2013 MLB Opening Day: Washington Nationals, Ticket Information, Transportation, and More

The Washington Nationals enter the 2013 Major League Baseball season as favorites to win the World Series thanks to Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and some important new additions.

Major League Baseball opens its season Sunday, March 31 and the Washington Nationals are an Opening Day favorite to win the World Series. The Nats, winners of the National League East division in 2012, begin a 2013 season heavy with expectations on Monday, April 1 when they play host to the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. • Opening Day ticket information for the Washington Nationals  With the deepest pitching staff in baseball anchored by standouts Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann, and a strong lineup that should be buoyed by 20-year-old prodigy Bryce Harper—the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year—entering his first full big league season, baseball experts are high on the Nats. World …

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Sherell Williams

2:44 pm on Friday, March 29, 2013

Hi Andrew. If you mean by purchasing parking through the Nationals website, you are correct. It looks like the only option they offer for Opening Day is Lot W for $75. Any Nats fans have suggestions for nearby parking areas?   more ›

Former GMU Standout Aims for the Big Leagues

Westfield High grad Justin Bour was a Southern League All-Star this season in the Chicago Cubs' farm system with Tennessee, and is among the leaders in RBIs in all of minor league baseball.

When Justin Bour played at Westfield High, Billy Swoope, a long-time baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs, noticed. Swoope follows top amateur players in the mid-Atlantic region, and he decided then to keep track of Bour. Later Bour played at Division I George Mason University in Fairfax, and Swoope continued to follow the slugger. "The thing I liked about him was he was very agile for a big guy," said Swoope. "He was a very good contact hitter for a power guy." “Justin is one of the few kids … who could really hit the ball to the opposite field as well as anyone we have had here,” said Billy Brown, the veteran head coach at Mason. “His approach was fantastic. The one thing that Justin shows is a really marketable commodity: power. The ball…

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Northern Virginia Native Returns to Face the Nationals

Fairfax native Michael Schwimer is now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, in town playing against the Nats this weekend.

It is just about eight miles from St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes in Alexandria to Nationals Park in southeast Washington. But it took Major League pitcher Michael Schwimer about seven years to make the trip as a player. "It was crazy—it was a dream come true," Schwimer said, describing his Major League debut last year at Nationals Park.  And now he is back for more as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, who began a three-game series Friday night at Nationals Park. The teams also play Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening. Standing in front of his locker before Friday's game in Washington, the Fairfax native said he planned to leave about 12 tickets for family and friends for the Friday game and about 15 for the Saturday game. He grew up near…

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West Springfield Grad Joe Saunders Set to Pitch Against the Nats

The Diamondbacks pitcher says he's not getting caught-up in the Bryce Harper hype.

Bryce Harper, 19, the rookie slugger for the Washington Nationals, will most likely face some tough left-handed pitchers during his career in the Major Leagues. And among the first may be Joe Saunders, who is no stranger to baseball fans in Northern Virginia. Saunders is a former standout pitcher at West Springfield High School who played at Virginia Tech before he was a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2002. Now a left-handed starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saunders is slated to take the mound against Washington at Nationals Park on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. "You want to go out and pitch well. You want to go out there and keep them in check," Saunders told Patch, sitting in front of his locker before Tuesday's game in which the …

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Update: Robinson Grads Aid George Mason Baseball

A.J. Johnson is one of the top starters for the Patriots while former high school teammate Brandon Kuter gives the team depth out of the bullpen in weekend games against conference opponents.

Updated April 24, 2012 Patriot's pitcher A. J. Johnson improved to 6-4 as Mason beat ODU, 16-6, in Fairfax on Sunday. He went six innings and allowed five earned runs. “A.J. has been fabulous for us,” Mason coach Bill Brown said. “He makes quality pitches. He works fast and throws a ton of strikes.” Brown also commented on fellow pitcher, junior right-hander Brandon Kuter. “We were looking to find a role for him,” Brown said of Kuter. “He is a guy who will be critical for us if we want to play in June,” he said, speaking of the possibility of winning the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title. Mason is 13-8 and second in the CAA. ________ A.J. Johnson began his college career in the nation’s capital at George Washington University (GW…

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Susan Larson

5:34 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012

Thanks for the update, Dale!   more ›

Beyond Burke

Nats Continue Winning Streak During Home Opening Week

The Nationals have allowed only 12 hits in their last 32 innings.

The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds 4 to 1 Saturday, in the third of their four game series.  Pitcher Edwin Jackson threw his fifth career complete game, allowing only two hits.  It was the Nats fifth straight win.  On top of that, it was Stephen Strasburg bobblehead day. The Nats finish the series with the Reds on Sunday, then begin a four game home series against Houston. Strasburg will pitch his first home game on Monday. ESPN reported Saturday's attendance at 35,489 (84.7 precent full).

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Robinson Grad in Spring Training with the Astros

Paul Clemens' spring includes training with the Astros and the birth of his first child.

Paul Clemens knew that his first spring training with the Houston Astros would be eventful. A right-handed relief pitcher and Robinson graduate, Clemens was traded by the Atlanta Braves to Houston in July 2011. He enters this year as the no. 5 prospect in the Houston farm system, according to Baseball America. "I don't have anything to worry about. I am staying quiet and listening to what I can," said Clemens, standing in the Houston clubhouse before a spring training game in Kissimmee, Fla., against the Detroit Tigers on March 11. "Anytime the skipper (Brad Mills) gives me the ball I try to get three outs as quickly as I can." His spring training became more eventful when his wife, Marlee, gave birth to their first child, a girl named …

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Robinson Grad Nears Big League Dream

Former Burke resident Paul Clemens was recently named the No. 5 prospect in the farm system of the Houston Astros.

The Major League dreams of Robinson Secondary School graduate Paul Clemens  could become reality in 2012. Clemens, who had worked his way up the Atlanta minor league ladder, was traded by the Atlanta Braves along with three other players to the Houston Astros on July 31 for big leaguer Michael Bourn. At the time the 6-foot-4 Clemens was pitching at the Class AA level with Mississippi in the Southern League, where he was 6-5 with an ERA of 3.73 in 20 starts. He was also traded along with pitcher Brett Oberholtzer, who had been another top prospect in the Atlanta system. “From the business aspect I understood completely,” Clemens, 23, a right-hander, said of the trade from his parents new home in Oxford, PA. “We were on the road in Jackson, …

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