Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Waiting For New York Yankees; NL East vs AL East Friday Night.

Six-in-a-row on the road in back-to-back sweeps. 9 of the last 11 overall. Bryce Harper blowing up at the plate and smacking down clown questions. Stephen Strasburg dominating on the mound and fighting for his right to keep pitching. Tyler Moore (the 31 HR's in each of the last two seasons Tyler Moore) hitting his first two MLB HR's in the same game. A 5.0 game lead over the NL East's second-place Braves. A 9.5 game lead over the NL East's 5th place Phillies. A weekend series with the AL East's 1st Place New York Yankees in the nation's capital. It doesn't get any better than this for long-sufferring D.C. baseball fans, ex-pat Expos fans and bandwagoners alike! Seriously, complaining about bandwagon Nationals fans is like complaining about fans who only decided they liked the band of Montreal after they heard the album "Paralytic Stalks." (Too obscure? What? I've been a fan since Cherry Peel!!!) There's room for everyone on the Nationals bandwagon. Get on board, the next few months are going to be fun. No game today in case you didn't realize that already. But tomorrow night the New York Yankees are in town and Nats Park is going to be packed... with Nats fans! The 1st Place team in the NL East vs the 1st Place team in the AL East. Phil Hughes vs The Best Dressed Pitcher In Town, Gio Gonzalez...

7:00 pm EDT Friday night can't get here soon enough...Until then, you'll have to settle for links, and a little later Doghouse's look at the Nats' hard-hitting pitchers. But now it's the links, and not just now, RIGHT NOW!!!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!!:

• You still have 3 hours to buy tickets and spend a night with Zim: Ryan Zimmerman's 3rd Annual "A Night At The Park" featuring Guster Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 6:00 PM (ET), Washington, DC." - ziMS Foundation: Ryan Zimmerman's 3rd Annual "A Night At The Park"

• NATS BEAT:

• "'I tried to tell them I was feeling good, that everything was working and I wanted to go back out there,' Strasburg said. 'It’s out of my control.'" - "Stephen Strasburg removed with ‘little cut’ on finger, wanted to pitch deeper" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "Strasburg was trimming his nail before the sixth inning when, as manager Davey Johnson put it, 'he cut his finger right in the middle of where the nail is.'" - "Stephen Strasburg's start abbreviated by minor cut" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Before the sixth inning, [Stephen] Strasburg was trimming his nail and cut it, which created a little bit of trouble gripping one of his pitches throughout his last inning of work." - "Minor cut on finger forces Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg to exit" - Chris Toman, nationals.com: News

• "You get to see these how-far-are-you-willing-to-go decisions all of the time when it comes to deadline deals, but the Strasburg innings limit is the first time I can remember a team considering something so drastic with one of their best players." - "Stephen Strasburg Running Out Of Innings" - Grant Brisbee, Baseball Nation

• "Only once in 11 seasons had the expansion Senators savored a winning season, an irrational 86-76 finish under rookie manager Ted Williams in 1969, but mediocrity swiftly returned after that." - "Yankees stir memories of RFK fan-demonium" - Dick Heller, Washington Times

• "[Ryan] Zimmerman seemed ready to break out at times this weekend in Boston. He laced an RBI single to center field and nailed several liners right at fielders." - "Ryan Zimmerman is slumping as the Nationals surge" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "The Nationals will head home 15 games above .500 with a 38-23 record. This is the first time in team history that the Nationals have gone 6-0 on a road trip." - "Nationals Pastime: I'll have some Moore, please (Nats lock up a 6-0 road trip)" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "An undefeated multicity road trip for the first time in organizational history. A 38-23 record. And a new hero every night." - "Tyler Moore fills in, blasts 2 HRs to help Nationals complete 2nd straight sweep" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "On a sun-drenched diamond inside Rogers Centre, the Nationals completed the first perfect six-game trip since baseball returned to Washington with a 6-2 thumping of the Blue Jays." - "Nationals vs. Blue Jays: Tyler Moore powers Washington to sixth straight win" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "[Tyler] Moore earned his promotion to the major leagues by crushing home runs left and right in the minors, including 31 each of the last two seasons." - "Instant analysis: Nats 6, Blue Jays 2" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "'It was a no-brainer to put him in there, we all like his bat potential,' manager Davey Johnson said of the rookie Moore, who was filling in at first base for an injured Adam LaRoche." - "Washington Nationals at Toronto Blue Jays - June 13, 2012" - Chris Toman, MLB.com WSH Recap

• "After a six-game road trip in which he batted .476 (10-for-21) with two homers, two doubles, five RBIs and a 1.399 OPS, Harper's season average is now above .300." - "Nationals Pastime: Getting an opportunity to perform, Nats rookies up to the task" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "'Those guys, people are still talking about them up here, and how much fun the Nationals are,' Gammons later said." - "Peter Gammons on the Nats fans in Fenway" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post

