Game 125: Nats at Cubs

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

CHICAGO — Davey Johnson has suggested in recent days he plans to start sitting some of his left-handed hitters when a fellow lefty is starting against the Nationals. So with young Chris Rusin on the mound tonight for the Cubs, Johnson is following through with his promise.

Adam LaRoche is on the bench. So is Denard Span. Those two are giving way to Tyler Moore and Scott Hairston. The only left-handed hitter in Davey's lineup is Bryce Harper, who gets bumped to the leadoff spot.

Dan Haren, incredibly the Nationals' best and most-reliable starting pitcher over the last month, gets the ball tonight, trying to erase the memories of last night's 11-1 trouncing at Wrigley Field.

Updates to come...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Wrigley Field
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 187
Weather: Clear, 82 degrees, Wind 10 mph out to LF

NATIONALS (60-64)
CF Bryce Harper
SS Ian Desmond
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth

Marathon men

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ATLANTA — Their starting pitcher had departed some 4 1/2 hours earlier, ejected after plunking a batter in the first inning and then losing all semblance of his command in the second. Their manager had been ejected, too, not to mention their left fielder later in the evening.

Eight relievers (one of them actually a starter) had cobbled together 14 innings of work, though the last six of those innings wouldn't have been necessary had their closer recorded one more out in the bottom of the ninth.

Their star 20-year-old, scratched from the lineup earlier in the day with a bruised left triceps muscle after getting drilled by a pitch the previous night, had been forced into action late.

Then again, pretty much everyone in uniform was forced into action for this 5-hour, 29-minute marathon, with 44 of the 50 active players on the two rosters appearing in the game.

So when it finally ended, when Adam LaRoche had homered in the top of the 15th and Dan Haren had pitched the bottom of the inning — in the rain — to earn the first save of his 11-year career, the Nationals could only sit back and enjoy the feeling that comes only after you pull off an 8-7 victory over your fiercest rivals.

"Golly," LaRoche sighed. "What a battle."
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Worth the wait

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If you're going to slog your way through 3 hours and 20 minutes of baseball — with a 77-minute rain delay in between the fourth and fifth innings on top of all that, not to mention a heated dugout argument between teammates — in front of a crowd that included mostly close friends and family by night's end, you might as well emerge victorious.

So despite the fact there were plenty of negatives to harp on the Nationals late Tuesday — the in-plain-view spat between Jayson Werth and Gio Gonzalez, another hamstring injury for Wilson Ramos, a 2-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position — the simple fact they walked away with a 4-2 win (their fourth straight) over the Giants left everyone in the home clubhouse feeling better.

"Nice to win, first of all," Adam LaRoche said. "It's tough burning your starter like that, as well as he was throwing. ... Good win, good little streak we're on. Better late than never, but we're still in a hole pretty good, so we've got a lot of work to do."

Indeed, the Nationals gained no ground on Tuesday, neither in the NL East nor in the NL Wild Card race. But the standings have become secondary for this underachieving club for now. These guys just want to win games, something they hadn't been able to do with any regularity over the season's first four months.
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No nostalgia for Lannan in return

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After making his return to Nationals Park on Friday night, John Lannan didn’t have much to say about the experience, he wasn’t nostalgic about returning to the mound in D.C. or being in the opposing locker room for the first time in his career.

But if Lannan wasn’t in the mood to talk about those things after his team’s 9-2 loss to the Nationals, that can be understood. The 28-year-old, in fact, put out one of the worst starts of his entire career, allowing a career-high eight earned runs including two homers in the second inning alone. That’s the first time he’s allowed multiple home runs since Aug. 31, 2011 when he was in a Nats’ uniform.

“It just wasn’t a great day,” he said afterwards.

Lannan lasted five innings, surrendering nine hits and five walks. Usually a groundball pitcher who keeps the ball down, Lannan’s fastball kept soaring up in the zone and the Nats took advantage.

Even Adam LaRoche, who entered Friday 0 for 15 against Lannan, got in on the fun. The Nats’ first baseman extended the streak to 16 in the first inning, striking out with the bases loaded and two outs. But he later notched two hits against the deceptive lefty, including an RBI double in the third. 

LaRoche’s second hit was just a two-out single in the fifth, but Lannan saw it as the biggest mistake of the night. LaRoche extended the inning and Lannan promptly unraveled, allowing a total of four runs in the frame, including one on a bases loaded walk to pitcher Dan Haren.

Haren's resurgence continues

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In his absolute lowest moments, Dan Haren never tried to sugarcoat things, never tried to make excuses for his lousy performance, never shied away from the criticism heaped upon him before he was unceremoniously dumped on the disabled list with a dubious physical ailment.

