MLB Power Rankings: Pirates are back

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney

CSNwashington.com

A full generation of baseball fans has grown up without watching the Pittsburgh Pirates reach the playoffs -- but barring a truly epic collapse, that should change in just a couple of months. Thanks to a recent winning surge at the expense of longtime NL Central leader St. Louis, and with the advent of the second wild card, the postseason will likely feature the first winning Pirates team since 1992.

Though Pittsburgh takes the top spot, here's how Nationals Insider Mark Zuckerman, Nats writer Chase Hughes, and I see the rest of the league shaking out:

1. Pittsburgh Pirates (65-42; LW: 4) - Roney: Pittsburgh has been in good position to post a winning record the last two seasons, but has faded down the stretch; thanks to a deep rotation, that isn't likely to be the case this year.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (64-44; LW: 5) - Zuckerman: 6-10 record vs. Boston right now is the difference. They only face each other 3 more times.

3. Boston Red Sox (65-44; LW: 2) - Zuckerman: The acquisition of Peavy really helps bolster the rotation and sets them up for stretch run.

4. Oakland A's (63-45; LW: 3) - Hughes: Bartolo Colon is 14-3 with a 2.50 ERA at the age of 40, but will reportedly avoid a Biogenesis suspension. Exactly how is anyone's guess.

5. Detroit Tigers (61-45; LW: 8) - Roney: The Tigers inserted themselves into the Peavy trade, netting noted gloveman Jose Iglesias. He could stick in the majors for 10 years based on his defense alone, but he's likely to be a No. 9 hitter the entire time.

Harper's walkoff HR powers Nats to win

Photo by USA Today

The Nationals knew at some point they would break their six-game losing streak and finally get a win after the All-Star break. But in their wildest dreams, they probably didn’t picture it would happen like this.

Two manager ejections, three Pirates errors in the first inning, a four-run lead blown in the ninth, the First Lady in attendance, and Bryce Harper’s first career walkoff home run is all it took for the Nats to finally get back into the win column. 

Now at 49-53 on the season, the Nationals can’t take too much from what amounts to just one victory, they’re still eight games out of the division lead and have plenty of work to do to catch up. They do acknowledge, however, the feeling of a win is a nice change of pace for the first time in 11 days. 

Bench coach Randy Knorr - who replaced Davey Johnson as manager after his ejection in the fifth inning – couldn’t overstate the dramatic turn of emotions in the ninth inning of the Nats’ 9-7 win over the Pirates.

“To tell you how it feels, just walking into the clubhouse right now, you’d think we won the World Series or something,” he said. “But that’s the way the game is right now. And hopefully this carries over for us. I think we’re going to get on a roll here. I think it was a big game for us.”

Instant Analysis: Nats 9, Pirates 7

Photo by USA Today

Game in a nutshell: After entering the ninth inning up 7-3, Rafael Soriano and Ian Krol combined to blow the lead. But Bryce Harper then hit a walkoff homer - the first of his career - in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. The Nats had jumped out early with four runs in the first inning, more than they had notched in eight of their previous ten games. They were assisted by some sloppy defense on behalf of the Pirates as you'll read in the hitting highlight, but nonetheless an ideal start for the struggling Nationals. Gio Gonzalez was not as sharp as he's usually been lately, but was able to give the Nats 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. He needed 119 pitches on the day after walking four and striking out 11, still keeping the Pirates to three runs. Craig Stammen took over for Gonzalez and pitched 1 1/3 innings to bring the Nats to the eighth when Tyler Clippard took over. Clippard was solid with his 13th consecutive scoreless inning, preserving the one-run lead. The Nats then got three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, two on a triple by Adam LaRoche with two outs. But Rafael Soriano allowed two runs in the top of the ninth before being replaced by Ian Krol who allowed two more to tie the game at 7-7.

Hitting highlight: The first inning was good times for the Nats on offense, both on their own accord and with a little help from the Pirates' defense. Pittsburgh committed three errors and let in four total runs, only one of them charged to pitcher A.J. Burnett. The first came on an error by Pedro Alvarez at third who couldn't reel in a throw to him during a rundown, Bryce Harper came around to score on that one. The second costly error came on a Denard Span single that saw Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond both score after a throw attempt to second by Gaby Sanchez found its way into the outfield.

Game 102: Pirates at Nats

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It's been ten days since the 2013 All-Star game and the Nationals are still looking for their first win in the season's second half. Last night we saw them lose their sixth straight game, failing to get any sort of offense going against lefty Francisco Liriano. 

