Mark Zuckerman

Once situation became a "stalemate," Nats placed Rendon on IL

April 30, 2019, 2:11pm

When Anthony Rendon took a pitch off his left elbow April 20 in Miami, the Nationals knew he was in pain. But they also believed the star third baseman, who had suffered only a bad bruise, wouldn't need more than a handful of days to make it back. And so they kept Rendon on their active roster, electing to play with a short bench while waiting for him to heal. Rendon did heal enough to return to the lineup Friday, a full six days after suffering the injury. But after an 0-for-3 performance...

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Game 28 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

April 30, 2019, 11:13am

Nationals

If you've been following, you knew this was coming: Anthony Rendon is now on the injured list. The Nationals officially placed the third baseman on the 10-day IL with a bruised left elbow today, a move that's backdated the maximum three days allowed but now prevents him from being activated until May 7 at the earliest. The Nats are using that roster spot to help the bullpen, purchasing the contract of left-hander Dan Jennings, who had just recently been signed to a minor league deal. To clear...

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Nats notes: Decision time on Rendon, bullpen suddenly hot

April 29, 2019, 7:53pm

Nationals

Nats notes: Decision time on Rendon, bullpen suddenly hot

Just about every day over the last week-plus, Davey Martinez has been asked if Anthony Rendon will be available to pinch-hit that night, and the Nationals manager has almost always answered in a hopeful manner. Martinez, though, sounded less hopeful when asked about the possibility Monday afternoon as the Nationals prepared to face the Cardinals with their star third baseman still out of the lineup with a bruised left elbow. "He's going to take swings later on in the day, and we'll see,"...

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Nats open daunting stretch with 6-3 loss to Cards (updated)

April 29, 2019, 6:11pm

Nationals

Nats open daunting stretch with 6-3 loss to Cards (updated)

They slogged their way through a rough stretch against less-intimidating competition, and now the Nationals were opening a 13-game stretch against three division leaders and another team that came within one game of reaching the World Series last fall. It's going to require improvement in all facets of the game for the Nats to emerge successful from this daunting stretch. And though they got some much needed improvement in one key area - the bullpen - tonight, it meant little when their...

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Why Rendon isn't on IL but Zimmerman is

April 29, 2019, 1:45pm

Nationals

Anthony Rendon has played once in the last nine days, leaving the Nationals a man short on their active roster. But if you assumed that would've convinced the team to place its star third baseman on the injured list by now, you'd be wrong. Though his bruised left elbow continues to prevent him from fully extending when he swings, Rendon believes he's only a day or two away from returning to action. So the Nationals continue to put off an IL move, not wanting to risk losing him for even more...

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Game 27 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

April 29, 2019, 11:17am

Nationals

The Nationals just completed a stretch in which they went 6-9 against the Pirates, Giants, Marlins, Rockies and Padres. Now they open a 16-game stretch in which they'll face the Cardinals, Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers and Mets. Suffice it to say, they need to play better in every facet of the game if they are going to survive this. It doesn't help matters that tonight they don't have Anthony Rendon in the lineup for the seventh time in eight games with a bruised left elbow. As of this moment,...

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Youngest Nationals make history with trio of home runs

April 28, 2019, 8:49pm

Nationals

As Carter Kieboom rounded the bases following his game-tying homer in the fifth inning - this on the heels of Victor Robles' solo homer the previous inning, that on the heels of Juan Soto's three-run blast the inning prior to that - Davey Martinez paused to consider what the three youngest players on the Nationals roster had just accomplished. "I sat there, and I go, '20, 21, 21: That's pretty cool,' " Martinez said. "I started thinking, 'Has that been done before?' " The answer: No,...

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Adams' titanic blast in 11th caps Nats' big comeback (updated)

April 28, 2019, 1:41pm

Nationals

Adams' titanic blast in 11th caps Nats' big comeback (updated)

It took just about every ounce of intestinal fortitude the Nationals had in them just to get into position to win this afternoon, whether overcoming an early six-run deficit, asking their three youngest players to ignite a rally with a historic trio of homers or asking a couple of longtime rotation prospects to deliver a bunch of scoreless innings out of the bullpen. It was an impressive display of gumption on the Nationals' part. But it still left them in an uncomfortably familiar position:...

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Zimmerman to IL with foot injury, Rendon out again (tied 6-6)

April 28, 2019, 9:11am

Nationals

Zimmerman to IL with foot injury, Rendon out again (tied 6-6)

Ryan Zimmerman is now on the injured list with plantar fasciitis. Anthony Rendon isn't there yet, but if his elbow doesn't heal real soon he may wind up off the active roster as well. All of which leaves the Nationals with a makeshift lineup for today's series finale against the Padres, a short bench and an extra bullpen arm in the form of Erick Fedde. The official roster move made this morning: Zimmerman was placed on the 10-day IL with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, with Fedde...

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Game 26 lineups: Nats vs. Padres

April 28, 2019, 7:01am

Nationals

The Nationals already are assured of losing their third straight series. It's too late to change that. But they have to win today to avoid their first series sweep of the season, and if that isn't motivation enough for this afternoon's contest with the Padres, what else is? We know the Nats need to be able to lock down games late, their biggest problem area. But they also need to be able to score more runs, no matter the inning. Over their last eight games, they're batting a collective .235...

