Mark Zuckerman

Martinez sticking with pitcher eighth, Robles ninth (tied in 10th)

April 09, 2019, 2:22pm

PHILADELPHIA - Davey Martinez has already been asked this question multiple times in the last week: Is he tempted to move Victor Robles out of the No. 9 spot in the Nationals lineup? And the manager's answer has remained consistent. "Right now, no," Martinez said. "I like what he's doing in the nine-hole. We're 10 days in, and he's done really well. I want him to just play the game. And he's having fun. He's doing the little things that we're asking him to do. He's playing really...

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Nats working to finalize minor league deal with Norris (updated)

April 09, 2019, 11:38am

Nationals

Nats working to finalize minor league deal with Norris (updated)

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are working to finalize what will be a minor league contract with veteran right-hander Bud Norris, though the deal is not yet done, according to general manager Mike Rizzo. It's their latest attempt to patch together a viable bullpen after a disastrous start to the season. Norris will report to the Nationals' spring training headquarters in West Palm Beach and be evaluated by club officials before they determine a course of action, Rizzo said. If he checks out...

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Game 10 lineups: Nats at Phillies

April 09, 2019, 11:31am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Though they lost 4-3, the Nationals played a clean, pretty crisp game last night. No, it wasn't perfect, but neither was it anything like some of their other games to date that featured all manner of dysfunction. So Davey Martinez will be looking for a similar performance tonight. And yet, the Nationals need not only to play well but also to win, lest they fall to 4-6 overall and a full four games behind the Phillies in the standings. Yeah, these games matter, even in early...

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Dozier finally rewarded for extra work with first Nats homer

April 08, 2019, 9:30pm

Nationals

Dozier finally rewarded for extra work with first Nats homer

PHILADELPHIA - Brian Dozier has been in the big leagues for eight years, and during that time he's hit 173 homers, been an All-Star and three times received MVP votes. So he's not the type to panic over a season-opening slump. And yet when he stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth Monday night, Dozier couldn't avoid the giant picture of his face on the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard and the number .071 residing next to it. "Playing a number of years, you know you can have a bad week or...

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Phillies top Nationals in home run derby (updated)

April 08, 2019, 5:38pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - There was no bullpen meltdown tonight, no wild back-and-forth ballgame featuring all kinds of twists and turns. No, the Nationals' first game of the season at Citizens Bank Park featured quality pitching done in solely by five fly balls that reached the bleachers in this hitter-friendly facility. The Phillies' 4-3 victory was rather ho-hum, at least in comparison to just about every other game the Nationals have played so far in 2019, all of them against two division rivals. It...

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Martinez will use Rosenthal again in low-pressure spot (Nats lose 4-2)

April 08, 2019, 3:46pm

Nationals

Martinez will use Rosenthal again in low-pressure spot (Nats lose 4-2)

PHILADELPHIA - Davey Martinez gave Trevor Rosenthal an opportunity to get himself right pitching in a low-leverage spot Sunday afternoon, and it didn't work. If the situation arises again tonight, Martinez will give his woefully ineffective reliever another opportunity to get himself right. Rosenthal, who hasn't retired any of the nine batters he's faced so far this season, remains an active member of the Nationals bullpen and will continue to pitch. Just not in high-leverage spots. "Right...

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Taylor "excited" to return only 3 1/2 weeks after spraining knee

April 08, 2019, 2:14pm

Nationals

Taylor "excited" to return only 3 1/2 weeks after spraining knee

PHILADELPHIA - When he saw Michael A. Taylor hit the ground hard making a diving catch March 14 in Fort Myers, Fla., Davey Martinez assumed it would be a long time before the Nationals outfielder was back in action again. Little could Martinez have imagined he'd be at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon, welcoming Taylor back to the active roster only 3 1/2 weeks after spraining his left knee and hip. "I wouldn't have thought that," Martinez said. "When I saw him fall and try to get up and...

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Game 9 lineups: Nats at Phillies (Taylor activated)

April 08, 2019, 11:30am

Nationals

Game 9 lineups: Nats at Phillies (Taylor activated)

PHILADELPHIA - We knew all along this opening stretch of the season was going to be a bear for the Nationals, who had to face the Mets and Phillies at home and then the same two teams on the road. And it indeed has been a bear, but the Nats have survived so far, going 3-3 against New York and entering tonight's series opener against Philadelphia with a 1-1 head-to-head record. That makes this three-game set a big one, of course, because the end result will pretty much end up defining how these...

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Two years later, Nats face same bullpen mess, but in tougher division

April 07, 2019, 7:39pm

Nationals

Two years later, Nats face same bullpen mess, but in tougher division

NEW YORK - Max Scherzer had dominated, Anthony Rendon had homered and the Nationals had busted their way out to a double-digit lead on the road heading into the final innings. And then the majors' worst bullpen somehow turned that blowout win into a tension-filled bottom of the ninth that ended in an unlikely save situation. Sound familiar? It should, because it just happened Sunday at Citi Field. It also happened July 15, 2017, at Great American Ball Park. Yeah, the 2019 Nationals bullpen...

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Up 11 runs in seventh, Nationals hang on to win (updated)

April 07, 2019, 12:52pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - If Davey Martinez was asked this morning to draw up a best-case scenario for the Nationals' series finale against the Mets, this had to be awfully close to what the second-year manager imagined. With his bullpen in shambles but his ace on the mound, Martinez was hoping not only for a dominant Max Scherzer start but also a big day at the plate against Zack Wheeler and the New York pitching staff, creating a comfortable lead that would take all the pressure off that beleaguered...

