Nationals 6, Braves 3: It's now five on the trot for the Nats, as they got yet another big contribution from Ian Desmond to beat the Braves in Atlanta. The Sarasota, Florida native smashed a solo home run in the second, a two-run triple in the fourth, and scored on pitcher Livan Hernandez's single in the fifth. (He's got potential, folks; though if you're reading your trusty LNA regularly, you already knew that.) Hernandez looked pretty good; the real question with him is whether or not the Nats want to bring him back next season or they want to save that spot in the rotation for a young, albeit unproven arm like J.D. Martin or Ross Detweiler. That's for later days, though; for now, what hasn't been to like about this week in NatsTown? It's been a banner one for the young guys, the role players are contributing, Ryan Zimmerman has been scoring lots of important runs, and every guy in the five-man rotation has had a quality start. So what if it's the end of the season; when your team is the first National League club to lose 100 games in consecutive seasons in 25 years, you'll take the winning streaks when they come, dammit. more ›

Dodgers 14, Nationals 2: Alright, there's four series left in the season. The Nationals, having little else to play for the rest of this season, should take the next 13 games and just try to win more than half. You know, baby steps to a better ballclub. Well, that meager goal didn't get off to the best start last night. Two six-plus run innings buried the Nationals, and the Nats suffered their worst loss since a July 25th drubbing against San Diego last night. The boys from L.A. were red-hot during the fourth and seventh innings, beating up several Washington pitchers in the process, notably Livan Hernandez (8-12) and Saul Rivera. Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda looked nearly unhittable. Adam Dunn did smash his 38th longball of the season -- and with it, a great chance to be the only guy not named Soriano to post a forty-homer season in a Nationals uni -- but that was the only mistake that Kuroda made in six stellar innings of work, so even without the huge innings, the Nats were swimming upstream from the start. Winless wonder Ross Detweiler will attempt to stave off the odometer clicking over to 100 losses tomorrow. more ›

Phillies 6, Nationals 1: Pop quiz, hot shot. There's only six games you can lose before hitting 100. You've got bases loaded, one out, down by two, against a team you haven't scored against in 16 innings. If this lead goes any higher than it is now, the game is blown up. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO? Well, if you're Nationals reliever Jason Bergmann, you groove a two-strike pitch right down the middle to Jayson Werth and he absolutely crushes the ball into the left-center stands for a killer grand slam. (Good thing that Bergmann wasn't the negotiator in Speed, eh?) The trooper of the night award goes to starter Livan Hernandez (8-11), who was solid: two runs in six innings should be enough to give your team a good chance to win. But the Nationals' run production was, once again, anemic. They finally broke their scoreless streak against Phillie pitching in the ninth inning, but Joe Blanton (10-7) -- who had a rough go of it at Nationals Park one week ago -- benefited from numerous base-running mistakes, including Ian Desmond being thrown out at third on a safety squeeze and Cristian Guzman getting doubled off first base on a line drive with two men in scoring position. more ›

Nationals 8, Phillies 7: Everyone knows those moments in life where you find yourself saying "whew, that was close" out loud, directed no one in particular. Well, if they could speak collectively, the Nationals would have certainly had one of those moments on Thursday evening: despite a pair of relievers allowing five runs in the top of the ninth, the Nats still managed to salvage a win in the finale of their last home series of the year against Philadelphia. Until the ninth, though, things looked great for the Nats. Starter Livan Hernandez navigated through a rocky first inning, and didn't allow the potent Phils lineup to cross the plate between the second and the eighth innings. And thanks in part to the impressive debut of shortstop Ian Desmond (2-4, double, home run, 4 RBI), the home team found themselves with a comfortable six-run lead after chasing the normally reliable Joe Blanton from the game during a five-run fifth. Somehow, though, that big lead was reduced to one after Zack Segovia and closer Mike MacDougal just couldn't get any Phillies out; the big blow obviously being Matt Stairs' pinch-hit grand slam, which sent the stadium -- chock full of red Phillies hats -- into a state of nervous excitement. But Nats setup man Ron Villone literally saved the day; truly earning his first save of the season by coaxing big slugger Ryan Howard into a game-ending double play with the tying run on third and one out. Whew, that was close, indeed. more ›