• "The 'W' hats could be seen in Kenmore Square and up and down Boylston Street, a mile away." - "Peter Gammons: Dynamic Nationals revel in new era" - Peter Gammons, MLB.com: News

• "Bryce Harper deserves to be an All-Star. And not simply as a token publicity stunt to boost ratings. No, he truly deserves to be named an All-Star." - "Harper deserves to be All-Star" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "The Nationals’ young and inexperienced players lifted them to a 6-0 road swing through Boston and Toronto." - "The Nationals’ youth carried them to a perfect road trip as they wait for Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "Ryan Zimmerman has been mired in a season-long slump, but Nationals manager Davey Johnson has no intention of moving Zimmerman out of the three-hole in the lineup..." - "Johnson keeping faith in slumping Zimmerman" - Chris Toman, nationals.com: News

• "Jordan Zimmermann, 26, has submitted a quality start in 10 of his 12 trips to the mound, tossing at least six innings in each outing on his way to a 2.91 ERA." - "New York Yankees at Washington Nationals - June 15, 2012" - Zack Meisel, MLB.com Preview

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether." -

• NATS MINORS:

• Class-A Hagerstown: "Suns starting pitcher Alex Meyer (6-3) remained perfect at home, improving to 5-0 at Municipal Stadium with a six shutout innings." - "Meyer Earns Shutout in Suns 40th Win" - Hagerstown Suns News

• "Right-hander Alex Meyer served up his best performance as a professional with six innings of shutout baseball Tuesday night, allowing just two hits." - "Hagerstown's Meyer fires six innings of shutout ball" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Class-A Potomac: Dash 5, P-Nats 3 - J.P. Ramirez - 2 for 3; Robbie Ray - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's - Potomac Nationals Scoreboard

• Class-A Potomac: Dash 6, P-Nats 5 - Zach Walters - 2 for 4, 1 3B; Adam Olbrychowski - 3.0, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's - Potomac Nationals Scoreboard

• Double-A Harrisburg: Senator 8, SeaWolves 7 - Chris Marrero - 2 for 3, 1 2B; Daniel Rosenbaum - 4.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's - Harrisburg Senators Scoreboard

• "First baseman Chris Marrero had a nice debut with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators on Wednesday. Marrero went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored in game two of a double dip." - "Marrero and Mattheus look good in Harrisburg, other minors notes" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Double-A Harrisburg: SeaWolves 8, Senators 2 - Jeff Kobernus - 2 for 3, 1 HR; Mike Ballard - 1.0 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR - Harrisburg Senators Scoreboard

• "Thursday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com

• NATSTOWN:

• "[Bryce] Harper’s stats are good. Forget that he’s ONLY 19 YEARS OLD for a minute. Let’s just look at the numbers. Harper’s been incredibly hot in the month of June..." - "Washington Nationals Bryce Harper: All-Star?" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page

• "With the high flying Nationals returning home to host the New York Yankees it is fitting to address the unique history that exists between New York and Washington." - "The Washington – New York Connection" - Karen and Kevin Flynn, D.C. Baseball History

• "Of course there are "That's a clown question, bro" t-shirts available" - Nats Enquirer

• "We've moved past the point where you are trying to figure out how the Nats are going to make the playoffs and are now are thinking is there anyway they can't make it." - "Playoffs far away but in sight" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "Zimmerman’s cause: Not just another night at the Park" - Kristen, Win For Teddy

• "The Nationals went undefeated against the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays in a six-game road trip, and at no point during the trip did it feel like they would or could lose." - "Nationals Report Card: June 8-14" - Joe Drugan, The Nats Blog

• "Nats sweep Blue Jays, go 6 for 6 on AL East road trip" - William F. Yurasko, William World News

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Mets: "The Mets waited until the 8,020th game in franchise history for their first no-hitter. Now, 11 games later, New York plans to appeal to Major League Baseball for another one." - "Terry Collins, New York Mets To Appeal For Another No-Hitter After R.A. Dickey Gem; B.J. Upton Hit Lone Blemish" - CBS New York

• Marlins: "Andrew Heaney is the easy pick here. He was Marlins first pick, and he is a polished college left handed pitcher." - Four Marlins Draftees That Could Reach the Majors Quickly" - SamEvans, Fish Stripes

• Braves: "Well, this was certainly depressing. The Braves have lost four straight, making this the third time this year they've lost at least that many." - "Atlanta Braves vs. New York Yankees Series Recap" - TonyAlmeyda, Talking Chop

• Phillies: "We're still a month away from the thick of the flurry of deals that always occurs in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline." - "A buyer's guide to the Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Hamels" - David Murphy, Philly.com