WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals have signed free-agent utility player Mark DeRosa to a one-year contact.

The 36-year-old Rosa has a .272 average with six clubs over 14 major league seasons. He was limited over the last two seasons after twice needing surgery on his left wrist.

He hit .279 in 86 at-bats this year with the San Francisco Giants.

The signing on Wednesday gives the Nationals some versatility on the bench. DeRosa has started games at six different positions during his career, including 75-plus starts at third base, second base, right field and shortstop.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals have signed free-agent utility player Mark DeRosa to a one-year contact.

The 36-year-old Rosa has a .272 average with six clubs over 14 major league seasons. He was limited over the last two seasons after twice needing surgery on his left wrist.

He hit .279 in 86 at-bats this year with the San Francisco Giants.

The signing on Wednesday gives the Nationals some versatility on the bench. DeRosa has started games at six different positions during his career, including 75-plus starts at third base, second base, right field and shortstop.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Former major league catcher Matt LeCroy has been promoted by the Washington Nationals to manager at AA Harrisburg from Single-A Potomac.

In announcing their minor league staffs Monday, the Nationals also said Tony Beasley will move from Harrisburg to AAA Syracuse.

Brian Rupp comes from the Kansas City Royals’ system to replace LeCroy at Potomac, while Tripp Keister will manage the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals after coaching in college.

At Potomac, Rupp will work with former major leaguers Chris Michalak as pitching coach, and Marlon Anderson as hitting coach.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Matthew LeCroy got a promotion. The manager will now be with the Harrisburg Senators for the 2012 season. The Harrisburg Senators’, an affiliate of the Major League Baseball team the Washington Nationals, previous manager, Tony Beasley, will also be getting a promotion to the AAA team Syracuse Chiefs. The Chiefs current manager, Randy Knorr, is moving up to the Nationals to be a bench coach.

Before joining with the Washington Nationals to manage, LeCroy was a designated hitter and catcher in Major League Baseball. He started playing in 2000 for the Minnesota Twins but by 2006, medical issues kept the talented athlete from performing at his peak. Though he spent a few years playing for minor league teams, he eventually needed to switch to managing. In 2007 he joined the Washington Nationals and has moved up from managing the Hagerstown Suns, an A team, to managing the Advanced A team, the Potomac Nationals for the 2011 season. Now he will be managing the AA team, the Harrisburg Senators starting in the 2012 season.

Under LeCroy, the Potomac Nationals made it to the 2011 playoffs, but fell just short of the championship. In game 5 of the Northern Division Championship Series, the Potomac Nationals lost to the Fredrick Keys. Despite the loss, it was still a great season for the Potomac Nationals. The team had a regular season record of 68-71, and was 31-39 in the second half. The team won the Northern Division. In his two years at the Hagerstown Suns, the Suns did not have the type of success that the Potomac Nationals had. In 2009, the team finished at the bottom of the South Atlantic League. The next year, in 2010, the team improved by one spot in the league.

The Harrisburg Senators have been a successful team in the region. In 2011, the team made the playoffs. In that season, despite the fact that the team clinched the division, the team faltered late in the season. In early September, the Harrisburg region received a lot of rain which caused the Senators’ field to flood. Due to the flooding, the team played all three games against the Richmond Flying Squirrels in Richmond. The Senators lost all three games. Despite the disappointing finish to the season, the team even won the 2011 Bob Freitas Award for AA teams. The award is given to teams that demonstrate a successful and long lasting presence in the sport.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former major league catcher Randy Knorr is being promoted from minor league manager to major league bench coach by the Washington Nationals.

Knorr replaces Pat Corrales, who became Washington’s bench coach when Davey Johnson took over as manager after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned during last season.

Otherwise, the Nationals announced Thursday that Johnson’s staff will stay the same in 2012: hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty, third base coach Bo Porter, first base coach Trent Jewett and bullpen coach Jim Lett.

