Hairston delivers in a pinch

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CHICAGO — There is no tougher ballpark in America in which to pinch-hit than Wrigley Field, where the lone batting cage is tucked away underneath the right field bleachers and thus is inaccessible to players during the course of a game.

Scott Hairston, though, has spent his share of time playing inside the Friendly Confines, most notably three months earlier this season while a member of the Cubs. So the 33-year-old outfielder knows the tricks of the trade.

"You have to really keep in mind that your body can get tight on the bench," he said. "So I usually get up every other inning and stretch or ride the bike. I think mainly you have to be mentally focused in that situation and prepared to come in and do your job."

Davey Johnson asked Hairston to do his job in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday night: Come in cold off the bench and face a tough left-hander late in a tie ballgame. That Hairston delivered in a big way, clubbing a three-run homer off James Russell to lift the Nationals to an 11-6 victory, only underscored Johnson's faith that he could be a key contributor to this team.
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Instant analysis: Nats 11, Cubs 6

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Game in a nutshell: The Nationals jumped out to an early 6-1 lead behind another homer from Jayson Werth and a two-run single from Kurt Suzuki. But Ross Ohlendorf and Tanner Roark gave the entire lead back in the bottom of the fifth amid a flurry of base hits. Roark, an Illinois native pitching in front of more than 100 friends and family in the right-field bleachers, did bounce back by striking out the side in the sixth and that actually left him in line for his third win in two weeks when Scott Hairston launched a three-run homer in the top of the seventh, putting the Nationals back on top. Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman added two more insurance runs in the eighth, and that was more than enough cushion for Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano to close this one out and give the Nationals their second straight victory at Wrigley Field.

Hitting highlight: There were plenty of offensive highlights tonight, but let's focus on the guy who gave the Nationals the lead

Game 126: Nats at Cubs

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

CHICAGO — We're back at Wrigley Field for a third straight night game. That's a rarity around here. The Nationals will hope to pick up where they left off last night ... well, perhaps producing a few more hits with men in scoring position than they did in their 4-1 victory over the Cubs.

Ross Ohlendorf returns from a shoulder injury to make his first start in three weeks. The veteran right-hander pitched brilliantly prior to his DL stint; you just hope he didn't burn himself out completely with that 114-pitch start against the Mets in a doubleheader.

Former Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta gets the start for Chicago. He'll be facing a lineup that has Denard Span back in center field leading off but is without Anthony Rendon or Wilson Ramos, each getting the night off.

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 185
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, Wind 11 mph out to CF

NATIONALS (61-64)
CF Denard Span
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Bryce Harper
RF Jayson Werth

Krol optioned, Ohlendorf activated

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CHICAGO — Needing to clear a roster spot for Ross Ohlendorf, who will come off the disabled list to start Wednesday, the Nationals optioned left-hander Ian Krol to Class AAA following Tuesday night's 4-2 victory over the Cubs.

Krol's stay in Syracuse won't be long; manager Davey Johnson said the reliever will return when rosters expand September 1.

"He's going to be back in 10 days with the expanded rosters," Johnson said. "I hate to miss him, because he's still learning up here. But he's got a heck of a future."

The 22-year-old burst onto the scene in June, going 10 appearances before allowing his first major-league run and posting a 1.72 ERA through his first 15 outings. But Krol (the player to be named in January's Michael Morse trade) began to struggle after that. Over his last 12 games, he owns a 5.79 ERA, putting 18 men on base in only 9 1/3 innings.

State of the Nats - 8/19

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Team Record: 60-63 (24-26)

N.L. East Standings

Wild Card Standings

Offensive Game of the Week: Jayson Werth 8/17 vs. Braves - 2 for 3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2B

Pitching Line of the Week: Tanner Roark 8/17 vs. Braves - 4.0 IP (in relief), 0 ER, H, BB, 6 SO, 50 pitches, 37 strikes

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Any chance at NL Wild Card? - Losing two of three against the Braves this weekend didn't do any favors for the Nationals' disappearing hopes of a playoff spot this October. They had chances in each game they lost, but saw the Braves capitalize on mistakes and prevail with the series win. Now the Nats continue their road trip with a 9.5 game deficit separating them and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds aren't offering much help for the Nationals as they've won nine of their last 12 games, but they did lose two in four-game series against the Brewers this past weekend. They now return to Cincinnati to play the Arizona Diamondbacks who have won five of their last six. The Diamondbacks, as you see above, are the other team separating the Nats and the final Wild Card spot. The Nats have 39 games left on their schedule, the Reds 38 and the Diamondbacks 40. The Reds obviously have the edge right now, but stranger things have happened.

