Fresh off a terrible road trip (1-6), the Nats have to face Brandon Webb tonight.

So, how many hits will they manage to get?  Will we be shut out again?  At least when Manny Acta blames the lack of offense tonight on the other team’s pitching, we’ll know that, for just once, he means it.  

When the Nats traveled to AZ earlier this year, Webb pitched a shut-out game, all 9 innings, giving up only 6 hits.  He didn’t walk anybody and he struck out eight.  Webb, a 2008 All Star, is 12-4 with 3.43 ERA.

Should be a good night at the ballpark and a great beginning to another fun homestand.

Tim McGraw might sport the occasional curly W baseball cap, but Miami Heat forward Mike Beasley sports a permanent curly W with a tattoo on his right forearm. Is he really a Nats fan too?

Thanks for the tip Linds! (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images).

ESPN Zone continues it’s series of Q&A’s with the Nationals.  The next one will be this Wednesday, July 9 at 12 p.m. (doors open at 11 a.m.)

Nats radio broadcaster Charlie Slowes will to host the special Q&A session with Nationals’ reliever Joel Hanrahan.  Ask him about his powerful fastball, the bullpen’s 2008 struggles, or his joint effort with the Red Cross to raise money for flood victims in Iowa.  It should be an entertaining session!

Thanks to Half Street Blues for the tip:

The Historical Society of Washington will be presenting a special discussion with Mamie “Peanut” Johnson this Wednesday at 1 pm.  Johnson spent three years with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues.  As a right handed pitcher, she went 33-8.  She was the Washington Nationals’ draft selection in this year’s special Negro Leagues Player Draft by MLB:

Nicknamed “Peanut” because of her size (5-foot-4, 120 lb.), the right-hander became the first woman to pitch and win a ballgame in a “men’s” professional baseball league.  “Peanut,” a former teammate of Henry “Hank” Aaron, also excelled at the plate, batting between .262 and .284 in each of her three seasons.  Johnson, who signed with the Clowns at age 22, was one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues.  She was included among the first group of eight players inducted into the Negro League Wall of Fame at County Stadium in 1997.

The event will take place at 801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square in Washington DC.  (That’s right, another reason for me to be jealous of those of you who work in the district).

For more information, please visit historydc.org.

Game three in Cincinnati didn’t bring much offense for the Nats yet again. The Nats didn’t score until Tim Redding - of all people - hit a single in the second to plate Kearns. The game would stay at 1-0 until the fifth thanks to solid pitching from Redding. The Reds eventually tied the game after singles by Hariston and Griffey and a sac fly by Phillips.

The injury curse hit the Nats yet again in the 7th inning when Elijah Dukes hit the left field wall while tracking a fly ball. He made the catch, but it looked like he planted his legs weird and in the process hurt his knee. Dukes crumpled to the ground and really looked to be in pain. Manny and the trainers immediately ran onto the field and called for the cart to take Dukes off. Things looked pretty grim. MASN showed JimBo and he looked pretty upset with the injury…maybe because his experiment was falling apart right before his eyes? News on Dukes came a bit later in the game, and it wasn’t good, he strained his patella. This is certainly another crippling blow to an already defeated team. Dukes was having a great run and was one of the only guys generating any sort of offense.

After getting just one run in the first eight innings, the Nats were able to mount a bit of a rally in the 9th when Dmitri Young took a lead off walk thanks to Reds closer Cordero. Kearns followed with a base hit to center, and Jesus Flores had a great at bat and hit a deep fly ball to center to earn a sac fly and tie the game.

Hanrahan came back out to pitch the bottom of the 9th and immediately gave up a base hit, Hariston then stole second, Flores didn’t have a chance to make the throw. They intentionally walked Griffey to put runners on first and second with one out. Luis Ayala came in to face Phillips, who hit a walk off single. The Reds won 3-2.

The Nats look to avoid the sweep tomorrow when the rookie Colin Balester faces Edinson Volquez at 1:35.

There may have been no baseball in the nation’s capitol this 4th of July (and that’s a shame), but there was plenty of baseball just a few hours northwest of DC.  The Altoona Curve (Double A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) hosted our Harrisburg Senators in what they call a “PA Turnpike Series.”  Altoona is pretty close to where I grew up, so I talked my Dad into minor league ball for the holiday and I escaped DC’s crowds and humidity.

Blair County Ballpark, home of the Curve, is a true gem of a park.  Built in 1999, the stadium is a beautiful brick structure that echoes the look of Camden Yards.  It’s adjacent to an amusement park, Lakemont, so an old wooden rollercoaster can be seen just beyond right field.  The rollercoast ran all night and the seats spelled out “Go Curves!” Also, the club’s ownership group includes both Jerome Bettis and Mario Lemieux.    

The stadium was filled with over 8,000 cheering on the two local teams.  Before the game, Curve officials commemorated the franchise’s all-time All-Star team.  Their first pick was none other than Rob Mackowiak.  I accidentally laughed out loud.  Rob spent most of 1999 and 2000 playing for the Curve.

