The Washington Nationals found themselves in a familiar position Sunday afternoon. After dropping their first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats again were trailing in the third and final game of the series. Down 3-1 in the seventh, and in danger of being swept for the fourth time in a month’s time, the Nationals turned to pinch-hitter Alex Escobar. With Jose Guillen on board with a walk, Escobar drilled a shot over…

The Washington Nationals arrived at this year’s All-Star Break in ignominious fashion, suffering their fifth sweep of the season at RFK. This time, the Nats were victimized by the San Diego Padres. After a successful series against Florida earlier this week, the Nats could smell second place in the NL East. They now find themselves amid the musky odor of the division’s basement. That they played the Padres so closely only adds to the…

Just a speed bump on the road back to a competitive season? Or a return to earth for a team playing way beyond its ability for nearly a month? In either case, the Nats did not look good in dropping the first two of a four-game set with Colorado on Monday and Tuesday. The Nats began the week having won six of their last seven series, winning at a .696 clip during that span….

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…

“People keep asking me, ‘What’s wrong?’ I’m going to have my numbers. People shouldn’t worry about Jose Guillen.” Somewhere, Gilbert Arenas is smiling. He would definitely appreciate the third-person proclamations Jose Guillen made in Monday’s Post. Especially since Guillen had previously struggled so badly – through Saturday he had two homers on the year, was batting a paltry .227, and recently was dropped from cleanup to the fifth spot in the order. But Guillen emphatically…

May 4 may well be remembered as the happiest day in D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ political career. It is today, at 10 a.m., that Williams and new Nationals owner Ted Lerner will come together to break ground on the new $611 million stadium in Southeast. The Nats may have come back to Washington in September 2004, but their longevity in the city was consistently tested by bruising battles over stadium financing and team ownership,…

This post was written by DCist contributor Jeff Beam. The announcement of a new owner can’t come soon enough for the reeling Nats, who lost 5-0 Wednesday afternoon to the Reds, completing the series sweep and dropping them seven games below .500 (7-14) on the young season. The Nats put themselves in early holes in all three games, and have not led since surrendering a 3-run homer in the 8th against Atlanta on Sunday –…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Benjamin Kabak. For seven innings on Sunday, it looked like the Nationals would come away from the weekend with a two-game sweep of the rain-shortened series with Atlanta. But over the space of three batters on Sunday night, Gary Majewski and the game fell apart. In the end, a three-run home run by Braves shortstop Wilson Betemit highlighted a night of futility for the Nats offense. The Nats’…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jeff Beam. This is not how the Nats wanted to start things. After losing five of seven in New York and Houston to start the season, the Nats returned home to RFK for a mid-week tilt with the Mets. After last week’s parade of hit batsmen and subsequent suspensions, tension built between the teams to the point of a warning from the league extending the rest of the…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Ben Kabak. Down to their last three outs, the Nationals pulled off a dramatic 9-5 extra-innings win over the Mets last night at Shea Stadium. While Ryan Zimmerman’s first Major League home run propelled the game into extra innings and Jose Guillen provided the game winning blast, the story of the game was once again Alfonso Soriano’s attitude. The controversy erupted in the top of the 6th. After…