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• E-Jax: A 19-pitch, 1-2-3 7th had Nats' right-hander Edwin Jackson at 105 pitches overall through seven scoreless against St. Louis, but Washington's manager Davey Johnson said he had no problem deciding to send E-Jax back out for the eighth in spite of the fact that the Nationals knocked Lance Lynn around a little and brought Jackson's spot in the order up in the bottom of the seventh. "I think he was at about 105 pitches after seven," Johnson told reporters after the game, "And he had his shin guard on and his helmet and his gloves on three hitters before [he came up]. So it was very obvious what he wanted to do. He wanted to throw a shutout and complete game." The Cardinals scored an unearned run in the eighth and the Nats turned to Michael Gonzalez in the ninth, but Jackson had another strong start in what ended up an 8-1 win. E-Jax had lost two in a row before earning the win over St. Louis. In the month of August, the 28-year-old starter has a 3.58 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 14 walks (3.35 BB/9) and 39 Ks (11.71 K/9) in six starts and 37.2 IP. Jackson makes his 26th start of the season tonight in Nats Park against Chicago as the Nationals look for their third-straight win and sixth in the last seven. 7:05 pm EDT in D.C. E-Jax vs the Cubbies. Til then, links and lots of them, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:
• THE BIG STORY!!!:
• "With 10 straight powerful starts since the midseason break, [Ross] Detwiler has gained more and more confidence in his stuff..." - "Ross Detwiler answering call for Nats as MLB playoffs draw close" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post
• NATS BEAT:
• Strasburg Shutdown Section:
• "'He's worked harder than anybody coming back from that surgery, and this is what you dream about being a part of. I know how he feels.'" - Davey Johnson on Stephen Strasburg - "Johnson on Strasburg: 'I know how he feels'" - Mike Fiammetta, nationals.com: News
• "By the time I got to the bottom of the bottle, I had connected with Casey. If Clint Eastwood can talk to a chair, I can channel Casey Stengel." - "Thom Loverro: Going with the spirit of the Nationals' shutdown of Strasburg" - Thom Loverro, WashingtonExaminer.com
• "'Well,' Johnson said, 'he hates McCatty more than he did before the meeting. And me. And Rizzo.'" - "Stephen Strasburg meets with Nationals brass about innings limit" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• "The team has never wavered on the plan to shut their ace down, despite their record this season and what seems to be an almost certain playoff berth." - "Nationals brass meets with Stephen Strasburg to discuss shutdown" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "'He has worked harder than anyone else coming back from that surgery,' [Davey] Johnson says. 'This is what you dream about being a part of, so I know how he feels.'" - "Blog: Strasburg is 'not happy' about his shutdown" - Craig Heist, WTOP.com
• "In a postseason where anything can happen, and where nine of the ten teams who enter will not leave alive, it’s always the case that the best on-paper team wins it." - "It’s apparently idiotic to suggest that the Nationals would be better off with Strasburg" - Craig Calcaterra, HardballTalk
• "'I've listened to all the gurus. I've had all the advice. None of it made much sense,' [Davey] Johnson said." - "Nats talk to Strasburg about shutting him down" - AP/WTOP.com
• "[Stephen] Strasburg finally met with manager Davey Johnson, general manager Mike Rizzo and pitching coach Steve McCatty about his shutdown Monday." - "Strasburg hears the ugly truth from Nationals" - Kevin Dunleavy, WashingtonExaminer.com
• Non-Strasburg Nats Beat Section:
• "Most Nationals didn't even realize their 2-1 Labor Day triumph over the Cubs had secured the first winning season by a D.C. ballclub since Ted Williams' 1969 Senators..." - "82 wins for Nats ... and still counting" - Mark Zuckerman, CSNWashington.com
• "'[Ross Detwiler is] getting real confident in his stuff,' Nats manager Davey Johnson said. 'When he starts using all his weapons, it's going to be easier on him.'" - "Nationals' Detwiler shows he's a fast learner in victory over Cubs" - Kevin Dunleavy, WashingtonExaminer.com
