Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' Tommy Milone Makes Second Start vs Houston Astros Tonight.

• Programming Notes: Ross Detwiler's expected start last night was washed out by rain, so he'll be skipped in favor of another lefty, Tom Milone, who takes on the Houston Astros and Bud Norris tonight. Milone's second MLB start follows his debut against the NY Mets last Saturday which saw the 24-year-old '08 10th Round pick allow four runs on six hits, one HR, in an 8-7 win over Washington's NL East rivals. After Milone tonight, it's John Lannan on Saturday and Stephen Strasburg's second start of '11 on Sunday. Tonight's game, barring any rain delays, postponements, cancellations, etc. is scheduled for 7:05 pm EDT. MASN HD, MLB.tv, 106.7 the FAN in D.C., 1500 WFED, Sirius/XM ch. 188. Who's Watching The Nationals?

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• NATS BEAT: 

• "The return of Stephen Strasburg gave the Nationals a starting rotation this weekend of Tom Milone, John Lannan and Strasburg." - "Stephen Strasburg could give the Nationals a homegrown rotation in 2012" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "[Strasburg] is expected to be allowed to throw between 70 and 80 pitches on Sunday, up from the 60 that he was limited to on Tuesday night." - "Stephen Strasburg still scheduled to pitch Sunday; devastation in Harrisburg" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "They paid for an inability to score against the Dodgers' bullpen after knocking Chad Billingsley out of the game in the third inning." - "Nationals drop first game of doubleheader to Dodgers" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "In his first outing, Milone took a no-decision in the Nationals' 8-7 win over the Mets, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits and no walks." - "Houston Astros at Washington Nationals: Norris looks to get Astros started right vs Nats" - Adam Holt, MLB.com Preview

• "'It didn't seem to affect anybody else, I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. I just didn't get it done, it's just one of those days,' [Storen] said." - "Nats fall to Dodgers; 2nd game called due to rain" - Mark Zuckerman, CSNWashington.com

• "While Rodriguez has recovered from his injury, he may not be seeing much playing time for the remainder of the season." - "Ivan Rodriguez will take backseat to Wilson Ramos, Jesus Flores in September" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "'That was the most tired I’ve ever been in a whole day of doing nothing,' manager Davey Johnson said on a rain-soaked Thursday morning at Nationals Park." - "Dodgers win as Storen stumbles in ninth inning" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'I was really impressed with the kind of year that [Lombardozzi] had,' Johnson said. 'His reputation is that he is a baseball player.'" - "Lombardozzi gets first big league start" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• "Wang said, through an interpreter, that the Dodgers tried to 'get my first pitch. So, later on I threw more breaking balls.'" - "Despite four runs allowed, Davey sees Wang making progress" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "It continues to be a difficult season in Houston, where the Astros have boasted baseball's worst record for months." - "Series preview: Astros at Nats" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "The Nationals canceled Thursday’s second game, originally scheduled for Wednesday, and it will be made up only if the Dodgers remain in playoff contention at the end of the season." - "Nationals vs. Dodgers: Washington loses in opener of doubleheader; second game rained out" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "'I thought we did a good job of getting in as many games as we could. We were in total conjuncture with MLB and we just couldn’t get this last one in.'" - Mike Rizzo - "Nats-Dodgers can't beat rain; may end up playing 161 games this season" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Hernandez isn’t injured. He isn’t on a strict innings limit either. The Nationals simply decided to shut Hernandez down for the season’s final month." - "Livan the Mentor" - Eric Seidman, FanGraphs Baseball

• "'It's a first-pitch fastball. It was just belt-high over the plate,' Storen said. 'He put a good swing on it. It was an awful pitch.'" - "Dodgers-Nationals nightcap is canceled" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "Manager Davey Johnson said a lack of action was at the root of Storen's ineffectiveness. Since Aug. 22, Storen has appeared in just three games." - "Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington Nationals: Nats lose battle of bullpens in Game 1" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "We need to make an effort to develop our inner values, irrespective of whether we are religious or not." - 

