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The last time the Washington Nationals were in Atlanta they took three in a row to sweep the Braves in Turner Field, improving to 29-18 overall on May 23rd. Chien-Ming Wang, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez beat the Braves in that series. Tonight, Ross Detwiler's pitching in place of Wang against ATL right-hander Randall Delgado (who's lost three-straight starts) before Strasburg and Mike Minor and Gio and Tim Hudson face off in games two and three, respectively. The Nats are 3-4 with three left on the current ten-game road trip. Washington is 4-1 against their NL East rivals from Atlanta so far this season. The last time they met they split two games in Nationals Park. After dropping two of three in Baltimore and splitting the four-game series in Colorado, Washington ends their road trip in Atlanta. 7:35 pm EDT tonight in Turner Field. Links below. RIGHT NOW!!:
• THE BIG STORY!!!:
• "He also remains a 19-year-old who could be in college but is instead living alone in a top-story apartment in Pentagon City, a $9.9 million contract in his pocket and a $20 Weber grill on the balcony." - "Bryce Harper loves Washington, and says he wants to play his entire career in the city" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• NATS BEAT:
• "On the worst day of his professional career, [Bryce] Harper was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts against the veteran lefty." - "Bryce Harper working his way out of second mini-slump of his career" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "The case for [Stephen Strasburg]: He's tied for ninth in the NL in ERA (2.60), tied for fifth in wins (nine) and leads the majors in strikeouts (118)." - "All-Star odds" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "[Chien-Ming] Wang got bumped from the rotation after four straight subpar starts and [Davey] Johnson talked after nearly every one of the outings about the mechanical issues in Wang's delivery." - "Nationals Pastime: The Chien-Ming Wang situation" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "The NL leader in strikeouts won six straight games before allowing three earned runs in six innings in a loss to the Rockies on Monday." - On Stephen Strasburg - "Top Five: Candidates to start for NL in All-Star Game" - Jeffrey Tomik, WashingtonExaminer.com
• "[Ian] Desmond could still be selected by NL manager Tony La Russa, who earlier this season said how much he liked the Nats' young shortstop." - "Desmond not concerned with All-Star votes" - Trey Scott, nationals.com: News
• "[Jhonatan] Solano has not played much, only six starts since the Nationals promoted him May 29. But that is probably about to change." - "Jhonatan Solano likely headed for more starts behind Jesus Flores" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "With the Nationals recently in Denver for a four-game series, [Bryce] Harper saw a story on the local news about Celena Hollis, a single mother and police officer, who was recently killed." - "Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper makes request to Denver brewery for good cause" - Quinn Roberts, nationals.com: News
• "What's going on with [Edwin] Jackson? His velocity has been down in each of his last two starts..." - "Instant analysis: Rockies 11, Nats 10 (11)" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "Just three outs from defeat, Bryce Harper hit a baseball very far over some fencing they set up in right field." - "Nationals Pastime: Rockies win offensive battle, split series with Nats" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "[Bryce] Harper broke a three-inning scoreless drought with a game-tying homer in the top of the ninth off Rafael Betancourt. He felt it was one of the first good pitches he saw all series." - "Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies - June 28, 2012" - Trey Scott, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "[Davey] Johnson said that if Morse had been unable to play, he would have had rookie Tyler Moore... hitting cleanup." - "Today's lineups: Tight hamstring not keeping Morse out" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "This will be the second start for Detwiler (4-3, 3.09 ERA) since the lefty was reinserted into the rotation for a struggling Chien-Ming Wang. On Saturday in Baltimore, he threw five shutout innings." - "Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves - June 29, 2012" - Andrew Simon, MLB.com Preview
• "Early this week, Charlie Berger, the co-owner of the brewery, received a surprising call: it was someone in Harper’s camp, and he wanted to talk about the profits from the beer." - "Bryce Harper uses ‘Clown Question Bro’ beer to raise money for fallen policewoman in Denver" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "'I took an All-Star squad to Oakland, the game went 12 or 13 innings and I did something I feel bad about today: I had Lee Smith, the Cubs' closer, pitch three innings for us.'" - Davey Johnson - "For Johnson, All-Star memories include regret" - Trey Scott, nationals.com: News
• "The Nationals trailed, 7-0, by the end of two innings as the Rockies pummeled starter Edwin Jackson." - "Nationals vs. Rockies: Washington rallies from 7-0 deficit before losing in 11 innings" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• "For three days, the Washington Nationals reveled in all that Coors Field and Colorado’s beleaguered pitching staff had to offer." - "Nats' bats boom again, but this time Rockies do them one better" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "Year after year, the Nationals kept calling Tyler Moore, and year after year, the answer remained, 'Thanks, but no thanks.'" - "Patience pays off for both Tyler Moore and Washington Nationals" - Trey Scott, nationals.com: News