If Liriano was trouble, they may have an even tougher time this afternoon against A.J. Burnett. Burnett has been excellent this season at the age of 36, holding a 3.07 ERA through 17 starts. Back in May he held the Nats to one earned run through seven innings and struck out nine.

The Nationals will have Gio Gonzalez (7-3, 2.89) on the mound who's had a pretty good season himself. Gonzalez also has a win against the Pirates this season, throwing six innings of two-run ball on May 5.

The real question will of course be whether the Nationals can score some runs today, as they have scored more than three runs just twice in their last ten games. They have, however, given Gio solid run support for the most part in his recent starts. Five of Gonzalez' last six outings have seen the Nats score five or more runs, each time taking the win when they hit that mark. Gio has also recorded quality starts in all nine of his outings since the month of May.

Updates to come...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 869
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, Wind 14 mph out to CF

NATIONALS (48-53)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Steve Lombardozzi
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
CF Denard Span
C Kurt Suzuki
LHP Gio Gonzalez

Downward spiral continues

Associated Press

The continued devolution of the Nationals nearly reached epic proportions Wednesday night when they entered the bottom of the sixth inning against Francisco Liriano without having recorded a base hit.

In the end, the events of the ninth inning in a 4-2 loss to the Pirates might actually have proved more painful than a no-hitter.

After squandering Stephen Strasburg's best start of the season and watching as relievers Drew Storen and Fernando Abad turned a 1-run deficit into a 4-run chasm in the top of the ninth, the Nationals nearly stormed all the way back in the bottom of the inning, only to see the game end on a blown call by umpire Laz Diaz.

"It's no secret that the ball definitely isn't bouncing our way," said Denard Span, who hit the groundball that resulted in the controversial, game-ending double play. "That wasn't the story of the game tonight, but anything could've happened if that play isn't called there."

Who knows what would have happened had Diaz correctly seen Wilson Ramos elude second baseman Neil Walker's tag on the final play of the game? The Nationals still would have trailed by two runs, with one out and two men on base. But it was a fittingly bitter way for this club's sixth straight loss to go in the books.

"Not even close. He never tagged me," Ramos said. "He told me: 'He tagged you. I didn't hear, but I saw it.' I said: 'Sure, you didn't see anything. Not even close.' But I don't know, maybe he wanted to go home."
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Instant analysis: Pirates 4, Nats 2

Associated Press

Game in a nutshell: You had to figure runs would come at a premium tonight, with a perfect storm of events coming together. Stephen Strasburg on the mound for the Nationals. Francisco Liriano starting for the Pirates, a tough lefty against a lineup that struggles against lefties. And Bryce Harper and Ian Desmond out of the lineup to rest some nagging bumps and bruises. Sure enough, both starting pitchers absolutely dominated. Strasburg was brilliant for eight innings, allowing only Pedro Alvarez's second-inning homer while striking out a season-high 12 batters. But once again, the Nationals offered him no run support and left him in line to take the loss. Liriano carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finally surrendering an infield single to Anthony Rendon. The Nats remained in the game, though, because of Strasburg's dominance and trailed 1-0 when the ninth inning arrived. Drew Storen and Fernando Abad, though, combined to give up three runs in the inning, though, and suddenly that 1-run deficit became a 4-run deficit. Which proved really costly after Jayson Werth crushed a two-run homer, his fifth in four days. Alas, the Nationals still needed two more runs, which they didn't get. So, the losing streak is now at six games, with the Nats having dropped 11 of their last 13 to fall to five games below the .500 mark.

Hitting lowlight: Liriano is having an outstanding season, there's no question about that. But it's hard to really judge opposing

Game 101: Pirates at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Davey Johnson hasn't been given his regulars very many days off lately, certainly not with the Nationals struggling so mightily to score runs. But there's no question a few guys could probably use a breather, so tonight two of the biggest names from the lineup are sitting: Bryce Harper and Ian Desmond.

We'll find out Davey's reasoning in each case. It's not all that surprising to see Harper get a day off against a tough left-hander in Francisco Liriano. But it is surprising to see Desmond sitting against this pitcher. Again, we'll see what the reason is in each case.

The benching of those two leads to some other changes, most notably Anthony Rendon sliding over to shortstop for his first career start at that position. Steve Lombardozzi will be at second base. Scott Hairston, meanwhile will be leading off and playing left field.