A few moments later, the line-ups were announced.  Melvin Dorta was the Curve’s lead off hitter.  Dorta, you may recall, made his major league debut with the Nationals in 2006.  He spent time in Harrisburg from 2004-2007.

Though those random moments of familiarity were surprises, I competely expected to see a dominant performance from RHP Jordan Zimmermann.  And I did not leave dissapointed.

Zimmermann gave up a lead off single to Dorta to start the game.  Dorta quickly stole second and scored moments later off of another hit.  After another stolen base and another RBI hit, the Senators were trailing the Curve 2-0. Jordan settled down after that first inning and delivered six shut out innings.  I was continually impressed by his efficiency.  I was also pleased that manager Stearns allowed Jordan to take late inning at bats because of his low pitch count.  With two outs in the 6th, Zimmerman hit for himself and drove the ball to deep center for a 2 RBI double.  Zimmermann’s good swing put the Senators ahead 5-2. 

He pitched through the 7th inning giving up ony 2 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 4 strike outs.  Beltran Perez finished the game with 2 scoreless frames.  Upon entering the game, Perez nailed Dorta hard in the thigh with an inside fastball.  Dorta fell to the ground for several minutes before walking it off and taking his base.

Five Altoona pitchers would come to the mound for the Curve throughout the game.  While starter Bloom only gave up 1 run on 4 hits in 5 innings, his bullpen put the game out of reach.  Together, they gave up 11 runs on 13 hits with 4 walks. 

 Unlike the “major league club,” the Senators’ bats are alive and well.  Five different hitters collected doubles and seven different hitters drove in runs.  Leonard Davis hit his second home run during the Senators’ 6th innning explosion.  Here’s the numbers:

Davis:  3 for 5; Rhinehart:  2 for 4; Baez: 3 for 5; Guzman: 2 for 5 and Bynum: 2 for 4

I think Lenny Harris should stay far away from these guys.  The final score was 12-2 with 17 hits for Harrisburg.  Bang, Zoom went the fireworks.  The future indeed seems bright for Jordan Zimmermann.  Here’s some photos.  Happy 4th of July!

The Nationals hit up Great American Ballpark this holiday weekend, or at least they try to. John Lannan took the mound tonight and probably hoped that the dimensions of Great American would help get him some run support. The game remained scoreless for the first three innings until the Nats put up two in the 4th thanks to some big hits from the heart of the lineup. With one out Guzman hit a single, Dukes followed with a double to score Guzman. Dukes then advanced to third thanks to balk on Cueto. Dmitri worked the count for a walk. Fresh from his rehab start, Austin Kearns knocked out a single to score Dukes.

Elijah Dukes added another run for the Nats with a solo shot to left center field in the top of the 6th. John Lannan pitched solidly and without issue until the 6th inning when he got into a jam. Consecutive singles from the Reds tied the game at three. Lannan earned a quality start though, pitching six innings giving up three runs and two costly walks. It should be noted that Lannan was helped out by some nifty defensive plays from Willie Harris at second base.

Things really fell apart in the 7th with Colome on the mound. With one out Corey Patterson made it safely to first after Colome fielded the bunt but threw a bullet to Dmitri at first from about 20 feet away, Dmitri of course missed the ball and was given the error. Patterson made it to second base. Then Harrison singled to center, but Bernadina’s relay throw was way off and allowed both runners to advance. The Nats chalked up another two errors on two consecutive plays tonight. Colome intentionally walked Keppinger to load the bases, and was then promptly removed for Charlie Manning to face Griffey. Manning got him to pop out to third for the second out. So much for giving the bullpen a rest tonight, Ayala entered the game after Griffey flied out, sending three pitchers the mound in one inning. Ayala promptly gave up a base hit to deep right field, and the Reds scored two. Ayala then fielded a blooper to first to end the inning. The Reds led 5-3 after the 7th, every run in the inning was unearned thanks to careless errors by the Nats.

Trying to mount a comeback, Guzman led off the 8th with a double, adding another multi hit game to his record (he leads the league with 35 multi hit games). Guzman’s effort though, was wasted once again when Dmitri hit into a double play and Kearns flied out to right to end the inning. Shell came in to pitch the 8th and was impressive striking out two. Rain started falling in the 9th and the Nats couldn’t mount a comeback and lost with a final score of 5-3.

I’m still pretty bitter that the Nats aren’t home to play a 4th of July game in their new stadium. You’d think Stan and the Lerner’s would want to get the stadium packed anyway they can…they certainly aren’t going to do it with a winning team. Anyway, the Nats face the Reds again tomorrow in Cincy at 1:15. Think I can watch the game on TV and still make it downtown for the fireworks?