State of the Nats - 8/12

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Team Record: 57-60 (23-24)

N.L. East Standings

Wild Card Standings

Offensive Game of the Week: Jayson Werth 8/10 vs. Phillies - 3 for 5, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R

Pitching Line of the Week: Stephen Strasburg 8/11 vs. Phillies - 9 IP, 0 ER, 10 SO, 4 H, BB, 99 pitches, 66 strikes

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Momentum? - After taking a brutal sweep by the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park this week, the Nats turned things around by getting a sweep of their own over the Philadelphia Phillies. As Mark noted at the end of the Braves series, the Nats have only been able to beat bad teams since the All-Star break and are 1-11 against the likes of the Braves, Dodgers, Pirates and Tigers. The Phillies certainly fall in the 'bad teams' category and the upcoming Giants do as well. Even if the Nats continue to win this week against the struggling defending champs, it will be hard to read too much into it. In particular, if the recent offensive improvement is legitimate, it will have to carry over into this weekend's series in Atlanta. We'll see.

Ohlendorf on track for weekend rehab start

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Ross Ohlendorf threw a bullpen session at Nationals Park on Wednesday as he works his way back from right shoulder inflammation, and as long as the next two days of rest go as expected, should be ready for a minor league rehab start on Saturday.

Manager Davey Johnson said the Nats have not decided where Ohlendorf will rehab and will determine how long he pitches later this week.

"Maybe he just goes three innings and he has to come back and go five. Maybe he feels good enough and goes further and he can come back earlier. We want to get him stretched out so he can go five."

Johnson believes Ohlendorf is still on track to return Aug. 16 after being placed on the 15-day disabled list on the first of the month. But before he confirms that date, the Nats want to see how his shoulder reacts through the rest of the week.

Ohlendorf to DL with shoulder inflammation

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After leaving the Nats' blowout loss in Detroit on July 31 with a tired arm, Ross Ohlendorf has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 1. 

The official diagnosis is right shoulder inflammation as left-hander Xavier Cedeno has been called up from Syracuse to take his place.

Ohlendorf exited the Nats' loss against the Tigers after seeing a significant drop in his velocity. He was pitching in relief as he has for much of the last two months since getting called up from Syracuse on June 12. Ohlendorf has been a nice surprise for the Nats this year, going 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA through ten total appearances.

Ohlendorf has made two starts for Washington in 2013 and was close to making more due to injuries in the Nats' rotation and a nearing innings limit for Taylor Jordan. Ohlendorf recently threw 114 pitches across seven innings in a Nationals' win over the Mets on July 26. He has a 1.38 ERA as a starter this season.

Injury updates on Ohlendorf, Harper

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DETROIT — Lost amid the lopsided nature of yesterday's 11-1 loss to the Tigers and Bryce Harper's notable comments afterward were the in-game departures of both Harper and Ross Ohlendorf due to injury.

The good news: Neither Nationals player appears to be seriously hurt, and the club doesn't expect either issue to linger.

Harper winced after taking a swing in the top of the seventh, prompting manager Davey Johnson and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz to check on him. Harper, who said he felt a spasm in his hip, retook his position in the batter's box and struck out, then returned to left field for the bottom of the inning.

But when the bottom of the eighth arrived, with the Nationals

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

State of the Nats - 7/29

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Team Record: 52-54 (20-21)

N.L. East Standings

Wild Card Standings

Offensive Game of the Week: Jayson Werth 7/22 vs. Pirates - 2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Pitching Line of the Week: Stephen Strasburg 7/24 vs. Pirates - 8 IP, ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 12 SO, 118 pitches, 80 strikes

Top Storylines

Can they keep it up? - Having won four of their last five games, the Nats would probably prefer not taking a day off in interest of continuing their momentum. But fortunately for them, the recent three game winning streak came with the back of their rotation pitching. They'll pick back up on Tuesday with Strasburg on the mound - who is coming off a dominant start against Pittsburgh - and Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann to follow. If the Nationals are going to start making a run anytime soon, now would be a good time. The Tigers are up next and have been hot lately, but after the Nats leave Detroit they play nine of their next 12 games against teams with losing records. They have been saying for weeks, if not months, that 'now is the time.' But really, now is the time.