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Ross joins bullpen after red eye from Fresno (Nats up 12-6)

April 07, 2019, 8:37am

Nationals

Ross joins bullpen after red eye from Fresno (Nats up 12-6)

NEW YORK - Desperate for bullpen help only a week and a half into the season, the Nationals have promoted one of their standby starters from the minors to take over a relief role. Joe Ross, who was supposed to open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Fresno, was recalled today, with infielder AdriÃ¡n Sanchez optioned to Double-A Harrisburg to clear a roster spot. Ross, who had been scheduled to make his first start of the season Monday, instead took a red-eye flight from Fresno to New York...

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Game 8 lineups: Nats at Mets

April 07, 2019, 6:36am

Nationals

NEW YORK - For all the trouble they've been through already this young season, the Nationals still have an opportunity to win a weekend series against the Mets today and get back to the .500 mark heading into a three-game series at Philadelphia. And they have Max Scherzer on the mound in an attempt to do it. Scherzer is already making his third start of the season in only the team's eighth game, a byproduct of all the off-days the Nats have had. He's on normal rest, but he'll get an extra...

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Corbin laments three mistakes in otherwise dominant start

April 06, 2019, 5:40pm

Nationals

Corbin laments three mistakes in otherwise dominant start

NEW YORK - Patrick Corbin pitched well enough in his season debut to earn the win. He did not get the win. Patrick Corbin again pitched well enough in his second start of the season to earn the win. Again he did not get the win. One of these days, Corbin will be rewarded for his efforts. Until then, all the Nationals left-hander can do is keep putting his team in position to win and hope the rest of the squad fulfills its duty. "We have confidence in our team," Corbin said Saturday after...

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New names, same result from bullpen in disastrous eighth

April 06, 2019, 1:50pm

Nationals

New names, same result from bullpen in disastrous eighth

NEW YORK - The sight of Wilmer Difo rounding the bases, slapping his hands together in excitement, the crowd of 35,156 at Citi Field booing after the Nationals' backup shortstop gave his team a two-run lead with an upper-deck home run in the top of the eighth, should have brought joy to anyone rooting for the visitors in this afternoon's contest with the Mets. And yet nobody would fault anybody for reacting to Difo's surprise blast with feelings of nausea. Why? Because it merely meant the...

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Eighth inning dooms Nationals again in 6-5 loss to Mets

April 06, 2019, 12:23pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - There isn't much you can definitively say about a baseball season after only seven games, but here's one point that appears safe to say even at this super-early juncture: Every single National League East game - perhaps except for those involving the Marlins - is going to be an absolute grind in 2019. It's April 6 and already the Nationals have played seven games against the Mets and Phillies, and every single one has felt like a late-September showdown with postseason berths on...

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Martinez sticking with batting order for now (Nats lose 6-5)

April 06, 2019, 8:40am

Nationals

Martinez sticking with batting order for now (Nats lose 6-5)

NEW YORK - If the season was two or three weeks old, perhaps Davey Martinez would construct his lineup based on trends instead of track records. But the season is only one week old, and so for now, the Nationals manager is going to put his faith in track records over trends. The trends suggest Victor Robles shouldn't be hitting ninth and Brian Dozier shouldn't be batting second. But with only six games of evidence to make decisions on, Martinez believes the right path right now is to stick...

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Game 7 lineups: Nats at Mets

April 06, 2019, 6:30am

Nationals

NEW YORK - And we're back. It's been a very odd schedule to begin this season, with three days off already. But now the Nationals finally get into a consistent routine, with five consecutive game days beginning this afternoon at Citi Field. The Nats will look to make it three in a row and get over the .500 mark for the first time this season. They'll have Patrick Corbin on the mound to make his second start, each of them against the Mets. The new lefty was solid his debut Sunday afternoon, a...

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Saturday morning thoughts

April 05, 2019, 4:31pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Some Saturday morning thoughts before the Nationals and Mets resume their weekend series at Citi Field ... * Davey Martinez opened the season with Victor Robles batting ninth because he liked the idea of using the rookie center fielder as a "second leadoff hitter," someone who could occasionally set the table for Adam Eaton and Trea Turner. Well, that plan may actually be working out too well so far. Robles has led off an inning eight times, and he's gone 5-for-8 with two doubles...

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How Strasburg is pitching effectively with less velocity

April 04, 2019, 7:29pm

Nationals

How Strasburg is pitching effectively with less velocity

NEW YORK - Stephen Strasburg is a flamethrower. At least, that's the mental image most folks have when they first think of the Nationals right-hander. They remember the way Strasburg lit up the radar gun as a rookie in 2010, and even after returning from Tommy John surgery the following year. Ask the casual observer how hard Strasburg throws his fastball, and the answer probably falls in the 96-98 mph range. Except that's not who he is anymore. After maintaining his elite velocity through...

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Beleaguered bullpen steps up to close out tough win

April 04, 2019, 2:23pm

Nationals

Beleaguered bullpen steps up to close out tough win

NEW YORK - It was the dominant storyline of the season's first week, and it promises to remain that way through this first road trip of 2019. The Nationals are going to live and die by their bullpen, and after dying a few times at home against the Mets and Phillies, they were brought back to life by the beleaguered relief corps this afternoon during a 4-0 victory at Citi Field. "Like I said before, if we're going to do this, I got to trust the bullpen to get the job done," manager Davey...