In just his ninth start of the season, Detwiler pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings, allowing only three hits and one walk against while striking out three batters.  He was pulled with one out in the eighth inning, but the Nationals’ bullpen would take care of the rest, retiring the next five batters in a row en route to the 3-0 victory.

Detwiler’s performance may not make him a household name just yet, but it was enough to earn him “The Stat Line of the Night” for Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

But before they got down to business for their game Monday night, the Nats’ veterans decided to have some fun with the rookies by dressing them up as Smurfs for their flight to the Big Apple on Sunday night.

Stephen Strasburg earned the honor of dressing up as Papa Smurf, while Wilson Ramos had to settle with playing the role of Smurfette.  And would you believe that the people in New York didn’t even find their outfits strange enough to turn some heads (according to the Nats commentators)?  I guess Smurf costumes simply aren’t enough to earn a double-take in the Big Apple these days.

The latter made its way into the Marlins dugout in the top of the ninth inning, but even an attack on left fielder Logan Morrison couldn’t halt Florida’s offensive outburst, as they recorded five runs in the frame, increasing their lead to 11-2.  That nine-run cushion made it much easier for the Marlins players to get a laugh out of the sight of Morrison dancing around in an attempt to escape the grasps of this praying mantis.

In Chicago, it was A.J. Pierzynski breaking a 4-4 tie with the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the ninth via a walk-off balk, while in Washington, the Nationals claimed the extra innings victory over the Chicago Cubs when Jason Werth reached home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth.

Here is a look at the interesting endings from both games.

John Wall

Wall was asked to throw out the opening pitch prior to Friday’s game between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, but his pitch turned out to be more of a bounce-pass to home plate.  It is sad to think that the man who is responsible for carrying the ball up the court and dishing it out to his teammates during every possession can’t even throw a baseball 60 feet without it touching the ground.  Even sadder is the fact that the Nationals are considering adding Wall to their starting rotation.

Okay, so I may have lied about the last one.  Here is a look at Wall’s embarrassing opening pitch.

Hat Tip – [Washington Post]

The Nats’ second baseman terrorized Phillies starter Cliff Lee to the tune of two home runs and four RBIs.  He hit his first homer off Lee in the third inning with two runners on and two outs, giving Washington the 5-0 lead.  Leading off in the sixth inning, he hit his second home run of the evening, and tenth of the season.  That put the Nationals up by a score of 6-2.  They would go on to score four more, en route to the 10-2 victory.

Washington currently sits at the bottom of the NL East standings with a 23-31 record.  Perhaps their biggest problem has been producing runs, as they rank near the bottom of the league in that category with only 212 scored in 54 games.  If they hope to climb the standings, their offense will need to step up.  Espinosa led the charge last night.  As a result, he earns our “Stat Line of the Night” for Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

Hart had yet to hit a home run in his previous 21 games played this season, but he got on the board in a big way against the Washington Nationals with a trio of home runs, or what we like to refer to as a “bat-trick.”  His first two came off Nats starter Tom Gorzelanny in the first and fifth innings, while his third would come in the eighth off Doug Slaten.  Hart would accumulate a total of seven RBIs – a career-high – leading his Brewers to the 11-3 victory.

With a solid starting rotation and a line-up that includes the likes of Hart, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Price Fielder, many expected the Brewers to be the cream of the crop in the NL Central, but a rocky start to the season currently has them sitting 3.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for top spot in the division.  They have been able to climb back into contention by winning eight of their last ten, and if Corey Hart can start swinging the bat with more consistency, they should be able to continue their assent up the standings.  For now, Hart earns our “Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, May 23, 2011.

It has been a while since we last brought you the glorious sight of a telestrator dong, but the wait is over.

This one comes from Sunday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.  I’m not quite sure what the broadcasting crew at CSN saw in the press box at Nationals Park, but it appears as though they got quite the rise out of it.

Among those enemies is West Virginia Power starting pitcher Tyler Waldron, who exchanged a few words with Harper after striking him out in the third inning of a minor league game last night.

After being called out on strikes, Harper stood at the plate and removed his gloves and helmet while jawing with Waldron before eventually following him back to the Power dugout.  That caused both benches to clear, but order was eventually restored before hostilities could escalate.

Harper also hit a home run off Waldron in the first inning, his fourth of the season.  He is currently batting .286 with a .554 slugging percentage and a .394 on base percentage.  If he continues to find success at the plate with the Hagerstown Suns, it may not be long before he is starting bench clearing brawls in the Majors as a member of the Nationals.

Hat Tip – [The Nationals Enquirer]

Lowe’s terrible record against the Nationals, 1-6 in 9 starts with a 5.44 ERA, did not stand in the way of his performance last night.  With the Braves needing to eke out every win they can to stay close in the NL East, Lowe came up big.  He pitched 8 scoreless innings while scattering 6 hits and giving up no walks.  His 12 strikeouts were a new career-high as well.  The Braves closer Billy Wagner came into the game in the 9th and rode Lowe’s wave of dominance, striking out all 3 batters he faced.

The Braves are in a tight race in the NL East.  They stand one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies with only 17 games to play.  Any loss could possibly tank their chances at winning the division, and Derek Lowe was not about to let it happen on his watch.  His great start earns him “Stat Line of the Night” honors, as well as helping his team keep their division crown hopes alive.