Mark Zuckerman

Game 131 lineups: Nats vs. Orioles

August 27, 2019, 11:22am

This year's Battle of the Beltways doesn't have the same juice as some previous versions did. Some of that is due to the two participants' very different records. Some of that is due to the odd scheduling, with two weeknight games in each city, one month apart from each other. Whatever the case, the Nationals and Orioles renew acquaintances tonight. And from the Nats' perspective, these are must-win games. They split the two games at Camden Yards in July. That won't cut it this time, not...

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With tough September looming, Nats need to finish August strong

August 26, 2019, 8:20pm

Nationals Orioles

With tough September looming, Nats need to finish August strong

The Nationals' weekend series in Chicago was big. Big because of the opponent. Big because of the result. Big because of the impact on the standings (at least, the National League wild card race). And there are plenty more big series still to come before this season is complete. But not this week. Seven of the Nationals' 10 remaining regular season series come against fellow contenders: two with the Braves, one with the Mets, Phillies, Cardinals, Twins and Indians. The other three series come...

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Rendon named NL Player of the Week

August 26, 2019, 12:08pm

Nationals

Anthony Rendon has been named National League Player of the Week, honored for his impressive performance during the Nationals' 6-1 road trip. Rendon hit .483 (14-for-29) with three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs, five walks, one stolen base and six runs. He capped off the week with a dominant showing in Sunday's 11-inning win over the Cubs, going 4-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and a walk. Rendon, who led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS for the...

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Talented and resilient Nats have earned respect of sport

August 25, 2019, 7:55pm

Nationals

Talented and resilient Nats have earned respect of sport

CHICAGO - If you're among those who remain skeptical about the 2019 Nationals, if you believe this bullpen is going to ruin the season, if you believe the manager still isn't making the right moves to win ballgames, perhaps it's time to listen to what others are now saying about this team. Others, as in the team that just got swept this weekend by these Nationals. "They're hot," Cole Hamels told reporters inside the Cubs clubhouse after Sunday's game. "Probably as hot as any team we'll...

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Nats can't close out Cubs in nine, but still sweep in 11 (updated)

August 25, 2019, 2:56pm

Nationals

Nats can't close out Cubs in nine, but still sweep in 11 (updated)

CHICAGO - The first two games of a highly anticipated weekend series were lopsided affairs, the Nationals clearly outshining the Cubs on their home turf. Today's finale? This was the ballgame everyone anticipated all along: a taut, well-played, evenly matched showdown between two National League postseason contenders. And when it finally ended some 4 1/2 hours later and 40,518 filed out into the streets of Wrigleyville, it was the Nationals who were celebrating in the middle of the diamond,...

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Cabrera debuts at first base, Robles set HBP record (Nats win 7-5)

August 25, 2019, 9:57am

Nationals

Cabrera debuts at first base, Robles set HBP record (Nats win 7-5)

CHICAGO - The Nationals are playing their fourth straight game against a left-handed starter, an extremely rare occurrence during the course of a season. Howie Kendrick, who has battled hamstring issues all year, already started the first three games, including the day game in Chicago following a night game in Pittsburgh. So Davey Martinez faced a dilemma when filling out his lineup card for the series finale against Cubs southpaw Cole Hamels: Start Kendrick a fourth straight day, start Matt...

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Game 130 lineups: Nats at Cubs

August 25, 2019, 7:31am

Nationals

CHICAGO - The Cubs have been lights-out at home this season. They entered the weekend a staggering 14-1-4 in home series, the lone loss coming in late May when they dropped two of three to the Reds. And then the Nationals came to town and blew that narrative out of the water. With back-to-back lopsided wins the last two days, the Nats already have won this series. Now they have a chance to pull off an impressive three-game sweep with another win this afternoon. The Nationals have Stephen...

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How Turner has reached base in 31 straight games

August 24, 2019, 8:34pm

Nationals

How Turner has reached base in 31 straight games

CHICAGO - Trea Turner legged out an infield single to open Saturday's game at Wrigley Field. In doing so, he extended his career-high streak of games reaching base to 31. And then he went and reached base three more times, scored two runs and stole a base a help lead the Nationals to a 7-2 win over the Cubs. "It's just fun scoring runs," he said. "It's fun winning, too." Yes, it is. And Turner has done just as much to help the Nationals win a lot of games this summer as anyone else on...

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Nationals find new formula to beat Cubs again

August 24, 2019, 2:07pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - The combination of an explosive lineup and consistently dominant starting pitching has allowed the Nationals to weather the first week of Sean Doolittle's stint on the injured list without having to put too much weight on the shoulders of their reconfigured bullpen. Because he's been getting seven (or more) innings out of his starters, and because his lineup has been averaging 10 runs a game, Davey Martinez hasn't really needed to worry about who's going to close out games in...

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ElÃas moving closer to return after bullpen session (Nats up 5-2)

August 24, 2019, 9:44am

Nationals

ElÃas moving closer to return after bullpen session (Nats up 5-2)

CHICAGO - The left-hander the Nationals went out of their way to acquire at the trade deadline is getting closer to rejoining the active roster. Roenis ElÃas, who strained his hamstring in his team debut, threw off the bullpen mound at Wrigley Field this morning. If the session went well, he should be able to ramp up his rehab and potentially come off the injured list in short order. "We'll have to evaluate how he does today," manager Davey Martinez said, "and then we'll go from...

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Game 129 lineups: Nats at Cubs

August 24, 2019, 7:32am

Nationals

CHICAGO - It's another beautiful day at Wrigley Field, where the Nationals look not only to beat the Cubs again but continue a pretty remarkable run over a longer stretch of time. They've now played .667 ball (52-26) since May 24. Thanks to the Dodgers' loss last night, that's now the best record in baseball during that prolonged stretch. And they've won 13 of their last 17, with all four losses coming after they blew a lead in the eighth or ninth inning. So they've led in the eighth...

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An eventful day in left-center for Soto

August 23, 2019, 7:24pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - The way the Nationals are hitting as a whole right now, sometimes it feels like Juan Soto gets overlooked. It's hard to give everyone proper due when so many are contributing at the plate, especially a prominent free-agent-to-be like Anthony Rendon. Make no mistake, though: Soto has played a significant role in the Nationals' offensive onslaught of the last week and a half. Over his last 13 games, the young slugger is batting a cool .346 with eight homers, 12 RBIs, 10 walks and a...

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Well-rested SÃ¡nchez leads weary Nats to another win (updated)

August 23, 2019, 1:15pm

Nationals

Well-rested SÃ¡nchez leads weary Nats to another win (updated)

CHICAGO - They played (in the rain) in Pittsburgh last night, then flew to Chicago and put their heads on their hotel pillows around 3 a.m. Eastern time. Seven hours later, they began filing into Wrigley Field for the opener of a weekend series against one of the best home teams in the majors. The Nationals had every right to complain about the disadvantageous scheduling. Their veterans had every right to sit out this afternoon's game. Nobody would have faulted them had they sleepwalked...

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Scherzer good for next start, but knows he can't push it (Nats up 7-0)

August 23, 2019, 9:38am

Nationals

Scherzer good for next start, but knows he can't push it (Nats up 7-0)

CHICAGO - Max Scherzer completed his typical day-after-start routine at Wrigley Field with no setbacks, so he's good to make his next scheduled start as planned. But the Nationals ace reiterated that he's not all the way to his pre-injury form and that he'll likely need to approach the rest of his season with far more caution than he has in the past. "I'm not out of the woods," he said prior to the Nationals' series opener against the Cubs. "I've got to still take care of this, got to...

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Game 128 lineups: Nats at Cubs

August 23, 2019, 7:18am

Nationals

CHICAGO - The Nationals won't face a tougher turnaround this season than last night's game in Pittsburgh to this afternoon's game at Wrigley Field. We'll see how they look when they take the field in a few hours, but for what it's worth the entire lineup (sans pitcher) is the same as it was last night. Including Kurt Suzuki, who caught Max Scherzer last night and will catch AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez today. This is an interesting stretch of games, because the Nationals will be facing four...

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Friday morning news and notes

August 22, 2019, 8:58pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - Some news and notes for your reading pleasure while I race to Chicago in time for this afternoon's series opener at Wrigley Field ... * If there was nothing else to take away from Max Scherzer's start Thursday night, it was this simple-but-important message both the right-hander and his manager stressed: They are going to continue to be cautious. That applied to Thursday's game, when Davey Martinez pulled his ace after only four innings and 71 pitches. It also applies to the...

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Scherzer returns, rest of Nationals finish off blowout win

August 22, 2019, 6:35pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - Max Scherzer started for the first time in four weeks, the second time in seven weeks, and that's the most important thing that happened from the Nationals' perspective tonight at PNC Park. "It was awesome," manager Davey Martinez said. "Just seeing him run out there and take the ball was great." So was seeing Scherzer depart the game feeling physically well. "Right now, I feel good," the right-hander said. "Hopefully I wake up tomorrow, I feel good." And yet there still...

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Ross throws off mound, ElÃas still two days away (Nats up 2-1)

August 22, 2019, 2:18pm

Nationals

Ross throws off mound, ElÃas still two days away (Nats up 2-1)

PITTSBURGH - Though the Nationals haven't made any formal announcements yet, it appears Joe Ross is good to start Saturday afternoon in Chicago, his lower right leg having healed enough from the comebacker that struck him during Monday's game against the Pirates. Ross threw a full bullpen session late this afternoon and did not appear to be limited or hindered in any significant way. Davey Martinez, who watched the session up close in the visitors' bullpen at PNC Park, said in his earlier...

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Game 127 lineups: Nats at Pirates

August 22, 2019, 12:03pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - OK, here's the deal: The Nationals are scheduled to start their series finale against the Pirates at 7:05 p.m. They are then scheduled to fly to Chicago, where they are scheduled to start their series opener against the Cubs at 2:20 p.m. EDT Friday. That's a tough turnaround, a really tough turnaround. And it's even tougher when there's rain in the forecast all evening. Which is exactly what's in the forecast here this evening. (It already poured for about 45 minutes a little...

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Cabrera has become indispensable to Nats in short order

August 21, 2019, 9:07pm

Nationals

Cabrera has become indispensable to Nats in short order

PITTSBURGH - When AsdrÃºbal Cabrera became available earlier this month, the Nationals figured there was no downside to signing the veteran infielder. The Rangers, who released Cabrera on Aug. 3, were responsible for the vast majority of his $3.5 million salary. Any subsequent team that signed the 33-year-old would be responsible only for a prorated portion of the major league minimum salary. In this case, that meant Cabrera could be had for the final two months of the season for roughly...