A day, and night, of emotions

Associated Press

The emotional ups and downs of a baseball season can be draining for any club, let alone one expected to be among the sport's best but slogging its way through a prolonged train-wreck stretch of games. What the Nationals have experienced over the last 36 hours alone would normally be enough to fill a month.

It began Thursday afternoon with a wild victory over the Pirates that saw their closer blow a four-run lead in the top of the ninth, only to see their young star produce his first career game-winning homer in the bottom of the inning.

It continued Friday afternoon with an ugly, lopsided, 11-0 loss to the Mets that saw their former closer sent to the mound facing a 5-run deficit despite the fact he was battling flu-like symptoms and wasn't expected to pitch at all.

And then it was capped off Friday evening in the nightcap of a wild doubleheader with a familiar face providing a familiar thrill to lead the Nationals to a 2-1 win, only to be trumped in some ways by the postgame demotion of that former closer to the minors and critical comments from a teammate lobbed toward the organization.
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Instant analysis: Nats 2, Mets 1

Associated Press

Game in a nutshell: Only two hours after suffering one of their worst losses of the season — an 11-0 trouncing — the Nationals re-took the field for the nightcap of this doubleheader, facing a stiff challenge with ace Matt Harvey on the mound for the Mets. Ross Ohlendorf, however, was up to the challenge. The journeyman right-hander was brilliant in this spot start, allowing one run over seven innings to give his team a chance. The Nationals hardly did anything against Harvey — their lone run came via a fifth-inning error — but they managed to keep this a 1-1 game into the ninth. Rafael Soriano wriggled his way out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the inning, setting the stage for a potential walk-off win. Which they got, from an old friend. Ryan Zimmerman launched a 3-1 pitch from LaTroy Hawkins deep to right-center for his ninth career walk-off homer, his first since 2011, giving the Nationals a much-needed and dramatic victory.

Hitting highlight: Stymied all night by Harvey, the Nationals couldn't wait to get the young ace out of the game and get into the Mets' bullpen. They finally got the chance in the ninth and made it worthwhile. After Anthony Rendon grounded out, Zimmerman worked the count to 3-1 against Hawkins. He then drove the veteran reliever's next pitch over the wall in right-center for a long-awaited, walk-off homer. It was Zimmerman's ninth of his career, but his first since 2011. It couldn't have come at a better time, salvaging a long day of baseball for the Nationals.

Game 104: Mets at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

As if this afternoon's 11-0 thrashing at the hands of the Mets wasn't bad enough, now the Nationals have to come right back out and try to get back on track against All-Star Game starter Matt Harvey. With Bryce Harper out of the lineup.

Yep, Harper is sitting this one out after aggravating his left knee diving for Daniel Murphy's liner in the fifth inning of Game 1, according to Davey Johnson. He stayed in the game until the eighth, at which point he was replaced by pinch-runner Scott Hairston. So Steve Lombardozzi, who has five hits over the last 24 hours, gets the start in left field.

Ross Ohlendorf makes the spot start for the Nationals, perhaps an audition to see if he could join the rotation on a permanent basis with Taylor Jordan perhaps headed back to the minors in advance of his post-Tommy John shutdown. The veteran righty will have to be in top form tonight.

After a debacle like that first game, do the Nats even want to get back out on the field? "Yeah," Johnson said. "I'm actually glad we got another one tonight." We'll see how this plays out.

Updates to come...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 2)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 183
Weather: Mostly clear, 81 degrees, Wind 5 mph out to CF

NATIONALS (49-54)
CF Denard Span
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

Detwiler out another month

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The Nationals are going to be without Ross Detwiler for quite a bit longer.

An examination with a Los Angeles specialist on Wednesday revealed a problem with a disc in the left-hander's lower back, causing a pinched nerve. Detwiler received an injection and will miss another month, according to manager Davey Johnson.

"It's causing the pinching in the nerve which is causing that to spasm," Johnson said. "I think the procedure is to give him an injection. But he's got to rest it."

Detwiler has already been out since July 4 with what was originally termed a lower back strain by the Nationals. Several attempts to throw off a bullpen mound since have resulted in continued discomfort, so the club sent the pitcher to Southern California to be examined by specialist Robert Watkins.