Knorr retired as a player in 2004. He is 384-380 as a manager in the minors, including at Triple-A Syracuse in 2011. He was the Nationals’ bullpen coach for part of the 2006 season and all of 2009.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former major league catcher Randy Knorr is being promoted from minor league manager to major league bench coach by the Washington Nationals.

Knorr replaces Pat Corrales, who became Washington’s bench coach when Davey Johnson took over as manager after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned during last season.

Otherwise, the Nationals announced Thursday that Johnson’s staff will stay the same in 2012: hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty, third base coach Bo Porter, first base coach Trent Jewett and bullpen coach Jim Lett.

Knorr retired as a player in 2004. He is 384-380 as a manager in the minors, including at Triple-A Syracuse in 2011. He was the Nationals’ bullpen coach for part of the 2006 season and all of 2009.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP)—Former major league catcher Randy Knorr is being promoted
from minor league manager to major league bench coach by the Washington
Nationals.

Knorr replaces Pat Corrales, who became Washington’s bench coach when Davey
Johnson took over as manager after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned during last
season.

Otherwise, the Nationals announced Thursday that Johnson’s staff will stay
the same in 2012: hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty,
third base coach Bo Porter, first base coach Trent Jewett and bullpen coach Jim
Lett.

Knorr retired as a player in 2004. He is 384-380 as a manager in the minors,
including at Triple-A Syracuse in 2011. He was the Nationals’ bullpen coach for
part of the 2006 season and all of 2009.

* Washington Nationals catcher was abducted for 48 hours

* Ramos’ ordeal shone light on crime in Venezuela

CARACAS, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Venezuelan authorities have
charged eight people over the kidnapping of Major League
Baseball player Wilson Ramos(notes) that threw a spotlight on violent
crime in the South American nation.

The 24-year-old Washington Nationals catcher was freed last
week in a hail of bullets during a raid by security forces on a
mountain hide-out two days after he was snatched from his
parents’ home in Venezuela during an off-season visit.

The detainees include a 74-year-old man and one woman.

The charges against them include kidnapping, criminal
association, use of a stolen vehicle and possessing illegal
arms, the attorney general’s office said late on Wednesday.

Some of the suspects were held during the raid, while
others were picked up afterward in an operation that President
Hugo Chavez’s government touted as a major success.

Detractors, however, say the fact Ramos was kidnapped in
the first place shows how uncontrolled crime has become in
Venezuela during Chavez’s nearly 13 years in power.

Ramos is one of many Venezuelans who have found fame and
fortune playing baseball in the U.S. big leagues. His abduction
shocked baseball-loving Venezuelans and brought an outpouring
of anxiety during the 48 hours of his disappearance.

Kidnappings, armed robberies and murders are frighteningly
common in Venezuela, an OPEC member nation with enormous oil
wealth alongside widespread poverty.

Ramos is one of the more highly regarded catching prospects
in baseball. He had a .267 batting average with 15 home runs
and 52 runs batted in for the Nationals during the 2011 season,
his first in the major leagues.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Eyanir Chinea and
Mohammad Zargham)

It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, though the relatives of some ballplayers have previously been held captive for ransom.

Police found the kidnappers’ vehicle abandoned in the nearby town of Bejuma on Thursday morning, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said. He said anti-kidnapping units led by “the best investigators we have” were dispatched to the area in central Carabobo state.

He vowed to rescue Ramos and capture his abductors.

“We’re taking on this investigation with everything we’ve got,” El Aissami said.

Major League Baseball and the Nationals said the leagues’ Department of Investigations was working with authorities.

“Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time,” the team and the MLB said in a joint statement, adding there would be no further comment.

Ramos was outside with his father and two brothers when the SUV pulled up with four men inside, three of whom got out and seized the player, Marcano said.

“The abductors haven’t made contact with the family or with anyone,” said Domingo Alvarez, vice president of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. “We’re worried.”

Ramos is a key young player for the Nationals. As a rookie in 2011, he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games. He also threw out 19 of 67 runners attempting to steal a base, a 28 percent success rate that ranked third among qualifying catchers in the National League.

