Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Enjoying Mile High Air In Series With Colorado Rockies.

• The Washington Nationals are 3-3 six games into the current ten-game road trip with one more this afternoon in Colorado's Coors Field (Note: 3:10 pm EDT start time) and then three games in Atlanta this weekend before they head home to the nation's capital to start a six-game homestand against the San Francisco Giants and the same Rockies they're playing RIGHT NOW!! Sorry, that was premature. The Nats have Edwin Jackson on the mound this afternoon as they try to win three straight against the Rockies, with the 28-year-old right-hander looking for his fourth win in the last five starts. The Nationals will face the fourth-straight left-hander this afternoon as the Rockies throw Josh Outman in the series finale. The Nationals are 23-16 on the road after thirty-nine games away from Nats Park. One more in Coors Field and then it's off to Atlanta and Turner Field, where the Nats beat the Braves in three-straight earlier this season to complete their first series sweep of the year. 3:10 this afternoon, don't forget. Until then it's the links, which start in a minute... ok, RIGHT NOW!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!: (Today In Two Parts):

• "After a fan in Colorado asked for the outfielder’s hand in marriage, his bullpen mates delivered him the bright yellow sign." - "The sign in front of Bryce Harper’s locker" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post

• "Along the way, one man has been unwittingly thrust into the homes of Taiwanese baseball fans: Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty." - "Steve McCatty, an unlikely celebrity in Taiwan" - James Wagner, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• NATS BEAT:

• "Tuesday, [Davey] Johnson told [Adam] LaRoche he wanted to give him either Wednesday or Thursday off, and he let LaRoche pick which game he wanted to play." - "Adam LaRoche gets the day off vs. Colorado Rockies after hitting two homers" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "In the last two games alone, Moore's season slugging percentage has jumped 134 points from .500 to .634. The Mississippi kid is smokin' hot." - "Nationals Pastime: Plenty of positives to peruse" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "Even before the Nationals hit their third home run, even before Michael Morse sent a groundball to right field Wednesday to give Washington 31 hits over the last 13 innings, the Rockies were playing for next season." - "This season over, future now for Colorado Rockies" - Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post

• "It was the most runs the Nationals have scored for Zimmermann since May 7, 2009 — his rookie year." - "Nationals' offense stays hot, gives Zimmermann rare run support in 11-5 win" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "In 12 prior games -- his first 12 in the big leagues -- [Tyler] Moore looked a bit overwhelmed. He hit .158 (3-for-19), didn't drive in a run and didn't draw a walk." - "He might just make it after all" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "'Anytime I have a conversation with [Adam LaRoche], he just goes off,' [Davey] Johnson said. 'I told him I'd give him [Wednesday] off and then he hits two home runs.'" - "After two-homer game, LaRoche sits" - Trey Scott, nationals.com: News

• "Atlanta, which entered Tuesday 3.5 games behind Washington in the National League East, was said to be paying close attention to Liriano, and it's presumed the Nationals were paying close attention to Denard Span and possibly others." - "Notebook: Teams scouting Francisco Liriano; Carl Pavano not close" - Phil Mackey, 1500 ESPN Twin Cities

• "[Davey] Johnson believes [Michael] Morse has yet to return to his best form, which last year enabled him to hit .303 with 31 homers." - "Michael Morse ‘starting to relax’ after four-hit night" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "Speaking of which, Jordan Zimmermann must not know what to do with himself. He had an eight-run cushion to work with going into the bottom of the third." - "Nationals Pastime: The runs, they keep on comin' (Nats win 11-5)" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "In his first two games back, [Michael] Morse went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts, and his batting average after 10 games was .200." - "Morse finally getting his groove back" - Trey Scott, nationals.com: News

• "After hitting two home runs on Tuesday night, [Adam] LaRoche strolled into the clubhouse a little later than usual for him, a good indication that he knew he was getting the day off..." - "Today's lineups: LaRoche gets scheduled day off" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Something has to happen, because National League captain and Dodgers hitter Matt Kemp announced that [Bryce] Harper is not on his roster." - "Clown decision: big oversight not having Bryce Harper in home run derby" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "'I need to command my fastball better. I couldn’t get it inside,' [Edwar] Cabrera said. 'I made a lot of bad pitches.'" - "Edwar Cabrera vows to learn from his poor debut" - Troy E. Renck, Denver Post

• "Offensive outbursts have helped the Nationals rebound from a recent lull that saw the club drop seven of 10 games." - "Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies - June 28, 2012" - Jon Star, MLB.com Preview

• "Entering this season, many Nationals fans were trying to figure which team would trade for [Ian Desmond] so the Nats could move Danny Espinosa to shortstop." - "Will Ian Desmond make the all-star team?" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "Gone are the swings a tick too slow, the confounding strikeouts, the weak ground balls to the left side." - "Ryan Zimmerman gives Nationals' offense shot of power after injection" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'[Jordan Zimmermann] was outstanding,' Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. 'A lot of his breaking balls were up, but he made quality pitches when he had to.'" - "Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies - June 27, 2012" - Trey Scott, MLB.com WSH Recap

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "While revenge weakens society, forgiveness gives it strength."

