The Washington Nationals lost to the Philadelpha Phillies on Wednesday night by the score of 8-5.  The Nationals gave up five runs in the fifth inning and then was not able to come back and get back into the game.  This was one of those games that Nationals could have won but made a couple of mistakes that really cost them.

Tim Redding was hammered for ten hits and seven runs as the took the loss.  Redding lasted just four innings in the game as he has a very bad outing.  Steven Shell pitched the next three innnings and allowed one more run to score.  Luis Ayala and Jesus Colome finished things up on the mound in the eighth and ninth innings.

On the mound for the Nationals, Willie Harris and Jesus Flores both hit home runs.  Flores finished the game with two rbi while Harris, Lastings Milledge, and Ryan Zimmerman all finished with one rbi each.

I should let everyone know that I will be out of town until August 12th and will not be able to update the blog until I get back.  If there is a Nationals fan out there that reads the blog and wants to try doing some game recaps please use the contact us link at the top and send me a email.

Thanks – Cliff

One mistake by Collin Balester and the Washington Nationals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Tuesday night.  Chase Utley hit a Balester pitch for a home run in the third inning and that was all the Phillies needed as the Nationals offense couldn’t quite come back to tie or take the lead in the game.

Balester gave up six hits and two runs over six innings to take the loss. He is now 1-3 on the season.  Balester didn’t throw the ball that bad at all, just made the one mistake to Utley.

In the eighth inning, Willie Harris grounded out to thrid base to score Cristian Guzman for the Nationals lone run.  The Nats need to start swinging the bats better and scoring some runs.  If your pitcher holds the opposing team to two runs, you should be able to get the victory.  That just isn’t the case for this team however.

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Jason Bergmann fell to 1-7 as he lost on Tuesday night to the San Francisco Giants.  It was the second straight game that the Nationals have lost to the Giants out in San Francisco.  They will have to win on Wednesday if they want to avoid the dreadful three game sweep.

Bergmann just didn’t have it going on the mound.  That is something that we have been saying all season long about him though.  He allowed five hits and five runs (four earned) in the game while taking the loss.  Bergmann had a problem with the home run ball as Bengie Molina took him deep twice and Fred Lewis did as well in the first inning.

Saul Rivera gave up two hits and one run in the eight inning.  The bullpen didn’t do a bad job besides for Rivera.  Jesus Colome and Charlie Manning combined to throw two scoreless innings.

Paul LoDuca hit a rbi ground rule double and added on a rbi ground out to lead the team at the plate with two rbi.  Willie Harris also hit his 7th home run of the season which was a solo shot in the 5th inning.

I would probably expect the Nationals to lose on Wednesday as well they way they are playing right now.  Hell they can’t even beat Barry Zito!

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The Washington Nationals were able to hold off the Florida Marlins for a 9-6 victory on Tuesday night.  The Marlins actually had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning but they were unable to in the inning.  It was a good win for the Nationals as they evened up the series at 1-1.

The Nationals got down early and just kept plugging away in the game.  Ronnie Belliard finished the game with four rbi as he hit a grand slam in the sixth inning for the Nationals.  Elijah Dukes also had a solo home run in the fourth inning.  Felipe Lopez chipped in with two rbi while Willie Harris had one rbi.

Collin Balester pitched five innings to start the game and only gave up one hit and one run to get a no decision.  Balester pitched well enough to pick up the victory and is now 1-0.  Steven Shell had some problems as he gave up two hits and three runs in relief of Balester.  Charlie Manning also gave up two runs in relief.  Jon Rauch pitched the ninth inning to record his 17th save of the season.

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Jon Rauch gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning to Hanley Ramirez and then served up the game winning home run in the 10th inning to Josh Willingham as the Washington Nationals lost to the Florida Marlins 6-5 in ten innings of action. Rauch blew the save and then took the loss to fall to 4-2 on the year.  Rauch will just need to clear his head and get right back on the mound tomorrow.