Washington acquired Ramos from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for All-Star relief pitcher Matt Capps in July 2010.

He is one of dozens of Venezuelans in professional baseball, and security while at home has increasingly become a concern for the players and their families as a rising wave of kidnappings has hit the wealthy as well as the middle class.

Venezuelan police said 618 kidnappings were reported in 2009, and the numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. In 1998, when President Hugo Chavez was elected, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Security experts say the real number of kidnappings today is much higher because many cases aren’t reported to authorities.

The wealthy have taken steps to protect themselves. Sales of armored cars have soared in the past several years. Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to their homeland to play in the winter league.

“Every major league player has his own security, but we don’t know if he had his security there at that time,” Alvarez said.

Venezuela’s government said today it has sent its top investigators to solve the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, a case that has shaken the nation’s elite athletes and focused attention on the country’s sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom.

Police found the kidnappers’ vehicle abandoned in a nearby town Thursday (US time) morning, said Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami, who called it “a very important find.”

He said anti-kidnapping units led by “the best investigators we have” were dispatched to the area in central Carabobo state and he vowed to rescue Ramos and capture his abductors.

“We’re taking on this investigation with everything we’ve got,” El Aissami said.

The 24-year-old player, who had just finished his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home in the town of Santa Ines on Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out “and they took him away,” said Ramos’ agent, Gustavo Marcano.

“The abductors haven’t made contact with the family or with anyone,” said Domingo Alvarez, vice president of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, in a telephone interview. “We’re worried.”

Major League Baseball and the Nationals issued a joint statement that the league’s Department of Investigations was working with authorities.

“Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time,” the statement said, adding there would be no further comment.

Ramos is a key young player for the Nationals. As a rookie in 2011, he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games. He also threw out 19 of 67 runners attempting to steal a base, a 28 percent success rate that ranked third among qualifying catchers in the National League.

Washington acquired Ramos from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for All-Star relief pitcher Matt Capps in July 2010.

He is one of dozens of Venezuelans in the major leagues, and some of their families already have been targeted in a rising wave of kidnappings affecting the wealthy.

Venezuelan police said that 618 kidnappings were reported in 2009, and the numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. In 1998, when President Hugo Chavez was elected, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Security experts say the real number of kidnappings today is much higher because many cases aren’t reported to authorities.

The wealthy have taken steps to protect themselves; sales of armored cars have soared in the past several years. Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to their homeland to play in the winter league.

“Every major league player has his own security, but we don’t know if he had his security there at that time,” Alvarez said. He said it’s the first time a major league player has been abducted in the country, though other players’ relatives have been held for ransom in the past.

Former Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Armas, who lives in Venezuela, said young players have been taking additional security measures due to the risk of kidnappings.

“But many of them are careless sometimes. No one seriously thinks that this can happen to us, and much less in a country like ours where people love baseball,” Armas said in a telephone interview.

“Most of us came from humble families. We still have relatives who live in poor areas, we frequent those places and unfortunately the criminals are getting more soulless all the time,” he said.

In November 2009, the 56-year-old mother of Victor Zambrano, who retired after a seven-year Major League career, was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after she was kidnapped. The former pitcher’s cousin, Richard Mendez Zambrano, had been kidnapped a few days earlier, and was later killed.

In June 2009, Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s 11-year-old son and brother-in-law were kidnapped and released a day later.

The mother of former player Ugueth Urbina, who was a two-time All-Star pitcher, spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.

Venezuela has one of Latin America’s highest murder rates, and violent crime has worsened in recent years. As ransom kidnapping has soared, the government passed a revised law in 2009 that stiffened prison sentences for kidnapping and also allows authorities to freeze the banks accounts of victims’ families to prevent them from paying ransom.

Ramos had been training and planned to start playing with his Venezuelan team next week. Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Melvin Mora, also a Venezuelan, proposed that the Venezuelan league ought to call off its games “until he appears.”

But league president Jose Grasso said that won’t happen. “Turning out the stadium lights isn’t a solution,” Grasso said, calling Ramos’ abduction “an isolated event.”

