Drew Storen

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Nationals signed right-hander Drew Storen to a deal worth more than $1.5 million on Wednesday, a day after selecting him with the 10th pick in the draft. Storen was 7-1 with seven saves and a 3.80 ERA during his sophomore season at Stanford. The Nationals assigned him to Class A Hagerstown. "His goals and aspirations matched up with our time frame and he wanted to get out and sign right away," acting general manager Mike Rizzo said. Storen was the Nationals' second pick in Tuesday's draft.

Wisconsin-native Jordan Zimmermann pitched his first game against Milwaukee, and his teammates hit three home runs in the Washington Nationals' 4-1 victory over the Brewers on Saturday night. Zimmermann (8-6) struck out six and gave up five hits in six innings. The right-hander, who was born in Auburndale and played at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has not allowed more than one earned run in each of his last seven starts. Drew Storen and Sean Burnett each threw an inning of relief and Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Nearly a quarter of the way into the season, the Washington Nationals are hovering just two games above .500. It's not exactly where the Nationals or their fans thought they'd be after winning the NL East last year at 98-64, the best record in baseball. “We have not been very consistent,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said after the Nationals lost 13-4 to San Diego on Sunday as the Padres salvaged a split of their four-game series. “Part of that has been injuries, but you have to get past that.

Chien-Ming Wang won back-to-back starts for the first time in three years and Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman homered to lift the Washington Nationals to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night. Wang (2-2) allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, his longest outing since a stint of 7 1-3 innings on June 10, 2008, that began his previous consecutive wins run. Morse homered into the right-field seats in the third inning for his 21st shot this season. He also hit a run-scoring double in the first.

While the Lakewood BlueClaws were popping a little bubbly in their locker room, the Hagerstown Suns were still out on the field tending to some classroom activities. The BlueClaws celebrated a first-half Northern Division title in the South Atlantic League with an 8-3 victory over the Suns on Thursday at Municipal Stadium. While they celebrated, the Suns got some extra work on what manager Matt LeCroy termed "PFP. " "It's Pitchers' Fielding Practice," said LeCroy. "It's a teaching situation, and we've got to do it now and nip it in the bud. " In the top of the first inning, Lakewood's Anthony Gose sent a hopper to Suns first baseman Tyler Moore, who bobbled the ball.

New father Ian Desmond homered and tripled in his first game back from paternity leave and Livan Hernandez pitched eight strong innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the New York Mets 4-3 Thursday night. Desmond’s solo home run in the fifth was his third of the season and it gave Washington a 4-2 lead. He had missed the Nationals’ past two games after his wife, Chelsey, gave birth Tuesday to the couple’s first son, Grayson Wesley Desmond. The loss ended New York’s six-game winning streak, the team’s longest run since winning eight straight last June.

Tom Gorzelanny allowed only three hits in eight sharp innings against a struggling San Francisco lineup, and Michael Morse and Jerry Hairston Jr. drove in runs for Washington, helping the Nationals beat the Giants 2-0 Monday on Military Appreciation Night. Gorzelanny (1-2) hadn’t lasted eight innings in a game since Aug. 12, 2007, when he threw a shutout for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Giants. On Monday, he gave up Aaron Rowand¿s double leading off the game and single in the third, as well as Cody Ross¿ single in the eighth.

Ryan Zimmerman hit a run-scoring double in his return from the disabled list to spark a six-run seventh-inning as the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 on Tuesday night. Zimmerman had missed 58 games because of an injured abdominal muscle. He was given ovations from the crowd in pregame introductions and for each of his at-bats, with the loudest cheers coming after his double down the right-field line drove in the Nationals' first run of the seventh. Washington's last four runs in the inning scored with two outs.

Rick Ankiel hit two home runs, and Livan Hernandez allowed one run over six innings and drove in a run to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night. Ankiel led off the bottom of the first with a homer to center field. It was the second time this season the Nationals' opening hitter homered - Jayson Werth did so on June 16 against St. Louis. His homer in the fifth inning landed deep in the second deck in left. It was the fifth multihomer game of his career, and the solo shots gave Ankiel five home runs this season.

