Nationals Win Behind Harper, Strasburg

The faces of the Washington Nationals are outfielder Bryce Harper and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, and they showed why in Miami against the Marlins on April 19th. Harper hit his second grand slam in two days, and Strasburg pitched eight innings of shutout ball as Washington beat Miami 7-0.

Big things were expected of the Nationals last season, but they were one of that seasons biggest disappointments, failing to reach the postseason. They look like they’re on a mission here in the early going, and are off to a 10-3 start. It’s not just Harper (.333 average, 7 homers, 20RBIs, 1.295 OPS through 13 games) that’s been hitting the ball: second baseman Daniel Murphy is hitting .422. And the pitching staff has a collective ERA of 2.14. This should be an interesting race in the N.L. East between the Nationals and the defending N.L. champion New York Mets.