Amanda Comak covers the Washington Nationals for The Washington Times.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 19, 2013 Comments
When the Washington Nationals packed up and left D.C. a week ago, they knew their 10-game road swing through California would be a difficult test for their young season. The toughest spot appeared to be at the end, in San Francisco, where the reigning World Series champions would be waiting. As the Nationals departed San Diego late Sunday evening, they were 3-4 through the first week of their trip. As they've muddled their way through injuries and inconsistency, they will take a 23-21 record into the series. And the Giants? They're 24-20 -- and limping home from a 1-5 road trip through Toronto and Colorado.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 19, 2013 Comments
The Washington Nationals will send right-hander Dan Haren to the mound on Sunday as he looks to continue a string of strong starts and the Nationals look to take the four-game series from the San Diego Padres.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 19, 2013 Comments
On a day the Nationals again demanded near perfection out of Jordan Zimmermann, he came very close with his pitching. Tossing eight innings on just 85 pitches, Zimmermann required the fewest pitches in a non-rain-shortened complete game in Nationals history. But without any margin for error, a pickoff throw he yanked just wide of first baseman Adam LaRoche in the eighth stuck with him, and cost the Nationals.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 18, 2013 Comments
The traveling continued for Jayson Werth on Saturday as the right fielder went to Chicago to visit with another specialist about his strained right hamstring. The Nationals are hopeful that Werth will be ready to return to the active roster on Friday, but he has been ruled out for the remainder of the team's road trip.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 18, 2013 Comments
Left-handed long reliever Zach Duke will get the spot start in place of Ross Detwiler on Monday in San Francisco as Detwiler deals with a right oblique strain and the Nationals gauge how long he may need to recover.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 18, 2013 Comments
When Bryce Harper arrived at Petco Park on Saturday, his left knee was sore and swollen. The issue, still a residual effect of Harper's vicious collision with the right field wall at Dodger Stadium on Monday, will keep him out of Saturday's lineup and possibly out of Sunday's, too.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 18, 2013 Comments
Ryan Zimmerman committed his ninth error of the season Friday night, and while plenty of those nine have been deserved as Zimmerman's throwing woes have become one of the Nationals' central storylines on the young season, this one was a difficult call.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 18, 2013 Comments
Hours before they'd turn the music up loud and the Washington Nationals would celebrate a hard-earned, 10-inning, 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres, manager Davey Johnson sat in the visitors' dugout at Petco Park and answered a question about his bench. The Nationals' pinch hitting stats, among the league's elite in 2012, were bleak. "They're awful," Johnson said of the numbers. "Just come out and say it."

By Amanda Comak — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
When Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth went on the disabled list last week with a slight right hamstring strain, he did so with the hope that he would be ready to return as soon as he was eligible --- on May 18. But his return has been delayed at least a few days.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
Ross Detwiler will miss his next start with a slight strain of his right oblique, but the Washington Nationals are still uncertain about whether they will lose their talented left-hander for more than that.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
Danny Espinosa returned to the Nationals' lineup on Friday evening, after a one-day break for the slumping second baseman.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
Stephen Strasburg climbed the mound on Thursday night with a mission. Whether it was intentional or not, whether it was spoken or not, it seemed the Washington Nationals big right-hander felt there were some questions to be answered. And he was ready to let his performance do the talking.

By Amanda Comak — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
Washington Nationals left-hander Ross Detwiler was sent for an MRI Thursday afternoon in San Diego, one day after back spasms cut short his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, to determine the extent of the issue. Detwiler's next start, scheduled for Monday in San Francisco, may be in jeopardy.

By — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
Feeling some slight tightness in his strained right hamstring, Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth traveled to New York on Thursday to visit with the team's specialist and get the issue examined. His expected return from the disabled list on Saturday will likely be delayed a few days, according to a team spokesman.

By — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
The Washington Nationals placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the disabled list Thursday afternoon with a left hamstring strain and recalled Jhonatan Solano from Triple-A Syracuse.
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