Mark Zuckerman

Ross will start Tuesday's doubleheader opener

September 23, 2019, 1:40pm

Tuesday's doubleheader against the Phillies has loomed on the Nationals' schedule for three months now, and so too has the question of who would make a cameo appearance to start that game. The answer came today from bench coach Chip Hale, who revealed Joe Ross will get the ball for the 1:05 p.m. twinbill opener, with Max Scherzer making his regularly scheduled start in the 7:05 p.m. nightcap. Hale, subbing for Davey Martinez in meeting with reporters pregame while the manager had some...

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Game 155 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

September 23, 2019, 11:18am

Nationals

This has been looming on the schedule for months. Five games in four days against the Phillies, the result of a rainout in mid-June. At the time, we had no idea how significant this would be for one or both of these teams, or even whether it would be significant for either of them. The answer: It's very significant for the Nationals, not all that significant for the Phillies, who remain mathematically alive but are hanging on by a thread. (Their elimination number is three.) The Nats, of...

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Nats must put games in hands of two best relievers

September 22, 2019, 5:26pm

Nationals

Nats must put games in hands of two best relievers

It's been a ragged September for the Nationals, who despite hanging on to remain in strong position to reach the National League wild card game have gone 9-11. This is crunch time, of course, a time for the best players on the roster to step up and deliver in key moments to help lift their team into the postseason. Problem is, when it comes to the Nationals bullpen, the best players aren't the ones on the field in those key moments. If you had to guess, who would you think had made the most...

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Nats have no answer for latest blown lead, fall in Miami (updated)

September 22, 2019, 12:23pm

Nationals

Nats have no answer for latest blown lead, fall in Miami (updated)

MIAMI - Everybody in the Nationals bullpen has had his opportunity over the course of the season to prove he deserves the ball in critical moments. If anything, most of these guys have had so many opportunities they're now running on fumes as the final week of the regular season arrives. Until someone - or, more preferably, multiple someones - proves he can actually get the job done in crunch time, this team is simply going to have to find some other way to win the games necessary to reach the...

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Cabrera sits with sore ankle, could come off bench (Nats up 3-1)

September 22, 2019, 8:29am

Nationals

Cabrera sits with sore ankle, could come off bench (Nats up 3-1)

MIAMI - AsdrÃºbal Cabrera is out of today's lineup, the veteran second baseman dealing with a sore right ankle after he was thrown out at the plate during Saturday night's 10-4 10-inning win over the Marlins. Manager Davey Martinez said Cabrera is not scheduled to undergo an MRI and doesn't believe the injury is serious enough to prevent him from playing altogether, but he wanted to give the 33-year-old a chance to rest today. "I haven't talked to (director of athletic training Paul...

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Game 154 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 22, 2019, 6:24am

Nationals

MIAMI - Hello one last time from Marlins Park, where the Nationals will look to continue their utter dominance of the local ballclub. The Nats are 15-3 vs. the Marlins this season - they actually lost the first two games way back in April! - and carry an 11-game winning streak into today's series finale. I don't care how large the disparity in talent is between teams, that's really hard to do. The Nationals sure could use one more win this afternoon, though, because with the Brewers doing...

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More on Saturday night's wild win in Miami

September 21, 2019, 9:39pm

Nationals

More on Saturday night's wild win in Miami

MIAMI - A lot happened during the course of the Nationals' 10-4 10-inning win over the Marlins on Saturday night, and much of it was covered in the game story. But let's make sure we give a few more significant moments and developments from the game their just due. ... * AsdrÃºbal Cabrera injured his right ankle. He hurt himself sliding while getting tagged out at the plate on a fourth-inning play that had plenty of folks up in arms, with third base coach Bob Henley waving the veteran...

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After disastrous eighth, a joyous 10th for Nats (updated)

September 21, 2019, 6:31pm

Nationals

After disastrous eighth, a joyous 10th for Nats (updated)

MIAMI - They led by four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Stephen Strasburg had dominated the Marlins for the umpteenth time. The Nationals just needed to finish off a last-place opponent and move one step closer to a berth in the wild card game. And then Fernando Rodney took the mound, charged with protecting a four-run lead. And the enigmatic reliever remained on the mound until that four-run lead was gone and panic began to consume living rooms throughout the DMV while hope suddenly emerged...

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Suzuki hopes to get healthy enough to return (tied 4-4)

September 21, 2019, 1:17pm

Nationals

Suzuki hopes to get healthy enough to return (tied 4-4)

MIAMI - Though he says everything is going according to plan in his throwing program, Kurt Suzuki admits he won't be able to get his right elbow back to 100 percent health by season's end. Which means the veteran catcher has no choice but to try to get himself as close to playing shape as soon as possible to try to rejoin the Nationals lineup in time to contribute in this final playoff push and potentially beyond. "That's kind of the plan now," Suzuki said this afternoon prior to the...

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Game 153 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 21, 2019, 10:41am

Nationals

MIAMI - Not to jinx anything, but it would be irresponsible not to mention that Stephen Strasburg enters tonight's start riding a 12-game winning streak against the Marlins, dating all the way back to Sept. 20, 2015. Yes, that's three years and one day. Pretty amazing. Of course anything can happen on any given day, so Strasburg and the Nationals aren't assured of anything tonight. But it's obviously an advantageous matchup for Strasburg, who is 4-0 with a 1.19 ERA, 43 strikeouts and four...

