The Washington Nationals will not be able to finish the 2011 season at .500 — and you can thank the bottom feeding Florida Marlins for that. Bryan Petersen sent the Nationals home a loser last night, stroking a walk off two out home run to make the Marlins winners, 3-2. The loss put the Nationals at 79-81, with one game to play.

The home run, off of lefty Doug Slaten, clouded an otherwise successful night for starter John Lannan, who pitched six innings while giving up only three hits. But the story of the night was on the side of the Marlins, whose starter — Javier Vazquez — might well have pitched his last game before retiring. Vazquez went nine innings while giving up only five hits to the Nationals, an exclamation point for what the team needs to find this off-season.

Despite the loss, the Nationals were able to contribute a highlight: Michael Morse hit his 31st home run of the year. Though it’s hardly a surprise, the dinger means that Morse will finish the season as the Nationals’ top slugger, leading the team in batting average (.303), home runs (31) and RBIs (95). “I put in a lot of hard work, and I’m glad that it paid off,” Morse said following the loss.

The Mess in Atlanta: Last night’s starting pitchers for the Red Sox and Braves — Erik Bedard and Derek Lowe — oughta tell us something about where those teams are. And they didn’t disappoint: Bedard lasted just 3.1 in the Red Sox win in Baltimore, while Lowe lasted just four in the Braves’ 7-1 loss against the Phillies in Atlanta . . .

We’re no fans of the Cardinals, but it’s hard to take the Braves seriously. Atlanta’s rotation is badly hobbled: Tommy Hanson has a tear in his shoulder, Jair Jurrjens has a sore knee, and Lowe (who looks like he should be on the DL) is shot-putting the ball in the hope that it ends up somewhere near the plate. You can’t go into the playoffs like that — well, you can, but you won’t win . . .

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The Washington Nationals broke out the lumber at Nationals’ Park on Sunday, spraying twelve hits and hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs to down the visiting Houston Astros, 8-2. The hit parade was led by Ian Desmond, who was 3-5 with two RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman, Chris Marrero and Danny Espinosa claimed two hits each, with Rick Ankiel, Jayson Werth and Laynce Nix each collecting one. The win meant that the Nationals took the series, two games to one.

“I think the nicest thing about all that is we finally had the lead,” Desmond said following the victory. “All series and the last two series, we have been behind and defensive. So today, we all wanted to make sure that we stayed aggressive. We weren’t so passive, giving a pitcher a strike, whatever it may have been. We wanted to make sure we were in the driver’s seat all day. That worked out for us.”

The Nats’ win dampened the headlines that were sure to be dominated by Stephen Strasburg, who pitched three innings — but was taken out by Davey Johnson after throwing 57 pitches. Johnson noted that Strasburg had thrown a lot of pitches in the first inning, and he didn’t want to extend him further: ” I explained to him, ‘I don’t want to [take you out during an inning]. As far, as I’m concerned, it’s like your second time out in Spring Training. That’s enough for me. You are not going to go five.’”

The Nats home run trifecta took place in the third inning, when Ian Desmond hit his eighth homer, Rick Ankiel followed with his ninth and Ryan Zimmerman followed with his 12th. The back-to-back-to-back home runs were the first time the Nationals had accomplished that unique feat since 2009. Once again the Nationals bullpen was superb: Tom Gorzelanny, Sean Burnett and Henry Rodriguez held the Astros scoreless, with Doug Slaten giving up an unearned run in the ninth.

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: The by-now traditional end-of-year conversation dominated the talk of the section, nearly from the beginning of the game — determining who would (and who would not), be with the Nationals next year. The yakking started with Rick Ankiel. “Definitely gone,” one opinionated fan said. “What? Seven, eight home runs? We can do better.”

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This was a great game — if you were an Arizona Diamondbacks’ fan: Joe Saunders pitched seven complete shutout innings, middle reliever David Hernandez notched a hold, and J.J. Putz put the game away in the ninth. And the gravy? The 2-0 Arizona win put the D-Backs back in first place in the N.L. West, just half a game ahead of the San Francisco Giants.

But if you were a Nationals’ fan, the Arizona shutout brought back barely suppressed nightmares that the hitting drought that stigmatized the team for the campaign’s first two months had returned: the Nationals accounted for just four hits against Saunders, which wasn’t quite enough to give Livan Hernandez (who pitched seven complete of his own) a win. “To me, it has been more about good pitching in general,” Nationals’ manager Jim Riggleman said after the game. “Myself on down to the coaching staff to the players, we feel terrible about the way we have squandered some chances to win ballgames when we have pitched this well.”

The loss cooled off Michael Morse, who struck out twice. In fact, the only Nat who seemed to get to Saunders was Jerry Hairston, who was 2-4. The loss dropped the Nationals to 25-33 — nine games back of the Phillies in the N.L. East, and two games behind the Mets for fourth place.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Craig Stammen has made his way back to the big leagues after the Nationals placed Doug Slaten on the disabled list with an “elbow injury.” Slaten has been struggling: the lefty has a low ERA, but that hardly tells the story. Fifteen of 30 runners he has inherited have scored. The Nationals are running out of patience with him — as are the fans . . .

Before being put on the D.L, Slaten claimed he was healthy, which brought doubts from skipper Riggleman. We can almost hear Riggleman: “I think you’re hurt, Doug — in fact I’m sure of it.” The move on Slaten may well spell the end of his time in Washington, as a lot of Nats’ fans are speculating. The Nationals will use Stammen as a reliever, even though he has a serviceable record as a starter in Syracuse (where he was 5-3). That likely means Yunesky Maya will get yet another shot on the mound before . . . well, you know — before he gets sent down.

You could almost hear the tension in the cheers of the fans: on the mound (with the Nationals leading 2-1) was Drew Storen, with two outs, a man on base — and the Phillies’ Placido Polanco at the plate. So let’s see: Polanco is walked, or hits one into the right field corner (he damned near did, but it was foul), or puts one out, and the Nats lose another squeaker.

But this time the script was different. Storen worked Polanco (who had struck out only sixteen times all season), then threw him a sneaky-pete just-on-the-outside-corner fastball and ended the threat, the inning and the game. MASN play-by-play guy Bob Carpenter could hardly contain himself: “Nats win, 2-1,” he shouted. “What a ballgame.” Indeed, it was: and about time too that the Nationals won a game decided by a single run.

The obvious hero of the game was John Lannan, who in blazing heat kept the heavy hitting Ashburns from pushing across runs. Lannan gave just enough, with the bullpen (Coffey, Slaten, Clippard and Storen), coming through with scoreless innings. The Phillies flailed at the ball. Lannan got the win (he’s now 3-5 and deserves it), but chalk one up for the young and tough defense, as the games’ other hero was Laynce Nix — who put one into the seats, then made a diving catch with two outs and the bases jammed in the 6th to snuff a Phillies’ rally. It was the play of the game.

Nix’s continued hitting and stellar defense (on a team now known for its solid glove work) has to be one of the feel-good stories of the season. The Nationals’ left fielder has always had a good arm, but has been plagued by injuries — and has never had a full season since breaking into the majors with the Texas Rangers in 2003. Knock on wood, but this could be his shot. The Nationals are now headed for Arizona, where they will take on the upstart Snakes.

Omar Infante narrowly avoided a tag from Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos in the 11th inning of the Nats-Marlins contest at Nats Park last night — giving the Marlins a they-just-keep-coming 6-5 victory. The Infante slide (the result of a Greg Dobbs double) was the culmination of a classic back-and-forth between the two teams, which is turning into one of the more bitterly contested rivalries in the N.L. East. While Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman argued the call, the replay showed Infante had just barely eluded the tag. “He was safe,” Riggleman said. “I knew.”

The game began with the Nationals down by three to the Marlins, with Gaby Sanchez and John Buck registering back-to-back dingers against less-than-effective Nationals’ starter Tom Gorzelanny. But the Nationals struck back, with a clutch single in the third by Ian Desmond and an upper deck home run by Laynce Nix. The Nationals tied it in the eighth with another hit by Nix, this one a double, that scored Jayson Werth. Nats’ skipper Riggleman was in his head-shaking mode after the loss: “I try to stay away from those words — disappointment and frustration — but that was a great ballgame,” Riggleman said. “We played really good baseball.

Those in attendance were treated to what might well be the defensive play of the year, which came in the fifth inning off a long drive from Marlins’ youngster Mike Stanton. Bernadina went back on the ball, which seemed over his head — but then reached up and rolled, snagging the line drive and saving the Nationals from a long inning. “The only thing I could do is dive,” Barnadina explained.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: The Nationals will face some tough decisions over the next two weeks, not the least of them being what to do with Roger Bernadina when Rick Ankiel comes off the disabled list. If you were to poll Nats fans, they are likely to say that Bernadina should be given the job in center field, with Laynce Nix taking Michael Morse’s spot in left (Mark Zuckerman has this right — over at Nats’ Insider). Will Riggleman made the switch? Here’s what he told Zuckerman: “You can’t get too far ahead of yourself,” Riggleman said. “Mike did what he did for six weeks in spring training, and Laynce has been hot here for the last 10 days. We’re just going to ride that out. It’s certainly not cast in stone as to who will be playing left field or whatever. We’re just going to try to put a lineup out there that gives us the best chance to win.”

Bernadina has been a catalyst, and not simply because he makes great defensive plays in center. Bernadina led off Friday’s game with a bunt single, which is the same thing he did in Atlanta on Thursday. The Nats have been looking for a lead-off hitter; well, here he is . . . Or, as Federal Baseball slings it: “Shark attack! Roger Bernadina is 3-5 with a game-tying, two-RBI double, a bunt hit, a stolen base, and a fantastic highlight-reel catch that he sadly gets no WPA credit for at all.” Yup . . .

It’s clear that Jim Riggleman is feeling the pressure from his bullpen — shuffling and reshuffling arms to cover weaknesses. The core of Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Todd Coffey and Sean Burnett (despite his recent troubles), is among the best in baseball. They’ve all proven their toughness in close games. Which leaves Brian Broderick, Henry Rodriguez and Doug Slaten. Broderick is a Rule 5 pick (and should be learning his trade in the minors), Rodriguez is a major talent (who threatens to walk the bases loaded everytime he appears) and Doug Slaten is struggling. Riggleman can use Broderick, Rodriguez and Slaten in blow-outs (taking pressure off the core four), but when exactly does a “blow out” ever happen . . .

The issue will be forced once Chad Gaudin returns. Gaudin, who is nursing shoulder inflammation, is a savvy and tested veteran who is not likely to be cowed by appearing in the show (Broderick), knows how to throw strikes (Rodriguez), and has pitched well enough recently to be a part of the core-four (Slaten). Our prediction? Unless Slaten shows he can stick as a “lefty one out guy” that job will default to Burnett, which means that Slaten is likely to go elsewhere . . . Ah, of course, the Nats could designate Broderick for assignment and call up Cole Kimball (as they just did, as we were posting this), but that doesn’t exactly solve the problem — though maybe, if his performance this year is any indication, Kimball can now work his way into the Nats’ core four . . .

Led by the defense of Ian Desmond (who also had a 4-5 night) and the hitting of Roger Bernadina, the Washington Nationals pounded out 12 hits and eight runs on Saturday, to defeat the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The offensive outburst came at the expense of Phillies’ starter Kyle Kendrick, who had trouble making it out of the first inning. Desmond looked like “the wizard” at short, making barehanded plays behind Strasburg, Stammen and Slaten, while Bernadina slugged his eighth home run (putting the game out of reach) in the ninth. But the win was marred by an injury to starter Stephen Strasburg, who was forced to leave the game in the 5th after suffering a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm; it’s not known how serious the injury is — an MRI will be conducted to determine the damage on Sunday. The injury detracted from one of the team’s most solid performances against the Phillies, who trail the Atlanta Braves for the N.L. East lead.

Once again, as was apparent in Atlanta, the Nationals’ bullpen proved key in the Philadelphia victory. After Strasburg departed, Craig Stammen, Doug Slaten, Tyler Clippard and Miguel Batista combined to shut down the Phillies — throwing 4.2 innings while giving up just two hits and no runs. Tyler Clippard was particularly effective. After suffering a fall-off in his performance in late July, the righthander has lowered his ERA to 3.04, solidifying his reputation as one of the National League’s premier set-up men. Stammen also seems to have found his place: the former starter is now filling a first-out-of-the-bullpen role, being used by skipper Riggleman when someone in the rotation collapses. Washington’s bullpen is now ranked seventh in the majors, and fourth in the National League — and is one of the real success stories of the Nationals’ season.

The Washington Nationals dropped an ten inning contest to the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 on Sunday, losing two of three to the surging Concepcions. The Nats have now lost ten of their last fourteen and have dropped to four games under .500. The Sunday loss was particularly painful, as usually reliable Nats reliever Matt Capps dropped a winnable save in the ninth, while Doug Slaten gave up two unnecessary singles in the tenth to provide an exclamation to the collapse. Nats starter Craig Stammen pitched well, hurling six-and-two-thirds innings, while allowing one run. But Stammen’s effort was not enough to save his job with the big club: after the game he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Stephen Strasburg, who will start on Tuesday against the Pirates.

Stammen was philosophical about his demotion. “The proof is in the pudding. I knew I was kind of one of the guys in line for [the demotion],” he said after hearing the news. “I haven’t been very consistent and it’s just the way it is. To pitch in the big leagues, you can’t really worry about if you are going to get sent down or staying or going or eating cheese for lunch. You have to be able to get guys out.” It has been known for some time that Strasburg’s arrival would mean the demotion of someone in the starting rotation — and the decision came down to one between Stammen, J.D. Martin or Luis Atilano. Outside of Stammen, the continuing big story of the Nats is the inability of Matt Capps to get out of the ninth with a win. Once again on Sunday, Capps found himself in a save situation that he couldn’t complete. Capps entered the contest with one out in the ninth, but gave up successive doubles to account for the blown save, his fourth of the year. “I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t very good,” Capps said following the contest.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Bill Ladson has the Nats “leaning” towards drafting big bat catcher/outfielder Bryce Harper with the first pick in today’s first year player draft. While Harper is only 17, his bat is so good that he’s become the prohibitive favorite — and has been called “the greatest amateur player of all time.” So, as most Nats blogs agree, Harper is the pick: Nationals Farm Authority (who are good at predicting these kinds of things) says that Harper is “a lead pipe cinch,” while detailing the top ten prospects in the lottery. Meanwhile, back on June 3, Nationals Enquirer published a video of Harper’s ejection from a recent junior college game. The rap on Harper has been that he has a bad attitude, but the report seems more rumor than fact. Then too, if being ejected from a game were cause to question a person’s character, there wouldn’t be many draftees eligible. Even so, over at Capital Punishment they’re worried about the attitude question and meticulously rework worries about Harper’s swing. CP says that Harper is no “sure thing.” Too true.