Drew Storen News

Washington Nationals' lefty Gio Gonzalez gave the Nats a second-straight strong start and though they once again blew the lead he handed the bullpen, the defending NL East Champs recovered and took the series finale from the San Francisco Giants.

SAN FRANCISCO A helmet lay in Bryce Harper 's wake as he slid into home plate late Wednesday afternoon, discarded along with the oddity and injury of the Washington Nationals' long, strange trip out West.

There haven't been many pitchers better than Washington righty Jordan Zimmermann this year.

Where the Nationals could afford to make change, though, is the structure of their bullpen.

Andrew Cashner pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and Kyle Blanks and Will Venable homered off Dan Haren to lead the San Diego Padres to a 13-4 victory against the Washington Nationals on Sunday and a split of their four-game series.

Washington Nationals' right-hander Jordan Zimmermann says he's not doing anything differently than he has in the past, but he's having success early this year and catching the attention of any members of the baseball world who weren't already impressed with the '07 2nd Round pick.

Chad Tracy hit a pinch-hit, two-out solo homer in the top of the 10th inning to propel the Washington Nationals past the San Diego Padres, 6-5, Friday in the second installment of a four-game series at Petco Park.

Catcher Wilson Ramos pulls up lame at first base after lacing a single in the fourth inning, his second hit in as many at bats.

After the Nationals and Dodgers split the first two games of their three-game series thanks to great pitching performances by Jordan Zimmermann and Clayton Kershaw , the pressure is on tonight's starters to win the series for their team.

Clayton Kershaw is fortunate to be one of the league leaders in earned run average because the Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled to support their left-hander. Kershaw hopes the bats awaken for him Tuesday in the continuation of a three- game series versus the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.

Jordan Zimmermann picked-up his seventh win of the season, now tops in the majors, in a 6-1 victory over the Dodgers.

It's never an easy decision. Your pitcher is rolling. Your bullpen has performed well.

After two games to forget against the Cubs, the Nationals are journeying west for a ten-game west coast road trip.

The Washington Nationals come to Los Angeles Monday and the team that many prognosticators placed first in the NL East find themselves in second place with a 20-17 record, but trailing the Atlanta Braves by only one game in their division.

It's still premature to determine if the Los Angeles Dodgers have righted themselves, but at least they're back in the win column.

The Cubs didn't have a baserunner through the first five innings and trailed 1-0 entering the eighth before coming back in the deciding matchup of a three-game series.

Alfonso Soriano scored the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning on a throwing error by catcher Kurt Suzuki , and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 Sunday.

Alfonso Soriano scored the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning on a throwing error by catcher Kurt Suzuki, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 Sunday.

RHP Stephen Strasburg , who will pitch Saturday, has not faced the Chicago Cubs since Opening Day at Wrigley Field in 2012.

At the hairiest junctures of a Washington Nationals game, pitching coach Steve McCatty emerges from the dugout and trudges to the mound.