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Scherzer fixes glitch, dominates, reaches strikeout milestone

April 26, 2019, 8:06pm

Nationals

Scherzer fixes glitch, dominates, reaches strikeout milestone

Max Scherzer had to deal with an unusual injury - a strained ribcage muscle suffered when he dodged a foul ball in the dugout - and that alone made this a strange week and disrupted his typical preparation for Friday night's start against the Padres. But Scherzer being Scherzer, there was a more important task at hand all week: Fix whatever it was that led to his ragged performance the last time he took the mound, when he was roughed up for seven runs and 11 hits by (of all teams) the...

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Rare blast off Doolittle spoils Kieboom's debut (updated)

April 26, 2019, 6:07pm

Nationals

Rare blast off Doolittle spoils Kieboom's debut (updated)

With Max Scherzer dealing and notching his 2,500th career strikeout and Carter Kieboom providing the highlight home run in his major league debut, the Nationals should have had all kinds of reason to celebrate tonight. Even though their bullpen had surrendered another eighth-inning run in agonizing fashion, they still had Sean Doolittle on the mound in the ninth inning of a tie game. How could that scenario possibly turn sour? Welcome to 2019, folks, because it somehow did. Hunter Renfroe's...

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Kieboom ready for "special" debut while Turner keeps healing

April 26, 2019, 2:12pm

Nationals

Kieboom ready for "special" debut while Turner keeps healing

Carter Kieboom woke up at 9 a.m. Thursday to the ring of his hotel room phone in Reno. He had figured he had plenty of time to relax before heading to the ballpark for Fresno's 6:35 p.m. Pacific Coast League game against the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate. But then he checked his cell phone and realized he had missed five calls from Grizzles manager Randy Knorr, who left a message saying he needed to get down to the lobby ASAP. When he finally made it downstairs, Kieboom was greeted by...

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Game 24 lineups: Nats vs. Padres

April 26, 2019, 11:26am

Nationals

It is absolutely pouring here on South Capitol Street, as appears to be the case throughout the region. The good news: The storms are supposed to clear out of here before gametime, though it may be awfully windy for the Nationals' series opener against the Padres. The weather won't do anything to dampen Carter Kieboom's excitement for his major league debut. The 21-year-old infielder officially had his contract purchased from Triple-A Fresno this afternoon, and he's in the lineup starting...

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If history is guide, Nats will give Kieboom chance to stay

April 25, 2019, 9:14pm

Nationals

If history is guide, Nats will give Kieboom chance to stay

When his team suffered a spate of early-season injuries in April 2012, Mike Rizzo made the decision to call up Bryce Harper and give the 19-year-old a chance in the big leagues. Harper never returned to the minors. When his team needed a third baseman in April 2013, Rizzo summoned Anthony Rendon straight from Double-A. Rendon would briefly return to the minors, but by June he was back in the majors for good. When his team needed an offensive boost in August 2015, Rizzo promoted Trea Turner and...

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Source: Nats promoting top prospect Carter Kieboom (updated)

April 25, 2019, 2:27pm

Nationals

Source: Nats promoting top prospect Carter Kieboom (updated)

Carter Kieboom, the Nationals' top prospect off to a red-hot start at the plate with Triple-A Fresno, is getting called up to make his major league debut this weekend, a source familiar with the move confirmed. It's not yet clear what corresponding transaction (or transactions) will be made before Kieboom's contract is purchased. The Nationals not only need to remove someone from the active, 25-man roster but also to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Kieboom, the organization's first...

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Time for Nats to make a decision on Rosenthal

April 24, 2019, 8:43pm

Nationals

Time for Nats to make a decision on Rosenthal

DENVER - They've been putting this off for several weeks now, hoping beyond hope things would get better and they could proceed as they intended all along. But the time has probably come for the Nationals to do something with Trevor Rosenthal. They can't afford to keep waiting and keep hoping. They've put Rosenthal on the mound seven times in the last month. They've yet to see him come anywhere close to throwing a clean inning of relief. Even though there were some legitimately encouraging...

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Nats can't sustain momentum, drop another series (updated)

April 24, 2019, 1:59pm

Nationals

Nats can't sustain momentum, drop another series (updated)

DENVER - They lose one, they win one, they lose one, they hope to win the next one. It was the Nationals' recurring pattern in 2018, and it has become the recurring theme in 2019 as well. One day this team looks like a mess, dropping a series opener and digging itself into a hole. The next day, all looks right again and there seems reason for optimism. And then the next day, it falls apart amid poor pitching, poor defense and poor clutch hitting. "I don't know why; it's really hard to...

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Pregame injury updates from Colorado (Nats down 6-3)

April 24, 2019, 10:19am

Nationals

Pregame injury updates from Colorado (Nats down 6-3)

DENVER - Some injury updates for you before the Nationals and Rockies wrap up their three-game series ... * Anthony Rendon is out of the lineup for the fourth straight game with a bruised left elbow, but the Nationals remain optimistic about their third baseman and believe he's on the verge of returning to action. Rendon, who hasn't played since he was struck by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, has taken swings in the batting tunnel each of the last two days. He had seen enough improvement...

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Game 23 lineups: Nats at Rockies

April 24, 2019, 8:39am

Nationals

DENVER - The Nationals are 1-7 in series openers so far this season, and that's a bad thing. But they're 6-1 in series finales, and that's a good thing. Despite digging themselves into a hole every time they open new set against a new opponent, they've found a way to climb out of it and emerge still in one piece. They'll try to do that again today and pull off a series victory at Coors Field after dropping the opener but winning a tense affair last night. They'll ask AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez...