Mark Zuckerman

Corbin, Nats reach new depths in blowout loss (updated)

August 14, 2021, 5:21pm

It's been 15 years since the Nationals last saw a pitcher do this. That is, pitch this poorly while remaining a member of the rotation for the bulk of a season. Way back in 2006, when Alfonso Soriano was chasing a 40-40 season, Frank Robinson was nearing the end of his managerial career and Ryan Zimmerman was trying to win National League Rookie of the Year, a journeyman right-hander named RamÃ³n Ortiz slogged his way through the worst pitching season in Nats history. Ortiz led the National...

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Nats claim reliever Murphy from Jays, release catcher Rivera

August 14, 2021, 1:37pm

Nationals

Nats claim reliever Murphy from Jays, release catcher Rivera

August waiver trades are a thing of the past, but teams still can still acquire players from other organizations under certain circumstances, and today the Nationals found a way to pick up another young pitcher who could potentially help them in their long-term plan to rebuild. The Nats claimed right-hander Patrick Murphy off waivers from the Blue Jays, taking a shot at a 26-year-old reliever with good minor league numbers this season but a penchant for struggling with his command during his...

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Game 117 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

August 14, 2021, 11:52am

Nationals

And we're back. If it feels like Friday night's game just ended, that's because it did. The Nationals and Braves find themselves in the unfortunate position of not only having just played a game that ended at 1:19 a.m. but having their next game scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m., an hour early to accommodate the planned postgame fireworks show. And, yes, it's important to remember that the fireworks remain planned for postgame tonight. In order for them to actually take place, this game will...

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Nats working with Kieboom on smoother play at third base

August 13, 2021, 10:02pm

Nationals

Nats working with Kieboom on smoother play at third base

One year ago, the last time he had a chance to play regularly in the big leagues, Carter Kieboom looked better in the field than he did at the plate. This time around, he's looked better at the plate than in the field. Kieboom's entire game remains a work in progress, of course, and the Nationals aren't ready to draw any conclusions about the 23-year-old third baseman yet. But they are both pleased with the progress he's shown with his bat and hoping a recent tweak with his glove will help...

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Gray impressive again, but done in by late homers (updated)

August 13, 2021, 9:19pm

Nationals

Gray impressive again, but done in by late homers (updated)

There are things you find out about ballplayers at 10 p.m. in front of a sellout crowd, and then there are things you find out about them at midnight in front of a few thousand fans who were willing to wait out the longest rain delay of the season. They all matter in the end, and all of these experiences ultimately shape young ballplayers into the finished products they will become in due time. And they don't always have to produce positive results, as much as everyone wishes they...

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Rainey has work to do before Nats bring him back (game delayed)

August 13, 2021, 2:08pm

Nationals

Rainey has work to do before Nats bring him back (game delayed)

Tanner Rainey's return to the Nationals bullpen Thursday was as brief as it was disappointing, but it didn't change the club's intentions for the right-hander. Rainey, who had been optioned to Triple-A at the start of the month, was called up as the Nats' designated 27th man for their doubleheader against the Mets. Then, after giving up a two-run homer to Jonathan Villar in the sixth inning of what wound up a 5-4, seven-inning loss, he was optioned back to Rochester. That decision wasn't...

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Game 116 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

August 13, 2021, 11:26am

Nationals

The Nationals are back home again, having just suffered through a brutal 1-5 road trip to Atlanta and New York that included blown saves, rain delays, rainouts and other assorted calamities. All of that leaves this team in a prolonged funk unlike any they've experienced in a very long time. The Nats have lost 27 of their last 37 games. The only worse stretch in club history came near the end of the 2009 season, the last time this franchise lost 100 games. That's how bad things have...

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Inexperienced bullpen is going to deal with more bumps

August 11, 2021, 8:18pm

Nationals

Inexperienced bullpen is going to deal with more bumps

Two weeks ago, if the Nationals held a 7-5 lead heading to the seventh inning, Davey Martinez wouldn't have needed to think too hard about his upcoming pitching decisions. Provided everyone was available, he would've had Kyle Finnegan pitch the seventh, then Daniel Hudson the eighth and Brad Hand the ninth. It wouldn't always have worked, and certainly during those final days before the trade deadline Hand was anything but a sure thing. But the decision-making process that resulted in those...

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Thursday doubleheader planned after another rainout

August 11, 2021, 5:14pm

Nationals

Thursday doubleheader planned after another rainout

When a major storm cell barreled through New York on Tuesday night, the Nationals' series opener against the Mets had to be suspended in the second inning, then completed this afternoon. When another major storm cell was preparing to barrel through New York tonight, they didn't take any chances. The Mets delayed the start of the nightcap of the scheduled doubleheader, then an hour later postponed it altogether. And so despite spending many hours over the last two days at Citi Field, the...

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Game 114 lineups: Nats at Mets

August 11, 2021, 3:57pm

Nationals

Well, the opener of this evening's pseudo-doubleheader did not go as the Nationals would've hoped. Despite twice holding a three-run lead, they wound up losing to the Mets 8-7, done in by an inexperienced bullpen that is suddenly being asked to pitch high-leverage innings against a team still in the pennant race. They'll have to hope for a better result in the nightcap, a scheduled seven-inning game that is supposed to begin at 8 p.m. but is now being delayed because of another big storm...

