Mark Zuckerman

Butterflies or not, Lester pleased with delayed spring debut

March 18, 2021, 12:32pm

Jon Lester has been doing this since 2006, taking the mound on a warm spring afternoon in either Florida or Arizona and beginning the process of preparing his arm and body for the upcoming season. Today represented the 58th spring training start of the left-hander's long career. Suffice it to say, he knows the routine by now. And yet listen to how Lester described his emotions before he took the mound this afternoon in Port St. Lucie to make his delayed Nationals debut against the Mets. "I'd...

300 Hits

Comments

Tags:

Strasburg will start on schedule, but in simulated game

March 18, 2021, 8:24am

Nationals

Strasburg will start on schedule, but in simulated game

Stephen Strasburg won't miss any time with a left calf strain and will make his next start Friday on schedule. But the Nationals right-hander won't be doing it in a Grapefruit League game. Strasburg will throw four innings in a simulated game against teammates prior to the Nationals' official 6:05 p.m. exhibition against the Astros, manager Davey Martinez revealed this morning. "He says he feels fine," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "But we want to make sure...

412 Hits

Comments

Tags:

erick fedde joe ross mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime spring training stephen strasburg tanner rainey featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

MASN to broadcast Nationals' final two spring games

March 18, 2021, 6:52am

Nationals

MASN will be broadcasting the Nationals' final two games of the spring later this month, the network announced today. The Nats' March 28 game against the Cardinals and March 29 Grapefruit League finale against the Astros will be televised from The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Both broadcasts begin at 1 p.m. EDT. MASN or MASN2 will again broadcast every Nationals regular-season game not picked up for national broadcast, beginning with the April 3 home game against the Mets. The April 1...

665 Hits

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman masn nationals nationals pastime schedule spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

March 18, 2021, 6:17am

Nationals

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

It took a little longer than expected, but today Jon Lester finally makes his Nationals spring training debut. The veteran left-hander, a key acquisition this winter, has been slotted all along as the club's No. 4 starter. But when he needed surgery to remove one of the parathyroid glands in his neck earlier this month, that schedule was delayed. The good news is, Lester is healthy and doesn't appear to have any lingering effects from the surgery. He's already faced live hitters in a...

0 Hits

Comments

Tags:

jon lester juan soto lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets spring training trea turner victor robles featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

GarcÃa's confidence has never been in doubt

March 16, 2021, 8:41pm

Nationals

GarcÃa's confidence has never been in doubt

There is a word Luis GarcÃa keeps using when talking about himself: confidence. He uses it not as some means of bragging about his immense talent and reputation at the ripe age of 20, but rather to explain how he managed to hold up during his first season in the major leagues and, at times, even thrive. "At every level I've played at, I've always told myself: 'It's the same baseball,' " the Nationals infielder said last week via interpreter Octavio Martinez, during a Zoom session with...

74 Hits

Comments

Tags:

luis garcia mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime spring training davey martinez featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Corbin labors, Kieboom presses, Bell homers again

March 16, 2021, 5:52pm

Nationals

Corbin labors, Kieboom presses, Bell homers again

Patrick Corbin has made three starts this spring. And he has faced the Marlins three times this spring. That's not what anyone would consider an ideal scenario, but there's not much the Nationals can do about it in this modified Grapefruit League schedule that includes only four opponents who train close to West Palm Beach, Fla. Corbin's first start (two innings, one run allowed on March 6) went perfectly fine. His second (three scoreless innings on March 11) went much better. His third...

238 Hits

Comments

Tags:

carter kieboom josh bell mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Lester to debut Thursday, Strasburg still testing calf

March 16, 2021, 12:59pm

Nationals

Lester to debut Thursday, Strasburg still testing calf

Jon Lester is ready to make his Nationals debut. And that could help give Stephen Strasburg a couple extra days to let his strained calf heal without disrupting the team's rotation plans to begin the season. Lester has cleared all hurdles since rejoining camp following March 5 surgery to remove one of his parathyroid glands and is slated to start Thursday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla., according to manager Davey Martinez. It'll be the left-hander's long-awaited Nationals debut...

223 Hits

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez jon lester mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime spring training stephen strasburg tanner rainey featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach

March 16, 2021, 11:52am

Nationals

Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach

The Nationals have a date this evening with the Marlins, and Patrick Corbin is once again the main attraction. Corbin, who tossed three scoreless innings against this same club in Jupiter, Fla., five days ago, now faces Miami at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where he'll look to build up his pitch count to about 60 and attempt to complete four innings for the first time this spring. The Nationals have all regulars playing behind Corbin in the field tonight, with a few differences in the...

0 Hits

Comments

Tags:

kyle schwarber lineups mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin spring training starlin castro trea turner frontstory_nationals1

Parra debuts, Zimmerman slugs, Suero dominates

March 15, 2021, 9:19pm

Nationals

Parra debuts, Zimmerman slugs, Suero dominates

It was a spring training game, three at-bats and five innings in left field in Jupiter, Fla. Gerardo Parra had done something along those lines hundreds of times in his career. And yet this one felt different. Some 17 months removed from the last game he played in a Nationals uniform, the veteran outfielder wasn't just going through the motions when he took the field Monday. "I feel emotional inside," he said during a Zoom session with reporters afterward. "Really, really...

371 Hits

Comments

Tags:

austin voth gerardo parra mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman spring training st. louis cardinals wander suero featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

D.C. approves 5,000 fans at Nationals Park to begin season

March 15, 2021, 7:22pm

Nationals

The District of Columbia has approved the Nationals' request to allow crowds of up to 5,000 at Nationals Park, ensuring they will join Major League Baseball's other 29 clubs in playing in front of at least some fans to begin the 2021 season. In a letter sent to the team Monday night, D.C. Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Christopher Rodriguez said the club's March 13 waiver application to operate Nationals Park with fans has been approved. The team then made a public...

763 Hits

Comments

Tags:

attendance coronavirus davey martinez mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals park nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Scherzer remains dialed in, dominates Cards again

March 15, 2021, 12:36pm

Nationals

Scherzer remains dialed in, dominates Cards again

It's only spring training, so all the usual caveats must apply. These games don't count. Different players take different approaches when they're on the field. Objectives aren't the same on March 15 as they will be on April 1. Now, having gotten all that out of the way, this needs to be said: Max Scherzer looks absolutely dialed in right now. With a dominant, four-inning performance today during a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., Scherzer built off his two previous exhibition...

404 Hits

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime spring training st. louis cardinals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Rotation plans hinge on Strasburg and Lester's progress

March 15, 2021, 7:15am

Nationals

Rotation plans hinge on Strasburg and Lester's progress

The Nationals remain hopeful Stephen Strasburg will be able to make his next start after straining his left calf Sunday but are preparing contingency plans in case he needs more time to heal. Strasburg is scheduled to receive treatment at the club's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., today, after which he and the Nationals medical staff will decide whether he can attempt to play catch and test his leg. If everything appears fine, he would then likely progress to throwing off a mound, where the...

292 Hits

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez jon lester mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime spring training stephen strasburg featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

March 15, 2021, 6:05am

Nationals

Sure, there are some big-name Nationals starting today against the Cardinals in Jupiter. Max Scherzer is on the mound. Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman are in the lineup. But let's talk about the guy who is making his 2021 Grapefruit League debut, because I have a hunch some fans are more excited to watch him than anyone else: Gerardo Parra. Yes, the Baby Shark is back at last. After needing some extra time to get himself into shape following knee surgery last fall, Parra is ready to...

0 Hits

Comments

Tags:

gerardo parra lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime spring training st. louis cardinals

With walk-off single, TomÃ¡s throws his hat in the ring

March 13, 2021, 7:51pm

Nationals

With walk-off single, TomÃ¡s throws his hat in the ring

The Nationals have one open spot on their bench they need to fill, and the sense entering camp was that it was likely to go either to a utility infielder like HernÃ¡n PÃ©rez or Jordy Mercer or an experienced backup outfielder like Gerardo Parra or Yadiel HernÃ¡ndez. There is another possible candidate for the job, though, especially if general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez decide to prioritize offensive potential over defensive ability and versatility. His name is Yasmany...

