Postgame chatter from Werth, Desmond, Zimmerman

Postgame chatter from Werth, Desmond, Zimmerman
The baseball gods might have known they gave the Brewers a break yesterday when the Nationals lost two fly balls in the sun, both of which turned into Milwaukee runs. Today, it was the Nats that got the benefit of a sun-aided hit, which came when Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez lost track of a Jayson Werth fly ball in the fourth inning. Had Gomez made the catch, the inning would have ended. Instead, the Nats took advantage, scoring five runs from that play on before the fifth inning...
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Johnson talks after Nats' 12-2 win

Johnson talks after Nats' 12-2 win
Yesterday's 6-2 Nationals loss was a bit of a sloppy affair. The Nats made a couple errors, lost a couple balls in the sun and struggled to do much of anything offensively against Brewers pitching. Flip that script and you'll get an idea how this afternoon's series finale between the Nats and Brewers played out. The Nats benefited from a fly ball which Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez lost in the sun, extending an inning and allowing five additional runs to score. They watched Milwaukee...
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The sun monster strikes again (Nats win 12-2)

The sun monster strikes again (Nats win 12-2)
The Nationals lost two fly balls in the sun yesterday afternoon, helping the Brewers pick up a 6-2 win at Nats Park. After the game, Bryce Harper said that the "sun monster" got the best of the Nats. Apparently, the sun monster doesn't discriminate, though. It's attacked the Brewers today. With the Nats leading 2-1 today with two outs in the fourth and runners at the corners, Jayson Werth lifted a lazy fly ball to center. Brewers center field Carlos Gomez had plenty of time to track the...
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Plenty of notes on the rotation, playoff planning and Morse

Plenty of notes on the rotation, playoff planning and Morse
Davey Johnson has made it well known that he's not thinking ahead to the playoffs or how he'll manage the team in the final days of the regular season. He's fully focused on today (with an eye on tomorrow, as he likes to say) and often pumps the breaks when reporters ask questions that he feels are getting too far ahead of where the Nationals are at this point. But when Johnson was asked today how he feels about contending teams having a problem with him resting starters down the stretch...
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Morse sits in finale against Brewers

Morse sits in finale against Brewers
The Nationals have posted their lineup for today's 1:05 p.m. game against the Brewers and Michael Morse isn't in it. Roger Bernadina will get the start in left field against ex-Nats right-hander Marco Estrada. Here's the Nationals lineup: RF Jayson Werth CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa LF Roger Bernadina C Kurt Suzuki P Jordan Zimmermann
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Down the stretch they come

Down the stretch they come
Over their last 15 games, the Nationals are 7-8. Reason to be concerned? No, not yet. But it's not exactly the way you want to be playing with the postseason quickly approaching and meaningful regular season games still to come in the next week and a half. The Nationals' competition down the stretch is fairly stiff. They've got one more game with the Brewers this afternoon, three at Philadelphia against a Phillies team that definitely won't roll over with the Nats in town, three in St....
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Johnson talks after Nats' 6-2 loss

Johnson talks after Nats' 6-2 loss
The Nationals held a "jerseys off their backs" promotion today, giving their game-worn jerseys to fans. The promotion was perfectly timed. "It was a good day to give the jersey away," Johnson said. "I don't wanna wear that one. That one was unlucky." You'd have a hard time finding a game the Nationals have played this season which was as sloppy as the one they played today. The Brewers hit few balls all that hard, but they still notched 15 hits. The Nats made two errors and lost two...
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A strong outing by Wang, even if the numbers say otherwise (Nats lose 6-2)

A strong outing by Wang, even if the numbers say otherwise (Nats lose 6-2)
You look at the pitching line of Chien-Ming Wang this afternoon, you assume it was another tough outing for the veteran right-hander. Wang went four innings today, allowing two runs on eight hits. He struck out two, walked none and leaves with the Nats trailing 2-0 in the fifth. The numbers are deceiving, however. Wang actually pitched pretty darn well. His sinker had great movement, and he was able to locate it down in the zone and get Brewers hitters to beat it into the ground. He had good...
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LaRoche's bounceback season just keeps getting better

LaRoche's bounceback season just keeps getting better
After last night's game, Adam LaRoche was asked about the season he's put together, a season which is setting up to possibly be the strongest of his nine-year big league career from a statistical standpoint. "I'm not one to brag on myself, so it's hard for me to say a whole lot about it," LaRoche said. Fine, I'll do the bragging for him. LaRoche leads all National League first basemen in home runs (32) and RBIs (98) after he slugged a homer and drove in two yesterday afternoon. With...
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Chien-Ming Wang making first start since June 19

Chien-Ming Wang making first start since June 19
For the first time in over three months, Chien-Ming Wang will start a major league game today. The Nationals will give the ball to their veteran sinkerballer and hope he can cool down a red-hot Brewers lineup. Wang threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Dodgers, but he hasn't started a game since June 19. Wang battled hamstring and hip injuries this season, and when he has pitched, either at the major league or minor league levels, he...
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Nats react to Gonzalez' achievement, talk offensive explosion

