Kuzul

Adam Dunn has already made it clear that he wants to be a Washington National for this season and in the future. With the numbers Dunn is putting up, he’s showing how he feels on and off the field.

At this point in the season, it would be easy for Dunn to look at where the Nationals are and just coast through the rest of the season. Yet Dunn refuses to do so and continues to go out everyday and produce for the Nationals.

After Wednesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks, Dunn’s two-homer game made him the league leader in home runs. When you look at the names alongside Dunn on the list, you will notice guys like Pujols and Votto in the midst of a playoff race, being forced to produce to help the team.

In Dunn’s case, if he decides to check out for the rest of the year, it would go unnoticed. The Big Donkey continues to play hard and help the team win any way he can.

When you are the Washington Nationals, there are not a ton of players wanting to play for you, especially not guys leading the league in homers.

Although it is true that Dunn is asking for a big contract during a time when the Nationals are trying to sign top draft pick Bryce Harper to what would have to be a record contract, Dunn is definitely showing the Nationals his worth.

Dunn continues to have a career year for the last place Nationals, carrying a batting average 25 points above his career average as well as fielding the ball surprising well over at first base.

Although he continues to live up to his reputation of striking out an absurd number of times, Dunn still manages to post a respectable average.

Other players on the Nationals notice how valuable Dunn is to the team and love having him alongside them in the dugout. It’s hard not to like a guy putting up huge numbers and at the same time having fun playing the game.

When you watch the Nationals and Dunn, one thing you are sure to see is the big first basemen smiling and having a good time as he chats up opposing players or as he blows a bubble while sprinting into second base.

Looking at how well Adam Dunn has played this season, on top of the fact that he WANTS to be a National, the Nats should definitely sign him because with the rotation they may be able to throw next season, a guy like Dunn can go a long way toward bringing the Nationals closer to the playoffs.

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After being traded to the Phillies just one day ago, Roy Oswalt took the mound against the Washington Nationals. This debut is one that the Phillies hope isn’t a sign of things to come from the 32-year-old right-hander.

The first batter Oswalt faced as a Phillie was Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan who started off the bottom of the first and Oswalt’s Phillies career with a triple. Adam Kennedy would then ground out to second base, scoring Morgan and giving the Nats an early lead.

In the third, Oswalt ran into more trouble, when Nationals starter Craig Stammen got the inning started with a single to right field. After Nyjer Morgan was hit by a pitch, Adam Kennedy bunted, leading to a throwing error by catcher Carlos Ruiz. Stammen was able to score and Morgan moved over to third base. Ryan Zimmerman drove in Morgan with a sac fly, giving the Nats a 3-0 lead.

The fifth inning had more scoring for the Nationals after a double by Josh Willingham drove in Adam Kenenedy and Adam Dunn. This capped off the scoring against Oswalt, although the Nationals also added three runs against reliever Chad Durbin in the seventh inning.

On the other side, Nationals pitcher Craig Stammen delivered a strong performance allowing one run, a homer by Jayson Werth, through six and a third innings. Tyler Clippard and Colin Balester relieved Stammen and closed out the game for the Nationals.

The Phillies must have been feeling good after bolstering their rotation with the likes of Oswalt, but the Nationals made sure that feeling didn’t last. The Phils can only hope that Oswalt can carry over his dominating pitching to the NL East and put them over the top.

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This headline is an idea that most any baseball fan would disagree with, myself included, except for last night. The loss of Strasburg did not deter the Nationals from winning against their division rival, the Atlanta Braves.

As the 40,000 fans were arriving at Nationals Park ready to see the phenom Stephen Strasburg in action, the young star was having trouble warming up. After a discussion with Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty and GM Mike Rizzo, the Nationals decided to scratch Strasburg from the start.

A wise decision, seeing as Strasburg is the future of the Nationals as well as possibly the future of the MLB. As disappointed as I’m sure all of these fans were at the sight of a non-Strasburg Nationals pitcher take the mound, they were still in store for a masterful pitching performance.

When the Nationals tabbed reliever Miguel Batista to start in place of Strasburg, I’m sure they were just hoping for him to keep the Nationals in the game until the rest of the bullpen could take over. I doubt they were expecting Batista to three-hit the Braves over five innings.

Batista stifled the Braves offense until he could hand the game over to his bullpen, where Sean Burnett, Drew Storen, and Matt Capps all pitched for the Nationals in the combined shutout.

Along with the baserunning performance put on by Nyjer Morgan in which he stole second, stole third, and scored on an overthrow by catcher Brian McCann, these fans did not go home without a show.

Instead of the 22-year-old known by almost every sports fan on the mound, there was a 39-year-old who some Nationals fans may not even know. But either way, the fans were there to see great pitching and that is exactly what they witnessed in the Nationals 3-0 win Tuesday night.

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