Rick Ankiel News

Atlanta, which has lost six in a row, has fallen three games off the pace set by Washington in the division.

Facing left-hander Mike Minor, the Nationals are going with their right-handed-heavy outfield, allowing both Tyler Moore and Xavier Nady a chance at the corners.

As part of a technology change, commenting will not be available on some articles for a number of months.

Rick Ankiel hit a two-run triple in Washington's four-run first inning, Ryan Zimmerman padded the lead with a three-run double in the seventh and the first-place Nationals beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 7-4 Friday night.

Neither Matt Diaz nor Michael Bourn could catch up to a fly ball off the bat of the Nationals' Rick Ankiel, who made it around for a two-run triple in the first inning of Friday's game.

Rick Ankiel hit a two-run triple in Washington's four-run first inning, Ryan Zimmerman padded the lead with a three-run double in the seventh and the first-place Nationals beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 7-4 Friday night.

In his second year with the Nationals , Corey Brown has become the player they hoped they had traded for.

Courtesy of 8 shutout innings by Cole Hamels , the Nationals were unable to get their first series sweep of the year, falling to the Phillies by a score of 4-1. Both the pitching and the bats were unable to keep up with that of the Phillies, costing the Nats a shot at taking 3 games on the road from an NL East rival.A But the sweep was not the main ... (more)

Chris Perez, greeted by a standing ovation from the time he left the bullpen, worked another scary ninth inning for his 14th save as the Cleveland Indians ended a 10-game losing streak to Detroit with a 5-3 win over the... Jordan Zimmermann pitched six solid innings, and Ian Desmond and Rick Ankiel homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 ... (more)

Ricky Nolasco gave up three runs in the first inning, then settled down to set a franchise record for career victories when the Miami Marlins rallied past the Colorado Rockies for the second night in a row Tuesday, 7-6. Nolasco broke a tie in the third with a two-run double off Juan Nicasio that put the Marlins ahead to stay.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched six solid innings, and Ian Desmond and Rick Ankiel homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

The mist turned into rain, but that was not reason enough for a mass exodus Monday night from Citizens Bank Park.

Jones hit his 14th home run of the year in the third, a shot that landed just over the Orioles' bullpen in left field.

Since the first week of the MLB season, MASN color analyst F.P. Santangelo has been using an interesting nickname for the Washington Nationals bench players and pinch hitters.

The first opened with Padres lead-off man Will Venable hitting a high fly to short left center that fell in for a double as Nationals left fielder Roger Bernadina, center fielder Rick Ankiel and shortstop Ian Desmond all pulled up expecting someone else to make the play.

Ian Desmond's two-run double and Bryce Harper's first Major League homer helped the Nationals defeat the Padres, 8-5, at Nationals Park on Monday night.

In the fourth inning, Chase Headley sprinted home trying to score from second on a single.

Friday night, Harper had a rough time at the plate, going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts in Washington's 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 batters in six innings as the Washington Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

The Washington Nationals have a .212/.283/.311 line as a team against left-handed pitchers this year, good for the second-worst team AVG, the 13th best OBP and 14th best slugging percentage in the 16-team league.