The Washington Nationals won their fifth straight game, topping the visiting Chicago Cubs 7-3 behind Ian Desmond's big night at the plate. 

Washington improved to 20-15, breathing down the necks of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, who also won to stay 1.5 games ahead of the Nats. 

Short Stop Ian Desmond swung the big timber tonight, notching three hits, including a 2-run homer and an RBI double. His production made up for the Nats missing two-thirds of their strating outfield, with LF Bryce Harper [ingrown toenail] and Jayson Werth [left hamstring] both on the shelf. 

Starter Ross Detwiler pitched another good game, improving his mark to 2-3 with a 2.53 ERA, after chucking 6 and 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs, 8 hits, walking none and striking out two. Craig Stammen pitched the final 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up one run. 

It was Chicago that got off to the fast start, though, with Starlin Castro doubling to lead off the game and scoring in the first inning to put the Cubs up 1-0. 

In the second inning Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa reached on an infield single and a fielding error and Kurt Suzuki made the Cubs pay by doubling to drive in both runners, putting the Nats up 2-1. Casto came back in the third inning and doubled to center, driving in a run to tie the game at two. When Castro tried to put the Cubs ahead later in the inning by coming home on a single, RF Roger Bernadina threw home to Suzuki, who dived at the runner and Castro was called out at the plate. 

Adam LaRoche singled in the fourth and Desmond followed up with a 386-foot homer to left to put the Nats up 4-2, a lead they would not relinquish. But Desmond wasn't done. In the fifth inning, after Ryan Zimmerman singled, Desmond came up and doubled to deep right, plating Zimmerman and advancing LaRoche to third base. That pushed Washington's lead to 5-2. But the Nats were still not done. With LaRoche at third and Desmond at second, Espinosa crushed a pitchi into deep center for another double, scoring LaRoche and Desmond and giving the Nationals a safe 7-2 lead. Earlier in the fifth inning, CF Denard Span made a beautiful tumbling catch at the warning track of a ball hit by Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzja, to keep Washington's lead safe. 

A fair amount of credit must be given to Detwiler, who wasn't at his best tonight, but managed to wriggle out of trouble several times. The Cubs hit five doubles in the first five innings, but only got two runs out of it because Detwiler was able to get timely outs to limit the damage. 

Werth is headed to the disabled list, backdated to May 2, and is expected to return May 18. Harper is expected back for Saturday's game. 

Thank you Mike Ribeiro.  Half way through the over time period, Mike Ribeiro tapped in a rebound from a Karl Alzner shot to lift the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers.  The win gave command of the best of seven series back to the Caps with a 3-2 series lead.

Brian Boyle put the New York Rangers up just 58 seconds into the game, tapping in a rebound from Braden Holtby.  That goal would give the Rangers the lead and provide them their only tally of the night.  After two unsuccesful Rangers power play opportunities in the first period, the Caps got their first shot at the man advantage in the second period and Joel Ward would score the equalizer at the 7:44 mark.  Ward took a centering pass from Marcus Johansson and buried his shot past a shifting Henrik Lundqvist to knot the game at 1-1.  It would stay that way until Ribeiro ended the game at the 9:24 mark of overtime.  

Braden Holtby was strong in goal, stopping 24 of 25 shots and the only goal he allowed all night was the first Ranger shot on net.  The Caps did a fine job in the second and third period and the beginning of overtime in controlling puck posssession and establishing an effective forecheck.

The series will now shift back to a critical game six in New York on Sunday.  Washington can advance to the second round with a win.

Post Game Notes:

*  The Caps 2012 first round pick, 16th overall pick in the draft, Tom Wilson made his NHL debut tonight.   Wilson clocked 6:24 of ice time in his debut. 

*  Martin Erat missed tonight's game with a wirst injury he suffered Wednesday night.  Wilson replaced Erat in the lineup. 

*  Mike Green led all Caps tonight with 29:16 of ice time. 

*  Alexander Ovechkin pulled back to his normal self after two off-games in New York.  Although Ovi failed to score, he had some terrific scoring opportunities followed up with incredible sdaves by Lundqvist.  Ovi recorded 9 shots on net. 