Cubs 9, Nationals 4: Normally, signing a sub-.500 pitcher who was just recently given his unconditional release by a team that's 17.5 games out shouldn't be such an occasion, but we're not talking about any mediocre starter here: we're talking about Livan Hernandez! (How's this for depressing: in Nationals franchise history -- that is to say, from 2005 on -- Livan is still the team's all-time leader in wins. With 24. Man, the pitching for this team has been great, eh?) In any case, the rotund righty rejoined the team quickly enough to get the start last night at Wrigley. And what do you know: Livan brought the goods, giving up only two runs in six innings. Sadly, the Nationals were unable to scrounge up a quality bullpen arm to replace Jorge Sosa in addition to reacquiring the Cuban. Sosa just fell apart and allowed five runs in the eighth inning -- including allowing six straight Chicago batters to reach base -- to spoil Hernandez's effort, and the Nationals fell to the Cubs. On the bright side, if the team can get outings like this from Livan consistently, it'll be a steal -- and another feather in new GM Mike Rizzo's cap. more ›

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to a world with a new home run record. That's right: Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homer last night against our very own Washington Nationals. We're sure there are some mixed feelings among the Nats today about being immortalized in a video clip that'll likely be replayed for decades to come. Four Shot During National Night Out: Last night was the National Night Out, a crime-prevention event where citizens... more ›

This much is known about the Nats’ managerial search: 1) With Piniella and Girardi having withdrawn, the position is unlikely to be filled by recognized "name". 2) The process has been conducted with Karl Rove-like secrecy. 3) Because of #2, the press is essentially groping in the dark for leads, and the final selection will most likely not have been on anyone’s lists two weeks ago. For the prospective candidates, the description of the Nat’s... more ›

Livan Hernandez is Frank Robinson’s kind of player: crafty, with dogged determination and competitive fire. He wants the ball in every situation. He's eaten innings in big chunks, leading the league in IP for three years straight. He’s loyal, perhaps to a fault. He’s been one of the faces of the franchise in recent years, and was the first player to throw a pitch for the Nationals last year. Despite not having the best... more ›

The highly anticipated Battle of the Beltway ended its second round yesterday with the Nationals losing the weekend series to the Orioles at Camden Yards. The series concluded this year's meetings between the two teams. Looking back on this budding rivalry, it is clear that the Nats and Orioles played themselves to a stalemate. Each team won its home series by taking 2 of 3 games. Each team finds itself struggling to stay out... more ›

John Patterson may make his return by Friday of this week against the Orioles, and not a moment too soon. more ›

Not for the first time this year (remember that stretch back in April that got them within three of .500?) did the Nats make us think a competitive season was possible, when they ran off a 7-3 homestand to close the NL East gap to single digits. After taking bragging rights from the Orioles and a series each from the Astros and Dodgers, the Nationals headed back out on the road to face division rival... more ›

When the Nats completed the series win over their budding rivals from Baltimore last weekend, things were looking up. They'd won two in a row (and three of four), stalwart starter Livan Hernandez appeared to have returned to last year's All Star form, and Alfonso Soriano was proving why Jim Bowden coveted him so badly. The team seemed to have turned a corner on their poor start. But Momentum, she is a fickle lady.... more ›

After 22 straight scoreless innings, things looked bleak for the Nationals. With their highly-anticipated Battle of the Beltway on tap, the Nats had to beat the Cubs and Kerry Wood making his first start of the season. Well, a little bit of lineup shake up did the trick as four players, including Damian Jackson and Marlon Anderson, homered in a 5-3 victory over the Cubs. Firmly in fourth place, the Nats can now look ahead to their three-game showdown against their natural regional rivals, the Orioles. more ›

Livan Hernandez finally managed to stay out of early trouble last night, but his teammates couldn't cause any of their own against Carlos Zambrano. The 24-year-old right hander spread four harmless singles over eight innings to shut out the Nats 4-0 in Chicago and pick up his second win. No National had more than one hit. Alfonso Soriano struck out three times on the same day the Post commended him for not letting his... more ›

"People keep asking me, 'What's wrong?' I'm going to have my numbers. People shouldn't worry about Jose Guillen." more ›

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jeff Beam. Just another day at the office for the 2006 Nationals. After Monday's much-needed day off, Tuesday was off to the races. By midday, the team had learned that Ryan Drese would be out four to six weeks, but would avoid season-ending surgery. By the late evening, when Gary Majewski was wrapping up a 10-3 victory in Philly, their GM was on the hot seat, and the... more ›

Damn it. Baseball doesn't make it easy on the Nats. Last year, the team opened their season with an extra long road trip to allow time for final RFK upgrades. This year RFK is in good shape (relatively), but Washington will still kick things off with six games on the road, beginning with three against the spend-happy Mets. In yesterday's afternoon opener at Shea, the Nats avoided Pedro and played well, but one more elbow... more ›