Drew Storen has had an excellent first full season in the major leagues, pitching very effectively as the closer for the Washington Nationals. In the first game of a doubleheader against Los Angeles on Thursday, his outing was quite forgettable. Storen (6-3) allowed three runs in the top of the ninth as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Nationals 7-4. The nightcap was rained out. Entering the game with the score tied at 4, Storen got an out, hit Jerry Sands, allowed a single to Rod Barajas before striking out Trent Oeltjen.

Nearly a quarter of the way into the season, the Washington Nationals are hovering just two games above .500. It's not exactly where the Nationals or their fans thought they'd be after winning the NL East last year at 98-64, the best record in baseball. “We have not been very consistent,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said after the Nationals lost 13-4 to San Diego on Sunday as the Padres salvaged a split of their four-game series. “Part of that has been injuries, but you have to get past that.

Rookies in the postseason, the Washington Nationals played like poised veterans. The Nationals escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, Tyler Moore blooped a two-out, two-run single in the eighth and Washington beat the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Sunday in an NL playoff opener. They have just four players with postseason experience on the roster. But they have the lead. “Not many people have probably watched too many Nationals games, but we have a great starting rotation and a great bullpen,” said Ian Desmond, who singled for his third hit in the go-ahead rally.

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.

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.

John Lannan pitched 5 2-3 shutout innings in his first start since replacing Stephen Strasburg in Washington's starting rotation, and the Nationals lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to six with a 2-0 win over the punchless New York Mets on Wednesday night. Ryan Zimmerman homered in the fourth off rookie Matt Harvey (3-5) and Ian Desmond connected off Jon Rauch in the eighth, helping the NL East leaders complete a three-game sweep and close in on the capital's first postseason baseball berth since the original Washington Senators in 1933.

Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 and allowed one run in six innings for his 15th win in what could be one of his final starts of the season as the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Tuesday night. For weeks, the impending shutdown of Strasburg has been the talk of baseball. Though the Nationals haven't said exactly what their limit for the star right-hander is, it's thought to be between 160 and 180 innings. After this start, his fourth straight win, when he allowed four hits and walked one, he has thrown 145 1/3 innings.

Michael Morse hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper also homered and the Washington Nationals became the latest team to tag a struggling Johan Santana in their 6-4 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night. Ross Detwiler tossed six solid innings and the Nationals sent Santana to his fifth loss in the last five starts. Handed a 2-0 lead, the two-time Cy Young Award winner was perfect through three innings. But the NL East leaders strung together four consecutive hits in the fourth, capped by Morse's 12th homer.

Wisconsin-native Jordan Zimmermann pitched his first game against Milwaukee, and his teammates hit three home runs in the Washington Nationals' 4-1 victory over the Brewers on Saturday night. Zimmermann (8-6) struck out six and gave up five hits in six innings. The right-hander, who was born in Auburndale and played at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has not allowed more than one earned run in each of his last seven starts. Drew Storen and Sean Burnett each threw an inning of relief and Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Stephen Strasburg gave a sneaky grin and a confident “yeah” when asked whether he was being more aggressive on the mound. He knew what the question was in reference to, and he appeared to have been waiting five days to answer it. After the righty's previous start, manager Davey Johnson said, “He really doesn't know who he is at times.” Strasburg knew who he was Wednesday, all right: Dominant. The 24-year-old ace struck out 11 in seven innings, Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa hit consecutive homers and the Washington Nationals completed a sweep of the free-falling New York Mets with a 5-2 victory.

Standing on third base with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Ryan Zimmerman still was bummed about the two plays he failed to make in the field earlier Thursday for the Washington Nationals. Knowing that the Cincinnati Reds' relievers are prone to throwing “dirtballs,” Zimmerman was aware that Alfredo Simon might very well miss his mark. Sure enough, Simon threw a wild pitch, and Zimmerman raced home, helping the Nationals extend their best start since moving to Washington with a 3-2 victory over the Reds.