Danny Espinosa

Wilson Ramos capped Washington’s five-run ninth inning with a game-ending three-run homer, lifting the Nationals to a dramatic 6-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. Jerry Hairston and Danny Espinosa each had two-out RBI singles before Ramos connected on a 1-1 pitch from David Pauley, hitting a drive deep to center for his sixth homer. Ramos threw his arms up almost immediately after the ball left his bat and Pauley (4-1) trudged off the mound. The Mariners wasted a fine effort from Doug Fister, who allowed one run and three hits in eight innings.

Danny Espinosa broke out of a dreadful slump with a two-run homer in the seventh inning Monday night to lead the Washington Nationals to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Espinosa, who was 8 for 73 entering the at-bat, drove the first pitch thrown by Pirates reliever Jose Ascanio into the left-field bullpen, scoring Mike Morse, who had singled off hard-luck Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (1-6). Espinosa’s 22 RBIs leads all rookies, but he has seen his average dip from .281 to .193 in the last 20 games.

Livan Hernandez pitched a three-hitter, Michael Morse homered twice and doubled, and the Washington Nationals routed the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 Wednesday night for their fifth straight win. Albert Pujols made two errors at third base, leading to a pair of unearned runs, as the Cardinals lost their season-worst fifth in a row. Jayson Werth and Danny Espinosa also homered and Ryan Zimmerman had his second RBI in as many nights since returning from...

Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer, Carlos Lee drove in two runs, and the Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Monday night to split the teams' four-game series. Carlos Zambrano (5-7) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings, and snapped a four-game losing streak. Heath Bell pitched a scoreless eighth, and Mike Dunn pitched the ninth to record his first career save. Dunn allowed a two-out single to Bryce Harper and walked Ryan Zimmerman before striking out Adam LaRoche to end the game.

Gio Gonzalez didn't need his best stuff against the New York Mets on Sunday. What he had was good enough to get his 16th win, tying him for the major league lead and setting a Washington Nationals team record. Gonzalez gave up seven hits and needed 110 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings, but he didn't allow a run until the sixth and the Nationals got more than enough offense from Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa for Gonzalez to notch the victory in a 5-2 win against the New York Mets.

And the Washington Nationals wait. Already assured of the capital's first postseason baseball since 1933, the Nationals remained stalled in their drive for the NL East title when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 10-4 Sunday. “We've got to play the type of baseball that we're capable of playing,” infielder Ian Desmond said. “We didn't do that today.” Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate to lead the Cardinals. Washington (96-63) saw its magic number for clinching the division remain at one with three games remaining.

 Danny Espinosa hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 10-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. Espinosa hit a three-run shot to cap the Nationals’ five-run third inning, and added another solo blast in the sixth, his 10th of the season. It was the second multihomer game of his career. He also hit two against the New York Mets on Sept. 6, 2010. Michael Morse added two RBI on three hits for Washington, which snapped a six-game losing streak against the Phillies and won for just the second time in the past 10 games.

Three bad pitches suddenly spoiled an otherwise solid outing for Jordan Zimmermann. The Washington starter gave up three runs in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs went on to beat the Nationals 4-3 Thursday. Chicago broke a 1-all when Reed Johnson reached on a two-out single and Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena hit consecutive home runs. “I had two strikes on Johnson and threw a fastball and he got a base hit and threw a halfway decent slider to Ramirez,” Zimmermann said.

Those two home runs aside, Joey Votto thought he had a pretty lousy day at the plate. He hit a tying shot in the first and led off the 14th inning with his second homer to give the Cincinnati Reds a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. “It didn't feel like a great day with the bat for me but I end up with a couple homers and a couple walks. It's such an odd game sometimes,” Votto said. Votto has hit longer home runs but few as effective. “The first home run just scraped out of the ballpark and then the last one kind of the same thing but I didn't feel very good today.” Reds pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso opened the ninth with a home run off Drew Storen, making it 4-all.

Stephen Strasburg might be pushing closer to that management-imposed innings limit - whatever the number might be in the mind of the brass. Washington's ace brushed off questions on the topic, and so did manager Davey Johnson. There are more important matters at hand with the NL East-leading Nationals rolling as they head into a key stretch against the division at home. Strasburg capped Washington's longest road trip of the season by winning his third straight start in a 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

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.

