SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres right-handers Aaron Harang and Dustin Moseley are questionable for their next starts because of injuries.

Harang has a sore right foot and Moseley a slight dislocation of his left shoulder from batting in his last start Wednesday.

Harang won his team-high seventh game in a 7-3 win over Washington on Thursday and is scheduled to start Tuesday night at Colorado. X-rays taken of his foot Friday were negative. He isn’t sure how he hurt the foot, but says it has bothered him since last week.

Moseley has said he will make his next start Monday at Colorado, but Padres manager Bud Black wasn’t so sure Saturday.

Left-hander Wade LeBlanc is likely to be called up from Triple-A Tucson to fill in if needed.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(Sports Network) – The Washington Nationals hope to build off last night’s win
when they resume a four-game series against the San Diego Padres this evening
at Petco Park.

Mike Morse’s two-run homer in the top of the second inning was all the offense
Washington would need in a 2-1 victory. Nats starter Jason Marquis improved to
7-2 on the season with six innings of one-run ball, while Tyler Clippard threw
two scoreless innings before Drew Storen posted his 13th save in the ninth.

“I’m just going up there having good at-bats,” Morse said on the Nats’ site.
“It doesn’t matter who it is on the mound. I’m going up there, going to try to
battle and have a good quality at-bat. Help the team win as much as I can.”

The Nationals ended a two-game slide and bounced back from a 7-3 loss to the
Padres in the series opener. They improved to 4-5 on an 11-game road trip and
haven’t won a series in San Diego since 2001. The last time the
Montreal/Washington franchise won two straight games on the road against the
Padres was Sept. 11-12, 1999 at Qualcomm Stadium.

In other news, Nationals All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is slated to
begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday. Zimmerman has been
recovering from a torn abdominal muscle and has not played since April 9. He
underwent surgery on May 3.

Taking the ball for the Nationals tonight will be John Lannan. Lannan is 1-0
in his last three starts after going 0-4 with a 6.06 ERA in his previous six
trips to the mound. He did not record a decision in Monday’s 5-4 loss at San
Francisco and was reached for just one run and four hits in seven innings.

Lannan, who is 3-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 starts, has allowed only one earned
run over his past three outings. The left-hander is 1-3 in seven road starts
this season and 1-2 in six career starts against the Padres. He tossed 7 2/3
shutout innings in a 2-1 win over San Diego on May 27 for the no-decision.

The Padres dropped to 5-4 on an 11-game homestand last night and scored their
only run of the game on Ryan Ludwick’s bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning.
Ludwick has hit safely in 23 of his last 31 games with four homers and 23 RBI
in that stretch.

San Diego starter Mat Latos suffered the loss for allowing Morse’s home run
and lasted six innings, yielding four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

“I thought (Latos’) velocity was as good as we’ve seen this year,” San Diego
manager Bud Black said. “Pitched aggressive with the fastball. Just the one
pitch he’d like to have back was the difference in the game.”

Eight of San Diego’s last 17 games have been decided by one run and 13 of
their last 19 games have been decided by two or less runs.

Clayton Richard is 0-3 with a 3.04 earned run average in his last four starts
— all Padres loses — and will take the mound tonight. Richard has dropped
consecutive starts and pitched well in his most recent outing, a 3-0 loss
versus Colorado on Monday.

Richard was solid through seven frames, allowing one run, and struck out eight
batters with three walks. He fell to 2-7 in 13 starts, but actually dropped
his ERA from 4.52 to 4.20. The lefty is still searching for his first win at
Petco Park this season as evidenced by his 0-4 mark in six home outings. He
did not record a decision at Washington on May 27 and is 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA
in four career starts in this series.

San Diego had won three straight over the Nationals, but is 10-3 over its last
13 games at home in this series.

The Sports Network

SAN DIEGO — Six pitches separated Jason Marquis from disaster Friday night.

In the span of six pitches in the sixth inning, Marquis ensured three things: That the no-hitter he took into the fourth against the San Diego Padres wouldn’t be simply an afterthought in another Nationals loss, that the two runs of support Michael Morse provided him with a second-inning homer would be enough and, finally, that the Nationals would win – which they did, 2-1.

That last part, after all, had been the trickiest. For a Nationals team that had seen 12 of their last 18 games decided by two runs or less and had lost nine of those 12, the six pitches Marquis threw after getting into a 2-0 count with the bases loaded to Padres rookie Anthony Rizzo, defined his night.

