• If you, for some reason, missed last night's 7-4 Nats' win over the Phillies the links that follow will help you catch up, and it's going to take the same effort and more from the Nationals tonight as Washington welcomes Roy Halladay and the Phils back into Nationals Park tonight for the second of three in D.C. John Lannan takes the mound for the Nats. No word on whether or not Adam LaRoche plays, but if he does you can hear the Nationals' first baseman on Sirius/XM ch. 185 if you're a subscriber, or 106.7 the FAN in DC and WFED 1500 AM in the nation's capital according to the Nationals Broadcast schedule. It's MASN HD for those who watch on TV. Cool Hand vs Doc. 7:05 pm EDT. Who's Watching The Nationals?
• LINKS AND LINKS AND...
• NATS BEAT:
• "'I said sorry to Nix because I do it on my own, and it surprised a lot of people,'" - Livan Hernandez on bases loaded bunt - "Livan Hernandez’s surprise squeeze bunt and his devious curveball" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "'Was it extra special against those guys? Probably a little bit,' [Werth] said. 'I was just trying to perform well for [Phillies manager] Charlie [Manuel]. He hadn't seen me play in a while.'" - "Werth homers against former team to help lift Nats" - Mark Zuckerman, CSN Washington
• "...all the Philadelphia fans that have turned games at Nationals Park into quasi-home games for their favorite team - Werth helped build. Now, he's trying to help tear it down." - "For Jayson Werth, Nationals' win against Phillies only a first step" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• "'That's the team everyone is gunning for this year, especially in this division,' Clippard said. 'To set the tone early against them was huge.'" - "Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals: MLB.com WSH Recap" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com
• "'I never thought I was going to be back here again, and now I’m really excited to be on the big league team again and I feel happy [about] it.'" - "Jesús Flores returns to Nationals after lengthy injury rehab" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "'I don't have too many at-bats against him,' former Phillie Jayson Werth said of Halladay. 'It's going to be pretty new for me.'" - "Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals: MLB.com Preview" - Spenser Fordin, MLB.com
• "'Was it extra special against those guys? Probably a little bit,' [Werth] said. 'I was just trying to perform well for [Phillies manager] Charlie [Manuel]. He hadn't seen me play in a while.'" - "Werth homers against former team to help lift Nats" - Mark Zuckerman, CSN Washington
• "'Obviously, this year there were more expectations from our pitching,' said center fielder Shane Victorino, 'and our offense kind of goes under the radar.'" - "Phillies’ Charlie Manuel won’t proclaim his team a powerhouse despite offense-fueled hot start" - Dave Sheinin, The Washington Post
• "Because you can never have enough right-handed-hitting catchers who can't hit. "No, I kid the Nationals' catchers because I love them. "Seriously, though ... What the hell are they doing?" - "Nationals Cornering Market On Widely Available Commodity" - Rob Neyer, SB Nation - Baseball Nation
• "'I don’t think that was an accident,' reliever Tyler Clippard said. 'And then once he hit the home run, they quieted right down. It was awesome. I loved it.'" - Clippard on Werth's HR - "Nationals vs. Phillies: Jayson Werth leads win in his first game against former team" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• PHILS BEAT:
• "Two batters in, Phillies fans in enemy territory voiced their allegiance in a familiar fashion. They booed." - "Werth fires first shot" - Randy Miller, phillyBurbs.com : Phillies
• "It's kind of obvious," said Blanton, who allowed five runs in six innings. "I've given up a lot of hits with runners on." - Werth, Nationals pound Phillies' Blanton | Matt Gelb, Philadelphia Inquirer
• "'He’s the same guy,' Stairs said from the cozy home clubhouse in Nationals Park hours before his team was to host the Phillies on Tuesday night. 'He still loves to play and he wants to win.'" - "New uniform, but plenty still the same for Werth" - John R. Finger, CSNPhilly.com
• NATS MINOR LEAGUES:
• Class-A Suns: Hagerstown Suns' outfielder Bryce Harper was 0 for 4 with 3 K's last night. - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard
• Double-A Senators: "Norris suffers sprained ankle, placed on DL" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• Double-A Senators: "Derek Norris Injured; Brian Peacock Gets The Call" - Sue Dinem, NationalsProspects.com
• Double-A Senators: "Unfortunately for the Harrisburg Senators, two for Tuesday took on a different meaning for them on Tuesday night as they were swept in two games by the New Britain Rock Cats." - "Senators Swept in Two on Tuesday Night" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News
• Triple-A Chiefs: "Righthander Yunesky Maya will take the hill for the Chiefs against Red Sox righty Kyle Weiland. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM [Wednesday] from Alliance Bank Stadium." - "Chiefs and IronPigs postponed due to rain" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "We do not need to reflect too long before we realize that all beings spontaneously look for happiness and try to avoid suffering."
• Doghouse Recommends: "Historical Displays of Bad Control" - Matthew Carruth, FanGraphs Baseball
• SharkNatsTown:
• "Like any good teammate, Roger Bernadina offered to take Flores to the airport. Strangely, Flores hasn't been seen since..." - "SH**K HAPPENS"- Sharkadina, Street Shark: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog
• NatsTown:
• "The Nats biggest play of the game was Wilson Ramos’ RBI double which improved the Nats win expectancy to 71% from 62.2%." - "Nats Reserves Take Down Phillies 7-4" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog
• "W'e've got a long way to close that gap [with the Phillies]. One game is not what we're talking about.'" - Jim Riggleman - "GAME 10 REVIEW: Nats Patchwork Lineup Gets Job Done" - Dave Nichols, Nats News Network
• "Bring back Vinny Castilla!" - The Nationals Enquirer
• "Too late, Philly. Jayson Werth has grown on D.C. and they aren't shaving him." - "Phillies Vs. Nationals Final Score: Jayson Werth Shows His True Colors in Nats' 7-4 Win - Andrew Kinback, SB Nation DC
• "For a team that led the league in errors in 2009 and 2010, they have not committed a throwing error this year through 10 games and LaRoche is the reason why." - "Adam LaRoche avoids DL for Washington Nationals for now" - Zach Myles, DC Double Play
• "'I'm sure he's very excited about it,' Riggleman said. 'We're really glad to be able to reward him for all that hard [rehabilitative] work by getting him up here.'" - "Jesus Flores at the end of a long road back to MLB" Mike Henderson, Hendo's Hutch | Washington Nationals Daily News
• "Eury Perez had a slick first inning where he stole two bases, and scored a run. Steven Souza had an amazing diving catch in the 4th inning, and a towering 3-run homer in the 9th..." - "April 9, 2011: Potomac Nationals vs Lynchburg Hillcats" - Maggie, First Ladies of Baseball
• NL East Updates:
• Marlins: "'Writing Hanley and Michael Stanton back to back on the lineup, it makes you feel like you’re solid offensively,' [Marlins' manager Edwin] Rodriguez said." - "Florida Marlins’ 3-4 punch finally back in action" - Florida Marlins - MiamiHerald.com
• Mets: "Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen is bidding for a minority stake in the New York Mets baseball team..." - "Steve Cohen Bidding for Minority Stake in New York Mets" - Reuters Report - NYTimes.com
• Braves: "Heyward was Atlanta’s best hitter in 2010, leading the club in OPS. He’s Atlanta’s best hitter in 2011, sailing along with a .273/.429/.636 line through 11 games." - "Move Jason Heyward out of sixth spot" - David Schoenfield, SweetSpot Blog - ESPN