94 Hits

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamondbacks davey martinez mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime spring training yasmany tomas featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Ross continues to make his case for final spot in rotation

March 13, 2021, 5:05pm

Nationals

Ross continues to make his case for final spot in rotation

If the conventional wisdom entering the spring was that the No. 5 spot in the Nationals rotation was Joe Ross' to lose, the right-hander has done nothing to date to suggest he's in serious danger of coughing up the job to someone else. Ross hasn't necessarily dominated in his two starts, but he's been good enough. He's been healthy. And he's feeling quite comfortable sliding back into the five-day routine of a big league starter after sitting out the 2020 season. "It's just good to be...

292 Hits

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez erick fedde joe ross mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Limited spring schedule forces Nats to get creative

March 13, 2021, 11:28am

Nationals

Limited spring schedule forces Nats to get creative

As much as they've tried to make this feel like a normal spring training, there are certain unavoidable differences from previous Nationals camps because of COVID-19 protocols. Like the limited number of opponents. Because Major League Baseball decided to reduce travel across the state of Florida, the Nats are only playing the four other clubs that train within 45 minutes of West Palm Beach: the Astros, Cardinals, Marlins and Mets. That leads to a whole lot of repeat matchups against teams...

333 Hits

Comments

Tags:

daniel hudson davey martinez gerardo parra javy guerra mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets spring training will harris featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

March 13, 2021, 9:56am

Nationals

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

After their first true day off of the spring, the Nationals are back in action tonight in West Palm Beach, facing the Mets. And tonight marks the end of the second turn through the projected rotation. Joe Ross is on the mound for his second start, looking to build off a solid debut against this same New York lineup in which he threw 39 pitches across 1 2/3 innings and struck out three. Though nobody is saying it out loud, it seems pretty clear Ross is the planned No. 5 starter entering the...

0 Hits

Comments

Tags:

joe ross juan soto lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets spring training frontstory_nationals1

Nats are only MLB club still waiting for answer on fans

March 12, 2021, 7:06pm

Nationals

Nats are only MLB club still waiting for answer on fans

There are only 19 days to go until opening night at Nationals Park, and there are still a whole lot of decisions that must be made before then. Will Joe Ross be the No. 5 starter? Will Victor Robles be leading off? Will Carter Kieboom be the starting third baseman? Who will round out the bullpen and the bench? Oh, yeah, and this little question that still needs to be answered: Will any fans be allowed in the park to watch the Nationals and Mets open the season? In some respects, it's kind of...

640 Hits

Comments

Tags:

coronavirus mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime opening night spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

One year later, spring training shutdown still feels surreal

March 11, 2021, 7:41pm

Nationals

One year later, spring training shutdown still feels surreal

The Nationals are off today, and there is some strange symbolism to be found there, because exactly one year ago, they played one of the final six games to be held in Florida before Major League Baseball shut down all spring training operations. March 12, 2020, was a day unlike any we'd ever experienced. It was surreal. It was filled with uncertainty. It was, as it turned out, the end of an era. "It was tough," manager Davey Martinez said Thursday, reminiscing about the one-year anniversary...

643 Hits

Comments

Tags:

coronavirus davey martinez mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

With increased velocity, Corbin feeling more like himself

March 11, 2021, 11:59am

Nationals

With increased velocity, Corbin feeling more like himself

When Patrick Corbin pitched 364 days ago - in what proved to be the final game of spring training 2020 before Major League Baseball shut down in response to the rapidly growing pandemic - his fastball hovered in the 87-88 mph range. And though it ticked up to an average of 90 mph once the season finally took place last summer, it wasn't enough to prevent the left-hander from giving up the most hits in the league. When Corbin pitched this afternoon in Jupiter, Fla., in his second start of this...