• NATS MINOR LEAGUES: 

• Class-A Auburn: "Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Pena crushed a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left-centerfield, lifting the Doubledays to 3-2 win over Vermont on Thursday night." - "Pena's Home Run Evens Series" - Auburn Doubledays News

• Class-A Potomac: "Sammy Solis will take the mound for the Nationals against Rick Zagone at 7 P.M. Friday in Frederick." - "GAME TWO POSTPONED" - Potomac Nationals News

• "Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will not play for Double A Harrisburg in the Eastern League playoffs, according to farm director Doug Harris." - "Harper will not play for Harrisburg in playoffs" - Bill Ladson, All Nats All the Time

• "Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said the Senators will have to play all their games in the divisional series in Richmond." - "Harrisburg moves series to Richmond, Potomac game two postponed" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "'I just saw a picture of the stadium. It’s certainly unplayable. It looks like it’s going to be unplayable for a long, long time.'" - Mike Rizzo - "Photo: Harrisburg minor league baseball park floods in wake of storms" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "Friday’s News & Notes – Playoff Edition" - NationalsProspects.com

• NATSTOWN: 

• "Storen hit one batter, came close to taking former Nat Jamey Carroll's head off with another wild offering, walked Carroll on four pitches, allowed two stolen bases, and gave up three hits..." - "GAME 141 REVIEW: Three-Run Ninth Dooms Nats in Game One" - Dave Nichols, NatsNewsNetwork

• "The 18-year-old finishes with a batting line of .297/.392/.501 with 17 home runs, 26 steals, and 58 home runs in 109 games." - "Bryce Harper's Season Comes To An End, What Can We Make Of His First Season As A Pro?" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog

• "This week brought a crazy amount of rain to the Washington area, with important consequences that include three deaths in Maryland and Virginia, property damage from flooding and a lot of closed roads." - "Rain, rain, rain delay" - MASNSports.com, Nationals Buzz: Jenn Jenson

• "Back in 2005, Carlos Beltran struggled greatly in his first year after signing a big-money contract. The next year, he exploded and nearly won the MVP..." - "Don't Expect A Beltran Bounceback From Jayson Werth" - Satchel Price, Beyond the Box Score

• "While the Nationals’ season is coming to an end, the kids will keep playing. Two of the Nats’ farm teams are in the playoffs..." - "Nats Kids Are Still Playing to Win in Post-Seasons" - Keara Dowd, Win For Teddy

• "According to Bill Ladson, Doug Harris, the Nationals Director of Player Development, said that Harper’s right hamstring is getting better but the rising prospect isn’t ready to see action quite yet." - "Harper Won’t Play in Postseason for Harrisburg" - Ballpark Banter

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Marlins: "Matt Dominguez has spent only two days in the Marlins’ clubhouse — thousands of miles from where he grew up in Southern California — but it already feels like home." - "Dominguez’s arrival completes 'Team 818' for Marlins" - Matt Forman, MiamiHerald.com

• Mets: "[Chris] Schwinden’s father "surprised" his son and came in from California to see the Mets rookie make his major league debut. It was the first time Bill Schwinden was in attendance for one of his son’s games as a pro." - "Met done in by nerves in debut" - Al Iannazzone, NorthJersey.com

• Phillies: "Roy Halladay has 6.2 rWAR; Lee, 6.1; Cole Hamels, 5.2. Due to time missed due to injury, Oswalt is only at 1.3. In nearly as many innings, though (about 110), Vance Worley is at 2.5." - "Best Rotation of All Time?" - Bill Baer, Crashburn Alley

• Braves: "Mike Minor and Julio Teheran both earned victories in Atlanta's doubleheader sweep of the Mets." - "Teheran Earns First Major-League Win, Braves Sweep Doubleheader With Mets" - Tony Almeyda, Talking Chop