Nationals Send Ozzie Guillen Bat Autographed By Bryce Harper, And Everyone Has A Good Laugh

Nationals Vs. Marlins Recap: Washington Falls 5-3 To Split Series In Miami

The Miami Marlins managed to get a crucial series-splitting 5-3 win on Monday night against the Washington Nationals. With the Nats well ahead of the Fish in first place in the NL East, Miami has only two weeks to truly determine if they're contenders and thus buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. Some have speculated that they may start unloading assets if things go south this month, and this four-game set against Washington was huge coming out of the break.

The Nationals still managed to split the series, although I'm sure they will feel like they let one get away in the finale on Monday. Starter Edwin Jackson had one blow up inning, allowing a four runs in the bottom of the third that ended up being the difference. Miami pitcher Carlos Zambrano led off the inning with a single and that started the rally. Carlos Lee would knock in both Zambrano and Jose Reyes with a single back up the middle to center. Hanley Ramirez then added to the damage two batters later by hammering a two-run homer to centerfield for a 4-2 lead.

Jackson had an early two-run cushion after the Nats scored a run in the second and third innings. Ryan Zimmerman continues to round into form and the Washington third baseman ripped a homer just over the left field wall against Zambrano, making it 2-0 in the third. Zimmerman would score the third run of the night on a Michael Morse single which cut the Miami lead to one. He appears to finally have his bat working, putting in another solid night where he went three for three while also drawing a walk.

But the Nats would fail to come through with a rally to overcome Jackson's one bad inning. Washington out-hit the Marlins 11 to 7, but simply never broke through. They now return home for their first series of the second half on the Southwest waterfront. Ross Detwiler will take the mound on Tuesday for the first game against the New York Mets.

Stick with this StoryStream for scores, updates and more from the Nationals' series in Miami. For all things Nationals, check out Federal Baseball. For the Miami perspective, head over to Fish Stripes.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: Ian Desmond Out Again On Monday

The Washington Nationals will be without shortstop Ian Desmond for the second straight game on Monday. Desmond is not in the lineup for the series finale against the Miami Marlins. Desmond aggravated his oblique in his final plate appearance in Saturday's game.

Danny Espinosa will replace Desmond at shortstop. Steve Lombardozzi takes over at second base.

The rest of the Nationals lineup looks like this:

#Nats 7/16 Lineup: Lombo 2B, Harper RF, Zim 3B, LaRoche 1B, Morse LF, Espinosa SS, Bernadina CF, Flores C, Jackson RHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 16, 2012

Desmond does not appear to be headed to the disabled list, but Dan Kolko of MASN says he could miss more time.

A win on Monday night would give the Nationals a series win; a loss would tie it.

Stick with this StoryStream for scores, updates and more from the Nationals' series in Miami. For all things Nationals, check out Federal Baseball. For the Miami perspective, head over to Fish Stripes.

Nationals Vs. Marlins Preview: Washington Looks For Series Win Behind Edwin Jackson

The Washington Nationals look for a decisive series victory on Monday night, sitting up 2-1 in the four game series after Sunday afternoon's victory. Edwin Jackson will be throwing for Washington, facing Carlos Zambrano for the Marlins. Game 4 is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Jackson has posted a 5-4 record and a 3.73 ERA this season, but is 1-4 with a 5.33 ERA against the Marlins. His only game against the Marlins in 2012 was a 3-1 defeat in late May in which he gave up two runs over 6.2 innings. The Nationals can ill afford another loss, as they sit in first place in the NL East only three games ahead of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have now won seven in a row.

To keep the Braves at bay Washington will need production from Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. The three men are a combined 10-for-23 in the two wins from the series and together went 2-for-12 in the lone series loss.

Stick with this StoryStream for scores, updates and more from the Nationals' series in Miami. For all things Nationals, check out Federal Baseball. For the Miami perspective, head over to Fish Stripes.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: Ozzie Guillen Invokes Anachronistic Pine Tar Rule

Nationals Vs. Marlins: Stephen Strasburg Solid In 4-0 Win

In his first start in the second half of the season, Stephen Strasburg had no problems mowing down the Miami Marlins, striking out seven batters in six shutout innings in a 4-0 win Sunday afternoon.

Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco was heading in a similar direction, setting down 12 of the first 13 batters, but then blew up in the fifth inning when Strasburg and Steve Lombardozi came through with a pair of RBI singles. The Nationals would put the game away the next inning when a Michael Morse RBI single was followed by a Danny Espinosa sac fly.

Lombardozzi and Morse would be the offensive leaders today, as they each went 2-for-4 with an RBI each.

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visit Federal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins Preview: Stephen Strasburg On The Mound For Washington

Pitching his first game since the All-Star break, Stephen Strasburg will take the hill for the Washington Nationals on Sunday, opposite the Miami Marlins' Rick Nolasco. Strasburg will look to help the Nats preserve their three-game lead atop the N.L. East standing, as the Braves, who are in second, have won six consecutive games in their own right and inch closer.

Thus far this season, the Nats' 6-foot-4 pitching phenom has been particularly impressive. In 17 starts, he's gone 9-4, posting a 2.82 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and 128 strikeouts.

The teams have split the first two games of the four-game weekend set with the Nationals winning 5-1 on Friday night and the Marlins 2-1 on Saturday. First pitch for Sunday is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. PST.

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visit Federal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: Washington's Bats Go Quiet, Miami Manages 2-1 Win

Mark Buehrle outdueled Gio Gonzalez Saturday night as the Florida Marlins defeated the Washington Nationals, 2-1 in the second game of their four-game series at Marlins Park.

