
Rick Ankiel drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out walk in the 11th inning and Mike Morse followed with a grand slam, leading the Washington Nationals to a wild 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Washington manager Jim Riggleman calls Jordan Zimmermann's return from reconstructive elbow surgery a work in progress.

That's it. I've had it. Enough already. With the Nationals, I mean. Again.

The Washington Nationals have a catcher who's built his reputation as a potential Hall of Famer in part because he's one of the best there is at gunning out runners.
Ian Desmond sat at his locker in the clubhouse Sunday evening stone faced and frustrated.

Music blared through the speakers in the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards late Friday night, breaking a silence that had seemed to extend for days around the Washington Nationals and their anemic offense.

The Washington Nationals did so many things right Friday night — Roger Bernadina's highlight-reel, game-saving catch, the timely home run and RBI-hits, the near-perfect relay throw they executed in the 11th inning — that it was almost difficult to believe they were the ones leaving Nationals Park with their second straight loss.

When you're young, gifted and blocked, progress is measured in baby steps, often escaping notice. There are signposts that a historian will laugh at in retrospect, moments that eventually mean nothing in the arc of a career.

The Nationals entered Monday night's game with four players hitting .300 or above.