Starting pitcher Tim Redding pitched the first five innings of the game and gave up eight hits and four runs.  The middle relief of the Nationals did really good as Jesus Colome and Saul Rivera pitched a combined three scoreless innings before Rauch blew the game.

The Nationals got four seperate rbi’s from four different players in the game.  Cristian Guzman, Elijah Dukes, Dmitri Young, and Willie Harris all had a rbi in the game.  Dukes rbi came via the long ball as he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning.

The Nationals will just have to forget about this game and get out there and pick up a victory on Tuesday.  Hopefully they can do that.  Nationals Blog

The Washington Nationals had a one run lead in th eighth inning but two runs in the eighth inning by the Los Angeles Angels put them in the lead and they held on for the 3-2 victory.  It was a dissapointing loss for the Nationals who had one of major league baseball’s teams on the the ropes.  Could have been a big win for the Nats, but that is all we can say is “could have”.

Jason Bergmann got a no decision in the game after pitching the first seven innings of the game.  Bergmann gave up six hits and one run while striking out six batters.  It was a good quality starts for Bergmann, the bullpen just didn’t hold onto the lead.

Saul Rivera pitched the eighth inning and gave up both runs to the Angels.  Rivera ended up taking the loss and is now 3-4.  The Angels first run in the eighth inning came on a error by Felipe Lopez, and then they scored their second run on a single to right center field.

Willie Harris hit his fourth home run of the season in the second inning to score the Nationals first run in the game.  The second run of the game didn’t come until the seventh inning when Paul Lo Duca lined a pitch back to John Lackey who caught it but then made a bad throw that allowed Harris to score.

The Nationals will now hope to even up the series at 1-1 on Tuesday night.  I really don’t like their chances but we will see what happens.

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The Washington Nationals avoided the three game sweep by the Houston Astros with a 8-3 victory on Thursday night.  The Nationals used three runs in the eighth inning and then another run in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach for the Astros.

The Nationals got home runs from Willie Harris and Rob Mackowiak in the game.  Austin Kearns and Mackowiak both finished with two rbi in the game.  Nick Johnson and Harris both had one rbi in the game.

John Lannan pitched six innings to pick up his third win of the season.  Lannan is now 3-3 on the season. 

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The Washington Nationals shutout the Atlanta Braves by the score of 6-0 on Tuesday night.  The Nationals were only ahead 1-0 heading into the ninth inning but they exploded for five runs in the top of the ninth inning as they beat the Braves 6-0.

John Lannan pitche seven innings to pick up the win for the Nationals.  Lannan only allowed five hits and zero runs in his seven innings of action.  Behind Lannan, Ray King, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch pitched the final two innings without giving up a run.

Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals with two RBI while Felipe Lopez, Cristian Guzman, and Willie Harris all had one RBI.

The Nationals improved their record to 6-15 with the victory over the Braves.  It was a big win for the Nationals who had been on a long losing steak.

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The Washington Nationals lost to the Atlatna Braves in Atlanta on Monday by the score of 7-3 putting the Nationals at 5-15 for the season.  Quickly falling behind in the season standings, the Nationals have a lot of work to do to get their team back into shape and I just don’t see it happening.

Cristian Guzman, Felipe Lopez, and Willie Harris all recorded doubles yesterday against the Braves.  Harris, Lastings Milledge, and Aaron Boone all picked up a RBI in Monday’s game as well.

Matt Chico was the opening pitcher for the Nationals and pitched for four innings allowing eight hits, six runs, and walked three.  This loss puts him at 0-4 for the year.  Joel Hanrahan, Jesus Colome, and Chad Cordero were brought in to pitch the last three innings giving up a combined five hits and one run between the three of them.  (Hanrahan was the pitcher to give up the run).

The Washington Nationals will stay in Atlanta for one more game against the Braves tonight then will travel back home to face the New York Mets.

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