“Those are, we call them down there in the bullpen ‘man pitches,’ right there,” said Nationals closer Drew Storen, who picked up his 13th save of the season three innings later. “You’ve got to man up.”

And they were unique pitches. First there was the fact that Marquis, who has just once walked more than three batters in a game this season, had walked two straight on close pitches – including once with the bases loaded – when Rizzo strode to the plate needing only one swing to cement his uber-prospect status.

“I thought I made a couple good pitches,” Marquis admitted later, “but those are the breaks that happen.”

Then there were the changeups. Marquis used the pitch just seven times all night but three of them were issued in the pivotal at-bat against the Padres‘ first baseman. On his seventh, he struck Rizzo out swinging and inched closer to escaping a monumental jam.

“I’m pitching my game,” Marquis explained later. “I’m attacking. I’m making him chase. I present it as a strike and I’m pretty sure a young guy in that situation wants to be real aggressive. I wanted to make a pitcher’s pitch and if I walked him I would have lived to see the next hitter.

“I think the game will dictate how you attack hitters. Whether it’s how much is your ball moving that day or the types of swings hitters take off you. I felt like that was the right pitch at that current moment. I felt comfortable throwing it even though I hadn’t thrown many up to that point.”

Two pitches later, the fifth and sixth ones that saved Marquis and the Nationals Friday night, Jorge Cantu ground out to third base and all three Padres base runners walked off the field unfulfilled.

As sharp was Marquis was while facing the minimum through the first four innings, his ability to escape the sixth and turn a lead over to Tyler Clippard, and then Storen, was what left people most impressed. It also helped the Nationals seal their fourth victory on an 11-game west coast swing and ensure the possibility of a .500 or better record on the trip.

“He was outstanding,” said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. “He was so sharp and then got really tested in the sixth inning. That was tough. That was base runners all over the place and a lot of pitches. A very stressful inning. To come out of that with one run? That’s good, veteran pitching.”

It was also a performance the Nationals desperately needed out of their bullpen. While almost everyone around them have struggled, Clippard and Storen have proved to be almost infallible. The two combined to face 11 batters. Three reached base and one, Chris Denorfia in the eighth, even made it to second, but unlike the past few games where the bullpen has struggled, both escaped unscathed.

Because of that, Morse’s home run – his fourth of the road trip and a rocket into the upper half of the second deck in left field at Petco Park – off Matt Latos in the second, stood.

“To that part of the park, when Mike gets a hold of something like that, it’s going to be home run,” Riggleman said.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) – Talk about a teaching moment.

Highly touted rookie Anthony Rizzo struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning of his second major league game and the San Diego Padres lost 2-1 to Jason Marquis and the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

Michael Morse hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Marquis was cruising before the Padres rallied in the sixth. Ryan Ludwick walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, but Marquis (7-2) responded by fanning Rizzo on a nasty full-count changeup and getting Jorge Cantu to bounce out to end the inning.

“He threw a great pitch there, a great changeup,” said Rizzo, who made his major league debut on Thursday night. “My heart was racing a little bit. I tried to slow it down. It was a good at-bat, but it was a pitcher’s pitch that I couldn’t do anything with.”

Marquis allowed three hits, struck out five and walked three, improving to 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA in his last seven starts.

“I feel confident in all my pitches right now,” Marquis said. “I’ve been working hard to be able to throw them in any count. I wasn’t giving in, in that situation. I didn’t want to leave one out over the plate with the power he’s shown in Triple-A and the pitch he hit off Livan.”

Rizzo hammered a tripled off the center-field fence against Livan Hernandez in his debut, missing a homer by a few feet. But Marquis got the rookie this time.

“Big chance in the sixth,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “Marquis looked as though he was wobbling. He’s a veteran pitcher. Out of his hand, it looked like a strike and then the bottom falls out.”

The Padres loaded the bases in the inning on Chris Denorfia’s one-out double, a single by Jason Bartlett and a walk to Brad Hawpe. Ludwick drew a full-count walk to bring home one run.

Marquis picked up right where he left off last Sunday at Arizona when he shut out the Diamondbacks through 5 1-3 innings before he was ejected for hitting Justin Upton with a pitch.

He was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount. But he appealed and is able to pitch until there is a decision.

Marquis held the Padres without a hit until Ludwick’s leadoff double in the fifth.

Morse staked Marquis to a lead with a drive off Mat Latos (4-7) for his 10th homer. Lance Nix led off with single, then Morse hit a 1-2 fastball into the left-field seats.

Morse has homered eight times in his last 18 games.