Gonzalez, whose record dropped to 12-4 on the season, didn't pitch badly at all, allowing just two earned runs on five hits over six innings while striking out nine. But Buehrle (9-8) was just better, allowing a single earned run on six hits over seven innings, while striking out seven and walking two.

The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Carlos Lee drove in Jose Reyes with a single to right-center. Washington tied it in the top of the fifth as Ian Desmond reached on a bunt single, took second on a botched pickoff play (though television replays showed that Desmond had, in fact, run out of the baseline on the play), and scored on a bloop single by Tyler Moore.

But the tie was short-lived as John Buck drove in Emilio Bonifacio in the bottom of the fifth with an opposite-field single to right-center that concluded the scoring.

The series continues Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Stephen Strasburg will pitch for Washington, while Ricky Nolasco is scheduled to pitch for Florida.

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visitFederal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: TV Schedule, Start Time, Other Game Info

Washington Nationals All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez will get to pitch in front of a crowd familiar with seeing him on a mound.

As the Nationals play the second game of their series with the Miami Marlins, Gonzalez gets to pitch against the team that represents the major city 20 minutes from where he started his pitching career in Hialeah, Fla.

"Hopefully the city of Hialeah comes out and supports me," said Gonzalez to MLB.com. "It's going to be exciting just for the fact that it's going to be my first time pitching here in the stadium."

Gonzalez has done everything possible to earn the support of Hialeah. He is 12-3 with a 2.92 ERA. His 12 wins are tied for the National League lead.

Gonzalez will face lefty Mark Buehrle who is 8-8 with a 3.25 ERA.

The game will be at 7:10 pm EST and will be broadcasted on 106.7 The Fan, WHFS 1580 and WFED 1500. For television, you can catch it on MASN HD.

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visit Federal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins Recap: Washington Opens 2nd Half With 5-1 Win

The Washington Nationals started the second half of the season without missing a beat -- getting an excellent performance from their starter and cruising to a 5-1 win over a division foe. Jordan Zimmermann was spectacular against the Marlins on Friday night, allowing no runs on just four hits in six innings of work. Zimmermann is becoming an automatic quality start every fifth day for Davey Johnson and he had his nasty slider working against the Fish. It was the first time Zimmermann had beaten the Marlins and it evened his record on the season to 6-6.

The Nats' offense jumped on Josh Johnson, who had never lost to Washington. After an Ian Desmond RBI single in the second inning, Ryan Zimmerman pushed the lead to three with a two-run shot over the wall in left centerfield. The Nats would put together another threat against Johnson in the sixth, when he was chased. Jesus Flores made it a 5-0 game with a single to that knocked in Desmond and Adam LaRoche. The Nationals managed to get 13 hits in another impressive night at the plate.

Davey Johnson used five relievers over the final three innings to finish things off and preserve the win for Zimmermann. Henry Rodriguez was first out of the pen and he once again looked shaky. Rodriguez issued two walks and allowed Justin Ruggiano to steal two bases, setting up Miami's only run of the night. But the four-run cushion was plenty to overcome the wildness of Rodriguez, who was quickly pulled by Davey.

All-Star Gio Gonzalez will take the hill for the Nationals in second game on Saturday night. He'll be opposed by Mark Buerhle

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visitFederal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: Lineups For Friday's Game

The Washington Nationals will look to begin the second half of the season much like they did the first, as Jordan Zimmerman will take to the mound against Josh Johnson in what is a very intriguing match-up Friday night in Miami. Here are the lineups for tonight's game.

Washington Nationals

Steve Lombardozzi - LF
Bryce Harper - CF
Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
Michael Morse - RF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Ian Desmond - SS
Danny Espinosa - 2B
Jesus Flores - C
Jordan Zimmerman - P

Miami Marlins

Jose Reyes - SS
Emilio Bonifacio - CF
Carlos Lee - 1B
Logan Morrison - LF
Hanley Ramirez - 3B
Justin Ruggiano - RF
Omar Infante - 2B
John Buck - C
Josh Johnson - P

Stay with this StoryStream throughout the weekend for more updates on the Nationals series in Miami. For more on the Nats as they start the second half of the season, visit Federal Baseball. For more on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. And for all your baseball news coming out of the All-Star break, visit Baseball Nation.

Nationals Vs. Marlins: TV Schedule, Start Time, Other Game Info

The first-place Washington Nationals return to action Friday night following the All-Star Game break with a night game in Miami against the Marlins. TV coverage of MASN 2 will begin at 7 p.m. with the first pitch scheduled for approximately 7:10.

The game between the two NL East Division rivals can also be heard on 106.7-FM The Fan, and WHES-AM 1580 or WFED-AM 1500. Check local listing for the exact start time.

The Nationals will go with right-hander Jordan Zimmerman (5-6, 2.61 ERA) on the hill. Zimmerman will go against Marlins ace Josh Johnson (5-5, with a 4.06 ERA).

This will be Washington's second visit to Miami's beautiful, new Marlins Park this season. The Nats were swept in three games there in late May and trail in the season series two games to three. The Nationals come into the game with a division-leading 49-34 record, four game up on the second-place Atlanta Braves. The Marlins currently sit in fourth place at 41-44 through the first half, nine games back of Washington.

Follow the Nationals all season long, with game previews and commentary, at SB Nation DC.

All Eyes On Stephen Strasburg And His Inning Count

With his dominance on the mound juxtaposed against his still potentially fragile arm, Stephen Strasburg's inning count will be one of the top stories of the rest of the season.

Nationals Vs. Marlins Preview: Jordan Zimmermann Starts 2nd Half Against Josh Johnson

The Washington Nationals begin the second half of the season with a four game series in Miami against the Marlins.