National League East News

Misplaced pitches. Punishing walls. Unyielding lockers. All sorts of factors are conspiring against the Washington Nationals, who are finding new ways to turn big preseason expectations into sheer mediocrity.

A pair of competitive right-handers take center stage off the shores of McCovey Cove, as Matt Cain leads the San Francisco Giants against Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals Tuesday at AT&T Park.

CONFESSION IS good for the soul, we are told. Besides, there is no realistic alternative, seeing as how the words written in 2010 will live forever in cyberspace.

There are many factors that make a divisional rivalry a must-see event. Up at the top of that list has to be geographic proximity.

Mike Pelfrey struggled against the Atlanta Braves in his days with the New York Mets.

Victimized once again by an ineffective offense, Hamels had zero patience for anyone, including the media, following Monday's 5-1 road loss against the Miami Marlins.

Miami Marlins rookie starting pitcher Jose Fernandez hasn't had much trouble with the Philadelphia Phillies this season and will take the mound again in this series Tuesday.

It may be heresy in these parts to suggest that the Nats still have some growing up to do despite their major league-leading 98 victories last season.

The idea for Anne Churchill's first book came after she 'fell in love' with a donkey with a cross... Braves reliever Eric Oa??Flaherty, who pitched in a combined 142 games the past two seasons, likely is done for the season with an elbow injury.

Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy provided a spark in his first game in the leadoff spot this season on Sunday and is leading off again against the Reds.

As I'm sure you're aware, this is Minnesota's first visit to Atlanta since the 1991 World Series.

Ryan Vogelsong has had a rough start, going 1-4 with an 8.06 ERA this season. / Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports Their seasons just passed the one-quarter mark, so it's too soon for the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals to draw definitive conclusions when they size each other up Monday.

Playing at home did no favors for the Minnesota Twins, so they'll try to find their way back to the win column on the road when they open a nine-game journey Monday against the Atlanta Braves.

Source: www.newsday.com --- Sunday, May 19, 2013Juan Lagares will get to keep an important souvenir, thanks to an old Wrigley Field tradition.

Freddy Galvis raced around the bases at Citizens Bank Park like a blur, smiling and yelling the entire way before tossing his helmet to the side and leaping onto home plate among a crush of teammates.

IN ADDITION TO righting their ship, the Phillies also must avoid taking on more water, a task that became more challenging yesterday when a couple of their stars were sidelined with injuries.

After losing to Stephen Strasburg on Thursday night and then blowing an extra-inning game Friday night, the San Diego Padres righted themselves rather nicely against the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals .

The New York Mets are headed for another lost season of baseball. Currently, the Mets are in fourth place in the NL East, where they've finished each of the last four seasons and are likely to remain.

The New York Mets will give first baseman Ike Davis a chance to break out of his slump over the weekend against the Chicago Cubs .

San Francisco's sudden free fall continued with Saturday night's 10-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.