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The Washington Nationals' .196 AVG against left-handed pitchers is the NL's lowest after a month-plus of the 2013 season. The Pittsburgh Pirates' .215 AVG vs LHPs is 12th of 15 in the National League. The Nats' .262 OBP vs LHP is the NL's worst. The Pirates' .274 OBP vs LHP is 13th of 15. The Nationals' .318 SLG vs lefties? 15th of 15. The Pirates' .335 SLG vs left-handers? 12th of 15. Neither team is getting lucky either. Washington has a NL-low .242 BABIP vs left-handed pitching. The Pirates' .256 BABIP vs LHPs is 13th of 15. Luckily only one of the two teams is facing a left-hander tonight in PNC Park in the first game of three for the Nationals against the Pirates. Ross Detwiler will make his sixth start of the season tonight in Pittsburgh coming off a rough outing against the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital. The Pirates will throw A.J. Burnett at the Nationals.
Detwiler will likely have to take on the Pirates without Jayson Werth in right field backing him up. The 33-year-old outfielder left last night's game in Atlanta early when his bothersome hamstring acted up. According to several reports from Turner Field last night, the injury will sideline Werth for a few days but won't force him to the DL. At least that's what Davey Johnson told reporters including the Washington Post's James Wagner. So the Nationals will arrive in Pittsburgh shorthanded, but will get Ryan Zimmerman back as the 28-year-old third baseman returns from the DL in time for tonight's game. 7:05 pm EST. Until then, links and lots of them, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:
• THE BIG STORY!!!:
• "[Anthony] Rendon, the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft, immediately recognized the difference between the big leagues and Class AA." - "Rendon learns from first MLB stint" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• NATS BEAT:
• "Anthony Rendon stood at his locker in the visitors’ clubhouse in Atlanta following Thursday’s game, packing his belongings like the rest of his Nationals teammates." - "Anthony Rendon returns to the minors, already a major leaguer" - James Wagner, Washington Post
• "Most agree that a long future at this level awaits [Anthony] Rendon, who was summoned from Double-A on April 20 when Zimmerman was placed on the DL with a hamstring strain." - "Anthony Rendon sets foundation for return to major leagues" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• “He was throwing that cutter. It was one of those things where when we took the pitch it was a strike and when we swung at, it was off the plate enough that he got us out." - Fredi Gonzalez on Dan Haren - "Braves quotes after Thursday’s loss to Nats" - David O'Brien, Carroll Rogers, www.ajc.com
• "[Davey] Johnson prefers to say 'when' [Anthony] Rendon comes back up, not 'if.'" - "Rendon leaves Majors smarter, eager to return" - Jon Cooper, nationals.com: News
• "For years now, Rafael Soriano has untucked his jersey after notching a save. Last night, MASN's cameras caught Ian Desmond doing the same." - "Nationals Pastime: Leaving Atlanta on a postive note" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "So as Davey Johnson made the slow walk from the Nationals' dugout to the mound, [Dan] Haren (like everyone else at Turner Field) knew what was next." - "Confidence builder" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "[Dan] Haren talked throughout the spring and first month of the season about how even at 32, he still views himself as a workhorse, a guy that can work deep into games and give the bullpen a rest." - "Nationals Pastime: A heck of an outing from Haren (Nats win 3-1, salvage a split)" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "As Dan Haren worked his way through his first month with the Washington Nationals, his path was not unlike that of his team’s." - "Dan Haren turns in vintage performance as Nationals top Braves" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "OK, the Nationals have had a terrible opening month. Actually, it has been a nightmare of injuries, slumps and maybe karma." - "No reason to flee Nationals bandwagon" - Richard Justice, nationals.com: News
• "[Dan] Haren needed only 90 pitches, 62 for strikes, to get through eight innings, his longest outing since May 24 of last season with the Angels." - "Haren, Nationals quiet Braves bats in 3-1 victory" - James Wagner, The Washington Post
• "[Dan] Haren had been making obvious progress from start to start over the last month, but the leap he took from his last outing to this one was truly remarkable." - "Instant analysis: Nats 3, Braves 1" - Mark Zuckerman, NatInsider.com
• "If [Dan] Haren stinks, he'll tell you he stinks. If he needs to stop messing around and throw more strikes, he'll say so..." - "Nationals Pastime: Hearing from Haren after his best start as a National" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "For Jayson Werth, honesty was more important than trying to play through injury." - "Tight hamstring curtails Werth's return" - Jon Cooper, nationals.com: News
• "When he went to field Freddie Freeman’s single in the fourth inning, the ball skipped away from him a bit and Werth felt his hamstring tighten as he reached for it." - "Jayson Werth deals with tight hamstring again" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "[Jayson] Werth, who had never suffered a hamstring injury in his career, felt the initial cramping on Tuesday, and it tightened as the game wore on." - "Jayson Werth’s hamstring tightens again" - James Wagner, Washington Post
• "On Thursday, [Dan] Haren displayed the form the Nationals expected when they signed him as a free agent during the offseason while helping the club showed how deep its rotation is." - "Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves - May 2, 2013" - Jon Cooper, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "[Ryan] Zimmerman arrived in Pittsburgh Thursday night and will be activated tonight for the series opener against the Pirates. He has been on the disabled list since April 18." - "Nationals Ryan Zimmerman confident rehab game has him ready to return" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "The Nationals, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta on Wednesday, allowed their NL East rivals to get only three runners in scoring position over two nights." - "Medlen uneven early in Braves' loss to Nationals" - George Henry, AP/WTOP.com
• "[Ross] Detwiler racked up a 0.90 ERA in his first two starts but has lost each of his last two outings. Pittsburgh is hitting just .193 against southpaw starters this year, and franchise player Andrew McCutchen is part of that power outage." - "Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates - May 3, 2013" - Spencer Fordin, MLB.com Preview
• Your Daily Update From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama):
Wealth may contribute to our happiness, but it's not the most important factor; by itself wealth fails to bring us deep inner satisfaction.
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) March 19, 2012
• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:
• "[Anthony] Rendon showed his usual willingness to take a walk and showed a solid overall approach at the plate." - "Roto Riteup: May 3, 2013" - David Wiers, FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
• "Dan Haren looked like the Dan Haren of old Thursday, finally sharp in a Washington Nationals uniform." - "The Juice: Tigers pounce on Astros in 14th inning; Haren sharp as Nats split series with Braves" - Mike Oz, Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
• "This was the first time this season that Haren pitched past the sixth inning. It was also the first time that he had thrown at least eight innings in a start since May 24 of last year, a span of 25 outings." - "Dan Haren delivers gem to shut down Braves" - D.J. Short, HardballTalk
• "[Jordan] Zimmermann has given up just three hits over the 17 innings pitched in his last two starts. That can't happen all season long, but each win helped the Nationals turn things around at the time." - "Washington Nationals - TeamReport" - Reuters/wdbj7.com
• "Two nights later, the Braves still lead the East – just not by as much." - "The Braves swing and miss an opportunity" - Mark Bradley, www.ajc.com
• NATS MINORS:
• Class-A Hagerstown: "For a second straight night the Hagerstown Suns (15-11) managed to put up runs in only one inning against the Augusta GreenJackets (16-10), but for a second straight night that would be all the offense the Suns would need..." - "Suns nip GreenJackets 3-2" - Eli Pearlstein, Hagerstown Suns News
• Class-A Potomac: "Nationals RHP Taylor Jordan (2-1) turned in a stellar performance on Thursday night at Pfitzner Stadium to carry the Potomac Nationals (13-14, 7-7) over the Carolina Mudcats (11-16, 3-10)..." - "Jordan Hurls Gem in Series Finale with Carolina" - Potomac Nationals News
• Class-A Potomac: "[Ryan] Zimmerman said [Robbie] Ray was dealing early on and he was impressed with the left-hander's stuff." - "Robbie Ray continues to pitch well early for Single-A Potomac" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• Class-A Potomac: "A year ago, [Jason] Martinson had 106 RBI and 104 runs in 135 games between low-Class A Hagerstown and Potomac." - "Potomac’s Jason Martinson improves his all-around game" - Lacy Lusk, Washington Post
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Jerad Head had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs to lead the Harrisburg Senators to a 6-1 victory over the New Britain Rock Cats on Thursday, securing a split of the four-game series." - "Head Powers Sens Over Rock Cats 6-1" - Marshall Kelner, Harrisburg Senators News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Syracuse surrendered four runs in the second inning and never led as the Chiefs dropped their fourth straight game." - "Chiefs drop series opener to Tides" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Other than 2-for-4 nights for Jeff Kobernus and Will Rhymes, who doubled, the Syracuse Chiefs got just a pair of hits as they fell to the Norfolk Tides in the opener of an eight-game road trip on Thursday, 8-2." - "Chiefs tripped up in road trip opener (Komatsu, Palace audio interviews)" - Ben Meyers, The Auburn Citizen
• "Good, Bad, Interesting – Vol. 3" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com
• NATSTOWN:
• "Anthony Rendon's nickname is 'Mark Sanchez'" - Nats Enquirer
• "Davey Johnson has regular call-in appearances on various shows for 106.7 The Fan. But something he said to reporters in Atlanta was bugging him..." - "Davey Johnson apologizes for ‘Flunkies’ joke that no one heard" - Sarah Kogod, D.C. Sports Bog
• "From Nats to Oblivion: updated for 2012 team" - Todd Boss, Nationals Arm Race
• "The first World Series game to be played in the District took place in 1887." - "The District’s First World Series Game" - Karen and Kevin Flynn, D.C. Baseball History
• "Thursday night in Atlanta, [Dan] Haren authored his best performance of the young season, leading the Nats to a split of the four-game series, beating the Braves 3-1 before an announced 19,806 at Turner Field." - "Washington Nationals Game 28 Review: Haren solid in 3-1 win over Braves" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page
• "Last year was a breakout season for Ian Desmond, and nobody, except for maybe Ian, expected him to hit as well as he did." - "Early On, Desmond Looks Like Desmond" - The Nationals Review
• "Holding Court: What’s Eating Stephen Strasburg?" - Nationals 101
•"How did April finish up? Well from 17-10 expectations the Nats landed at 13-14. What should we look for in May?" - "Catch-Up Day" - Harper, Nationals Baseball
• "The Nationals finally saw exactly what they hoped to see from Dan Haren when he signed the one-year/$13 million deal this past offseason." - "Haren Impressive As Nats Split Four Game Series With Braves" - Joe Drugan, The Nats Blog
• "Now, the Nats are headed up US 19 (well, not really they flew and would have taken interstates if they used surface transportation) to the Steel City." - "2013 Nats at Pirates Q&A and guest prognostication with Sam, The Maryland Bureau Chief Emeritus" - William F. Yurasko, William World News
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Mets: "It was the only win in the three-game series at Marlins Park for the Mets (11-15), who blew three late-inning leads in their last two games. It snapped a season-high, six-game losing streak." - "David Wright and Jordany Valdespin homer as Mets snap six-game losing streak with win over Marlins" - Kristie Ackert, NY Daily News
• Marlins: "Juan Pierre stole his 600th base and scored because of it. After that, the highlight reel sputtered to a halt for the Marlins..." - "PHILADELPHIA: Miami Marlins trounced by Phillies after Juan Pierre’s feat" - Clark Spencer, MiamiHerald.com
• Braves: "Three times this season, Washington’s Dan Haren needed more than 90 pitches to get through five or fewer innings." - "Braves muster little against Haren" - David O'Brien, www.ajc.com
• Phillies: "If Ben Revere was hitting .300 and doing the types of things the Phillies envisioned when they acquired him from the Twins, he might have started in centerfield last night against the Marlins." - "Phillies Notebook: Ben Revere remains seated" - David Murphy, Philadelphia Daily News