• NATS MINORS:

• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "'The Doubledays' first four runs came in the bottom of the third thanks to a grand slam homerun off the bat of CF J.R. Higley." - "Doubledays shut out Jammers 7-0, complete sweep" - Auburn Doubledays News

• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "Right off the bat, JR Higley knew the ball was out of the park." - "Complete the sweep: Auburn has No. 1 offense in the New York-Penn League, sweep Jamestown" - Jeremy Houghtaling, The Auburn Citizen

• Class-A Hagerstown: "Matt Skole blasted his league-leading 18th homerun of the season, a three-run shot in the seventh inning, which proved to be the game winning hit." - "Skole Strikes Again, Hits 18th Homer to Lead Suns Over Shorebirds" - Hagerstown Suns News

• Class-A Potomac: "Trevor Holder pitched into the eighth inning as the Potomac Nationals salvaged a series split with the Wilmington Blue Rocks winning 7-4 at Pfitzner Stadium." - "Holder and Nationals Earn Series Split" - Potomac Nationals News

• Double-A Harrisburg: Senators 5, Curve 2 - Eury Perez - 3 for 4; Paul Demny - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K's - Harrisburg Senators Scoreboard

• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night in a 4-3 loss to the Durham Bulls." - "Winning streak snapped in Chiefs' 4-3 loss" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• Triple-A Syracuse: "[Corey] Brown-watch: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, K. Brown is up to a career-best 15-straight games with a hit." - "The end of the streak, Bulls beat Chiefs" - Ben Meyers, The Auburn Citizen

• "Low Single-A Hagerstown Suns lost to Delmarva 8-4, but got a three-run homer from third baseman Matt Skole, who now has a league-leading 18 round-trippers." - "Skole, Hague, Demny and Higley highlight Nats' prospects Wednesday work" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Last Night In Woodbridge" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com

• NATSTOWN:

• "Nats Park in-stadium merchandise sales are up more than 60 percent year-to-year, according to the team’s COO, Andy Feffer." - "Nats merchandise sales up 60 percent" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post

• "In the last two minor league seasons, Nats rookie [Tyler] Moore has hit a combined 62 home runs - 31 each season - and 202 RBIs. That's an awful lot of pop..." - "Nats reap benefits of exercising patience with flawed prospect" - Nationals Buzz: Dave Nichols, MASNSports.com

• "June 28, 1922 - In career shutout number 97, The Big Train strikes out 9 in blanking the powerful Yanks, 1-0. Senator Earl Smith‘s run scoring double off New York’s Waite Hoyt in the top of the 9th is the contest’s only scoring." - "This Date in Washington Senators History – Big Train blanks Yanks 1-0 for 97th career shutout" - Art Audley, D.C. Baseball History

• "Put the Fire Rick Eckstein movement on hold for another day: 11 runs, 14 hits. Hire Rick Eckstein!" - "Holy [BLEEP]! Run support for Jordan Zimmermann?" - Nats Enquirer

• "Since receiving a cortisone injection in his aching right shoulder before Sunday’s game in Baltimore, the Face of the Franchise has gone 8-for-17 (.470) with two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored." - "Washington Nationals Game 73 Review: Zimmerman, Moore & Desmond all homer as Nats crush Rockies again" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page

• "According to ESPN 1500 Twin Cities the Nationals have been back at Twins games, presumably scouting Denard Span and some other Twins players." - "Nats Interested in Denard Span...again" - Parks Smith, Fanspeak Washington Nats Blog

• "[Ian] Desmond the All-Star - Kilgore gives it some play today. Is it possible? Sure." - "Long range forcasting" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Marlins: "Whether Giancarlo Stanton is named to the National League All-Star team remains to be seen, but his storied power will be on display in Kansas City." - "Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton headed for Home Run Derby" - Juan C. Rodriguez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

• Mets: "If the Friendly Confines were any friendlier to them yesterday, the Mets would have each needed a postgame cigarette." - "Mets’ 17-run display ends 4-game losing streak" - Mike Puma, NYPOST.com

• Braves: "The Braves got two or more hits from seven of the nine hitters in the order last night and another base hit from pitcher Tim Hudson." - "Braves have had a void in No. 3 hole" - Carroll Rogers, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Phillies: "Somewhere around December of last year, the Phillies changed the name of the franchise for the first time in nearly 130 years of existence." - "The Mysterious Appearing Utley" - Michael Baumann, Crashburn Alley