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The state of the race with nine days to go

September 20, 2019, 9:39pm

Nationals

The state of the race with nine days to go

MIAMI - As the clock ticks down on September, the magnitude of every game result grows. And what looked like a tight race only days ago begins to look more comfortable. No, the Nationals haven't clinched anything yet. Not even close to it. But in the simple act of winning 6-4 Friday night over the Marlins, and especially in the simple act of watching the Cubs lose three days in a row (once to the Reds, twice to the Cardinals), the Nats have put themselves in a pretty advantageous...

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Bullpen closes out Marlins to extend Nats' wild card lead

September 20, 2019, 6:24pm

Nationals

Bullpen closes out Marlins to extend Nats' wild card lead

MIAMI - It's crunch time in the National League wild card race, and if the Nationals have any intention of extending their season beyond 162 games, they're going to have to win some close games over the next 10 days and do whatever's necessary to try to win those games. Tonight, that meant a six-out save attempt for Daniel Hudson, the second time the veteran reliever has been asked to do that this week. And for the second time this week, Hudson pulled it off, in the process moving his team...

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Suzuki available to pinch-hit, Adams could be soon (Nats up 5-4)

September 20, 2019, 4:05pm

Nationals

Suzuki available to pinch-hit, Adams could be soon (Nats up 5-4)

MIAMI - Kurt Suzuki played catch from 60 feet today, the first time the Nationals catcher has been able to throw a ball since he departed a Sept. 7 game in Atlanta with right elbow inflammation. It was merely a first step for Suzuki, who has several more to take before he can return to the lineup. But it was a positive step for the veteran catcher, whose team hopes to have him back in some capacity for the season's final week-and-a-half. Even if Suzuki isn't ready to get behind the plate yet,...

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Thrilled to return, Martinez vows he's "going to be myself"

September 20, 2019, 2:30pm

Nationals

Thrilled to return, Martinez vows he's "going to be myself"

MIAMI - Davey Martinez strolled through the clubhouse this afternoon, a wide grin on his face, his arm open to receiving hugs from anyone and everyone who welcomed the Nationals manager back to work five days after he had to go to the hospital mid-game due to chest pains. Nothing about the 53-year-old skipper looked or sounded different. He was full of energy. He was eager to talk about tonight's series opener against the Marlins, provide injury updates on Kurt Suzuki and Matt Adams and the...

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Game 152 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 20, 2019, 11:36am

Nationals

MIAMI - When you think playoff race, you think Marlins Park. Right? Well, whether it fits the mold or not, this giant airport hangar of a ballpark is going to host three very important games this weekend. Important, of course, for the Nationals. Not the home team, which is trying to avoid 100 losses tonight. The Nationals absolutely must take care of business. They've gone 13-3 against the Marlins this season. Two of those losses came here in late April. It's never easy to sweep anybody, no...

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Martinez rejoining Nats in Miami, will manage tonight

September 20, 2019, 8:39am

Nationals

Martinez rejoining Nats in Miami, will manage tonight

MIAMI - Davey Martinez will be back in the Nationals dugout tonight. Martinez, who has not been able to manage the team since suffering from chest pain during the sixth inning of Sunday's win over the Braves, was cleared by doctors to travel to Miami and will rejoin the club in time for tonight's series opener at Marlins Park. Club officials were hopeful the 53-year-old skipper would be ready to return this weekend but were at the mercy of doctors, who had to clear Martinez for travel after...

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Friday morning Nats Q&A en route to Miami

September 19, 2019, 7:08pm

Nationals

Friday morning Nats Q&A en route to Miami

35,000 FEET OVER THE EAST COAST - I'm flying from Washington to Miami this morning for the Nationals' final road series of the regular season. And what better way to pass the time than to engage in a Q&A session with you fine folks? There are 11 games to go, 11 games for the Nats to either complete an impressive turnaround from a disastrous start or suffer an even more heartbreaking fate. (It should be pointed out here, by the way, that the Brewers and Cubs only have nine games left...

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Elite pitching won't matter if Nats don't start scoring more runs

September 18, 2019, 5:37pm

Nationals

Elite pitching won't matter if Nats don't start scoring more runs

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals' chances of reaching the postseason are built on the broad shoulders of their elite starting rotation. Max Scherzer. Stephen Strasburg. Patrick Corbin. AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez. That's how this team was built to win, and it's only going to win if those big arms come up big. If only that was 100 percent true. The Nationals rotation is very good, especially now that Scherzer appears to be back to his top form, or at least something very closely resembling it. But that...

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Agonizing loss to Cards has familiar feel for Nats (updated)

September 18, 2019, 12:12pm

Nationals

Agonizing loss to Cards has familiar feel for Nats (updated)

ST. LOUIS - They broke out the Greatest Hits this afternoon at Busch Stadium, with all of your least favorite moments in the history of Nationals-Cardinals matchups rolled into 2 hours and 55 minutes of agony for anyone who has ever worn a curly W cap and ecstasy for anyone who has ever donned the birds-on-the-bat jersey. It's not that the Nationals lost 5-1, dropping the rubber game of a key September series that was right there for the taking. It's how they lost, in much the same manner...

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No rest for veterans, plus a rotation tweak (Nats down 5-1)

September 18, 2019, 8:55am

Nationals

No rest for veterans, plus a rotation tweak (Nats down 5-1)

ST. LOUIS - Day games following night games - especially day games with a 12:15 p.m. local time first pitch - are prime opportunities for veterans to get some rest and reserves to get some playing time. The Nationals, though, have reached crunch time of a season that appears likely to go right down to the wire. And so when it came time to fill out the lineup card for today's matinee with the Cardinals, Davey Martinez and Chip Hale decided it was appropriate to keep things exactly as they were...