"Baseball is an incredibly humbling game," the veteran right-hander said. "When you're up, it'll just knock you right down. I couldn't have really gotten much lower than I did when I was on the DL. I mean, I was a bad start or two away from getting released, probably. That's just the truth of it, I think. I definitely feel way better the way I'm pitching now. This is more me."

The version of Haren that tossed seven standout innings Friday night during the Nationals' 9-2 thumping of the Phillies, and the version that has consistently pitched well since returning to the active roster one month ago, is exactly the guy the Nats thought they were getting last winter.

It may be too little, too late. But if nothing else, it's restoring Haren's faith in himself, not to mention his teammates' faith in him.
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Looking at contract statuses

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Are the Nationals officially out of the pennant race in 2013? No. Obviously, they haven't been mathematically eliminated from anything, and their 9-game deficit in the Wild Card standings — while daunting — isn't so huge that it couldn't be overcome with a major turnaround.

But let's be honest: This club isn't going to be playing this October. Players started to acknowledge that over the last few days as they were swept by the Braves, with Jayson Werth perhaps providing the most-honest assessment of the situation when he started talking about next year and beyond.

So while there are 48 games remaining on the 2013 schedule, there is growing attention now on 2014 and questions about what general manager Mike Rizzo will need to do to his roster between now and next Opening Day.

With that in mind, it's probably worthwhile to take a look at the contract status for everyone on the current roster (plus a couple of key players currently in the minors). These statuses will play a

Fired-up Nats still can't win

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Desperate for some kind of emotional spark, something that might snap them out of their season-long fog and set them on an upward path at long last, the Nationals got their wish in the fifth inning Tuesday night when their 20-year-old star took a fastball off his hip and then started jawing at the opposing pitcher, clearing both benches and bullpens.

Bryce Harper may have stoked the flame, but it's tough to keep the fire going when you can't deliver a single clutch hit in a key situation.

That has been the story of the Nationals' entire season, and it once again was the story on Tuesday during a 2-1 loss to the Braves that left them staring up at an almost-unfathomable 14 1/2-game deficit in the NL East.

"You get one of your guys hit, get people fired up, maybe get a little motivation there," first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "I don't know. I've seen it go both ways."
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Nats glad to move on from Biogenesis

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For Gio Gonzalez' teammates on the Washington Nationals, there was a clear sense of relief to see their comrade have his named cleared on Monday in the Biogenesis scandal of performance enhancing drugs. There have may have been more joy, however, in knowing they likely won't have to talk about it ever again.

Several players that spoke on the issue expressed a sense of exhaustion about the entire subject. They want to see the game played clean and fair, and wish it wasn't so hard to keep it that way.

"I’m so over it. I don’t even care anymore. Literally don’t care," Adam LaRoche said.

"This stuff has been going on for a long time," Ryan Zimmerman said. "Everyone knows how we all feel about it."

The root of their frustration seems to have a lot to do with the fact they want a level playing field. Those that use performance enhancing drugs gain an advantage over those who don't cheat and they feel that's unfair.

"For a guy that doesn’t do anything, for 95 percent of the guys that don’t do anything, it’s a tough game to play every day. It’s not fair for other guys to have an advantage like that," Zimmerman said. 

"My career has gone okay without that or whatever those guys have tried to do. But I think it’s more unfair for the guys who are the last two or three on the roster who play the game the right way. They fight to try and make the big leagues and maybe sometimes the last two or three guys who made it used these kinds of things, those are the guys I really feel bad for. They try to do it the right way."

Instant analysis: Braves 3, Nats 2

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Game in a nutshell: With plenty of incentive in the opener of a three-game series against the Braves, the Nationals burst out of the gates to take a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning and give Stephen Strasburg a chance to pitch ahead for a change. But the bats were mostly silenced after that, and Strasburg gave up a couple of runs to put the Nats in a 2-1 hole. A sacrifice fly did tie things up in the sixth, but a big-time squandered scoring opportunity in the seventh loomed large, and Tyler Clippard promptly served up the go-ahead homer to Justin Upton in the top of the eighth. The Nationals couldn't push the tying run across late, despite the unavailability of closer Craig Kimbrel in the Atlanta bullpen. So this all-important series opened on a decided down note, with the Nationals now four games under .500 and staring at a daunting, 13 1/2-game deficit in the NL East with 50 to play.

Hitting lowlight: When they make the commemorative DVD of this season, they might just want to show every Nationals at-bat

LaRoche's down-and-up-and-down season

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There's no one reason the Nationals find themselves where they do right now, four games under .500 entering a weekend series in Milwaukee. And there's no one player most responsible for this disappointing season.

But some players have been more disappointing than others, and Adam LaRoche ranks high on that list.

A crucial part of last season's NL East championship lineup, LaRoche was brought back over the winter under the premise that his presence was too vital to this club for the next two years to let him sign elsewhere. Mike Rizzo waited out LaRoche, who was seeking three guaranteed years, then finally inked him to a two-year, $24 million deal that includes a $15 million mutual option for 2015.

The end result — or, at least, the result through the first four months of this season — hasn't come close to what Rizzo and the

Nats trounced again, Harper speaks out

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DETROIT — At the end of yet another lopsided loss, inside a disconsolate clubhouse full of players who slowly are coming to the realization this season is beyond repair, the youngest guy in the room stood up and offered a rare-but-impassioned plea for his teammates, coaches and manager not to give up on 2013.

"You've got to have heart right now," Bryce Harper said following an 11-1 trouncing at the hands of the Tigers. "You've got to play as a family, and everybody's got to want it, starting with the manager on down to everybody."

Whether the Nationals collectively have been showing much heart or not in recent weeks is up for debate. The results on the field are not.

They've lost 14 of their last 20 games, a stretch that had already included scores of 8-3, 9-2 and 11-0 prior to Wednesday's blowout. They've scored zero or one run in seven of those 14 losses, not to mention 30 total times in 108 games this season.
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Instant analysis: Tigers 11, Nats 1

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Game in a nutshell: In a word: Ugly. In two words: Really ugly. Gio Gonzalez was torched for 10 runs in only 3 1/3 innings, one of the worst starts in Nationals history. Justin Verlander, after allowing an early run in the top of the first, dominated through the sixth before handing it over to the Tigers bullpen. Ross Ohlendorf, in relief of Gonzalez, lasted only 11 pitches before departing with some sort of injury. Even Bryce Harper appeared to wince after a seventh-inning swing, ultimately leaving the game one inning later. Put it all together and you've got the latest disaster of a ballgame for the Nationals, who have reached the two-thirds point of the season with a 52-56 record. At this rate, they'd finish with 78 wins.

Hitting lowlight: Just as they did Tuesday night, the Nationals jumped on a tough opposing pitcher for a quick run in the top of

Instant analysis: Mets 11, Nats 0

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Game in a nutshell: Hours after an inspiring, walk-off victory, the Nationals opened a day-night doubleheader against the Mets and put forth one of their worst efforts of the season. Jordan Zimmermann labored during 6 2/3 innings, serving up a pair of early homers to Daniel Murphy. The Nationals lineup was completely shut down by Jenrry Mejia, making his first big-league start of the season. And then things really got ugly in the top of the ninth. Ryan Mattheus, making his first appearance since breaking his hand more than two months ago, was charged with three runs. Drew Storen, battling the flu, then gave up three runs on four pitches, including a two-run homer to Ike Davis. The Nats were blown out before an increasingly hostile crowd and now have to take the field again in two hours to face New York ace Matt Harvey. A loss tonight would leave the Nationals and Mets tied for third/fourth place in the NL East.

Hitting lowlight: Facing a guy making his first big-league start of the season and only the seventh big-league start of his career, the Nationals put forth another feeble performance at the plate. They

'Bad day' ends with another loss

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This is what it has come to for the Nationals. After falling for the fourth straight game, the ninth time in 11 games, after falling to three games below the .500 mark for the first time in nearly two years, after an emotional day that saw their popular hitting coach fired, they were left citing the positives from their 6-5 loss to the Pirates.

Despite trailing by five runs early, the Nationals rallied to get within a run and were 180 feet from tying the game in the bottom of the ninth. Was it wrong to consider this an encouraging development, given the situation this team is in right now?

"No, not at this point," Adam LaRoche admitted. "We're looking for anything positive to take out of a ballgame, and that was a great run late. Tying run in scoring position and one hit away. You can't expect to drive that run in every time. We don't give ourselves that many opportunities right there. So it was nice to have."

Maybe it's all the Nationals can do, cling to whatever glimmer of hope there is on a given night. There wasn't much else to be hopeful about on Monday, a day that left manager Davey Johnson weathered and worn down.
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Game 98: Dodgers at Nats

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Fresh off two losses to begin the season's second half, matters won't get any easier for the Nationals with Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw (8-6, 1.98 ERA) on the mound. He takes the ball for the Dodgers who will go up against Jordan Zimmermann (12-4, 2.58), making for a pretty decent pitching matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Kershaw is 4-2 with a 3.27 ERA against the Nationals in his career. In three starts at Nationals Park, however, the lefty has struggled with seven earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

Adam LaRoche is back in Washington's lineup, giving Davey Johnson a chance to shake things up. He has Bryce Harper playing center field and batting leadoff, with Scott Hairston in left and batting seventh. This is only the second game this season Harper has been the Nats' starting center fielder and the second time he has batted first.

Matt Kemp returns to center for the Dodgers after missing time with irritation in the A/C joint of his left shoulder. Today is the first time this season that Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford are all in the Dodgers' lineup at the same time.

Updates to come...

