15 Dan Haren, SP

Nationals starting pitcher Dan Haren dropped his second straight decision Sunday afternoon against the Padres.

Haren (4-5), who made his ninth start of the season, had a hard time keeping the ball in the park as he surrendered three runs in the first and home runs to Will Venable and Kyle Blanks in the fifth. He was charged with seven runs and nine hits over five innings of work. He struck out five and walked two as his ERA rose to 5.54 in a 13-4 defeat.

Haren is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at home against the Phillies. He is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four starts at home.

Nationals starting pitcher Dan Haren has turned his season around in recent starts by eschewing strikeouts and ignoring the radar gun. While that has led to three quality starts in his last four, I’m going to go ahead and be that guy who argues with success.

Haren has made a point of publicly noting his lack of concern with his declining fastball velocity, claiming that overthrowing was the cause of his early seasons struggles. And while that may be the case, I also cannot endorse Haren as a reliable Fantasy option if he is just pitching to contact. This is still a guy who struggles to keep the ball in the yard, thanks to a subpar 34.9 groundball percentage.

If Haren isn’t missing bats or keeping the ball on the ground, his pinpoint accuracy will only take him so far. Eventually, all of those balls in the zone are going to turn into hits and home runs, and Haren is going to look a lot less impressive than his 3.00 ERA over the last four starts might indicate.

I can buy Haren as a useful Fantasy option somewhere near the back of your rotation. But I definitely am not on board with his apparent return to relevance as anything resembling a must-start option. 

Nationals pitcher Dan Haren was unable to pick up his fourth consecutive win as he was outdueled by Clayton Kershaw in a loss Tuesday night against the Dodgers.

Haren (4-4) surrendered a two-run single to Andre Ethier in the third for his only damage of the night. The right-hander was charged with two runs and four hits over seven innings. He struck out four and did not issue a walk in a 2-0 defeat.

Haren has been sharp of late, allowing just three runs and striking out eight over his last 15 innings. He is scheduled to make his next start Sunday at San Diego. He struck out five and allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings of work in his previous meeting with the Padres last season as a member of the Angels.

Despite running into a bit of trouble at the end of his start, Nationals pitcher Dan Haren won his third start in a row Thursday against the Tigers.

Haren held the Tigers to just one run in his first five innings of work, and the Nationals jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two. He hit a rough spot in the sixth inning, allowing two runners with two outs and pinch hitter Matt Tuiasosopo's three-run home run, which cut the lead to 5-4. However, the bullpen held on to give him his fourth win of the season.

Haren allowed four runs on nine hits and a walk in six innings, with three strikeouts. His ERA rose to 5.17 while his record improved to 4-3.

Haren will make his next start Tuesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. 

Nationals pitcher Dan Haren has relied less on his fastball in recent starts, according to The Washington Post.

Haren's fastball usage has jumped 7 percent this season. Pitching coach Steve McCatty admitted this was an intentional strategy the Nationals pushed on Haren, but "he didn't feel comfortable with it."

Over his past three games, Haren's fastball usage has fluctuated. April 22, he only threw his four-seam fastball three times. That jumped to 17 during his next start, but dropped down to eight during his most recent game. 

Haren has talked about mixing in more cutters and sinkers. Haren said he tried to throw harder earlier in the year, and it led to decreased movement on his cutter. He's focusing less on velocity now, and said that's helped him regain some effectiveness with his pitches.