Paul Demny and Ian Krol combined for a no hitter in the Harrisburg Senators (AA) 6-1 win over Binghamton.  The Senators did allow 1 run on 3 walks and 3 errors.  Pal Demny (2-4) threw 8 scoreless and hotless innings to earn his second win of the season.  Demny fanned 5 over 8 innings.  Krol completed the shutout and no hitter by throwing a scoreless and hitless ninth inning.  Krol was acquired via the Mike Morse trade and has been quite impressive this season.  In 13 games, Krol has appeared in 17.1 innings and has allowed just 2 runs for a 1.04 ERA and has recorded 18 strike outs. 

Anthony Rendon was 2 for 4 with a double, runs scored, and a home run.  Since returning to Harrisburg from Washington upon the return of Ryan Zimmerman, Rendon is 8 for 22 with 4 doubles, a home run, and 5 RBI.  He is batting .314 for the season.  Rick Hague was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.  Demny also added aan RBI double to help his hitless performance on the mound.  The Senators win improves the club to 16-18 on the season.

Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) fell to Durham 4-2.  Ross Ohlendorf took the loss, throwing a 9 inning complete game.  He falls to 3-4 on the season with a 4.57 ERA.  Eury Perez was 3 for 4 at the plate helping to raise his batting average back up to .346.  Perez extended his hitting streak to 9 consecutvie games.  He is batting .348 over his last 10 games.  Micah Owings hit his third home run and Carlos Rivera drove in his 5th run of the season to complete the Chiefs scoring.  Chiefs fall to 13-20 on the season. 

Potomac Nationals (A) won 3-2 in extra innings.  Caleb Ramsey scored in the tenth inning on a wild pitch to lift the P-Nats to the win.  Brian Dupra pitched 6 solid innings scattering 6 hits and 2 runs.  Matt Grace and Derek Self threw 4 scoreless inninsg out of the bullpen for the P-Nats.  Self (2-1) recorded the win. The P-Nats offense only collected 4 hits on the night. The win put the P-Nats over .500 at 17-16 on the season. 

Hagerstown Suns (A) improved to 19-12 on the season with a 3-1 win over Delmarva last night.  The Suns got another impressive start from Dixon Anderson, as he threw 6 innings and allowed 7 his, 1 run, and struck out 6.  Anderson lowered his season ERA to 1.80.  Robert Benincasa picked up his 7th save of the season. 

The Washington Nationals completed a mini-two game series sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 5-4 win today.  Starter Dan Haren (4-3) picked up his 4th win, tossing 6 innings and allowing 9 hits and 4 runs.  

At the plate, Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche drove in the five Nats runs.  The Nats scored all five runs in the first two innings, putting up three runs in the first and two runs in the second.   Harper grounded into a fielders choice in the first inning, driving in Denard Span to give the Nats a 1-0 lead.   LaRoche then singled into center field and after a fielding error, Harper scored the Nats second run.   Desmond then singled to center field to score Zimmerman to complete the threre run opening inning.  Ryan Zimmerman and LaRoche added RBI singles in the second inning to complete the five runs for the Nats.   

Detroit pinch hitter Matt Tuiasosopo hit a three run bomb off Haren in the sixth inning to pull the Tigers to within 1 run and chase Haren from the game.  Ryan Mattheus, Drew Storen, and Rafael Soriano closed out the final three innings with a shutout.  Soriano picked up his 12th save.  

With the win, the Nats improve to 19-15 on the season and has given them their fourth consecutive win.  They have improved to 6-1 in the month of May.   

Streaky Nats:

*  The Nats have won FOUR straight games. 

*  Denard Span extended his hitting streak to THREE straight games.

*  Adam LaRoche extended his hitting streak to SIX straight games.

*  Rafael Soriano extended his scoreless inning streak to TWELVE straight. 

After falling to the New York Rangers last night and knotting the series at 2-2, the Washington Capitals have made some roster moves.  With the Hershey Bears being eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs in the AHL, the Caps have recalled forwards Tom Wilson and Joey Crabb. 

