Nats finally get over hump against Phils ace
(Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400)
The Nationals showed they could handle right-hander Roy Halladay on Tuesday night, as they defeated the Phillies, 5-2, at Citizens Bank Park.

Harper, Nationals get another shot at Hamels
(Tue, 22 May 2012 22:57:00 -0400)
The Phillies' Cole Hamels faces the Nationals on Wednesday for the first time since he was suspended for intentionally hitting Bryce Harper. Washington won the first two games of the series.

Nats activate Wang, place Mattheus on DL
(Tue, 22 May 2012 21:08:00 -0400)
The Nationals have activated right-hander Chien-Ming Wang from the 15-day disabled list and placed reliever Ryan Mattheus on the 15-day DL on Tuesday.

Move to fifth appears to have helped Desmond
(Tue, 22 May 2012 19:46:19 -0400)
Ian Desmond said it helps that he is surrounded by good hitters, and that is the reason he didn't have to make adjustments when he made the switch from hitting leadoff.

Nationals remove Rodriguez from closer role
(Tue, 22 May 2012 19:46:18 -0400)
Nationals manager Davey Johnson has decided that right-hander Henry Rodriguez will no longer be the team's closer. Instead, the skipper will use a closer-by-committee.

Zimmerman sits because of sore shoulder
(Tue, 22 May 2012 19:46:17 -0400)
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was scratched from the lineup on Tuesday because of a sore right shoulder, the same ailment that forced him to the disabled list late last month.

Boone, Corrales to represent Nats at Draft
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:41:00 -0400)
Bob Boone and Pat Corrales will represent the Nationals -- who have the 16th overall pick -- during the 2012 First-Year Player Draft on June 4.

Harper embraces challenge of playing in Philly
(Tue, 22 May 2012 00:21:00 -0400)
The storyline coming into Monday's game between the Nationals and Phillies revolved around the reception rookie phenom Bryce Harper would receive from the notorious Philadelphia fans, especially after the incident at Nationals Park on May 6 in which Phillies starter Cole Hamels nailed him with a fastball.

After Gio dominates, Nats survive shaky ninth
(Mon, 21 May 2012 23:45:00 -0400)
Sean Burnett rescued the struggling Henry Rodriguez in the ninth inning Monday, securing a 2-1 victory for the Nationals and Gio Gonzalez, who dominated the Phillies by striking out nine and allowing just three hits over six scoreless innings.

Bodley: Johnson, Nationals a perfect match
(Mon, 21 May 2012 22:37:00 -0400)
Manager Davey Johnson has been a perfect fit for the young and talented Nationals, and it's no coincidence they're having a breakthrough season.

Mattheus unavailable with discomfort in foot
(Mon, 21 May 2012 19:22:00 -0400)
Right-handed reliever Ryan Mathheus experienced discomfort in his left foot while running in the outfield before Monday night's game and was not available to pitch.

Lidge cleared to begin throwing off mound
(Mon, 21 May 2012 19:22:00 -0400)
Nationals reliever Brad Lidge was examined by Dr. William Meyers, who performed the surgery to repair his sports hernia on May 1, and was cleared to begin throwing off a mound.

Nationals expect Strasburg to make next start
(Mon, 21 May 2012 19:22:00 -0400)
Stephen Strasburg is expected to make his next start. And that, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said, is all he's concerned about. Strasburg left his start Sunday after five innings with what was described as tightness in his right biceps.

Strasburg's arm tightness a matter of concern
(Sun, 20 May 2012 19:54:00 -0400)
Stephen Strasburg was pulled from Sunday's game after five innings and 90 pitches at Nationals Park because of tightness in his golden right arm.

Phils, Nats set to renew fledgling rivalry
(Sun, 20 May 2012 19:41:00 -0400)
The Phillies have had 225 consecutive regular-season sellouts at Citizens Bank Park, and Monday night's game with the Nationals doesn't figure to be any different. Except for the part about this being the first meeting between the two National League East contenders since left-hander Cole Hamels hit Nats phenom Bryce Harper with a pitch in a nationally-televised game 15 days ago.

Strasburg homers in win, but suffers arm tightness
(Sun, 20 May 2012 18:26:00 -0400)
Stephen Strasburg put on another dominant pitching performance and hit his first career home run before exiting with biceps tightness as the Nationals took the finale of the Beltway Series from the surging Orioles with a 9-3 victory on Sunday at Nationals Park.

Nationals' bullpen continues to be strong
(Sun, 20 May 2012 13:17:08 -0400)
The Nationals' bullpen had another solid performance in Saturday's 6-5 loss, holding the Orioles scoreless over the final four innings while the offense chipped away at a six-run deficit.

Johnson seeing improvement in Nats bats
(Sun, 20 May 2012 13:17:07 -0400)
Nationals manager Davey Johnson has been encouraged by the way his team has been swinging the bats lately, and he is hopeful the club will start packing more punch going forward.

Battle of the Beltway a resounding success
(Sun, 20 May 2012 13:17:06 -0400)
The Nationals drew 42,331 for Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Orioles -- the second-largest crowd in the history of four-year-old Nationals Park.

Bill Ladson's MLBlog
(Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:48:46 -0400)