Nationals Vs. Blue Jays: Six Of The Best! Washington Completes 6-0 Road Trip With 6-2 Win Over Toronto

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays: Stephen Strasburg Looks To Make It Five Straight

All "clown questions" aside, the Washington Nationals are rolling along right now. The Nationals wrap up a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon looking for their second straight series sweep, following a weekend streak against Boston. A Wednesday win would be six straight for Washington.

Starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg is just the man to do it. The right-hander has won four in a row, including a win over the Red Sox featuring 13 strike outs. During that stretch, Strasburg has allowed just seven earned runs. He has a 2.41 ERA this season, a 1.04 WHIP, 92 strike outs and just 19 walks in 71 innings of work.

On the hill for the Blue Jays is Kyle Drabek. The right-hander is 4-6 with a 4.43 ERA on the season. He will have to contain a red hot Bryce Harper who has six hits, including a home run in Tuesday's win, in the series.

The game starts at 12:37 p.m. Eastern. Fans can watch the game on MASN.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

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Video: Nationals OF Bryce Harper And The 'Clown Question'

Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper could teach the media a thing or two about reporting. Harper, 19, was asked by a Canadian reported on Tuesday if he would partake in a beer while the Nationals were in Toronto, where the drinking age is 19, for a series against the Blue Jays.

"That's a clown question, bro," said the Washington outfielder.

His reaction to the question has Twitter buzzing with clown questions, clown references and all things related to red-nosed puffery on Wednesday morning. His reaction to the amateurish question has made him into a temporary internet folk hero, or something like that.

Now, the video of Harper's reaction has surfaced on the web, courtesy of The Score. Watch it here:

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays Recap: Bryce Harper Goes Deep Again, Washington Extends Win Streak To 5

The Washington Nationals extended their winning streak to five straight games on Tuesday night with a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Nats kept it humming with early offense and yet another impressive performance from their pitching staff. Chien-Ming Wang picked up his second win of the season, his first since moving into the rotation. Wang was not particularly sharp, issuing five walks over five innings but he held the Jays to just two runs on four hits. He made one mistake to Jose Bautista, who's among the best in the game at making pitchers pay for mistakes. "Joey Bats" blasted a two-run homer over the left-field wall but that would be the only damage done by the Jays' offense.

The Nats plated their runs through a power surge, taking Toronto deep three times. The hot-hitting Bryce Harper started things off with a bomb to straightway center off Henderson Alvarez. It was his second homer of the road trip. One inning later, the Nats would go ahead 3-0 when Danny Espinosa took Alvarez again over the centerfield wall. After Bautista cut the lead to one, Davey Johnson got an unexpected boost from the nine-hole when back-up catcher Jhonatan Solano got a hold of one for the first home run of his career.

After Wang left the game, the Nats bullpen slammed the door over the final four innings. Ross Detwiler pitched 1.2 perfect innings and Tyler Clippard slammed the door in the ninth.

Washington, which is now 6-2 against the AL East, will go for their second straight sweep on Wednesday with Stephen Strasburg on the mound.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

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Roger Bernadina Injury: Outfielder Expected To Miss 2-3 Games

After some speculation outfielder Roger Bernadina could find his way onto the disabled list after straining his right hamstring on Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jeys, the official word is out: He won't. According to the Washington Post, Bernadina, who was penciled to start in center field this series, will miss just two or three game following an MRI on Tuesday that revealed no tear.

"In two or three days, he'll probably be all right," manager Davey Johnson told the media. "I don't see it being a problem. He'll be back soon. He just tweaked it."

In 45 games this season, Bernadina is hitting .247 with two home runs, 12 RBIs and eight runs.

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays: Rick Ankiel Starts In Center Field As Washington Looks For Fifth Straight Win

The Washington Nationals go for a fifth straight win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. The one major change in the lineup will be Rick Ankiel starting in center field in place of Roger Bernadina, who was left Monday's game with a leg injury in the top of the fourth inning.

The rest of the Nationals lineup is as follows.

Tonight's lineup: Lombo, lf; Harper, rf; Zimmerman, 3b; LaRoche, 1b; Morse, dh; Desmond, ss; Espinosa, 2b; Ankiel, cf; Solano, c; Wang, p

— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) June 12, 2012

The Nationals will send Chien-Ming Wang to the mound for Tuesday's game. He is looking for his second win of the season and could get it against a Toronto team that has struggled to bring runs around lately.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays: Washington Looks To Win 5 In A Row

After winning game one of the series on Monday, the Washington Nationals will attempt to win their fifth game in a row as they take on the host Toronto Blue Jays. The Nationals (36-23) have a three-game lead atop the National League East, while the Blue Jays (31-30) are in fourth in the American League East.

