Brewers Hammer Nats in the Sixth – The Post
Balester unravels in defeat – The Wash. Times
Things were going fairly well for the Nationals against the Brewers yesterday evening. The 4:35 game was played in ideal conditions and starter Collin Balester had reeled off five scoreless innings. The Nats picked up a run in the second to hold onto a slim 1-0 lead. Then the sixth inning happened — Balester could not get anybody out in the sixth, giving up a two-run homer to Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun. After putting the next two batters on base, Balester was gone. Jason Bergmann could not retire any of the two batters he faced either. Ron Villone eventually stopped the bleeding, but not before allowing another two baserunners. Neither of them scored though.

Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn were held hitless after both hit homers on Sunday.

THOMAS BOSWELL – Nats Hope New Star Doesn’t Burn Out – The Post
Bos compares Stephen Strasburg with other elite young hurlers, a list that is both encouraging and frightening. Most interesting and perhaps one of the more hopeful points is that Strasburg is something of a late bloomer compared to say Ben McDonald, who pitched an awful lot as a teen.

Washington Nationals, Nats, Milwaukee Brewers, Stephen Strasburg