• "'I didn’t expect to be called up,' [Zach] Duke said. 'It was pretty shocking. It was very overwhelming a couple days ago.'" - "Zach Duke gets an unexpected call-up after finding his old form" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• "Asked about how he was feeling after the game, [Michael] Morse wasn't in much of a mood to get into specifics." - "Nationals Pastime: An update on Morse plus a few clubhouse quotes" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "[Zach] Duke was reunited with a lot of former Pirates when he joined the Nationals' organization and saw plenty of familiar faces around the clubhouse..." - "Zach Duke, Christian Garcia join Nationals in latest round of call-ups" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "The Nats hadn't topped the 81-win mark since baseball returned to D.C. in 2005, and there hadn't been a winning baseball team in the district since 1969." - "Nationals Pastime: A winning season? Small potatoes" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "Following Saturday's Major League roster expansion to 40 players, the Nationals selected Zach Duke and Christian Garcia from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday." - "Duke, Garcia called up to add depth to Nats' pitching" - Mike Fiammetta, nationals.com: News
• "[Michael] Morse was complaining about his thumb/hand, where he got hit, was acting up,' Johnson said after the game." - "Morse removed in 4th inning" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "After the game, [Michael] Morse said he was unsure why he was pulled: 'My hand feels good.'" - "Michael Morse’s hand is fine; Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche still dealing with minor injuries" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• "For the first time since 1969, a winning baseball team plays in Washington." - "Nats assure 1st winning season in D.C. in 43 years" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "Right-handed power arm Christian Garcia is the ultimate example of resiliency." - "Garcia confident he can make an impact" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "[Chris] Rusin was 8-9 with a 4.55 ERA over 25 starts this year with Triple-A Iowa. He'll be tasked with slowing the Nationals' lineup and Jackson, who was lights-out in his last start." - "Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals - September 4, 2012" - Joey Nowak, MLB.com Preview
• "Veteran first baseman Adam LaRoche, who hit home run No. 25 for the Nationals' first run, said getting to 82 victories is certainly nice, but the Nationals are focused on the pennant." - "82 wins are nice, but there's still work to do" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "[Tyler] Clippard joined teammate Drew Storen (43 saves in 2011) and former Nationals closer Chad Cordero, who did it twice, with the fourth 30-save season in team history." - "Tyler Clippard earns save No. 30, becomes third National to reach that mark" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "The Nationals have wanted Detwiler to be more aggressive, pound his fastball early in the game and go right after hitters." - "Instant analysis: Nats 2, Cubs 1" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "In 2010, the Nationals were tossed 18 times — a rare year in which even cool-headed players such as Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman were ejected." - "Nationals lead the majors in another category: the least ejections" - James Wagner, The Washington Post
• "Asked after today's game about the significance of the Nationals reaching 82 wins, [Davey] Johnson said, 'I wasn't really concerned about that,' and then quickly switched the topic." - "Nationals Pastime: Johnson talks Detwiler's dominance after 2-1 win" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "'We have come a long way,' [Ryan] Zimmerman said. 'You can't try to start an organization like we did here from the ground up and expect that to happen really quickly.'" - "Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals - September 3, 2012" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "[Michael] Morse will likely play on Tuesday and he seemed less than thrilled to have missed most of Monday's game." - "Michael Morse leaves game with sore thumb (UPDATED)" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "The Nationals clinched the first winning season in Washington since 1969, the year Ted Williams managed the Senators to 86 wins at RFK Stadium." - "Nationals beat Cubs, 2-1, to notch first winning record in more than four decades" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "If the twentieth century was a century of violence, let us make the twenty-first a century of dialogue."