- AP

By Jean Bentley

    

November 10, 2011 2:05 PM ET

A group of kidnappers abducted Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos from his home in Venezuela Wednesday night (Nov. 9). 

Although Venezuelan officials have confirmed that Ramos is still alive, the kidnappers have still not contacted his family. 

The Nationals and Major League Baseball issued a joint statement saying, “Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is working with the appropriate authorities on this matter. Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have been instructed to make no further comment.”

“Suspending any ballgames will not help Wilson Ramos at all,” says winter league president Jose Grasso. “Turning the lights off is not a solution. We will keep wilson present in our thoughts and prayers, but suspending activity won’t help.”

Photo/Video credit: Getty Images

Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela, where he
had been preparing to play baseball in a winter league.

The Venezuelan state crime prevention unit known as Dibise
said on its Twitter account that security officials had
confirmed that Ramos is still alive, without disclosing any
further information.

Ramos is the first Major League Baseball player to be
kidnapped in the South American nation, where relatives of
several major leaguers have been targeted, and security will be
tightened, according to the Venezuelan Baseball League.

Major League Baseball said its Department of Investigations
is working with the appropriate authorities on the matter.

“Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family
and our thoughts are with them at this time,” the Nationals and
MLB said in a joint statement about yesterday’s kidnapping.
“Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have
been instructed to make no further comment.”

The 24-year-old Ramos played his first full major-league
season in 2011 and hit .267 with 15 home runs and 58 runs batted
in while supplanting 14-time All-Star Ivan Rodriguez as the
Nationals’ regular catcher.

Ramos, who has been training with the Aragua Tigers, was
visiting his mother’s home in Santa Ines, Carabobo state, when
two gunmen entered at around 7:15 p.m. local time and forced him
into an orange SUV, according to a government statement.

“Extremely upsetting news about Ramo,” Nationals relief
pitcher Drew Storen said on his Twitter account. “Thoughts and
prayers with him. Scary situation.”

$414,500 Salary

Ramos made a major-league minimum $414,500 with the
Nationals last season. The Washington Post said he was planning
to play about 10 winter league games with the Tigers.

Tarek El-Aissami, Venezuela’s interior and justice
minister, said while the vehicle believed to be used has been
recovered there’s been no contact with the kidnappers.

“Prudence and moderation must be an important part in this
very difficult time,” the Venezuelan club’s general manager,
Rafael Rodriguez Rendon, said in a statement on the team’s
website.

The U.S. State Department has cautioned travelers that
violent crime in Venezuela is pervasive, both in the capital,
Caracas, and in the interior. The per capita murder rate is one
of the top five in the world and the most recent surveys showed
kidnappings in 2009 increased 40 percent to 60 percent from the
previous year, according to the U.S. State Department’s website.

In 2009, the 11-year-old son of catcher Yorvit Torrealba
was kidnapped and returned after a ransom was paid, while the
mother of ex-pitcher Victor Zambrano was rescued after being
taken. The previous year, the brother of Henry Blanco, another
major-league catcher from Venezuela, was shot and killed by
kidnappers after being abducted in a Caracas suburb.

Players Targeted

Mario Marmol Garcia, a Venezuelan criminal lawyer who
consults on kidnapping cases, estimates there are eight to 10
abductions a day in the country. He said major-league baseball
players are targeted by kidnapping gangs because they’re paid
large salaries in U.S. dollars.

“What happens is that Venezuelan baseball players, because
they come from humble, low-income backgrounds, even though they
earn a lot of money, they don’t have that mentality of
protecting themselves, of contracting private security services,
bodyguards and security rings,” Garcia said by telephone.

The kidnapping unit of the Body of Scientific, Penal and
Criminal Investigations, known as CICPC, and the Venezuelan
National Guard are investigating the Ramos case, the government
statement said. Jose Grasso, president of the Venezuelan
Baseball League, said in a telephone interview that there will
be increased security measures for major-league players.