Oh yeah, and Stephen Strasburg is on the mound, trying to stop this five-game losing streak. Updates to come, so please check back...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 186
Weather: Partly cloudy, 81 degrees, Wind 10 mph in from LF

NATIONALS (48-52)
LF Scott Hairston
SS Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth

Free-falling

Associated Press

The Nationals want to believe this will turn around, they really do. They want to believe they've been the victim of bad luck, so much bad luck that the cosmos are bound to repay them one of these days.

"I think at some point, the tide's got to turn," Jayson Werth said. "The luck's got to swing in our favor. And hopefully when it does, we can grab hold of it and run with it."

That may or may not be true, but the following statements absolutely are true in the wake of Tuesday night's 5-1 loss to the Pirates:

— The Nationals have lost five straight games and 10 of 12.

— The Nationals are four games under .500, their lowest point since September 2011.

— The Nationals, at this moment, have more losses this season (52) than the Royals and Angels, the same number of losses as the Mets and Mariners and only one fewer loss than the Cubs.
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Instant analysis: Pirates 5, Nats 1

USA Today Sports Images

Game in a nutshell: Another night, another dismal performance from a Nationals club that is this close to veering off the train tracks for good. Taylor Jordan pitched well in his fifth career start but was the latest victim of sloppy defense behind him. Not that it would have mattered had Jordan pitched a gem. The Nats couldn't muster anything against rookie Gerrit Cole or the Pirates bullpen, totaling three hits for the night. Wilson Ramos' third-inning homer was the lone bright spot, and not nearly enough to snap this foundering lineup out of its season-long slump. Losers of five straight and 10 of 12 now, the Nationals are four games under the .500 mark and sinking fast.

Hitting lowlight: Rick Schu hasn't seen the Nationals much this season because he's been busy coaching minor leaguers. What the

Schu joins Nats, ready to get started

Photo by USA Today

New hitting coach Rick Schu has joined the Nationals after catching a flight on Monday evening, ready to help in any way he can as Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of their four-game series on Tuesday.

Schu said he got the call from the Nats in the middle of a doubleheader in Jupiter, Fla., while he was coaching in the Gulf Coast League. As a minor league hitting instructor for the team the past four seasons, he is familiar with many of the players, but admits he hasn’t watched much of the 48-51 Nationals this season.

Schu arrived at Nationals Park to meet with manager Davey Johnson Tuesday morning to go over what the team expects from his role over the season's final 63 games. He hopes to bring a fresh take to the Nats’ clubhouse and get them back to basics on offense.

“I like doing the little things and staying aggressive,” he said. “Hunt strikes, controlling the zone, swinging and strikes, staying aggressive on the heater, doing the little things. Moving the runners, getting a runner in from third, putting the ball in play with two strikes. It's very important and if it's important for us it becomes important to the players.”

Schu has worked with many of the younger Nationals players such as Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, those who have been in the minor leagues recently. He also knows veterans like Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos from rehab appearances this season and over the years.

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Detwiler to see back specialist

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Continuing to experience setbacks involving his lower back strain, Nationals starter Ross Detwiler will now see back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins on Wednesday in Los Angeles for further testing and a second opinion.

Detwiler has been on the disabled list since July 4 and felt pain in his back after throwing a bullpen session over the weekend. Manager Davey Johnson said the discomfort was so bad he couldn’t even jog while warming up for the workout.

“They’re not sure why it keeps reoccurring,” Johnson said. “They’ve done a lot of tests. I think they want to get another opinion.”

Johnson acknowledged Detwiler could be out for longer than first expected, perhaps an extended absence after already missing three weeks. Detwiler - 2-7 with a 4.04 ERA this year - also missed a month earlier this season with a strained oblique.

“It’s a problem,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking at. Also, Taylor Jordan’s going to be on an innings limit. So we’re thinking about all those things and how to go forward.”

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Game 100: Pirates at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

New hitting coach Rick Schu will be on hand for his first game as a member of the Nationals coaching staff as the Nats take on the Pirates Tuesday night. We'll see what help, if any, he can provide for a Washington team coming off four straight losses to begin the season's second half, including a tough one-run defeat on Monday.

