Jayson Werth

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.

Roy Oswalt pitched eight-hit ball for eight innings, Wilson Valdez and Jimmy Rollins each drove in two runs and Hunter Pence homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. The Phillies, winners for the 81st time this year, scored twice in the fourth and three times in the sixth as Oswalt (6-7) struck out nine - the most since joining Philadelphia last July. He walked one and had runners on in every inning but the second and third.

Nearly five months into his first season with the Washington Nationals, Jayson Werth believes he's finally getting into a groove at the plate. Given the lofty expectations that came with his $126 million contract, the upswing is quite overdue. Werth hit a three-run homer, Ross Detwiler took a four-hitter into the seventh inning and the Nationals beat Arizona 4-1 Monday night to extend the Diamondbacks' losing streak to a season-high six games. Henry Blanco homered for the Diamondbacks, who have scored only seven runs in their last six games.

Adam LaRoche’s 10th inning fielder’s choice scored Jayson Werth with the winning run, and the Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Friday night. With one out, Werth grounded to shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, who threw wildly to first. Werth took second on the error. Werth stole third without a throw. After the stolen base, the Brewers played a five-man infielder with center fielder Carlos Gomez playing between first and second. LaRoche bounced to first against Zach Braddock (0-1)

 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.

Jason Hammel pitched into the seventh inning for his second win in 13 starts and the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday night to end a five-game losing streak. Hammel (5-8) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings as Colorado won for the first time in eight road games. The right-hander was coming off his shortest outing of the season, when he gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings in a loss to Kansas City. All three Rockies runs came in the fourth.

Livan Hernandez pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and drove in two runs with a pair of singles, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Friday night. Hernandez (7-11) outpitched All-Star Cole Hamels (13-7) to rebound from a rough outing at Colorado last Saturday. He gave up one unearned run and four hits. The streaking Phillies were coming off a franchise-best 9-1 road trip. The four-time NL East champions have a healthy lead in the division and lead the majors with a 77-41 record.

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 showed why his manager put him in the No. 3 spot for his fifth career game. The 19-year-old phenom hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth inning, lifting the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night. Ross Detwiler (3-1) did his part as well. The left-hander allowed one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings in his longest outing this season. He retired the first eight batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.

Barely three weeks ago, Jayson Werth vowed that changes had to be made for the Washington Nationals to win regularly. Werth never specified what those changes were, but since then the Nationals have certainly played well. On Thursday night, they won their sixth straight — their longest winning streak since the end of the 2009 season — and did it dramatically. Danny Espinosa’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th gave the Washington a 7-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

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.

A familiar cast of characters helped the Washington Nationals complete a lopsided, season-opening three-game sweep of the payroll-slashing, talent-trading Miami Marlins. Now should come more of a test: A visit to the reigning NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds starting Friday. In Washington's 6-1 victory over Miami in the finale Thursday - the combined series score was 11-1 - Jayson Werth tacked on a three-run homer, Ryan Zimmerman's three hits included a two-run double, Bryce Harper had two more hits, and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann went six innings.

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.

Nearly three months ago, Jayson Werth broke his left wrist trying to make a catch in a game the Washington Nationals lost. It was a memorable game. Cole Hamels hit rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch and Harper stole home. At the time, the Nationals were 18-10 and led the NL East by a half-game. Without Werth, Washington went 43-32 and increased its lead by two games. Werth returned to the lineup Thursday night and joined in the fun. He had a single and an RBI groundout in the Nationals' 3-0 win over Hamels and the Phillies.

Cole Hamels gave up five hits over eight innings and Hunter Pence hit a pair of two-run home runs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-3 win against the Washington Nationals on Sunday night. Hamels was in line for his 11th career complete game as he batted to lead off the ninth. The Phillies' offense then batted around, scoring six runs, and Hamels was lifted for pinch-hitter John Mayberry when his spot came up the second time in the inning. The Phillies snapped a seven-game losing streak against Washington dating back to last year and avoided the sweep in the three-game series.

During a nerve-racking season in which half their games were decided by one run, the Washington Nationals enjoyed a rare blowout that manager Davey Johnson begrudgingly acknowledged was “a laugher.” Gio Gonzalez allowed one run over seven innings and the Nationals hit a season-high three home runs in a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. “We haven't won one of those in a while,” Johnson said. “It's not quite what I call a laugher. That's a smiler.

Bryce Harper showed why his manager put him in the No. 3 spot for his fifth career game. The 19-year-old phenom hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth inning, lifting the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night. Ross Detwiler (3-1) did his part as well. The left-hander allowed one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings in his longest outing this season. He retired the first eight batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.

Nearly five months into his first season with the Washington Nationals, Jayson Werth believes he's finally getting into a groove at the plate. Given the lofty expectations that came with his $126 million contract, the upswing is quite overdue. Werth hit a three-run homer, Ross Detwiler took a four-hitter into the seventh inning and the Nationals beat Arizona 4-1 Monday night to extend the Diamondbacks' losing streak to a season-high six games. Henry Blanco homered for the Diamondbacks, who have scored only seven runs in their last six games.

Avoiding a close pitch led to the Washington Nationals tying the game in the bottom of the ninth. Getting plunked an inning later propelled them past the Philadelphia Phillies. Ian Desmond hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning, then Jonny Gomes was nicked by a pitch from Brad Lidge with the bases loaded in the 10th, giving the Nationals an unlikely 5-4 win on a rainy Sunday. It was the second improbable victory in three games for the Nationals. They beat the Phillies, who have the best record in the majors, with a six-run rally in the ninth Friday night.