“We need to transmit the message to MLB that we do watch
out for the security of our foreign players in the country and
that we’ll tighten security,” Grasso said.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Erik Matuszewski in New York at
matuszewski@bloomberg.net;
Charlie Devereux in Caracas at
cdevereux3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

The free-agent right-hander, 31, posted a 4-3 record in 11 starts with Washington last season in his return to the major leagues after missing over two seasons with a shoulder injury.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed but Washington media said the was worth $4 million.

“I was very pleased with his progress and overall production last year and am anxious to see what he can do with a completely healthy offseason,” Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement.

Wang spent five years with the New York Yankees, posting back-to-back 19-win seasons in 2006-07, before undergoing shoulder surgery in 2009.

He signed with the Nationals in 2010 but did not make his major league return until the 2011 season.

“I am appreciative of the opportunity and all the support the Nationals gave me to make the comeback,” said Wang, who has a 59-29 big league record. — Reuters

Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming signed
a one-year contract to remain with the Washington Nationals for
the 2012 Major League Baseball season, the team said on
Friday.

The free-agent right-hander, 31, posted a 4-3 record in 11
starts with Washington last season in his return to the major
leagues after missing over two seasons with a shoulder injury.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed but
Washington media said the was worth $4 million.

“I was very pleased with his progress and overall
production last year and am anxious to see what he can do with
a completely healthy offseason,” Nationals General Manager Mike
Rizzo said in a statement.

Wang spent five years with the New York Yankees, posting
back-to-back 19-win seasons in 2006-07, before undergoing
shoulder surgery in 2009.

He signed with the Nationals in 2010 but did not make his
major league return until the 2011 season.

“I am appreciative of the opportunity and all the support
the Nationals gave me to make the comeback,” said Wang, who has
a 59-29 big league record.

Washington Nationals Manager Davey Johnson, who guided the team to 15 wins in their final 20 games,
will return to manage the Major League Baseball club in 2012.

Johnson, who led the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series
title, replaced Jim Riggleman, who left the Nationals in June
because management wouldn’t discuss his contract option for next
season.

“It became obvious that the Nationals would be best served
if Davey Johnson would continue as manager,” General Manager
Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “His baseball acumen coupled
with a proper offseason of planning, including a full regiment
of spring training, should put our players in a position to
succeed in 2012.”

The Nationals were 40-43 under Johnson last season,
finishing 80-81, in third place in the National League Eastern
division.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Curtis Eichelberger in Washington at
ceichelberge@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

Read More: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals will name Davey Johnson as manager for the 2012 season, reports William Ladson, citing “a baseball source.” The MLB.com scribe says the Nationals will announce the hire upon the conclusion of the World Series, which could take place as soon as Thursday.

Johnson served as Washington’s interim manager after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned in June, guiding the team to a 40-43 finish to the season. Though he’s managed at the Major League level for 15 seasons, he had not managed a team since the 2000 Los Angeles Dodgers prior to filling in for Riggleman. His career record stands at 1188-931 and includes a World Series championship with the 1986 New York Mets.

Last Thursday, Rizzo told Mark Zuckerman that he had interviewed other candidates for the club’s managerial position, though no word of precisely who else the Nationals considered has yet surfaced. However, it’s long been suspected that Washington would invite Johnson to return.

Please visit Federal Baseball for more Nationals coverage.

Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Stan Kasten, former president of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, talks about the contract offers St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is likely to see if he opts for free agency following this season.
Klein speaks with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Taipei (The China Post/ANN) – Chien-Ming Wang, the Taiwan-born U.S. pro-baseball player on the Washington Nationals squad arrived in the country on a trip yesterday, saying he was ready for the coming season after his dramatic comeback last season in a sputtering career dogged by injuries and self-doubt.

Arguably the most visible Taiwanese player in U.S. Major League Baseball, Wang also said he would like to meet Yani Tseng, Taiwan’s world No. 1 female golf player, whose fans were three-deep at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 2011 yesterday.

