Nats look to build momentum before long road swing

By Bud L. Ellis

With a 10-game road trip looming next week, it’s time for the Washington Nationals to get over their first real hiccup of their surprising 2010 season.

The Nats took the field in St. Louis on Monday riding a three-game losing streak that at least dampened a bit of the hot start Washington rode to a 20-15 record. The Nats moved five games above .500 with a 14-6 rout of Colorado on Thursday in Denver. But after a postponement, the Nats lost three straight to the Rockies, the last two coming by one run.

The mini-skid dropped Washington into a second-place tie with Florida in the National League East. Still, the Nats are just two games behind first-place Philadelphia, and Memorial Day is two weeks ago.

How Washington fares these next two weeks probably will determine just how serious this team is about playing meaningful baseball into the first days of summer. The Nats play two in St. Louis, then head home for five games that look winnable: two against the floundering Mets (who were swept by the Marlins this weekend) and three against woeful Baltimore.

Then the Nats hit the road for a big challenge: a 10-day, three city road trip that will take Washington to San Francisco for three, to San Diego for three against the equally surprising Padres, and four at Houston.

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Monday, May 17, 2010 at 7:18 pm by bud

Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, National League East, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals

Nats close first month in NL East hunt

By Bud L. Ellis

Nobody expected Livan Hernandez to turn back the clock a decade, for Matt Capps to hit double-digits in saves already this season.

Then again, nobody expected the Washington Nationals to be in contention as April closed.

Sure, it’s early, but when you lost 103 games a year ago, being just one game out of first place as May arrives is cause for excitement. And that’s where the Nats are at following a 13-10 April that saw Washington close the month with four wins in five games.

Even though Washington lost to Florida 7-1 to open May, Washington’s 13-11 record after 24 games was markedly better than last season, when the Nats started 7-17 en route to a 59-103 finish.

Pitching has been the difference. Hernandez, 35, went 3-1 with a 0.87 ERA in four sparkling starts. Reliever Tyler Clippard (who had just eight career wins in 49 career games before the season) also won games in April. Capps, given up on after a lousy season in Pittsburgh in 2009, is a perfect 10-for-10 in save situations.

The Washington offense has been as good as expected. Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn each have at least three homers. Nyjer Morgan has stolen six bases and hit five triples. Future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, brought in to guide the pitching staff, is hitting .400 with seven doubles.

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Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 8:59 am by bud

Tags: Adam Dunn, Florida Marlins, Ivan Rodriguez, Josh Willingham, Livan Hernandez, Major League Baseball, Matt Capps, NL East, Nyjer Morgan, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Zimmerman, Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals