Strasburg, Nats get back on track

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Stephen Strasburg tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out nine.

No issues with misplaced Hot Stuff. No biceps tightness or general fatigue. No struggles with fastball command.

No, Stephen Strasburg took the mound Saturday at Nationals Park, struck out the side in the top of the first and then over seven shutout innings put to rest any of the questions that may have been hovering over him for the last two weeks.

And thanks to Jesus Flores' solo homer and Xavier Nady's pinch-hit double, the Nationals pulled off a 2-0 victory over the Braves before a sellout crowd of 41,042 to maintain their standing all alone at the top of the NL East.

Rich Dubroff has the full game story on CSNwashington.com, and he's also got updates on Brad Lidge, who is set to begin a rehab assignment Monday and Wilson Ramos, who already had surgery to repair torn meniscus in his right knee but is still waiting for surgery to repair his torn ACL.

Game 51 (Take 2): Braves at Nats

File photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Stephen Strasburg faces Brandon Beachy today at Nationals Park.

What a difference a day makes. Gone are the menacing clouds, the rain and the tornado threats. In are blue skies, cool temperatures and no threat whatsoever of delays.

So, let's try this again. Stephen Strasburg is on the mound. Michael Morse is in right field. Jesus Flores is behind the plate. There are a couple of changes to Davey Johnson's lineup: Because the Braves decided to skip left-hander Mike Minor's turn in the rotation and keep right-hander Brandon Beachy on schedule, Steve Lombardozzi returns to left field and the leadoff spot. Also, Morse and Adam LaRoche have been flip-flopped, so LaRoche is now hitting cleanup with Morse fifth.

The biggest change of the day, however, involves the postgame concert. Dierks Bentley had to cancel due to a family emergency, so Big and Rich will now be performing. Adjust accordingly.

I'm actually off today, but Rich Dubroff will have full coverage on CSNwashington.com, and I'll be sure to link to his articles here. I'll be back at the park for tomorrow's abbreviated series finale against the Braves...

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 183
Weather: Mostly sunny, 76 degrees, Wind 12 mph LF to RF

NATIONALS (29-21)
LF Steve Lombardozzi
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

Morse ready at last for his Opening Day

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Michael Morse says he's "100 percent" healthy again.

Michael Morse reached into his locker and pulled out a custom set of spikes, with words stitched into each heel. On the left, it read "Opening." On the right, it read "Day."

He planned to wear them Friday night (before the game was rained out) when he finally took the field at Nationals Park for the first time this season.

"June 1," he said. "Who would've thunk it?"

Certainly not Morse, and certainly not the Nationals, back on March 6 when some minor discomfort in his upper right back forced him to be scratched from a spring training game at Walt Disney World.

Upon feeling that discomfort while playing catch in the outfield that afternoon, Morse wasn't even sure he should bother mentioning it to

Game postponed, no makeup announced

Tonight's series opener between the Nationals and Braves has been postponed due to dangerous storms sweeping through the area, the club just announced. No makeup date has been set, though manager Davey Johnson said he believes it will be played in August during the Braves' next trip to Washington.

Though the forecast looked unfavorable all afternoon, and though tornado warnings were issued in other parts of the region, the Nationals tried to hold out hope the game could be played. Eventually, they realized it wouldn't be possible.

Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to start for the Nationals against Atlanta left-hander Mike Minor. Michael Morse was due to make his season debut after coming off the disabled list earlier in the day.

Johnson said Strasburg will now start tomorrow's 4:05 p.m. game, with Gio Gonzalez starting Sunday's 1:35 p.m. series finale. The Braves will skip over Minor's rotation spot and instead go with NL ERA leader

Game 51: Braves at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

The forecast tonight at Nationals Park is not promising.

Stephen Strasburg on the mound. Michael Morse in right field. Bryce Harper in center field. The Nationals in first place. What more could you ask for?

Well, no rainout would be nice. Unfortunately, tonight's forecast is not promising at all. The tarp has been covering the infield all afternoon, even though to this point there have only been some light sprinkles. The heavy stuff, though, is due to hit right around gametime and last well into the evening.

That wouldn't seem to bode well for this game being played, but we'll have to wait and see what the Nationals decide to do. Remember, the home team (consulting with the visitors and MLB) has control of these things up until lineup cards are exchanged. After that, the umpires call the shots.

[UPDATE AT 3:40 P.M. -- It's official now: Michael Morse has been activated off the DL and will hit cleanup tonight. Corey Brown has been optioned back to Class AAA Syracuse.]

Stay tuned for updates...

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 183
Weather: Strong storms, 77 degrees, Wind 15 mph RF to LF

NATIONALS (29-21)
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Michael Morse