Bryce Harper

Hagerstown Suns fans worked themselves into a frenzy when Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate for his first at bat during the Suns' home opener Friday evening at Municipal Stadium. The initial roar of the crowd quickly died, however, as the No. 1 draft pick in the 2010 Major League Draft was thrown out at first base after he hit a broken-bat grounder to the Lakewood BlueClaws' shortstop. The mood at the park before the game was electric. Some fans wore Harper jerseys, while others donned T-Shirts that said "Harperstown.

Thumbs up to everyone in the Tri-State area who organized, participated in or attended Veterans Day ceremonies this week. Taking the time to honor those who have sacrificed so much so that we may enjoy our freedoms is a worthy endeavor. Thumbs up to the Baseball Writers' Association of America for recognizing Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson and rookie Bryce Harper with postseason awards. The pair made the past season exciting and gave fans hope for the coming season.

The Hagerstown Suns completed a four-game sweep of Lakewood, scoring five runs in the top of the 12th inning to beat the BlueClaws 8-3 on Monday. Brett Newsome scored what proved to be the winning run, coming home when David Freitas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Randolph Oduber followed with a two-run single and Michael Taylor added a two-run triple before Lakewood reliever Colby Shreve (2-3) could get out of the inning. Sam Brown (1-0) retired the BlueClaws in order in the bottom of the 12th to earn the win. Blake Kelso had three hits for the Suns, while Bryce Harper — who had his 18-game hitting streak halted Sunday — had his second straight hitless game, going 0-for-5.

The majority owner of the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball team said Tuesday an official letter dictating a stricter level of minimum standards for Municipal Stadium forced the team to consider their possible relocation. The latest push in the long-running battle to improve the stadium came to a head in October when owner Bruce Quinn received a letter from Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals concerning facility improvements that would be required to keep the Suns in Hagerstown.

Whenever Bryce Harper comes to bat for the Hagerstown Suns, it is going to be a hit-and-Miss proposition. Harper, the Washington Nationals’ and baseball’s top selection in the 2010 draft, will always be looking for a hit when he comes to the plate at Municipal Stadium. And he will always be sponsored by Miss Utility. Miss Utility took quick advantage of last Saturday’s announcement that Harper had been optioned to Hagerstown to propose and sign a deal which would allow the excavation and demolition notification center to sponsor every one of the top prospect’s home at-bats.

Bryce Harper, Wade Moore and Jason Martinson each went deep on Sunday, and the Hagerstown Suns used a six-run sixth inning to pull away from the Kannapolis Intimidators 10-5 in South Atlantic League action. The Suns (31-18), who hold a 3-game lead in the Northern Division, took a 1-0 lead off Intimidators starter Dexter Carter (0-1) in the second inning on three walks and Michael Taylor’s sacrifice fly. Hagerstown made it 2-0 in the third. Bryce Harper drew a one-out walk and David Freitas followed with a double to left, sending Harper to third.

Adrian Sanchez did his part to keep the Hagerstown Suns undefeated. Hagerstown’s second baseman accounted for four runs — three coming on RBIs — to lead the Suns to a 5-0 record with a 5-1 victory over Lexington on Tuesday. Sanchez scored in the first inning, drove in two in the second and brought home an insurance run in the seventh in a 2-for-4 night. Sanchez’s support was about all Hagerstown’s pitching needed. Starter Taylor Jordan (2-0) threw five innings of two-hit ball with a walk and five strikeouts for the win. Shane McCatty went two innings, allowing Lexington’s only run in the seventh.

The Lexington Legends took a page out of Hagerstown’s success manual and put it to good use. The Legends jumped out to an early lead — scoring two runs in the first inning — and made it stand up on Thursday in a 7-0 shutout of the Suns. The Suns ended their season-opening, eight-game road trip with a 6-2 record before heading home for tonight’s home opener against Lakewood. In five of the six wins, the Suns scored first. After opening the season by winning their first six games, the Suns have lost two straight.

On the day he was named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week, Hagerstown Suns starter Cameron Selik made his case for winning the honor again. The right-hander pitched eight shutout innings in the Suns’ 3-0 victory over West Virginia on Monday. Selik (2-0), who has yet to allow a run this season in 23 innings, scattered six hits while walking none and striking out three. The Suns (11-7) took a 1-0 lead in the first. Randolph Oduber led off with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on an error.

