the Braves 6-3 to pick up a game in the standings against the Braves.

Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson both hit home runs for the Nationals.  Both home runs were solo shots.  Zimmerman finished the game with three RBI, Lastings Milledge had two RBI, while Johnson had one RBI.

Starting pitcher Tim Redding got the no decision in the game after throwing six innings and giving up four hits and two runs.  Saul Rivera pitched one inning in relief to pick up the win.  It was Rivera’s second win of the season.

The Nationals are now 10-17 on the season.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals doubled up the New York Mets on Thursday night as the Nationals beat the Mets 10-5.  The Nationals really needed this win as they need to get back on track and go on a nice winning streak.

Shawn Hill started the game for the Nationals and pitched five innings.  He did allow three runs on six hits in the no decision.  Mike O’Connor pitched the sixth inning to record the win for the Nationals.  Saul Rivera and Jon Rauch both gave up a run in the game.

Felipe Lopez powered the Nationals at the plate as he hit a grand slam in the sixth inning.  Lopez finished with six RBI in the game.  Cristian Guzman, Ryan Zimmerman, Wil Nieves, and Johnny Estrada all had one RBI in the game.  A lot of production for the Nationals which is something they need to happen more often.

Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals just couldn’t get the hitting going on Sunday as they lost to the Florida Marlins 6-0. They were only able to get five hits and one run in the game against Florida’s pitching staff.  They also struggled to connect with the ball all night as they struckout seven times in the game.

Odalis Perez got the start for the Nationals and pitched six innings as he gave up five hits and one earned run.  Luis Ayala came in and pitched the seventh inning and gave up one run as he took the loss.  The Marlins broke the game loose in the eigth inning when they scored four earned runs off of Saul Rivera.

Austin Kearns got the only run of the night for the Washington Nationals hitting as he hit a solo home run in the 5th inning off of Scott Olsen.  It was his 2nd home run of the year and his 10th RBI.  Aaron Boone hit his 1st double of the season. 

With the loss to the Marlins hanging over their head, they will head to Atlanta to take on the Braves on Monday.  They will need to get back to hitting the ball if they want to beat the Braves.

Marlins Blog

The Washington Nationals gave up four runs in the fifth inning and they went onto lose to the New York Mets by the score of 5-2.  Had the Nationals been able to control the Mets in that fifth inning, I think the game would have played out good for the Nationals in the late innings.

Matt Chico took the loss for the Nationals and it dropped his 2008 record to 0-3.  Chico lasted five innings and gave up five earned runs and seven hits.

Jesus Colome, Saul Rivera, and Chad Cordero pitched the final three innings and only allowed two hits.  Great job by the bullpen tonight.

Austin Kearns did go deep for the Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman had a sacrafice fly in the first inning but that was all the offense they could manage against the Mets pitchers.

The hitters are slumping right now and the pitchers aren’t able to pick them up and that is why the Nationals have been in a slump as a team.  I don’t know if this team can come out of this slump, I can see it continuing for a few more weeks atleast.  What do you think?

Nationals Blog