Jun 26, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman
Anthony Rendon(6) and third baseman
Ryan Zimmerman(11) miss a ball hit by Chicago Cubs first baseman
Anthony Rizzo(not pictured) in the first inning during a game at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Checkout some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web:
Zimmerman getting more infield work
CHICAGO — Ryan Zimmerman hasn’t played third base since April 12, but that could change soon.
Zimmerman missed close to two months due to a thumb injury. That time off allowed him to rest his ailing right shoulder, which has bothered him in recent seasons. That, coupled with Anthony Rendon’s emergence, pushed Zimmerman to left field, where he’s played in 23 of the 24 games since he returned from the DL on June 3.
Zimmerman, who’s made 95 percent of his career appearances at third, took ground balls at third for the first time since coming off the DL before Monday’s game in Milwaukee. Read full article here.
LaRoche deserves All-Star nod
CHICAGO — Adam LaRoche is putting together an All-Star-caliber year, but faces an uphill battle at a strong position.
As of the latest balloting update, LaRoche sits outside the top five vote-getters among National League first basemen. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, who was second among NL players at the position with a .916 OPS and 15 home runs entering Saturday, leads the way with nearly two million votes. Read full article here.
Atlanta Braves Even With Washington Nationals in Most Areas; Who will Step Up?
As the midpoint of the MLB regular season approaches, the Atlanta Braves find themselves exactly where most might have supposed they would be. They are in a tie with the Washington Nationals for first place in the National League East. It would have been fairly easy to assume the Nationals would be in this spot because of the strength of their pitching staff going into the season. The surprise team of the two, if there is one, is definitely the Braves. However, surprises are long forgotten at this point and it is time to find out which team is best.
Offensively the Nationals have been better in runs scored, hits and doubles. Other areas like RBI, triples and such see the Nats and Braves neck and neck headed to the halfway point while the Braves have hit more home runs and struck out a few more times. For the most part each team has the same ability to score a bunch of runs in a bunch of games or get shutout four days in a row if they suddenly forget how to hit. Then since the offense is similar, the difference must be in the pitching staff. Read full article here.