Rain ruined a good start by Odalis Perez on Wednesday afternoon.  Perez cruised through 6 innings giving up only one run.  In the bottom of the 7th, he had 2 runners on and 2 outs, but the skies opened up on Dolphin Stadium, prompting a 95 minute rain delay.   Manning was set to take over where Perez left off and face Amezaga.  On the third pitch, Amezaga homered to left field to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead.  Rivera allowed another run in the 8th to bring the score to 4-2.

Meanwhile, Nolasco handled the Nationals without much of a problem.  In 7 innings, he struck out 8, giving up only 3 hits.  We were lucky to even put two runs on the board.  Both came in the 2nd inning when Lo Duca singled to score Boone and Belliard.   The only other hit came in the 7th when Flores singled.  After the rain, Pinto and closer Gregg finished the game without another hit by the Nats.

And that’s about all.  The Marlins take the series and improve to 10-2 against the Nationals this season.

The team now heads to Cincinnati for a four game series against Ken Griffey Jr. and the Reds.  There, they will be reunited with RF Austin Kearns.  Tomorrow night John Lannan faces 22 year old rookie Johnny Cueto (6-8, 4.68).  Chances are Lannan will get some run support in Great American, but how will his ERA hold up?  Throughout the series, Griffey will be looking to break a milestone.  Two runs will give him 1584, 44th all time passing George Brett.

With any hope of a successful season effectively shut down, at least now we’re going to get a chance to see some young faces and have a real opportunity to turn our attention toward the future.  Harper at OMG began really focusing on the youngsters a few weeks ago, and Zuckerman wrote just days ago about letting kids develop at the major league level, since the season’s a wash.

In that spirit, Balester came up from Columbus to take on the tough Florida lineup.  Balester responded with 5 innings of one hit, one run baseball.  He cruised through the first four innings and took a no-hitter into the 5th.  It was broken up by Cody Ross.  The inning would get away from Balester for a bit.  He walked the 8th hitter, Treanor, and the pitcher, Hendrickson, to load the bases for Hanley Ramirez with only one out.   Ramirez popped up to Lopez, but Andino was able to score from third to put the Marlins on the board.  A wild pitch and another walk later, Balester found himself in more trouble with the bases loaded for Cantu.  A pop up to Dmitri ended the long inning and finished Balester’s line:  5 innings, 3 walks, 3 strike outs, 1 hit, 1 run and 1 HBP.  It was a nice debut for the young rookie and something Randy St. Claire can build on now that he’s here to stay for a few more starts, at least. 

Of course, it helped that he had a little bit of run support to work with.  The Nats picked up a run in the 4th off of a monster home run by another building block, Elijah Dukes.  In the top of the 5th, an unlikely duo put another run on the board for Washington. Paul Lo Duca doubled and Felipe Lopez collected an RBI hit.

Much to Lenny Harris’s delight, the bats weren’t done yet.  In the 6th, Henrickson fell apart.  Guzman, Dukes and Young hit consecutive singles to load the bases.  Ronnie Belliard brought them all home with a grand slam to left field.

Despite a five run deficit, the Marlins wouldn’t go quietly.  They hit Steven Shell hard in the 7th with 3 more runs off of a Hanley Ramirez home run to left field. Joel Hanrahan finished the inning and it was a 6-4 game heading into the 8th.

The bats again showed some life when the Nats added on three more runs to make it a 9-4 game in the top of the inning.  Dukes led off with a hit and a stolen base.  Belliard walked, Lo Duca singled and Casto reached on a force play before an error on Jacobs allowed Dukes to score.  Lopez collected another RBI when Belliard scored and Willie Harris brought home Lo Duca.

Despite another 5 run deficit, this rollercoaster game was still far from over.  Manning entered the game and collected two quick strike outs, followed by two quick walks.  He was lifted in favor of Ayala who allowed two quick singles and two more runs in the Marlins column, though they were charged to Charlie Manning.  A throwing error by Dukes moved Ramirez to third.  Ayala then struck out Hermida for a critical out.

Rauch came in to close the game, but still couldn’t shut the Marlins down quickly.  Two out singles to Jacobs and Ross brought the tying run, Luis Gonzales, to the plate.  Rauch battled back from a 3-0 count to get Gonzales to fly out to center, earning his 17th save. 

In a game with lots of good at bats, Dukes went 3 for 5 with a stolen base and a homer, Belliard went 2 for 4 with a grand slam, Lo Duca went 2 for 4 and got hit by pitch, and Lopez went 3 for 4.  Balester picked up the win in his major league debut.

This afternoon, Odalis Perez takes on Ricky Nolasco (8-4, 4.05).  Among active players, only Lopez and Lo Duca have seen Nolasco much.  Lopez is 1 for 11; it was a homer.  Lo Duca is 5 for 9.   Last time we saw Nolasco, at Nationals Park on May 9, he gave up one run in 6 innings and got the win.

PS - Tony Armas Jr., who couldn’t hack it in Washington or Pittsburgh, started for the Mets last night and earned the win.  He gave up 4 runs in 6 innings.