Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has made his spring training debut for the Washington Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.

Starting for Washington, Strasburg threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits, successive two-out singles by Don Kelly and Alex Avila in the second. But the right-hander finished off Brent Dlugach with a bending, 81 mph breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout.

Strasburg’s four-seam fastball was consistently measured in the 97-98 mph range and he struck out two Tuesday. But he had some problems with location and threw first-pitch strikes to only two of the eight batters he faced.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 15th inning and the Washington Nationals closed the season with a seven-game winning streak, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday.


Playing the longest game since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals became the first team in baseball history to close the season with seven straight wins after losing the first seven. Still, they finished 59-103 — the worst record in baseball.
Atlanta, which got within two games of the wild-card lead with six remaining, finished with a season-high six-game losing streak. Logan Kensing (1-2) earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out Brooks Conrad on a checked swing for the final out with runners at second and third.

Elijah Dukes started the winning rally off Boone Logan (1-1) with a one-out walk. Mike Morse flied out, but Wil Nieves and Gonzalez came through with back-to-back singles to break a tie that had stood since the seventh.

Click here to read the full article – By PAUL NEWBERRY of timesunion.com

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A day after the Nationals signed their No. 1 Draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, to a record contract, it appears that acting general manager Mike Rizzo has not secured that role for the longer term.


According to YahooSports.com, the Nationals are expected to name Jerry DiPoto of Arizona as GM.

The move reportedly could happen within the next 24 hours. Rizzo was talking to local media on Tuesday about Strasburg and didn’t give any indication that the role he filled on a temporary basis had been earned by another candidate. Subsequent calls placed to Rizzo about his future were not immediately returned.

In March, the Nationals named Rizzo acting general manager, two days after Jim Bowden resigned from the GM position. Rizzo has handled responsibilities related to the Major League, Minor League and scouting operations of the organization. Day-to-day inquiries related to player personnel have been directed to Rizzo, with team president Stan Kasten having key hands-on involvement.


Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLB.com

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Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals agreed to a record contract just before Monday’s midnight deadline, a four-year deal that will pay the hard-throwing right-hander slightly more than $15.1 million.

The San Diego State pitcher was selected first by the last-place Nationals in June and set the mark for the most money guaranteed to a drafted player. That’s been held since 2001 by pitcher Mark Prior, who received a $10.5 million, five-year contract after he was selected with the second pick, behind Joe Mauer.

“It feels awesome. I got a little nervous there for a while that it might not happen, but I feel very blessed,” Strasburg told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez. “I’m not sure of the plan right now. They said they’d bring me up for the media. They said to take my time to get ready. It’s an amazing feeling. I really wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, but I’m glad it did.”

Strasburg was among 16 of 32 first-round picks without announced agreements heading into the final day. Only three first-round picks apparently failed to sign, and the deadline didn’t apply to one of them.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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Given new life after a big effort from reliever Tyler Clippard, the Nationals used the long ball to defeat the Pirates, 8-4, at PNC Park on Monday night.

Washington was down, 3-0, against right-hander Charlie Morton until the top of the sixth inning, when it made its comeback. With one out and a runner on second, Cristian Guzman singled to right field to drive in Anderson Hernandez. After Ryan Zimmerman was hit by a pitch, Adam Dunn hit a three-run home run over the left-field wall to give the Nationals a 4-3 lead. Dunn felt he was lucky to hit the home run. Before Monday’s game, Dunn had a .228 career average at PNC Park.

Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLB.com

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It appears that Adam Dunn’s defense in the outfield has taken a turn for the better during the second half of the season.

Take Monday’s 14-6 victory over the Brewers. The Nationals’ slugger made two nice plays in left field. In the first inning, after Ryan Braun doubled near the left-field line, Dunn hit the cutoff man and shortstop Cristian Guzman was able to throw out Felipe Lopez at the plate. Two inning later, Dunn made a nice sliding catch in foul territory, running into the wall to retire Lopez.

Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLB.com

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Fans of the Washington Nationals,

No one is more dissatisfied in the first half of the 2009 Washington Nationals season than we are. Like you, we had hoped that some of our younger players would have matured faster, and that the addition of some of our new veterans would have significantly improved our record from a season ago. Our hope was that a solid club leadership would emerge on and off the field, and that some intangible combinations would begin to click, resulting in many winning streaks.

Click here to read the full article – By of MLB.com

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Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, considered by many to be the best player on the Nationals, was named to the National League All-Star team on Sunday afternoon.

The news was announced on the MLB All-Star Selection Show presented by Pepsi. Zimmerman found out about the good news — his first Midsummer Classic — from manager Manny Acta before Sunday’s game against the Braves. When Acta called him into his office, Zimmerman thought he did something wrong, but the skipper told him that he was voted into the game by his peers. After the meeting, Zimmerman was congratulated by teammates, including Cristian Guzman, Nick Johnson and Josh Willingham.

Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLB.com

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Jordan Zimmermann was on top of his game in June, but it hadn’t shown up in his win column.

While pitching against the Red Sox at Nationals Park, Zimmermann was matched up against John Smoltz — who was making the first start of his career with a big league team other than the Braves — and completely outptched the future Hall of Famer. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander dominated the first-place Red Sox while relying on a good fastball, giving up a run on five hits while walking one and striking out six in seven innings.

Click here to read the full article – By Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com

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John Lannan took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, Adam Dunn hit a colossal home run, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Willie Harris also homered for the Nationals, and Josh Willingham had three hits and scored twice. Lannan (5-5) gave up three runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. The left-hander went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in June; he had never before won three games in one month. Mike MacDougal worked a perfect ninth for his third save. Washington trailed 1-0 in the fourth inning before Dunn connected off rookie David Hernandez (1-2) following a double by Ryan Zimmerman.

Click here to read the full article – By DAVID GINSBURG of Associated Press

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