• Programming Notes: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals. Lannan vs Maholm. The Pirates have dropped five-straight heading into the quick two-game series in the nation's capital which starts tonight at 7:05 pm EDT and ends tomorrow at 1:05 pm EDT. The Pirates took two of three when the Nationals visited PNC Park in late April. Maholm and Lannan matched up during that series with the Pirates' lefty outdueling the Nats'. 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER allowed for Lannan in that game, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER for Maholm. Tonight's game is on MASN 2 HD, 106.7 the FAN in DC, 1500 WFED, Sirius/XM ch. 189.
• LINKS AND LINKS AND...
• NATS BEAT:
• Twitter: Why Aren't You Following Todd Coffey on Twitter (@ToddCoffey60): "Oh well line drive would have been nice if we got him out, I will be ok no break." -
• "X-rays revealed no structural damage, and [Todd] Coffey proudly displayed the welt to reporters in the clubhouse..." - "Reliever Todd Coffey drilled by ball" - Gene Wang, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "'It just a little sore,' he said. 'I already did about three rounds of ice on it and treatment. The key now is just get the swelling down.'" - "Coffey has bruised elbow, no break" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "'You obviously play this game, No. 1 because you love it, and No. 2, to get the respect out of your teammates,' Marquis said." - "Jason Marquis does it all in Nationals' win over Marlins" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• "As Bernadina put it, 'I love to swing the bat, but I’m the leadoff guy now. Got to get on base.'" - "Small ball added up to a big win for Nationals" - Dan Daly, Washington Times
• "There aren't many better feelings for a big-league pitcher than taking the mound in the second inning with a 6-run lead." - "Contributing on the mound and at the plate" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "'We know if we got on track offensively a little bit earlier, we would've won a few more games because we've pitched very well,' Washington manager Jim Riggleman said." - "Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals: Maholm, Lannan seek support from offense" -Joey Nowak, MLB.com Preview
• "'My swing has always been there,' [Pudge] Rodriguez said. 'I've hit balls hard -- right at people. I'm getting good at-bats. That's the beauty of baseball. You have to stay strong mentally and physically.'" - "Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals: Six-run first inning propels Nats past Marlins" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "The right-hander was nice enough to sit down with me this morning and talk about his performance so far..." - "1-on-1 with Drew Storen" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "'He just left balls over the plate,' said Ivan Rodriguez, who entered the game batting .217, but delivered two hits, a walk and three RBIs." - Pudge on Javier Vazquez - "Nationals batter Vazquez, avoid sweep by Marlins" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "I first met Harmon Killebrew in 1975 when he was finishing his career as a DH with the Kansas City Royals." - "Number Three" - Phil Wood, MASNSports.com
• “'Man, it seems like we’re one pitch, one swing away from being five, six, seven games over .500,' said Marquis (5-1)..." - "Nationals expect more after first 40 games" - Gene Wang, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "In situations that are difficult and challenging, patience helps maintain your will power and can sustain you." -
• NATS MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES:
• Class-A HarpersHagerstown: "At some point in the future -- at the rate he's going, the near future -- Harper will suit up for the Washington Nationals, who made him the no-brainer No. 1 pick of the 2010 Draft." - "Nationals prospect Bryce Harper bidding his time in the Minors" - Bryan Horowitz, nationals.com: News
• Class-A HarpersHagerstown: "'The first couple weeks, I just tried to see as many pitches as I could, see as many pitchers as I could, see what they've got,' Harper told MLB.com.'" - "Brentz streaks along, Harper halted" - MiLB.com News
• Class-A Potomac: "After Eury Perez singled with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game for his fourth hit of the afternoon, Jeff Kobernus picked a perfect time to break out of an 0-for-18 slump." - "Eury-ka! Nats win series with Perez's bat, legs" - Potomac Nationals News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Tyler Moore had three hits in the loss and drove in a run and Jonathan Tucker had two doubles. The Senators had leads of 1-0 and 3-2, but couldn't hold either lead." - "Senators drop series finale in Richmond 11-4" - " Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Double-A Harrisburg Senators right-hander Brad Peacock had one of those gem outings Friday night." - "Peacock getting big time attention with masterful performance" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Harrisburg's Tanner Roark got his first start of the season after spending the last month and a half in extended spring training and things didn't go as he had hoped from the first pitch." - "Game 35: Flying Squirrels 11, Senators 4" - Mick Reinhard, The Sports 'Burger
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Starting pitcher Brad Meyers (2-0) also shined for the Chiefs, pitching seven scoreless innings and striking out eight batters with no walks to get his second win of the season." - "Aubrey powers Chiefs past Bulls" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• "Meanwhile, the duo of Destin Hood and Eury Perez were nearly unstoppable. Both went 4-for-4 with seven total bases, accounting for eight of the 11 Potomac hits." - "Sunday Afternoon In Woodbridge" - Sue Dinem, NationalsProspects.com
• SHARKNATSTOWN:
• "For the 8th consecutive game, Roger Bernadina has led off the game. And, for the 8th consecutive game, the Shark made everyone question why he started the season in Syracuse." - "Shark leads Nats to victory against the Anti-Shark" - Sharkadina: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog
• NATSTOWN:
• "Even better, Coffey seemed even more upset that he didn't get the job done..." - "Meet Todd Coffey's Elbow" - The Nationals Enquirer
• "Roger Bernadina was 2-for-4 on the day and is batting .344 in his brief time back in the majors so far." - "GAME 40 REVIEW: Big First Inning Propels Nats Over Marlins 8-4" - Anthony Amobi, Special to Nats News Network
• "In a post-race tweet, Teddy declared, 'How you like me now Abe? You won’t get in my way anymore!'" - "Video: Teddy knocks out showboating Abe Lincoln" - Presidents Race Fan, Let Teddy Win!
• "Washington Nationals baseball + macros. What more could you ask for?" - Washington NationLOLs
• "The Washington Nationals have a rare and special player in prospect Bryce Harper. Harper is both the man and the hype and it is time for Washington to get excited about its future." - "Bryce Harper Is As Good As He Is Hyped To Be" - Andrew Kinback, SB Nation DC
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Braves: "Braves third baseman Chipper Jones is expected to miss at least two more days with a small meniscus tear in his right knee." - "Chipper Jones has meniscus tear in right knee" - AP/San Jose Mercury News
• Mets: "The explanation Justin Turner received when demoted eight days before the New York Mets broke spring training camp made sense but still stung." - "Turner waited for second chance" - Adam Rubin, Mets Blog - ESPN New York
• Marlins: "If the Marlins don’t appear ready yet to make a change to their starting rotation in light of Javier Vazquez’s struggles, there might be a reason..." - "Options for change in Florida Marlins’ rotation aren’t strong" - Manny Navarro, MiamiHerald.com
• Phillies: "Dan Uggla hit a tie-breaking home run off Roy Halladay in the eighth inning to cap a productive afternoon, and host Atlanta beat Philadelphia to win twice in the three-game series." - "Uggla Helps Braves Beat Phillies" - AP/NYTimes.com