But Wang has a tight schedule. He is back in Taiwan primarily to join his teammates on the Taiwan national team to square off with a team of U.S. major leaguers in a five-game All-Star series scheduled for Nov. 2-6 in three different cities.

In a sharp contrast with the self-doubt he exhibited during his home visit last year, the right-armed pitcher exuded confidence, a far cry from the time when he was recuperating in Florida.

“Back in Taiwan, I am supposed to keep the strength of my arm intact and be ready for the games next year,” said Wang, whose earlier-than-scheduled arrival in Taiwan had taken the majority of media by surprise.

Asked in the arrival lounge whether he would like to meet Yani Tseng, another sweetheart of Taiwan sports fans, Wang said: “Naturally.”

Wang is expected to be the starting pitcher for the Taiwan team in at least one of the five games. Looking forward to playing again with his former teammates, Wang said: “It has been a long time since I last played with them.” Wang was hopeful that he will be able to remain on the mound for at least three innings.

Asked whether he has other career plans beyond the ball park, where dreams come true or get dashed, as in the case of Hong-Chi Kuo, another Taiwan pro-baseball player in the United States, Wang said he had no other career plans at present. “I hope my arm will become more and more powerful and I will remain in good health,” he said, revealing what might be interpreted as a professional dream, or part of it.

Kuo, dogged by injuries last season and said to be in no mood to play again, is reportedly considering pursuing a career in a different field.

Shortly after his arrival with his wife and son, Wang returned to Tainan, his hometown, by the Taiwan High Speed Rail.

“It is nice to be back in Taiwan,” he said, adding he wanted to go home first before considering who to meet. Wang is expected to meet manufacturers and advertisement agents and discuss with them his spokesman roles for their products.

The best thing to do right now is to have a good rest before proceeding with preparations for the All-Star games, he said.

Read More: Roger Bernadina (RF – WAS), Ian Desmond (SS – WAS), Ryan Mattheus (P – WAS), Stephen Strasburg (P – WAS), Drew Storen (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, Florida Marlins

Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg didn’t deliver just a “dominant’ performance in Wednesday’s 3-2 Nationals season finale victory. What he delivered can only be described as “Strasburgian.”

Not hampered by a pitch limit, the young Nats phenom stepped on the mound during the final game at Sun Life Stadium in Florida and announced to Major League baseball: “I’m back.” Strasburg earned his first and only victory in 2011 by pitching six innings, giving up only one hit, no runs, walking two and racking up an astounding 10 strike outs. He threw 79 pitches, 54 for strikes and at one point hit 100 mph on the radar gun. It was a huge cherry on top of the Nationals 2011 cake and a performance Nationals fans will no doubt be talking about until the start of the 2012 season. Strasburg, who just returned from Tommy John surgery recovery, finishes the season 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in five games.

The Nationals were able to get on top of the Marlins in the fifth when shortstop Ian Desmond hit a two-run single. The Marlins were able to get one back off reliever Ryan Mattheus to make the score 2-1, but Roger Bernadina added an insurance run in the eight on an RBI single. Nationals closer Drew Storen recorded his 43rd save in the ninth.

The Nationals complete their 2011 campaign 80-81 and third place in the NL East.

Read More: Stephen Strasburg (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves

The Washington Nationals were defeated by the Atlanta Braves 7-4 on Friday night. The Nationals tried to rally back after a rough start from Stephen Strasburg, but the the offense’s gas just ran out. Friday’s loss ended the Nationals current win streak at five games.

Strasburg didn’t have early control of his pitches, often going to the rosin bag, and the Braves were able to tag him for three runs, two earned in the first inning. However, Strasburg settled after that and put zeros across the board for the next three innings. The young pitcher went four innings total, walked none and struck out three. He has not offered up a walk to the 114 Major League batters he has faced going back to August 2010. He threw 75 pitches on Friday, 46 going for strikes.

It is the first loss of 2011 for Strasburg who is now 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA.

Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth and catcher Wilson Ramos both went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs which was the Nationals scoring for the night.