A.J. Burnett doesn't lead the major leagues in strikeouts. He just wants to and is awful close. “I'm trying to keep up with Yu Darvish, but he's pretty filthy,” the Pittsburgh Pirates' ace said of the Texas Rangers' right-hander. Burnett allowed one run and struck out nine in seven shutout innings, and call-up Jordy Mercer hit a tiebreaking home run to lead the Pirates to a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Burnett (3-2) gave up five hits and one walk in winning his third straight game after going 0-2 in his first three starts.

Adam LaRoche's slump is now at 26 hitless at-bats with strikeouts accounting for half the outs. Unfamiliarity with Reds rookie pitcher Tony Cingrani had the Nationals collectively looking awkward at the plate. With a chance to complete a four-game series sweep, Washington struck out 11 times against the left-hander - including four in one inning - and 14 overall against five Cincinnati pitchers in a 5-2 loss to the Reds on Sunday. In his third career start, Cingrani (2-0) pitched six scoreless innings and allowed only two hits, one coming off the bat of Nationals rookie Anthony Rendon.

Gio Gonzalez showed that he's better than his last two outings. After giving up 12 runs in nine innings over those two starts, Gonzalez pitched a gem on Thursday night. The right-hander held Cincinnati's powerful lineup to one hit in eight innings and the Washington Nationals beat the Reds 8-1. Denard Span and Danny Espinosa drove in three runs apiece, giving Gonzalez more than enough support. The 21-game winner from last season struck out seven and walked two. By the time Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati, Gonzalez (2-1)

A smile crept across Adam LaRoche's face while he rounded the bases Tuesday night after hitting his career-high 33rd homer to become the third Nationals player with 100 RBIs in a season, another celebratory moment for NL East champion Washington during a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. When the Nationals Park gates opened, early-arriving fans in the crowd of 33,546 were treated to a video montage of alcohol-spraying and general mirth-making from a night earlier, when the home team clinched its first division title since moving from Montreal in 2005.

And the Washington Nationals wait. Already assured of the capital's first postseason baseball since 1933, the Nationals remained stalled in their drive for the NL East title when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 10-4 Sunday. “We've got to play the type of baseball that we're capable of playing,” infielder Ian Desmond said. “We didn't do that today.” Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate to lead the Cardinals. Washington (96-63) saw its magic number for clinching the division remain at one with three games remaining.

The Washington Nationals brought postseason baseball back to the nation's capital for the first time since 1933, earning a playoff spot Thursday night with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Nats Clinch” flashed on the scoreboard as Washington ensured at least an NL wild-card spot behind Ross Detwiler's six strong innings and Ryan Zimmerman's RBI double. A crowd of 30,359 stood and cheered in the ninth inning, then got even louder when Drew Storen struck out Hanley Ramirez to end it. Manager Davey Johnson saluted the fans as he left the field and the team wore caps acknowledging the playoff berth.

Gio Gonzalez didn't need his best stuff against the New York Mets on Sunday. What he had was good enough to get his 16th win, tying him for the major league lead and setting a Washington Nationals team record. Gonzalez gave up seven hits and needed 110 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings, but he didn't allow a run until the sixth and the Nationals got more than enough offense from Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa for Gonzalez to notch the victory in a 5-2 win against the New York Mets.

Stephen Strasburg might be pushing closer to that management-imposed innings limit - whatever the number might be in the mind of the brass. Washington's ace brushed off questions on the topic, and so did manager Davey Johnson. There are more important matters at hand with the NL East-leading Nationals rolling as they head into a key stretch against the division at home. Strasburg capped Washington's longest road trip of the season by winning his third straight start in a 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Bryce Harper returned from an ankle injury to single and score as a pinch-hitter, and Roger Bernadina had a tiebreaking hit in the seventh inning as the Washington Nationals earned a split of the day-night doubleheader with a 5-2 victory Saturday night. Harper injured his ankle in the opener and was lifted after the second inning. The Braves won the first game 4-0 behind Ben Sheets' strong performance. Bernadina, who entered as a defensive replacement after Harper fouled a bunt off his left ankle in the first inning of the first game, had five hits on the day including a seventh inning, go-ahead RBI single in the nightcap.