Chien-Ming Wang (1-2, 5.11 ERA) takes the mound for Washington, and he'll be facing off against Henderson Alvarez (3-5, 3.76 ERA) of Toronto. Wang, the weakest link in the Nationals rotation this year, has a 7.18 ERA in his last five starts against the Blue Jays. Alvarez has not won a starting decision since May 10.

The game is scheduled to begin 7:07 p.m. It will be televised on MASN.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays Recap: Washington Wins 4th Straight, 6-3

The Washington Nationals' success against the AL East continued on Monday night as the Nats captured their fourth straight win -- a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Washington was on the good end of a bit of injury misfortune when Jays' starter Brandon Morrow left with an oblique injury after throwing just nine pitches in the first inning. The offense jumped on reliever Chad Beck to plate two runs in the first. Adam LaRoche extended the lead to 4-1 in the third with a blast to right, his 11th of the season. A late Rick Ankiel bomb to center capped the Washington scoring at six, but it was the early rally after Morrow left that sowed this one up.

Edwin Jackson took full advantage of the early cushion. He gave up a homer to Colby Rasmus in the bottom of the first but then put it in cruise control and pitched into the ninth. The Jays could muster only three hits off Jackson, one of them a double by Edwin Encarnacion to lead off the ninth. That forced Davey Johnson to go to his bullpen, making the call for Sean Burnett. The hard-throwing lefty gave up a two-run shot to Yan Gomes and Jackson was credited with the second run. But it was yet another impressive performance, saving the Nats' pen as the Jays were forced to use five relievers in the first game of the series.

The Nationals will try to make if five in a row on Tuesday with Chien-Ming Wang on the mound. Henderson Alvarez will go for Toronto.

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays: Washington Out In Front Early, Roger Bernadina Leaves With Leg Injury

The Washington Nationals have jumped out to an early lead in their series opener against the Blue Jays, looking for their fourth straight win in interleague play against the AL East. Toronto starter Brandon Morrow left the game after throwing just nine pitches, grabbing his side after an offering to Bryce Harper in the top of the first. It first appeared to be a strained oblique.

Washinton took advantage of the Toronto misfortune, putting two runs on the board in the top of the first. Harper singled home Stephen Lombardozzi for the opening run and then advanced to third on an error by David Cooper. Michael Morse knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. The second time through the lineup, it was Adam LaRoche who did the damage, ripping a two-run homer to right off Chad Beck. The Jays' reliever was chased in the fourth inning, and the Nats have a golden opportunity to start the series by overextending John Farrell's pen. The lead is at 4-1 in the top of the 5th.

It's not all good news so far, as Nationals left fielder Roger Bernadina left the game in the top of the fourth inning. Bernadina appeared to injure his right leg sliding headfirst into third base, as he went from first to third on a wild pitch. He had trouble leaving the field under his own power but eventually limped off slowly towards the dugout. Davey Johnson replaced Bernadina with Xavier Nady.

It's an unfortunate injury as Bernadina has had some success recently with the opportunities he's been given in a crowded outfield. He came through with the game-winning hit on Sunday afternoon in Boston, ripping a double down the right field line at Fenway that scored Bryce Harper.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

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Nationals Vs. Blue Jays Lineups: Bryce Harper Back In Right Field As Washington Opens Series Against Toronto

As the Washington Nationals open up a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, Bryce Harper will be starting again in right field after not starting on Sunday. Harper has been nursing a tender back lately, but showed no ill effects as he scored the eventual game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning.

The rest of the lineup is as follows.

Tonight's lineup: Lombardozzi, lf; Harper, rf; Zim, 3b; LaRoche, 1b; Morse, dh; Desmond, ss; Espinosa, 2b; Bernadina, cf; Flores, c; EJax, p

— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) June 11, 2012

Aside from Harper the Nationals will be using the same position players, save for Xavier Nady, using Morse in the designated hitter position. The Nationals hope that this lineup will be able to extend the winning streak they started in Boston.

For more Nationals coverage and conversation, visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nats blog. For the Blue Jays perspective, check out Bluebird Banter. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page, Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.