Mark Zuckerman

Nats easing Ross into higher-leverage situations

April 23, 2019, 11:04pm

DENVER - The day began with Davey Martinez mentioning he felt like it was time to start putting Joe Ross on the mound for significant situations. "We're going to have to use him as more than a long man," the Nationals manager said Tuesday afternoon. So when the bottom of the seventh arrived a few hours later, the Nats clinging to a 4-3 lead over the Rockies, who did Martinez summon from the bullpen but the young right-hander who came up as a starter and only now is trying to learn how to...

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Asked to hold slim lead at Coors, Nats bullpen delivers (updated)

April 23, 2019, 7:54pm

Nationals

Asked to hold slim lead at Coors, Nats bullpen delivers (updated)

DENVER - The Nationals seemed determined to make the four early runs they scored tonight hold up through an entire ballgame. At Coors Field. With the majors' least effective bullpen. A bold strategy, to say the least. And yet somehow they pulled it off. (With a little help from two long-awaited insurance runs via ineffective relief from the opposition.) Behind three scoreless innings from four relievers - some of them used in unfamiliar fashion - the Nationals survived the harrowing late...

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Rendon out of lineup but resumes swinging (Nats up 4-3)

April 23, 2019, 5:43pm

Nationals

Rendon out of lineup but resumes swinging (Nats up 4-3)

DENVER - Though he's out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, Anthony Rendon is showing signs of progress in his recovery from a bruised left elbow. Rendon, who was struck by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, was able to take swings in the batting tunnel today at Coors Field and the results were encouraging. "He swung today, so he feels pretty good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He's still a little tight in there, but he got some swings in and we'll see where he's during...

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Scherzer still on track for Friday start after throwing off mound

April 23, 2019, 3:52pm

Nationals

Scherzer still on track for Friday start after throwing off mound

DENVER - Max Scherzer believes he'll be good to make his next scheduled start as planned Friday night. But even if he isn't, the Nationals ace is grateful he's only dealing with a mild ribcage strain after dodging a foul ball Sunday in Miami that could have caused far more damage had it struck him. "First of all, you've got to understand: This is best-case scenario," Scherzer said this afternoon. "That ball was hit over 100 mph, right at my head. I'm just lucky I still have one blue...

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Game 22 lineups: Nats at Rockies

April 23, 2019, 1:12pm

Nationals

DENVER - What a difference a day makes. It's currently 20 degrees warmer at Coors Field than it was for last night's series opener, and there isn't a cloud in the sky, either. Now the Nationals have to hope the result on the field differs from last night as well. After dropping that game 7-5 - their seventh loss in eight series openers so far this season - the Nats face another uphill climb and will need to win the next two games to return home with a series victory and a .500 record. And...

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On Dozier, pinch-hitting decisions and losing series openers

April 22, 2019, 9:23pm

Nationals

On Dozier, pinch-hitting decisions and losing series openers

DENVER - It got lost in the Nationals' 7-5 loss to the Rockies that saw the home team score the final five runs, but in the larger picture the Nats have to be encouraged by Brian Dozier's recent resurgence at the plate. Dozier, among the biggest disappointments on the roster through the season's first three weeks, has come back to life on this road trip. He has now homered in three of his last four games, including a towering, three-run blast to left Monday night that temporarily gave the...

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Nats score early, not late in 7-5 loss to Rockies (updated)

April 22, 2019, 7:43pm

Nationals

Nats score early, not late in 7-5 loss to Rockies (updated)

DENVER - Davey Martinez has participated in enough games at Coors Field - as a player, as a coach and as a manager - to know what kind of mindset anyone in uniform must bring to this park. "You gotta try to score as many runs as possible," he said this afternoon. "No game's ever over." So even when the Nationals scored two runs in the top of the first tonight, Martinez certainly knew that wouldn't be enough. And even when they added three more in the top of the fourth via Brian Dozier's...

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Rendon out of lineup again, but no IL move yet (game tied 5-5)

April 22, 2019, 3:45pm

Nationals

Rendon out of lineup again, but no IL move yet (game tied 5-5)

DENVER - Though they don't believe Anthony Rendon will need to miss much time with a bruised left elbow, the Nationals decided they couldn't proceed any longer without any backup infielders, so they recalled Jake Noll from Triple-A today and sent reliever Austin Adams to Fresno to clear a roster spot. Rendon, who was struck in the elbow by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, has been out of the lineup since. But there were signs of improvement today: He's able to bend his arm, according to...

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Game 21 lineups: Nats at Rockies (Noll recalled)

April 22, 2019, 1:15pm

Nationals

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Rockies (Noll recalled)

DENVER - Hello from Coors Field, where the air is not only thin but really cold. At least today, it is. The high temperature might crack 50 degrees this afternoon, and it'll be dropping down through the 40s during tonight's series opener. You'd think that would be a bad thing for hitters, but I'm not sure it's possible for any game in this ballpark to be bad for hitters. The Nationals certainly hope the altitude helps get their bats going after a sluggish weekend in Miami that at least...

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After surviving opening stretch, time for Nats to start thriving

April 18, 2019, 2:04pm

Nationals

After surviving opening stretch, time for Nats to start thriving

They faced an 11-game opening gauntlet against nothing but two division rivals expecting to win this season. They've been without their starting shortstop for more than two weeks now. They continue to have to piece together their bullpen on a nightly basis, hoping to find a combination that records the necessary outs before giving up too many runs. Things have not gone swimmingly for the Nationals so far in 2019. And yet after hanging on for Thursday's 4-2 win over the Giants, they left town...