Tyler Clippard pitched two hitless innings and Drew Storen worked the ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances to complete the four-hitter.

Washington had only four hits, just two coming after Morse’s homer.

Rizzo walked twice and was hit by a pitch, finishing 0 for 1 with a strikeout. The first baseman committed an error in the ninth inning on a ground ball.

Latos, who won his previous three starts, gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

San Diego, which had won nine of 13 games, dropped to an NL-worst 14-24 at home. The Nationals won for just the third time in eight games.

NOTES: Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, last year’s rookie sensation, threw a bullpen session. Strasburg, a San Diego native who attended San Diego State, is on the mend from right elbow surgery in September. “Where he’s at is nine months into a 12-to-18 month (rehab) process,” Washington manager Jim Riggleman said. … San Diego signed first-round draft pick Cory Spangenberg. The 20-year-old Spangenberg was the 10th overall pick and became the first first-rounder to sign. … The Nationals placed RHP Cole Kimball (shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list. RHP Ryan Mattheus was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Jason Marquis almost was forced out of the game in the sixth inning again – albeit for a much different reason.

This time, he stayed on the mound and led Washington to the victory.

Marquis threw six strong innings to help the Nationals beat the San Diego Padres 2-1 on Friday night.

Michael Morse hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Marquis was cruising before the Padres rallied in the sixth. Ryan Ludwick walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, but Marquis responded by striking out highly touted rookie Anthony Rizzo on a nasty full-count changeup and getting Jorge Cantu to bounce out to end the inning.

“We call those man pitches,” Nationals closer Drew Storen said. “You’ve got to man up there, and he did. He made that man pitch, and it was fun to watch.”

Rizzo made his major league debut Thursday night after being promoted from Triple-A Tucson. But it’s doubtful that the 21-year-old Rizzo saw many pitches in the minors like the ones he saw in the sixth.

“I feel confident in all my pitches right now,” Marquis said. “I’ve been working hard to be able to throw them in any count. I wasn’t giving in, in that situation. I didn’t want to leave one out over the plate with the power he’s shown in Triple-A and the pitch he hit off Livan.”

Rizzo hammered a tripled off the center-field fence against Livan Hernandez in his debut, missing a homer by a few feet. But Marquis got the rookie this time.

“He threw a great pitch there, a great changeup,” Rizzo said. “My heart was racing a little bit. I tried to slow it down. It was a good at-bat, but it was a pitcher’s pitch that I couldn’t do anything with.”

Marquis (7-2) picked up right where he left off last Sunday at Arizona when he shut out the Diamondbacks through 5 1-3 innings before he was ejected for hitting Justin Upton with a pitch.

He was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount. But he appealed and is able to pitch until there is a decision.

Marquis held the Padres without a hit until Ludwick’s leadoff double in the fifth. The right-hander allowed one run and three hits, struck out five and walked three.

Morse staked Marquis to a lead with a drive off Mat Latos (4-7) for his 10th homer. Lance Nix led off with single, then Morse hit a 1-2 fastball into the left-field seats.

Morse has homered eight times in his last 18 games.

Tyler Clippard pitched two hitless innings and Storen worked the ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances to complete the four-hitter.

Washington had only four hits, just two coming after Morse’s homer.

The Padres loaded the bases in the sixth on Chris Denorfia’s one-out double, a single by Jason Bartlett and a walk to Brad Hawpe. Ludwick drew a full-count walk to bring home San Diego’s only run.

“He got really tested in the sixth inning, that was tough,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said of Marquis. “Baserunners all over the place, a lot of pitches, a very stressful inning. But to come out of it with one run, that’s good veteran pitching right there.”

Rizzo walked twice and was hit by a pitch, finishing 0 for 1 with a strikeout. The first baseman committed an error in the ninth inning on a ground ball.

Latos, who won his previous three starts, gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

San Diego, which had won nine of 13 games, dropped to an NL-worst 14-24 at home. The Nationals won for just the third time in eight games.

NOTES: Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, last year’s rookie sensation, threw a bullpen session. Strasburg, a San Diego native who attended San Diego State, is on the mend from right elbow surgery in September. “Where he’s at is nine months into a 12-to-18 month (rehab) process,” Riggleman said. … San Diego signed first-round draft pick Cory Spangenberg. The 20-year-old Spangenberg was the 10th overall pick and became the first first-rounder to sign. … The Nationals placed RHP Cole Kimball (shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list. RHP Ryan Mattheus was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.