• NATS MINORS:
• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "The Auburn Doubledays (45-29) blasted two homeruns in the sixth inning on Monday, catapulting themselves to a 5-3 victory over the Batavia Muckdogs (44-30) in front of 1,036 at Dwyer Stadium." - "Doubledays power past Muckdogs 5-3" - Auburn Doubledays News
• Class-A Hagerstown: Tourists 3, Suns 2 - Brett Newsome - 3 for 4, 2 2B; Taylor Jordan - 4.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 Ks - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard
• Class-A Potomac: "The Potomac Nationals beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks 3-0 to finish their season with a victory in game that was called in the middle of the sixth due to rain." - "Keyes, Hill Lead P-Nat to Rain Shortened Season Finale Win" - Potomac Nationals News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "On Monday afternoon at Metro Bank Park, the Senators fell short in their season finale against the Bowie Baysox, falling 7-2." - "Senators Fall Short in Season Finale 7-2" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, closed out their 2012 season with a 6-4 loss to the Rochester Red Wings from Frontier Field." - "Chiefs lose to Red Wings in season finale" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Line of the Day: Brett Carroll, 2-for-3, RBI: One of the former major leaguers who played with the Nationals at the start of this season had a good day on the last one of the summer in Chiefsville." - "The Odyssey ends... Chiefs fall in season finale at Rochester" - Ben Meyers, The Auburn Citizen
• "Tuesday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com
• NATSTOWN:
• "If you’re like me and find Gangnam Style weirdly entertaining, then you, too, were delighted when the Racing Presidents broke out their own version of the Korean pop song on Saturday." - "Racing Presidents do Gangnam Style" - Sarah Kogod, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post
• "Strasburg who? Meet the other guys." - "Ross Detwiler, Edwin Jackson, and 'The Other Guys'" - Nats Enquirer
• "PHOTOS: Washington Nationals 82nd Win! A Winning Season!" - Cheryl Nichols, District Sports Page
• "Morning pixels: Morgan compares RGIII to Manning, Brady and Vick" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post
• "On August 3, George Washington held a commanding lead in the 2012 presidents race standings; but that was before Abraham Lincoln went on his trademark late summer tear." - "George Washington wins first presidents race in over a month" - Presidents Race Fan, Let Teddy Win!
• "If the Nats went .500 for the rest of the year (which isn't likely) they would finish 96-66." - "Tuesday Quickie - my magic number" - Harper, Nationals Baseball
• "Often overlooked lefthander Ross Detwiler pitched an absolute gem of a game last night to help the Washington Nationals top the Chicago Cubs 2-1." - "Did Ross Detwiler Win The Most Important Game In Nats History To Date?" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog
• "We waited a long time for this, not just since 2005 when the Nats came and were 81-81, but for most of us, our whole lives. Let’s hope the is a regular occurrence for a long-time. I think it will be." - "Nationals beat Cubs to clinch first winning baseball season in D.C. since ‘69 Senators" - William F. Yurasko, William World News
• "Was the win important to manager Davey Johnson? 'I guess,' he said nonchalantly during his post-game press conference. 'I wasn’t really concerned about that.'" - "Washington Nationals Game 134 Review: Detwiler shuts down Cubs for win No. 82" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page
• September 27, 1969: "The Potomac flowed with champagne, Robert E. Short lowered his admission prices, Ted Williams hugged the writers and the Washington Senators have their first winning season in the memory of many a man." - "What a winning Nats record looks like" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Mets: "[Andres] Torres stroked what would have been a leadoff double in the ninth against Jason Motte, but was ruled out on the appeal play, all but cementing an end to the Mets’ three-game winning streak." - "New York Mets defeated by St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4; appeal play wipes out Andre Torres’ leadoff double in ninth inning" - Mike Puma, NYPOST.com
• Braves: "His scoreless streak was snapped at 34-2/3 innings in the seventh, but one glance at Kris Medlen warming up before the eighth told Braves catcher David Ross that he was about as relaxed as a pitcher could possibly be." - "Braves’ Medlen has 12 strikeouts in complete-game win" - David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Marlins: "Given his workmanlike performance, it was fitting for Ricky Nolasco that he delivered a victory on Labor Day." - "Ricky Nolasco takes great pains in leading Miami Marlins past Brewers" - Clark Spencer, MiamiHerald.com
• Phillies: "It has been 5 weeks since the debut of Extreme Makeover: Phillies Outfield Edition." - "Phillies Notebook: Uncertainty in Phillies outfield" - Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Daily News