Storen perfect in first outing since losing job

MIAMI -- Nationals reliever Drew Storen lost his closer's job after the team's new acquisition, Jonathan Papelbon, arrived Wednesday afternoon. Later that night, getting demoted had no effect on Storen on the field in a 7-2 victory over the Marlins.

Storen pitched one shutout inning in the eighth and struck out Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich. Not bad for a guy who hasn't pitched since last Wednesday. The performance shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Storen was a setup man at this time last year before becoming the closer in September.

"I felt good. At the same time, when you get a little bit of a break, you try not to do too much," Storen said. "It's three outs. That's all there is, especially when you are facing [the first three hitters in the lineup]."

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Storen declined to say how he felt about the acquisition of Papelbon, but he acknowledged that the two talked before the game.

"I'll leave it the way it is for now. I'll keep the comments the way they are until I have a discussion with [general manager] Mike [Rizzo] and my agent," Storen said.