Blake Kelso went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run and a trio of Hagerstown pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout in the Suns’ 3-0 victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators (27-23) on Tuesday night. The Suns (32-20) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Kannapolis starter Steven Upchurch (1-4). Kelso hit a leadoff double to left, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Adrian Sanchez and scored on a single to center by Bryce Harper. The Suns extended their lead to 2-0 in the third against Upchurch on Kelso’s one-out, solo home run to left.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson got what he wanted, a second consecutive rainout to give his battered team an extra day to heal. Maybe the mental break will turn out to be the catalyst the Nationals have been seeking. Certainly, nothing else has worked so far. The preseason NL East favorite remained one game below .500 Friday, when a series opener against the  Minnesota Twins was postponed as rain from Tropical Storm Andrea moved north. The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.

The swelling in Bryce Harper's left knee isn't getting any better, so the Washington outfielder will see a specialist next week and won't be coming off the disabled list when he is eligible. Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Thursday that Harper visit Dr. James Andrews on Monday for a second opinion on the knee that has been troublesome ever since the 20-year-old slugger ran into the wall at Dodger Stadium on May 13. “We've just got to get the swelling out. We've got to get the inflammation out of there,” Johnson said.

Stephen Strasburg won a duel with Cole Hamels, Bryce Harper aggravated a knee, and the Washington Nationals managed to score five runs in an inning for the first time this season. Still, it is not enough for Davey Johnson to start shaving. Sunday's 6-1 win kept Washington above .500 and ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Strasburg (3-5), who has pitched better than his record indicates, struck out a season-high nine and walked one in eight innings. Philadelphia scored its only run in the eighth on Strasburg's first big league balk.

This time, Bryce Harper made the catch. And yeah, it was a relief. Harper made a game-saving grab in right field and had a couple of big hits at the plate to help the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday. San Francisco had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth when Harper had to dive to grab Hunter Pence's sinking liner in the gap, keeping it tied at 1. He banged up his left knee on the play, but managed to stay in the game.

Ian Desmond's three hits included a two-run homer and an RBI double, and Danny Espinosa and Kurt Suzuki also drove in runs with doubles, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 for their season-high fifth consecutive victory. Despite playing without Bryce Harper (ingrown toenail) or Jayson Werth (injured right hamstring), the Nationals won for the seventh time in eight games. Ross Detwiler (2-3) gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, and Craig Stammen got the last seven outs.

Ian Desmond's three hits included a two-run homer and an RBI double, and Danny Espinosa and Kurt Suzuki also drove in runs with doubles, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 for their season-high fifth consecutive victory. Despite playing without Bryce Harper (ingrown toenail) or Jayson Werth (injured right hamstring), the Nationals won for the seventh time in eight games. Ross Detwiler (2-3) gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, and Craig Stammen got the last seven outs.

Tyler Moore knew what Clint Hurdle was thinking. With one out and first base open in the eighth inning of a one-run game, Moore fully expected the Pittsburgh Pirates' manager to intentionally walk the batter in front of him. Moore was hitting .158 and had struck out six times in the three-game series. “It fires you up,” Moore said. “I would have done the same thing.” The move backfired, though, as Moore followed the walk to Adam LaRoche by hitting a three-run homer off rookie reliever Bryan Morris to seal the Washington Nationals' 6-2 victory over the Pirates on Sunday.

Jordan Zimmermann turned in another dominant performance with two-hit ball over eight innings, Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer in the fourth and the Washington Nationals finally beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-0 Wednesday night. The Braves had won five in a row this season over their NL East rival, and nine straight dating to last season. Zimmermann (5-1) made sure that streak ended with what is starting to become a typical outing, snapping a three-game losing streak that had knocked the Nationals under .500.

Jordan Zimmermann watched Gio Gonzalez pitch a gem for Washington, and just followed his lead. Zimmermann was terrific in his first career shutout and the Nationals limited the Cincinnati Reds to one hit for the second straight game in a 1-0 victory on Friday night. Zimmermann (4-1) struck out four and walked one while improving to 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA in five career games against Cincinnati. The right-hander needed only 91 pitches to record his second complete game of the season and No. 3 for his career.

Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth is fine with manager Davey Johnson's plan to shuffle the lineup after the team dropped below .500 with its ninth loss in 12 games. Even told Johnson he'd be OK moving out of his No. 2 slot in the batting order after Washington's 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday completed a three-game sweep. Something needs to change, Werth knows. “We need to jumble it up, and we need to switch the 'mojo' a little bit,” Werth said, sitting in front of his locker in the home clubhouse at Nationals Park.