Quite the sports weekend for the greater DC area. Something for everyone as they say. We'll start out at RFK with the DC United and NY Red Bulls match, for no other reason except that I was there with the pictures to prove it. Despite considering myself to be quite the soccer fan, I'm ashamed to say that this was my first ever United game. And when the Red Bulls scored twice in the first... more ›

Stick a fork in 'em? The Nationals' three game cross-country trip to San Diego, which started out on a high note with Friday night's 5-1 victory (John Patterson was brilliant - 9IP, 3H, 0BB, 1R, 6K), ended in the worst way possible: back-to-back heartbreaking losses that might have finally, quietly, snuffed out their 2005 playoff hopes. As you remember, the banged-up Nats left for the West Coast on Thursday a giddy bunch, with their... more ›

Well, they just won't go away, will they now? In winning their last two straight against the Mets, your Washington Nationals have made up a little ground in the Wild Card standings. Hector Carrasco took the baton from an ailing John Patterson on Tuesday night, coming through with four solid innings and setting the tone for a 4-2 win (Rauch, Eischen, Majewski, and Cordero combined for five scoreless innings). Last night, Esteban Loaiza gave most of the members of the beleaguered bullpen a much needed breather, tossing seven gritty innings (7H, 3R, 0BB, 5K) to pitch the Nats to a 6-3 victory (Cordero earned his 46th save). Livan Hernandez takes the hill for the Nats this afternoon with a chance to sweep the series. more ›

A weekend trip to Colorado might have been just what the doctor ordered for the oft offensively-challenged Washington Nationals, who appear to be breaking out of their offensive doldrums just in time for the second leg of their make-or-break 13 game road trip. After a 4-2 win Friday and an 8-0 thrashing Saturday night, the Nats completed the three game sweep by pounding the Rockies 9-2 yesterday. More importantly than winning (and sweeping) their first... more ›

Glass. Half. Full. more ›

The New York Times Magazine featured, this past Sunday, the work of former Expos and current Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, whose work in Flushing has concentrated on attracting Latinos, both to the stands and the playing fields of Shea. Mentioned in the piece is the stellar work Minaya did with Les Expos, bringing in Latino talents such as current Nationals All-Star pitcher Livan Hernandez and second baseman Jose Vidro, in keeping the troubled... more ›

The longest month in the brief history of the Washington Nationals came to a merciful end with a 4-2 victory over the Marlins yesterday afternoon. Livan Hernandez earned his 13th win and ended the Nationals skid with an eight inning, two run effort, and Chad Cordero pitched a perfect 9th for his 35th save. But what a difference a month makes: The Nats entered the month of July with a 47-31 record and proceeded to... more ›

(Entry written by DCist contributor Chris Kelly) The Nationals head up I-95 to Philly for a 3-game tilt before they hit the All-Star break, following yesterday's 3-2, 11 inning loss and a 3-1 series loss against the Mets (first home series loss since April). Nats blew a chance to win it in the 9th yesterday with two men on and one out, but neither Jose Guillen nor Brad Wilkerson could get the job done. For... more ›

Despite losing to the Mets yesterday at home, the long weekend was very good the Washington Nationals. They swept the Cubs over the weekend, drew their largest DC crowd ever yesterday and even got some front page love from the folks over at ESPN.com. Oh, and lest we forget that we have not one, but two All Stars on our roster. Livan Hernandez and Chad Cordero will both be making the trip to Detroit next week. That's the first time the Nats/Expos franchise has had multiple All Stars since 2002. more ›

(Entry written by DCist contributor Chris Kelly) The Nationals saw their 12 game home winning streak come to an end yesterday at RFK as a result of a 9-5 roasting at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Orlando Hudson of the Jays broke a 5-5 tie in the 8th with a two-run home run off of Luis Ayala. Sunny Kim gave up two more in the 9th to put the game out of reach.... more ›

(Entry written by DCist contributor Chris Kelly) more ›

Who knew last night would turn into a squeaker? The Nats scored 4 early runs on 2 back-to-back doubles, and Livan Hernandez was on track for a shutout (which, surprisingly enough, we believe he hasn't done this season). And then ... well, the important thing is that they won. So make that win streak a season-best seven. more ›

After being swept by the woeful Reds (21-31) last Thursday, the Nats' prospects against the non-woeful Cardinals (33-18) looked pretty bleak. Friday's inevitable loss brought the team to .500, a low since late April, when the team record was just 11-11. Then Saturday's "L" put them under the halfway mark for the first time since the Nats' seventh game of the season, where they fell to division rival Atlanta. But then something happened: the Nats... more ›