Ian Desmond boosted the slugging percentage with a home run and atriple Friday night. (AP Photo/John Amis) 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….

Well, if you don’t take the fourth and seventh innings into consideration, the Nats played okay. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) 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…

Jason Bergmann couldn’t bear to watch Jayson Werth’s mammoth grand slam which killed off Wednesday night’s game in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) 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….

The Nats cut it a bit to close for comfort on Thursday night, but still found themselves celebrating at game’s end. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 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…

Despite the Nationals loss, the returning Livan Hernandez pitched well, presenting hope to the potbellied amongst us. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

John Patterson may make his return by Friday of this week against the Orioles, and not a moment too soon. After last night’s 11-3 drubbing in Fenway, Nats pitchers have now surrendered 66 runs over the past eight days. That’s an average of over eight runs per game, for a team that ranked 9th in the majors in team ERA last year. The failures are across the board, with the bullpen and four of the…