Wire Taps: Washington Nationals need to extend Dusty Baker now; Sammy Solis, Joe Blanton making progress; Bryce Harper’s walkup music

Alright, that was fun! Joe Ross was good, and Trea Turner ran like the dickens. Thanks, San Diego Padres!

Here’s the news from Nationals Park.

Boswell: The Lerners need to extend Dusty Baker now
Dusty Baker--one of the most respected men in all of baseball--has been forced to bear questions about whether he'll be back next year. A question to which the answer, quite obviously, should be yes. For some odd reason, the Lerners haven't caught on to that.

Solis, Blanton making progress
Joe Blanton was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment yesterday, while Sammy Solis threw a 40-pitch bullpen in West Palm Beach.

Kershaw-Strasburg lives up to the hype
Many times a marquee pitching matchup is promised, something will prevent that from happening. The first matchup of Stephen Strasburg and Clayton Kershaw perhaps exceeded expectations.

Bryce Harper: The king of walk-up music
An explanation of each and every one of Bryce Harper's walkup songs. I was a fan of Boyfriend by Justin Bieber myself.

Swelling in Werth's foot decreasing, but not by much
Jayson Werth injured his left big toe against the Athletics last week; although X-rays were negative, he's still far from being ready to go again.

Today’s Game: Rangers vs Nationals — 7:05 PM
Probable Pitchers: Andrew Cashner vs Tanner Roark