Behind Russian prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson is highly regarded by many analysts to be the next best prospect in the Caps system.  Wilson was drafted in the first round, 16th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft.  Wilson impressed the Caps in developmental and shortened training camp, showing physical play and adapting to Adam Oates system quite well.  Wilson is a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder physical forward who is more than willing to use his weight and size to his advantage.  In 48 games this season with the OHL's team Plymouth, Wilson tallied 58 points and an additional 17 points in the playoffs for the AHL Bears. 

Crabb returns to Washington after clearing waivers on March 23 and being assigned to the Bears.  He played in 26 games this season for the Caps and added 2 goals and 24 hits. 

Caps forward Martin Erat was injured last night in a charge to he Caps net that led to a collision between Erat and Alex Ovechkin.  Holding his wrist after going down to the ice, Erat left the game at that point and never returned.  Word today is that he did not practice. 

With the Rangers having tied the series at 2-2 just last night, the series returns tot he Verizon Center on Friday at 7:30PM.    The Caps will look to home ice advantage to retake control of the even series. 

Every year Pro Football Focus produces a Top 101 players in the NFL list. All these lists are debatable and sometimes of useful utility, but people love lists and the Internet REALLY loves lists, so lists are what we get. Personally, I find the PFF list a lot more interesting and convincing than the Top 100 list produced by the NFL Network, allegedly voted on by NFL players -- although virtually everyone involved admits the players don't vote and have almost nothing to do with the final list. 

In 2012 only two Washington Redskins players made PFF's Top 101 list: ILB London Fletcher and OLB Brian Orakpo, sneaking in at 96 and 97, respectively. As I've written repeatedly in this space, Fletcher had a down year in 2012 -- missing 20 tackles and allowing 700 receiving yards is evidence of that -- and Orakpo missed virtually the entire 2012 season with a torn pectoral muscle, so neither made the 2013 list. 

However, we still have two Redskins on the lastest PFF list, though they come from the other side of the ball, reflecting the teams change in fortunes on offense [good!] and defense [bad!]. Running back Alfred Morris came in at 38 and QB Robert Griffin III clocked in several spots ahead at 31. 

In case anyone has forgotten, Morris ran for 1613 yards last season, the most in Redskins franchise history and second in the league to only MVP Adrian Peterson. Morris also rushed for 13 touchdowns and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. 

Griffin was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, beating out Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and his teammate Morris. In leading the Redskins to their first division title of the 21st century, Griffin threw for 3200 yards, 20 TD and only 5 INT. He also rushed for 815 yards, an NFL record for rookie quarterbacks, and 7 more TD. In all, Griffin produced 4015 yards of offense, 27 TD and only 7 turnovers. Griffin's passer rating of 102.4 was the highest ever for a rookie.

As a team, Griffin and Morris lead the Redskins offense from 16th in yards in 2011 to 5th in 2012. The Redskins offense went from 20th in the NFL in yards per play in 2011 to first overall in 2012, improving a full yard from 5.2 to 6.2 per play. 

Here's what PFF wrote about Morris: 

Sixth-round rookies are simply not meant to be this good. While many want to attribute the success of Morris to a scheme that benefited him, that’s unfair to a player who finished third in the league in yards after contact and finished third in the league in forced missed tackles in the running game. He didn’t offer much as a receiver, but you can look past that when you measure the joy the Redskins had running the ball with him.

Here is what PFF wrote about RG3: 

Turning the Redskins from a punch line to a relevant contender, RG3 was the dose of energy and talent that this team desperately needed. His play on the field was nothing short of his exceptional, with the Redskins putting him in an offense that made full use of his skill set from Day 1. The end result was a player who was extremely accurate and extremely productive, and well worth such a prominent ranking.

PFF also notes that Morris was second in the NFL with 24 runs over 15 yards in length, demonstrating that big-play ability in a running back isn't exclusive to jackrabbits like Chris Johnson. About Griffin, PFF notes that he was the most accurate QB in the NFL last year when throwing under pressure. That's a remarkable achievement for a rookie passer. 

In fact, it bears repeating that both Griffin and Morris were rookies last year. For a team that has gotten so little out of the NFL Draft in recent years decades, that is good news indeed. 