Ohlendorf earns a shot

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There are no silver linings in a 9-2 loss that completed a three-game sweep over a miserable weekend of baseball. But what Ross Ohlendorf managed to do yesterday for the Nationals at least bodes well for the right-hander, and perhaps the club moving forward.

Pressed into long relief duties after Jordan Zimmermann lasted only two innings, Ohlendorf churned out one of the best (and longest) bullpen appearances you'll ever see: six innings of two-run ball, the equivalent of a quality start even though he didn't start the game.

"I was really glad I was able to pitch so long," the 30-year-old said. "Obviously, it was a tough game for us, but that's my job as the long man: To be able to save the bullpen. I was glad I was able to do it again."

It wasn't just the results Ohlendorf posted over an 88-pitch relief appearance. It was the way he pitched, offering even more

Instant analysis: Dodgers 9, Nats 2

Associated Press

Game in a nutshell: If you thought Friday and Saturday night's 3-2 and 3-1 losses were aggravating, what do you consider this demolishing in the final game of a brutal series? Jordan Zimmermann got rocked, giving up seven runs in the second inning alone. That left the rest of the Nationals needing to score a touchdown against Clayton Kershaw. Good luck with that. If not for Jayson Werth's two solo homers, Kershaw tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against the Nats, striking out nine without issuing a walk. Ross Ohlendorf did manage to turn in the equivalent of a "quality start" out of the bullpen, giving up two runs over six innings in relief of Zimmermann. But that was a grasp at a silver lining on an otherwise miserable afternoon at the ballpark. Having been swept by L.A., the Nationals now have lost eight of 10 overall and have fallen to two games under the .500 mark with 64 to play.

Hitting lowlight: Believe it or not, there was a highlight. Actually, there were two of them: Werth's homers off Kershaw. Otherwise, the Nationals did absolutely nothing at the plate against the

Detwiler still weeks away

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After another throwing session cut short due to a stiff back, Ross Detwiler appears to be several weeks away from returning to the Nationals rotation, leaving the club in a short-term bind that could become a long-term bind if this injury lingers.

Detwiler tried to throw off a bullpen mound this afternoon but cut the session short after about 25 pitches when his back stiffened up again.

"He's still not quite right," manager Davey Johnson said. "So he's going to have to wait a couple of days before trying to get back up on the mound."

The Nationals originally hoped to have Detwiler (who has been on the disabled list since July 4) back for Tuesday night's game against the Pirates, letting him slide into the No. 5 slot in their rotation coming out of the All-Star break. Once it became clear he wouldn't be ready in time for that, the Nationals adjusted their plan to have the left-hander start one of the games in Friday's doubleheader against the Mets.

But that option now is out of the question, according to Johnson.
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Who replaces Haren in rotation?

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Dan Haren's placement on the disabled list, while not a total shock, does leave the Nationals scrambling to find a replacement starter by the end of the week. That's a short-term problem. Long-term, they also need to figure out what exactly they intend to do with the final spot in their rotation.

Do they give Haren another shot once he's deemed healthy, or have they seen all they need to see out of him? Do they have a viable alternative in-house, whether a journeyman veteran like Ross Ohlendorf or a highly touted (though still really green) prospect like Nate Karns or Taylor Jordan? Or does Mike Rizzo need to go look outside the organization and make a bold deal for another starter before the July 31 trade deadline?

Before we get to the long-term question, let's quickly address the short-term one. The Nationals don't have to make an immediate decision, because they don't need a replacement starter until Saturday in New York at the earliest.

The easiest answer would seem to be handing the ball to Ohlendorf, who has been great in two appearances so far (one start, one

At last, some positive surprises

Associated Press

Rarely does a team enjoy a successful season receiving contributions only from those players who were expected all along to do it.

Look no further than the 2012 Nationals, who won 98 games not only behind the star power of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Zimmerman and Jordan Zimmermann but also thanks to the unlikely performances of rookies Tyler Moore, Steve Lombardozzi and — yes — Bryce Harper. None of those players was being counted on to play a major role when that season began. All wound up becoming critical to an NL East title.

Why has the 2013 season been such a disappointment for the Nationals to date? Obviously, injuries to the likes of Harper, Strasburg, Jayson Werth, Wilson Ramos and others has been significant. But so has the utter lack of contributions from players who weren't expected to contribute in the first place.

That's what made last night's 5-1 victory in Colorado feel like more than a random Wednesday night victory at Coors Field. It wasn't