The Washington Nationals losing a series is always disappointing, but double so when it is to the corrupt Baltimore Orioles for oft stated reasons like “evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.” The Baltimore fanboys in D.C. sports media are surely thrilled. Still, the Nats had a strong stretch through the seemingly most difficult part of the schedule (CSN Washington) and a solid 10-8 record in interleague play. They have a

Pitching continues to be a strong spot, perhaps historically strong (THOMAS BOSWELL, The Post), but a lot of that is coming from the #1 and #2 starters Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Strasburg shuts down in September, so that’s a problem. Jordan Zimmermann continues to not get run support and I think that is taking its toll. Maybe we’re just spoiled as Nats fans which seems odd because we suffered through a lot of bad starting pitching for years. Hey, John Lannan may be back for some doubleheaders too (The Nats Blog)!

Ryan Zimmerman got a cortisone shot because he’s got bone on bone in his shoulder (Federal Baseball). Ouch. I’d have sent him to the DL, the long-term risk of injury/aging of the shoulder should be the guide here. He hasn’t been hitting at all, so putting somebody else in there isn’t going to hurt and may help in the short term. I understand why he’s still out there though and don’t envy having to make that decision.

The Nats get the top of the rotation for the Colorado Rockies series in Denver. That will be interesting, seeing how they pitch in the thin air, but perhaps more importantly, how do they hit. Will they try too hard?

The next three games are unusual 8:40 p.m. starts followed by a 3:10 p.m. start on Thursday. Then, they go from the highest elevation in the majors to the second highest elevation for a weekend series with the Atlanta Braves.

Boswell chatted for 2 hours (25 responses) today.