Craig Stammen News

At the critical juncture of another futile night for the Washington Nationals , the ball sizzled toward a second baseman playing left field.

With a GM like Mike Rizzo running your team, knowing what that team will do is a complete crapshoot.

The Indians right-hander was the best pitcher at Progressive Field, outdueling Stephen Strasburg in Cleveland's 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals.

Corey Kluber fired eight outstanding innings to spoil Stephen Strasburg's return to the mound and lead the Cleveland Indians to a 2-0 victory in the finale of a three-game interleague series at Progressive Field.

Ten days ago, the Washington Nationals needed a boost for their struggling offense, so they called up top-hitting prospect Anthony Rendon, who had only eight major league games at second base under his belt, and asked him to learn the intricacies of a new position at the highest level while providing a boost with his bat.

This next homestand opens with a 7:05 PM Friday matchup, a 7:15 PM Saturday game slated to be on the Fox networks and a Sunday matinee at 1:05 PM.

The Cleveland Indians are back in the friendly confines of Progressive Field, where they'll begin a nine-game homestand Friday with the first of three straight games versus the Washington Nationals.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson will be in the dugout at the All-Star Game this July for the first time in 26 years.

Nationals right-hander Craig Stammen doesn't have to think twice about who gets the credit for his success on and off the baseball field.

Given the way these last two days have gone, the Nats would be undefeated if they had a starting rotation composed entirely of Rosses.

Ryan Zimmerman homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Ian Desmond got four hits and the Washington Nationals beat the depleted Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, Johnson told Ohlendorf that he would remain with the Nationals and move to the bullpen as the team's second long reliever - and not just for this week.

Early Wednesday evening, as smoke from a nearby wildfire invaded Coors Field and ash flew around like pollen, nervous energy coursed through Ross Ohlendorf.

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Throughout the day off on Monday, fans of the Washington Nationals waited for word on DL'd star Bryce Harper, but there were no reports outside of an ambiguous tweet from the left-handed hitting slugger who had his knee examined in Florida on Sunday.

In their starting rotation alone, Stephen Strasburg , Gio Gonzalez and Dan Haren have six All-Star appearances between them, with Gonzalez being the 2012 NL win leader and a Cy Young Award nominee.

Video: The Post Sports Live crew debates whether it's better for the team if injured Nationals play through the pain.

The Washington Nationals stand today at 31-31 and are back in second place in the NL East, 7.5 games back of first place Atlanta.

The Nationals cruised in Game 1 of Sunday's split doubleheader against the Twins, pounding out five runs in the fifth inning and following Jordan Zimmermann's stellar outing to the win.

The Washington Nationals fell behind 4-1 early in the nightcap with the Minnesota Twins, but the Nats rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the seventh when Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond hit back-to-back doubles to give the home team the lead.