The Nats will try to get things going at the plate against one of the most talented young arms in the game. Former 2011 first overall pick Gerrit Cole (4-3, 3.89 ERA) will take the ball for Pittsburgh, providing an intriguing matchup between he and the 2010 first overall selection in Bryce Harper. Cole was also selected ahead of Anthony Rendon in 2011, another player considered at the time to be in the mix for the first pick.

Cole will be making his eighth major league start while fellow rookie Taylor Jordan (0-2, 3.32) is making his fifth career start for Washington. The Nationals are continuing with Harper in the leadoff spot and Span back in the seven hole.

Updates to come...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 188
Weather: Mostly clear, 83 degrees, Wind 12 mph LF to RF

NATIONALS (48-51)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

'Bad day' ends with another loss

USA Today Sports Images

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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Instant analysis: Pirates 6, Nats 5

USA Today Sports Images

Game in a nutshell: After a miserable weekend followed by an emotional afternoon in which they learned popular hitting coach Rick Eckstein had been fired, the Nationals took the field tonight hoping they might give everyone some reason to smile. They didn't. Four innings in, they trailed 5-0 via a pair of Andrew McCutchen homers off Dan Haren while also failing to hit even one ball out of the infield against Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton. Adam LaRoche's leadoff homer in the fifth did break up the no-hitter (and the shutout). And Jayson Werth's two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh (his third homer in two days) trimmed the lead to 5-3 and gave the Nationals life for at least a moment. But the positive energy was sucked out of the ballpark shortly after when Ian Krol put two men on base and Drew Storen uncorked a wild pitch to bring home a big insurance run. That really proved costly when Werth blasted another two-run homer in the ninth off Jason Grilli, trimming the lead to 6-5. Things turned serious later in the inning when Grilli writhed in pain after throwing a pitch to Steve Lombardozzi and had to leave the game. Vin Mazzaro entered in an emergency situation and got Lombardozzi to ground out to second to end the game and send the Nationals to their fourth straight loss, their ninth in 11 games. They're now three games under .500 for the first time since 2011.

Hitting highlight: Not many members of the Nationals lineup are hitting right now, but Werth sure is. He had already been on a hot streak entering the All-Star break, and he's really turned it up a

Game 99: Pirates at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

With Rick Eckstein out as hitting coach, the Nationals will move forward under the tutelage of Rick Schu, though the former minor-league coordinator won't arrive in Washington until tomorrow. Whether the move makes any sort of difference at all will be hard to judge tonight, but perhaps the players respond from the wakeup call. They host the Pirates in the first of a four-game series, with right-hander Charlie Morton (1-2, 3.19 ERA) on the mound for Pittsburgh.

Morton is making just his seventh start this season, his sixth year in the major leagues. He has faced the Nats three times in his career, going 0-2 with a 4.11 ERA across 15 1/3 innings pitched. However the Nats respond to the hitting coach change, they will likely need a good deal of runs anyway. Dan Haren (4-10, 5.61) is making the start as he continues to try and turn his season around.

To be fair, Haren is coming off two consecutive solid outings. He allowed two earned runs in five innings at Philly on July 8 and pitched six scoreless frames in Miami on July 13, but both games were losses for the Nats as the offense scored a combined three runs in the two games. The Pirates have scored the least runs of any team in the month of July (47), so perhaps tonight presents an opportunity for Haren.

Updates to come...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 186
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 89 degrees, Wind 5 mph RF to LF

NATIONALS (48-50)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

How important is this homestand?

USA Today Sports Images

If the Nationals are going to make a serious run at their second straight postseason appearance, that run is going to have to start tonight and pick up some serious steam over the next 10 days.

Why? Well, for one thing, there are only 67 games remaining on the schedule. As detailed yesterday, in order to get to 90 wins, the Nationals need to go 42-25 the rest of the way. That's a .627 winning percentage, the equivalent of a 101-win pace.

If they only go, say, 5-6 during their upcoming homestand, they'll leave themselves in a position where they have to go 37-19 to get to 90 wins. That's a .661 winning percentage, the equivalent of a 107-win pace.

Point is, each week that passes without the Nationals making up some ground is a week lost at this stage of the process. Yes, there's still time for them to get back in this thing, but there's no more

MLB Power Rankings: Central dominance

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney
CSNwashington.com

The National League Central division is ruling baseball like never before, with the two best teams in the majors and a third (Cincinnati) not far behind. How many divisions throughout history boast have boasted a third-place team that would be atop many other divisions? The guess here is few.

Here's how Nationals Insider Mark Zuckerman, Nats writer Chase Hughes, and I see the rest of the league shaking out:

1. St. Louis Cardinals (48-30; LW: 1) - Roney: Prince Albert has been gone for a while now, so it's no surprise that they don't miss him...but I'm still a little surprised. Allen Craig, Jon Jay, and especially Swiss army knife Matt Carpenter are an offensive force themselves.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates (48-30; LW: 7) - Roney: Former No. 2 overall pick Pedro Alvarez is finally cultivating an average (currently .242) that's at least vaguely acceptable when paired with his light tower power (19 HRs so far, 30 last year).

3. Boston Red Sox (47-33; LW: 3) - Zuckerman: Jacoby Ellsbury is 32-for-35 in stolen base attempts. And he hasn't even faced the Nats pitching staff!

4. Texas Rangers (45-33; LW: 9) - Hughes: Their pitching has been questionable over the last month, but they're still winning. Having Yu Darvish pitch every fifth day doesn't hurt.

5. Cincinnati Reds (45-34; LW: 2) - Roney: Every starter on the team has a sub-4.00 ERA, and none better than Mike Leake, who has rebounded from seasons past to be the Reds' most effective starter (7-3, 2.61).

6. Oakland Athletics (46-34; LW: 5) - Hughes: As a team, Oakland has drawn the most walks in the majors. For comparison's sake, the Nats have four players with 20 or more walks while the A's have ten.

State of the Nats-5/6

Photo by USA Today

Team Record: 17-15 (8-8)

N.L. East Standings

Offensive Game of the Week: Ryan Zimmerman 5/4 vs. Pirates – 1-for-2 with 3 R, 3B, 2 BB, HBP

Pitching Line of the Week:  Jordan Zimmermann 5/1 vs. Braves – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 SO, 107 pitches (72 strikes)

Top Storylines

Jayson Werth’s hamstring – Last year it was obliques that Nats

Early jam, late fireworks

Associated Press

Tyler Moore rounds the bases after his eighth-inning homer.

PITTSBURGH — Gio Gonzalez stood on the mound at PNC Park in the bottom of the first inning, the afternoon off to as bad a start as the Nationals could possibly have imagined.

Bryce Harper had been ejected after arguing a check-swing call in the top of the inning. Starling Marte had crushed Gonzalez's very first pitch into the left-field bleachers. Ryan Zimmerman had committed another throwing error on a routine grounder. And now the bases were loaded with nobody out, the Pirates threatening to blow this series finale open before the Nationals would even know what hit them.

The situation was ripe for disaster, especially for an emotional pitcher like Gonzalez, who has been known to let a bad situation turn worse. Experience, though, has taught the 27-year-old lefty how to better handle such situations.

"When you get older, you get a little more experience, you start figuring out things, little-by-little," he said. "I think a younger me would have probably spiraled out of control and tried to be too much or tried to do too much."

Instead of trying to do too much, Gonzalez did only what he could do: Take back control of this ballgame. He wriggled his way out of that first-inning jam, then dominated the rest of the way to lead the Nationals to a hard-earned, 6-2 victory over Pittsburgh.
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Harper: "I'm just glad we got the W"

USA Today Sports Images

Bryce Harper was ejected after arguing a check-swing call.

Updated at 6:00 p.m.

PITTSBURGH — Bryce Harper may or may not have done anything out of line to warrant an ejection in the top of the first inning Sunday afternoon, and umpire John Hirschbeck may or may not have overreacted to the 20-year-old's complaint about a check-swing call.

Whatever the case, Harper knew it would do him no good to get into a war of words with the veteran umpire after the fact, so the young Nationals star was careful not to say anything that might cause a stir following his team's 6-2 victory over the Pirates.

"I'm just glad we got the W, and I wasn't the reason we didn't," Harper said.

The game had only just begun when Hirschbeck rung up Harper on a borderline check-swing call, ending the top of the first. As the Pirates trotted off the field, Harper remained at the plate, throwing his arms out in disbelief. Hirschbeck, standing 90 feet away, immediately mimicked the motion and started jawing at Harper, taking a few steps his way before ejecting the 20-year-old after he slammed his bat and helmet to the ground.

"I was actually just being nice," Hirschbeck told a pool reporter. "Even the hands up in the air is showing me up, to me. I could have ejected him right then. I was nice enough to leave him in the game. And then he slammed his bat down. And then on top of that, he slammed his helmet. I had no other recourse, really."
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