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Nats can't hold lead, lose completion of suspended game

August 11, 2021, 3:19pm

Nationals

Nats can't hold lead, lose completion of suspended game

The Nationals are going to have a say in the outcome of the National League East race this season. Not because they're likely to climb back into contention after trading away eight veterans for 12 prospects two weeks ago. But because the final two months of this season will see them face the three teams still angling for what could be an ugly division title a bunch, and the outcome of those games is going to have a real impact on how everyone finishes in the standings. Just in the last...

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Lefty Nolin promoted from Triple-A, struggling Clay optioned

August 11, 2021, 10:47am

Nationals

Lefty Nolin promoted from Triple-A, struggling Clay optioned

Looking for more pitchers who can provide innings during the 24 innings of baseball on tap over the next 24 hours, the Nationals promoted left-hander Sean Nolin from Triple-A today, optioning reliever Sam Clay to Rochester in the process. Nolin, 31, is on a big league roster for the first time since 2015, when he started six games for the Athletics. After bouncing between the minor leagues, independent ball and even Japan in the ensuing years, he wound up in the Nationals organization this...

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Young hitters still trying to earn prominent spots in lineup

August 10, 2021, 6:09pm

Nationals

Young hitters still trying to earn prominent spots in lineup

The final 50 games of the Nationals' season are about evaluating young talent. Even more than that, they're about evaluating how young talent handles various situations. Like seeing if some of the club's less experienced hitters can perform in prominent parts of the lineup. We've already seen Victor Robles get an opportunity to bat leadoff again after spending most of the season at the bottom of manager Davey Martinez's batting order. The results have been mixed so far, but Robles did...

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Game suspended in second inning, to be resumed Wednesday

August 10, 2021, 5:59pm

Nationals

Game suspended in second inning, to be resumed Wednesday

Everything was going swimmingly for the Nationals in New York tonight. Until the skies opened in the second inning and left everyone at Citi Field swimming in a deluge. The Nats' series opener against the Mets ultimately had to be suspended in the top of the second inning, the visitors leading 3-1, after a long and ultimately fruitless wait for a major storm system to clear out of the region. It will be resumed from the point of suspension Wednesday at 4:10 p.m., still scheduled to complete...

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Soto returns to lineup, coaches return to Nats dugout

August 10, 2021, 1:41pm

Nationals

Soto returns to lineup, coaches return to Nats dugout

Juan Soto is back in the Nationals lineup, his right knee feeling better five days after he tweaked it running the bases. Soto, who was held out of the lineup for the Nats' entire weekend series in Atlanta, was cleared to return to full-time duties tonight for the opener of a three-game series in New York. "I talked to him; he felt pretty good," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "He felt like he could play today. He went through his routine. He's...

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Game 113 lineups: Nats at Mets

August 10, 2021, 12:43pm

Nationals

For months, the Nationals found themselves chasing the Mets in the National League East, and because they ultimately weren't able to gain enough ground in the division race, their leaders decided it was time to undergo a mass rebuild. Since then, what's happened to the Mets? They've gone in the tank as well, losing nine of 11 and turning a four-game lead in the NL East into a 2 1/2-game deficit that now sees them trailing both the Phillies and Braves. It's too late for the Nats to take...

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Full coaching staff set to return at last tonight in New York

August 09, 2021, 7:25pm

Nationals

Full coaching staff set to return at last tonight in New York

As much as the Nationals roster has undergone massive changes in the last two weeks, let's not forget what happened to manager Davey Martinez's coaching staff as well. Just one day before the frenzied 36-hour stretch that saw eight veteran players traded away for 12 prospects, the Nats learned five of their big league coaches, plus four other staff members, had tested positive for COVID-19. With pitching coach Jim Hickey, bench coach Tim Bogar, first base coach Randy Knorr, third base coach...

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Monday morning Nats Q&A

August 08, 2021, 6:35pm

Nationals

So, anything interesting happen around here recently? The last two weeks of July, to be honest, were as eventful as any two weeks in Nationals history, aside from perhaps the final two weeks of October 2019. Even having had some time now to process everything that happened, I'm not sure I can fully grasp everything that did occur. It was nuts. And the end result of all that is a completely reshaped franchise, one that now is far more focused on future success than current success. It's a...

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Homers haunt Corbin again in Nats' latest loss (updated)

August 08, 2021, 12:05pm

Nationals

Homers haunt Corbin again in Nats' latest loss (updated)

The Nationals' objective over the final two months of this season, first and foremost, is to identify which young players are going to be part of the organization's long-term plan. That's what made a game like Saturday night's 3-2 victory over the Braves, in which Josiah Gray dazzled on the mound and Riley Adams delivered a momentous blast at the plate, so uplifting for anyone associated with the club. But the 2022 Nationals aren't going to be made up entirely of kids. There are going to...

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With Soto sitting again, Bell returns to roots in right field

August 08, 2021, 8:36am

Nationals

With Soto sitting again, Bell returns to roots in right field

Five years removed from his last appearance there in a game, and one month since he began getting early-afternoon reps there, Josh Bell is finally making his official return to the outfield. Bell, who has exclusively played first base since 2017, will start in right field this afternoon when the Nationals wrap up their weekend series against the Braves at Truist Park. It's a move that has been in the works for a while, with manager Davey Martinez hoping to find a way to get both Bell and Ryan...