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Corbin hits his spots, finally rewarded with first Nats win

April 18, 2019, 1:40pm

Nationals

Corbin hits his spots, finally rewarded with first Nats win

The Nationals had seen glimpses of Patrick Corbin at his best, but today they saw the left-hander at his absolute best from the moment he took the mound until the moment he departed 7 2/3 innings later. And what they saw during a 4-2 victory over the Giants confirmed what they've suspected all along: This is one of the best starters in baseball. "He really wasn't giving them any chance to get into any kind of rhythm," catcher Yan Gomes said. "He was taking apart the corners. We were...

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Behind Corbin's gem, Nats take series from Giants

April 18, 2019, 11:58am

Nationals

Behind Corbin's gem, Nats take series from Giants

Patrick Corbin had pitched well every time he had taken the mound wearing a Nationals uniform. Now the prized lefty finally has his first win in Washington. With 7 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, Corbin put his team in prime position to defeat the Giants today. And thanks to some early offense and a late escape act by the bullpen, the Nationals walked off the field with a 4-2 win and another series victory. At one point, Corbin (1-0) looked poised to go the distance and spare Davey Martinez from...

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Rendon extends hit streak to 16 games (Nats up 4-0)

April 18, 2019, 9:59am

Nationals

Rendon extends hit streak to 16 games (Nats up 4-0)

Anthony Rendon went hitless on opening day against Jacob deGrom. He hasn't gone hitless since. With a double off the left field wall in the bottom of the third this afternoon, Rendon extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games and helped the Nationals open up a 2-0 lead on the Giants. Rendon, who kept his streak alive with a single in his final at-bat Wednesday night, didn't make things nearly as dramatic today. Though he struck out looking at a 3-2 fastball in the bottom of the...

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Eaton gets first day off, Robles gets first chance to bat first

April 18, 2019, 8:19am

Nationals

Eaton gets first day off, Robles gets first chance to bat first

It's been kind of taken for granted, but given what he went through the last two years, the fact that Adam Eaton started each of the Nationals' first 16 games this season is quite significant. Eaton, of course, missed most of 2017 after tearing the ACL in his left knee. Then he missed considerable time early in 2018 after Baltimore foot specialist Lew Schon suspected loose cartilage in the outfielder's ankle following an awkward slide, a diagnosis that was later confirmed by Green Bay...

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Game 17 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

April 18, 2019, 5:59am

Nationals

Surely this is the most important official release of the day in Washington: the Nationals' starting lineup for their series finale against the Giants! While much of the world is focused on a different building in a different part of town, baseball fans are most interested in what takes place here on South Capitol Street, where the Nats are trying to take back-to-back games and win this three-game series in order to head out on a road trip to Miami and Colorado with a winning record. Patrick...

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Big blasts for Soto and Adams, for different reasons

April 17, 2019, 7:46pm

Nationals

Big blasts for Soto and Adams, for different reasons

Let's ignore, tough as it may be, the Nationals bullpen for just one night. Yes, this remains the biggest topic of discussion on a team that too often is seeing the good work of others overshadowed by ineffective work in the late innings by the majors' worst relief corps. Tonight's 9-6 victory over the Giants was that close only because of a near ninth-inning collapse, rescued only by Sean Doolittle's hurried appearance to record the final two outs with the tying run at the plate. But the...

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Early, late blasts power Nationals to 9-6 win over Giants

April 17, 2019, 6:12pm

Nationals

Davey Martinez spent most of the evening sweating in the dugout, this despite the heavy coat he was wearing on a deceptively chilly mid-April evening on South Capitol Street. His Nationals had opened up an early lead on the Giants but couldn't add on, and so now the second-year manager had to figure out how he was going to get the requisite outs necessary from his beleaguered bullpen while protecting only a two-run lead. Then Matt Adams and Kurt Suzuki made life a whole lot easier on Martinez...

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After sluggish few days, Martinez trying out different lineup

April 17, 2019, 2:14pm

Nationals

After sluggish few days, Martinez trying out different lineup

In making some changes to his lineup for tonight's game, Davey Martinez had a couple of goals in mind: * Get Matt Adams and Howie Kendrick, both swinging hot bats in recent days, in the lineup. * Give Brian Dozier, who fouled a ball off his toe Tuesday night, a breather. * Move Anthony Rendon, the team's best hitter to date this season, up to try to give him more at-bats and more early opportunities to give the Nationals a lead. The end result of all that is the lineup card that Martinez will...

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Game 16 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

April 17, 2019, 10:44am

Nationals

Davey Martinez has stuck with a pretty consistent lineup since opening day. When he's made changes, he's simply plugged in a Matt Adams or a Howie Kendrick or a Kurt Suzuki into the same spot in the batting order as the regular said player is replacing. But after struggling to score runs Sunday and again Tuesday night, Martinez is going with a different look. Adams and Kendrick and Suzuki are all in there against Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija. But the order has changed, with Anthony...

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Strasburg laments predictability of pitches that led to homers

April 16, 2019, 8:09pm

Nationals

Strasburg laments predictability of pitches that led to homers

Stephen Strasburg gives up home runs, but typically not in bunches. He entered Tuesday night's game against the Giants having surrendered three homers in a start only two previous times in his career. So when it happened this time, when he surrendered three long balls in a span of only eight batters, to the least productive lineup in the National League, it obviously raised some eyebrows. What exactly happened? To listen to Strasburg's explanation, what happened was a simple case of...