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, Ch. 9, TBS, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 89
Weather: Isolated storms (50% chance of rain), 89 degrees

NATIONALS (48-49)
CF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth

Game 97: Dodgers at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Davey Johnson intended to open the second half of the season last night with the same lineup he used to close out the first half on Sunday: with Bryce Harper leading off and Denard Span down in the 7-spot. But after Adam LaRoche came down with the flu, Johnson had to adjust and use Harper as his cleanup hitter against the Dodgers.

That look obviously didn't produce much offensively and resulted in a frustrating, 3-2 loss, so Davey proclaimed afterward he planned to go back to the Harper-as-leadoff-man lineup tonight (assuming LaRoche was ready to return). "I do like Harper leading off," the manager said. "I think that frees him up. He's usually on base."

Unfortunately, LaRoche remains out once again, so it's back to the same lineup from last night. We'll have to see if it can mount a challenge against Zack Greinke, and if Gio Gonzalez can out-duel the Dodgers right-hander.

Updates to come...

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, Ch. 9, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 89
Weather: Isolated storms, 90 degrees, Wind 12 mph out to CF

NATIONALS (48-48)
CF Denard Span
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Bryce Harper

LaRoche out, Detwiler's rehab not on track

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Having seen his lineup finally come together in full health before the closing of the season’s first half, Nationals manager Davey Johnson is down another man for the team’s first game after the All-Star break. 

First baseman Adam LaRoche is out with the flu, though it may keep him out just one game. He is expected to stay in the locker room to get treatment by team doctors during Friday night’s game against the Dodgers. 

Johnson hopes to have him back on Saturday.

“I saw him yesterday and I was concerned about him yesterday,” Johnson said. “He was coughing and I think he’s just got a bad case of the flu. He came in just to see a doctor and he’s going to stay in the back room. See if they can’t get him well. I hope he gets well quick.”

Perhaps more concerning to the Nats as they open the second half is another setback for left-hander Ross Detwiler. He threw off flat ground on Thursday and experienced soreness in his back Friday morning. 

The Nats had hoped he could throw a bullpen session on Friday before the game, but plans have changed.

“If he felt good he would get on the mound today, but we’re going to give him another day,” Johnson said.

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Instant analysis: Nats 5, Phillies 1

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Game in a nutshell: Knowing they faced a tough challenge against Cliff Lee (otherwise known as The World's Greatest Strike-Thrower), the Nationals had to hope for a strong start from Gio Gonzalez and then some timely hits against the Phillies left-hander. They got both. Gonzalez was outstanding yet again, allowing one run over seven innings. And his teammates provided the support, blasting four solo homers off Lee in the fifth and sixth innings. Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos went back-to-back in the fifth, then Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth did it in the sixth. Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano finished things off out of the bullpen and the Nationals got back on the winning track. They're three games over .500 again and trimmed their deficit in the NL East to five games entering tomorrow's series finale.

Hitting highlight: Though they weren't able to produce any runs early, the Nationals did hit the ball hard against Lee, offering some

Late heroics give Nats 3rd straight win

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The day began with Bryce Harper talking his way into the lineup, telling his manager via text message to either "play me or trade me." It ended with Harper earning his second straight All-Star berth and driving in three runs, then watching from left field as his Nationals teammates hung on for dear life to pull off a 5-4 win over the Padres that catapulted this improving ballclub to new heights.

Just another afternoon at Nationals Park, where a sunburned crowd of 33,314 experienced the full range of emotions on Saturday, ultimately cheering along with the home team after Rafael Soriano closed out a nip-and-tick victory.

"We're starting to play better baseball," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "We're coming together. We're getting a little lucky."

Perhaps there were a few fortunate bounces in this game, but the Nationals also made their own luck. They delivered several hits in the clutch. They got a dominant relief performance from Drew Storen. And then they flashed some serious leather in the ninth inning to clinch their third straight win — their eighth in 12 games — and raise their record to 45-42.
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Instant analysis: Nats 5, Padres 4

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Game in a nutshell: The morning began with some debate about whether Bryce Harper would even play. But the 20-year-old talked his way into the lineup and then made it all worthwhile. Harper drove in three runs to pace the Nationals' offense. Ryan Zimmerman delivered the big, go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. Jordan Zimmermann didn't earn the win, but he pitched well enough to get curly W No. 13. The honor ultimately went to Ross Ohlendorf, who allowed a three-run homer in relief of Zimmermann but remained the pitcher of record when the Nationals rallied in the bottom of the seventh. Drew Storen turned in a much-needed, 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Rafael Soriano closed out a 1-run victory. With that, the Nationals improved to three games over .500 for the first time since May 18. And they learned Harper and Zimmermann were named All-Stars, with Ian Desmond still having a chance to crack the roster as well.

Hitting highlight: Harper had to convince Davey Johnson to let him play today. Good thing the manager listened to his young star. Harper wound up driving in three of the Nationals' five runs. He