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Nonviolence is not a sign of weakness, but rather one of self-confidence and courage." -
• NATS MINORS:
• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "The Auburn Doubledays (8-3) continued their perfect record at home this season with a 4-3 walkoff win on Thursday night over the Williamsport Crosscutters (6-5)." - "Doubledays walkoff with 4-3 win over Crosscutters" - Auburn Doubledays News
• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "Catcher Sandy Leon, also on a rehab assignment, will likely return to his duties behind the plate. he played six innings tonight, and is scheduled to play another six tomorrow." - "Doubledays Postgame: Things just working for Auburn" - Jeremy Houghtaling, The Auburn Citizen
• Class-A Hagerstown: "Suns' second baseman Hendry Jimenez crushed his second homerun of the season, a game winning two-run shot in the sixth, to cap a three run rally." - "Jimenez Hammers Home a Suns Sweep of Delmarva" - Hagerstown Suns News
• Class-A Potomac: "Rehabber RHP Cole Kimball got the start for Potomac and was roughed up by the Red Sox." - "16 in 3 Enough as Salem Holds Off Potomac" - Potomac Nationals News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Zach Walters continued his hot hitting with a triple in the seventh extending his hit streak to eight games." - "Senators Winning Streak Snapped at Three with 4-2 Loss to Altoona" - Harrisburg Senators News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "The Harrisburg Senators have five players named to the Western Division All-Star Team in the 2012 Baseballtown All-Star Classic on July 11 at First Energy Stadium in Reading." - "2012 Harrisburg Senators All-Stars Announced" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Left fielder Corey Brown tripled on the game's first pitch, and right fielder Erik Komatsu singled to right field on the next pitch, scoring Brown for a 1-0 lead." - "Chiefs blow out Bulls, 14-3, in Durham" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "[Corey] Brown-watch: 3-for-6, 3B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, K" - "Chiefs get back to winning, but the offense is odd (Brown and Rivero on 16-game hit streaks)" - Ben Meyers, The Auburn Citizen
• "[Destin] Hood hit the ball well in his first game back, but the Nationals want to monitor how his wrist reacts, and did not want to play him in a day game after a night game." - "Ryan Perry and Cole Kimball both start tonight; Destin Hood returns" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "Friday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com
• NATSTOWN:
• "And so it was that MASN’s Nats play-by-play man Bob Carpenter was fooled two days in a row, by two Nats fly balls that turned into two Nats home runs." - "Home run calls are tough in Colorado" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post
• "This past week was a rough one for the Washington Nationals in terms of results, despite a few exciting offensive outbursts at Coors Field in Colorado." - "Nationals Report Card: June 22-28" - Joe Drugan, The Nats Blog
• "June 29, 1909 - The Nats double up the Highlanders, 3-1, in the Big Apple. Highlander Ray Demmitt accounts for New York’s lone run with a homer off Walter Johnson. For Johnson, it is the first homer he has yielded since his debut nearly 2 years before." - "This Date in Washington Senators History – Hinton’s 10th inning bomb wins it for Washington" - Art Audley, D.C. Baseball History
• "Now that it's clear Tyler Moore is here to stay (at least, it seems pretty clear he'll be around for the rest of the summer), can the Nationals please do something about that jersey number?" - "Tyler Moore needs a new jersey number" - NatsEnquirer.com
• "Nothing like a 12 inning loss on getaway day to buck up everyone's spirits." - "Tyler Moore and Who's out" - Harper, Nationals Baseball
• "Turn Back the Clock Night will recall the last (and only) time Washington celebrated a World Series championship: 1924, when the Senators and the then-New York Giants met in a Fall Classic that many historians rate as one of the best." - "Nats will turn back the clock, recall Washington's glory days" - Nationals Buzz: Marty Niland, MASNSports.com
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Braves: "The first homer allowed this season by [Craig] Kimbrel(0-1) snapped a string of 17 consecutive scoreless appearances for the right-hander, who had 24 strikeouts with no walks and two hits allowed in his previous 13 innings." - "Kimbrel gives up 9th-inning homer, Braves fall 3-2 to Dbacks" - David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Marlins: "Fredi Gonzalez yelled at Hanley for dogging it. Dan Uggla mocked him for not caring. Wes Helms got in a fight with Hanley during pre-game stretching. Logan Morrison called him out in a clubhouse meeting." - "Hanley Ramirez Miami Marlins" - David Hyde, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
• Mets: "[David] Wright’s homer leading off the fourth gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. It was Wright’s ninth homer of the season and gave him seven RBIs over his last two games." - "David Wright and Chris Young lead New York Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday night" - Mike Puma, NYPOST.com
• Phillies: "The Phillies have a broken-down bullpen, and if the general manager waits another month for outside help, it's going to be too late..." - "Inside the Phillies: Amaro has to fix the bullpen now" - Bob Brookover, Philadelphia Inquirer