Nats react to Gonzalez' achievement, talk offensive explosion
Some of the guys in the Nationals' clubhouse knew Gio Gonzalez was pretty darn good when he came aboard via a trade with the Athletics this offseason. Adam LaRoche, on the other hand, hadn't faced Gonzalez before and didn't know a ton about him, given the two guys played in different leagues. Now that Gonzalez has reached 20 wins and leaves the park today with a 2.84 ERA, LaRoche has a pretty good read on what type of pitcher the lefty is. "If he was anything like this in Oakland, it's...
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Gonzalez on 20 wins: "This is like a dream"

Gonzalez on 20 wins: "This is like a dream"
If you've seen Gio Gonzalez either in person or on TV this season, you might have noticed he's constantly smiling. It's hard to miss. There was a lot of that today after Gonzalez became the first pitcher in the majors to record 20 wins this season. He got a giant bear hug from pitching coach Steve McCatty immediately after the game, among many others, and was the target of a postgame water-cooler shower dished out by reliever Ryan Mattheus. But there was also a bit more. Gonzalez seemed...
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G. Gonzalez joins some elite company (also notches 20th win)

G. Gonzalez joins some elite company (also notches 20th win)
Leading 9-2 after six innings of work, it would take a complete collapse by the Nationals for Gio Gonzalez to not become the first 20-game winner in the majors this season. Assuming it happens, that will be quite an accomplishment. But that won't be the only numerical milestone Gonzalez will reach today. He also has notched his 200th strikeout of the season, making him the first Washington pitcher to get to 200 strikeouts since Walter Johnson did it in 1916. How's that for some decent...
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Nats glide their way to an early lead (it's a party at Nats Park)

Nats glide their way to an early lead (it's a party at Nats Park)
Prior to this afternoon's game, Nationals manager Davey Johnson talked about how Bryce Harper has started to glide when chasing down balls in the outfield, instead of taking short, choppy steps like he did when he first moved to the outfield. We've seen a whole lot of that gliding from Harper through three innings today. Harper tracked down a deep fly ball off the bat of Rickie Weeks to end the top of the third, a fly which sailed straight over his head. He used his impressive speed to...
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Talking playoff positioning and Harper's defensive improvements

Talking playoff positioning and Harper's defensive improvements
You don't have to worry about Tyler Clippard taking his recent struggles too lightly. When manager Davey Johnson saw Clippard last night after the reliever blew a save in the Nationals' 4-2 loss, Clippard was watching film of his outing. When Johnson saw Clippard this morning, Clippard was - you guessed it - watching film of his outing. "Talk about a glutton for punishment," Johnson said. "I wouldn't be going there." Johnson also said that Clippard "trashed" a room in the tunnel...
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Nats, Brewers Saturday lineups

Nats, Brewers Saturday lineups
The Nationals will have their regular starters on the field behind Gio Gonzalez this afternoon as the left-hander again tries for his 20th win of the season. Gonzalez got stuck with the loss his last time out, allowing two runs over five innings against the Braves on Sunday night. His record sits at 19-8 entering today, and he still could become the first guy in the majors to hit the 20-win mark. The Nats will face Brewers righty Wily Peralta, who is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in four appearances...
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Despite recent struggles, Clippard "still confident as heck"

Despite recent struggles, Clippard "still confident as heck"
After blowing his fifth save of the season and putting up another disappointing outing during a rough three-week stretch, Tyler Clippard stood at his locker for over five minutes and calmly answered question after question about his performance. You won't find many guys more stand-up than the 27-year-old Clippard. The Nationals' right-handed reliever is clearly frustrated with himself right now, partly because he blew a save in tonight's 4-2 loss to the Brewers, but also because he can't...
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Johnson sticking with Clippard as co-closer

Johnson sticking with Clippard as co-closer
Tyler Clippard's rough stretch continued tonight. Clippard, who was lights out for much of the season, blew his fifth save of the year tonight and earned his third loss in his last seven appearances after allowing three Brewers runs in the ninth inning. It stuck the Nationals with a 4-2 loss, wasting a fantastic outing by Edwin Jackson, who threw eight innings of one-run ball. "Well, that one hurt," manager Davey Johnson said. "Jackson pitched a great ballgame. I was tempted to let him...
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Harper shows off his arm (Nats lose 4-2 after blown save)

Harper shows off his arm (Nats lose 4-2 after blown save)
Edwin Jackson retired just one batter he faced in the fourth inning and allowed three hits in the frame. Somehow, he still escaped with a scoreless inning of work. The Nationals put on a defensive display in the fourth, helping Jackson get through an inning in which he didn't make many great pitches. Ryan Braun doubled leading off the fourth, his second double in as many at-bats tonight. Aramis Ramirez followed with a single to center, a sharply hit ball which Bryce Harper charged quickly....
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Some possible tweaks to the rotation

Some possible tweaks to the rotation
In addition to announcing that he's going to go with co-closers for the time being, Nationals manager Davey Johnson also announced his plans for the starting rotation through the next handful of days. We already knew that Chien-Ming Wang will start Sunday against the Brewers, and Johnson had two options for who would start Monday's series finale against Milwaukee due to the doubleheader played Wednesday. He's decided to go with Jordan Zimmermann on Monday on normal rest, and will have...
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