I admit I am a bit surprised that LT Trent Williams did not make the top 101 list, despite having the best season of his career. Obviously, there are other excellent left tackles who played very well in 2012, but if Russell Okung is listed at 55, I find it hard to believe Trent Williams cannot find a spot on the list somewhere. 

Here are your current Washington Nationals minor league system stats leaders.

BATTING LEADERS:

Doubles:  Tony Renda (A) and Brandon Miller (A) 9, Michael Taylor (A) 8, Adrian Nieto (A) 7

Triples: Brian Goodwin (AA) 5, Jason Martinson (AA) 3, Billy Burns (A) 3

Homers:  Zack Walters (AAA) 7, Chris Marrero (AAA) 6, Jason Martinson (A) and Brandon Miller (A) 5

Runs: Billy Burns (A) 24, Jeff Kobernus (AAA) 23, Tony Renda (A) 21, Caleb Ramsey (A) 20

SB: Billy Burns (A) 14, Jeff Kobernus (AAA) 13, Michael Taylor (A) 9

RBI:  Michael Taylor (A) 22, Chris Marrero (AAA) 21, Justin Bloxom (A) 20, Jason Martinson (A) 19

Average: Jeff Kobernus (AAA) .372, Eury Perez (AAA) .333,  Chris Marrero (AAA) .326, Billy Burns (A) .311, Shawn Pleffner (A)3.302

Slugging: Chris Marrero (AAA) .568, Jason Martinson (A) .495, Wander Ramos (A) .476, Jeff Kobernus (AAA) .460

On Base Percentage:  Wes Schill (A) .438, Billy Burns (A) .433, Shawn Pleffner (A) .415, Jeff Kobernus (AAA) .405

PITCHING LEADERS:

Wins:  Blake Schwartz (A) 4

ERA:  Blake Schwartz (A) 0.71, Taylor Jordan (A) 1.24, Robbie Ray (A) and Dixon Anderson (A) 1.85, Pedro Encarnacion (A) 1.93

Innings: Brian Borderick (AA) 38, Yunesky Maya (AAA) and Taylor Hill (A) 36.2, Taylor Jordan (A) 36.1, Claeb Clay (AA) 36.1

Strikeouts: Robbie Ray (A) 41, AJ Cole (A) and Dixon Anderson (A) 34, Blake Schwartz (A) and Nathan Karns (AA) 32, Paul Demny (AA) 31

BP Wins:  Michael Crotta (AAA) 3

Saves:  Aaron Barrett (A) and Robert Benincasa (A) 5

BP Strikeouts: Tyler Herron (A) 23, Tanner Roark (AAA) 22, Ian Korl (AA) and Matthew Swynenberg (A) 18

Games:  Aaron Barrett (A) 13, Ian Krol (AA) and JC Romero (AAA) 12

BP ERA:  Travis Henke (A) 0.79, Ian Krol (AA) 1.10, Tyler Herron (A) and Richie Mirkowski (A) 1.35, Erik Davis (AAA) 1.38

One of the most difficult aspects to master, when it comes to fantasy sports, is trading.  Successful owners know how to evaluate talent and pull off beneficial trades.  This article will give you some insight on how to pull off a blockbuster trade.

With 162 games, baseball is unlike all the other sports.  Bigger sample size equals more consistent results, so let's take a look at how you can take advantage of this.  We can break the basic information you should be using in evaluating a trade into two categories; objective and subjective.  The objective criteria you should be focused on is past results and current stats.  The subjective criteria is whether you like a player or his team.  Obviously, we should take more stock in the objective criteria.

Let's take a look at a few examples.

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The Washington Redskins have announced the dates for their 2013 training camp in Richmond, Virginia. Training camp will begin on July 25 and end on August 16, with 17 days of practice open to the public and Fan Appreciation Day on August 3, a Saturday. Admission is free and two practices are scheduled for each day of training camp.  

As we know, the name Washington Redskins is a controversial one, even if the vast majority of Americans are not offended by it right now. Washington D.C. Council Member David Grosso [I-At Large] is introducing a non-binding resolution calling on the Redskins to change their name to the Washington Redtails because he believes Redskins is "derogatory" and "racist." 

“It’s been a long time that we’ve had this name associated with Washington, and I think its time we take a stand and change it,” Grosso said.