Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' Jason Marquis vs The Padres' Mat Latos Tonight In PETCO Park.

• Programming Notes: Nats' right-hander Livan Hernadnez wasn't able to win in PETCO last night, and he's now (0-6) in 9 starts in the Padres' home. The Nationals have now dropped five of eight on the 11-game road trip which ends Sunday afternoon in San Diego. Jason Marquis vs Mat Latos tonight at 10:05 pm EDT. Anthony Rizzo's second game in the majors? What? That's not as exciting as his debut? MASN 2 HD, MLB.tv, 106.7 the FAN in D.C., 1500 WFED, Sirius/XM ch. 187. Who's Watching The Nationals? 

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• NATS BEAT: 

• "Tom Gorzelanny will begin a rehab assignment by starting a minor league game Monday, most likely at Class A Potomac." - "Nationals injury updates: Tom Gorzelanny, Jayson Werth, Jerry Hairston" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "'I can’t tell you how many times Desmond was on the back field at spring training, no one saw him,' said bench coach John McLaren." - "Nationals can hang their hat on improved defense" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "The Nationals ran their way into two outs - one because of mistaken aggression, another because of delayed hustle." - "Nationals fall flat in 7-3 loss to Padres" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "[Mat] Latos, who has won each of his last three starts and is sporting a 2.37 ERA in that time, will face Washington's Jason Marquis." - "Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres: Hot hands Latos, Marquis square off in San Diego" - AJ Cassavell, MLB.com Preview

• "'It was really, really scary,' Hernandez said. 'I opened my eyes again, and I’m thinking, ‘I could be done.’" - "Lack of run support costs Livan Hernandez, Nationals again in loss to Padres" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "It's an umpire's decision,' Espinosa said. 'You can't really do anything about that. But when I looked at the film, I didn't think I swung at all.'" - "Espinosa plays despite bruised right hand" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• "'You can’t come out of the bullpen walking people,' said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. 'That’s just not going to work.'" - "Livan Hernandez stops line drive to the face; Nats lose to Padres 7-3" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'It was not a good game,' Riggleman said. 'The effort and intensity [was] there, but it was not a good game." - "Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres: Livan roughed up as Nats drop series opener" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap

• "Nationals pitching coordinator Spin Williams said this week that Wang is throwing between 85 to 86 mph and has 'touched 89 on the radar gun.'" - "Wang could be close to making first rehab start" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "'We are aware of and investigating the comments,' General Manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement released through a team spokesman after midnight East Coast time." - "Nationals looking into offensive comments by draft pick Zach Houchins"- Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "On Thursday, however, local reporters were trying to get the team’s reaction to racial remarks made by Houchins on his Twitter account, which was deleted later that night." - "Nationals looking into remarks made by Houchins" - Bill Ladson, All Nats All the Time

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Friends, genuine friends, have much more to do with whether we have a warm heart, not money or power." 

• Nats Minor League Updates: 

• Class-A Hagerstown: Sammy Solis, 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's, 1 HR; Bryce Harper - 1 for 4, .340/.433/.612 - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard

• Class-A Potomac:"Ryan Zimmerman was the star in the Potomac Nationals first home win in ten games, driving in the tying run and shining in the field during a 3-1 victory Thursday night in Woodbridge." - "ZIMMERMAN STARS IN P-NATS WIN" - Potomac Nationals News

• Double-A Harrisburg: "[Shairon] Martis pitched five innings for the win in his first outing since May 28 against Bowie." - "Senators finish road trip with 7-3 win over Binghamton" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Johnson, Archie Gilbert, Chris Rahl, and Bill Rhinehart contributed the early inning RBIs. On the day, Johnson ended up 3 for 5 with two runs scored and four runs batted in..." - "Game 58: Senators 7, Mets 3" - Mick Reinhard, The Sports 'Burger

• Triple-A Syracuse: "Detwiler did not allow a baserunner through the first three innings and got some run support early. Matt Antonelli sent a home run over the leftfield wall in the first inning to put Syracuse up 1-0." - "Chiefs hold off Bats for 4-3 win" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• "Outfielder Bryce Harper, infielder Blake Kelso and catcher David Freitas have been selected as starters for the contest." - "Five Suns Selected as 2011 South Atlantic League All-Stars"- Cheryl Nichols, NATIONALS NEWS NETWORK: Off The Field

• "Syracuse MI Matt Antonelli continues to rake; after his 2-for-3 plus a walk and a homer afternoon, he is now hitting .423/.463/.684 over his last ten games." - "Friday’s News & Notes" - Sue Dinem, NationalsProspects.com

• SHARKNATSTOWN: 

• "Bernadina had some trouble with those wide hips but took care of the "Swinging Friar" pretty easily." - "SHARK VS PADRES: ROUND 2" - Sharkadina: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog

• NATSTOWN: 

• "In a pitchers park, Hernandez allowed nine hits and six earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. While he only gave up one free pass, it seemed the punchless Padres were all over him from the start." - "Nationals Today: O's And Nats Prospects Getting Into Trouble With Their Mouth's" - Wll Yoder, The Nats Blog

• "Purke was sophomore eligible for this draft since he's already 21.  The injury, combined with the fact that he retains his college eligibility should he not sign, caused him to fall in the draft..." - "Nationals Using Deep Pockets to Benefit from the Draft" - Dave Nichols, NATIONALS NEWS NETWORK

• "Purke is a front of the rotation talent, that is typically hard to find unless you draft in the top 5. In fact in the last 5 drafts the number of college pitchers who had a higher upside than Purke on draft day, could probably be counted on two hands..." - "Why the Nationals need to go all-in to sign Matt Purke" - Steve Shoup, Fanspeak Washington Nats Blog

• "If you're a baseball fan on Twitter these days, it's likely that you've encountered an account for a ball player's facial hair." - "Hair-raising growth of hirsute Twitter accounts" - MASNSports.com Nationals Buzz: Rachel Levitin

• "Detwiler took a perfect game into the 4th inning, and he ended up getting the win (5-5 on the season), but things aren't looking so great for Rossy D. overall." - "So Much For Detwiler's Breakout Year" - Joe Drugan, Capitol Baseball

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Braves: "The Braves entered this series with the Marlins having lost four of six, but a struggling Florida team was just what the Braves needed to get back on the right track." - "Braves at Marlins Series Recap" - Tony Almeyda, Talking Chop

• Mets: "Mets left fielder Jason Bay is getting some much-needed time off while he’s in the midst of a career-worst hitless streak that’s reached 23 at-bats." - "Mets’ Jason Bay On Break: ‘I’m Not Really Helping A Lot Out There’" - AP/WFAN, CBS New York

• Marlins: "The Marlins have lost eight in a row and are in desperate need of a slump-buster entering Friday's matchup against the D-backs." - "Arizona Diamondbacks at Florida Marlins: Marlins aiming to get on track vs D-Backs" - Jesse Sanchez, MLB.com Preview

• Phillies: "Leading by three runs with the normally steady bullpen lined up to bring home another victory, the Phillies instead slopped it away." - "Phils' offense stalls again in 11-inning loss to Cubs" - John R. Finger, CSNPhilly.com