This is a series of rematches. Last night, it was a rematch between Patrick Corbin and Zac Gallen (at least until the storm hit). Tonight, it's a rematch between Stephen Strasburg and Sandy Alcantara, the same two right-handers who squared off Thursday night at Marlins Park, with Strasburg and the Nationals emerging victorious.
That win made Strasburg 10-0 against Miami since late in the 2015 season, but he didn't exactly dominate. The Marlins scored three runs off him in the third, then...
Davey Martinez began his afternoon touting the positives of his logjam at first base, with Ryan Zimmerman back from the injured list to join the already productive Matt Adams and Howie Kendrick at a suddenly overcrowded position.
"For me, this is a great problem to have," the Nationals manager said. "When Zim does play, Matty's on the bench ready to go. We can plop him into any situation at any time and drive in some big runs. Same thing with Howie."
When just such a situation arose...
Patrick Corbin led the Nationals out of the dugout shortly before 7:05 p.m. tonight for what should have been an ordinary start against the Marlins, the opener of the final homestand of the season's first half, an opportunity to continue to lift his team during its slow climb up the standings.
Before he tossed his first warm-up pitch, though, Corbin knelt down behind the rubber and with his index finger wrote the number 45 in the dirt. Astute observers also would have noticed the left-hander...
Anthony Rendon admitted today what has been suspected for several weeks: He's playing through an injury that has kept him from running at full speed all the time. And this undisclosed injury may prompt the Nationals third baseman from skipping his first-ever All-Star Game next week.
Rendon wouldn't offer any specifics about his current physical condition except to acknowledge it has been affecting him for some time and has been noticeable to those who have watched him play at less than 100...
It's a familiar matchup tonight on South Capitol Street, where the Nationals and Marlins meet again, one week after they faced off in Miami. Even the pitching matchup is the same, with Patrick Corbin opposing Zac Gallen for the second time in six days.
Corbin has been outstanding in two starts against the Marlins this season - one run, seven hits, 14 strikeouts in 16 innings - so he certainly figures to have a plan of attack for tonight's matchup. Sadly, the left-hander will be pitching with...
Their 4-2 week against a pair of division rivals was important. But so was their just-completed, 5-1 week on the road against a couple of cellar dwellers.
And all of that merely leads into this final week of the season's first half, in which the Nationals have a golden opportunity to keep up their sustained momentum against some very beatable competition and perhaps even head into the All-Star break in playoff position for the first time in 2019.
On paper, the Nationals' upcoming homestand...
Max Scherzer is National League Player of the Week. And it's probably safe to assume he's about to named NL Pitcher of the Month as well.
Scherzer earned the first of his two likely honors today when Major League Baseball named him the NL's Player of the Week following a pair of dominant performances during the Nationals' just-completed 5-1 road trip. He held the Marlins to one run on five hits in eight innings on Tuesday, striking out 10. Then he returned to Detroit on Sunday for the first...
History doesn't much remember how somebody made it to the All-Star Game, only that he made it at all.
So even though there will always be those aghast that Anthony Rendon finished fifth in fan voting among all National League third basemen, in the end he's an All-Star and it doesn't matter all that much how it happened.
If anything, Rendon might be more touched by the manner in which he was finally selected to his first Midsummer Classic. It wasn't as a result of a popularity contest among...
Ryan Zimmerman's return to the Nationals' active roster will come at the expense of Michael A. Taylor's longstanding place on it.
The Nationals optioned Taylor to Double-A Harrisburg following last night's win in Miami to clear a spot on the 25-man roster for Zimmerman, who will be activated off the injured list before tonight's series opener in Detroit, according to multiple sources familiar with the transaction.
Zimmerman returns nearly nine weeks after he was placed on the 10-day IL...
MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg has looked better. But the right-hander's performance Thursday night was just as integral to the Nationals' 8-5 victory over the Marlins as the fireworks display put on by the Nats lineup.
Strasburg has long dominated the Marlins; he entered this game 9-0 with a 1.23 ERA against Miami since September 2015. But this Marlins lineup proved tougher than previous ones, in part because of its ability to put the bat on the ball, especially on Strasburg's curveball.
Miguel...
MIAMI - When they left New York on the evening of May 23, the Nationals were a defeated ballclub. They were blowing games in every manner possible. Their manager's job security appeared to be shaky. They were 12 games under .500 and facing a long, slow, unlikely climb back into contention.
When they leave Miami late tonight, the Nationals will be flying sky high. They're winning games behind a potent lineup, a dominant rotation and a bullpen that is finding a way to get the job done far more...
MIAMI - Juan Soto had one of the great seasons by a teenager in major league history, and it was only natural to question whether it was possible for the young slugger to be any better this season.
Halfway through the 2019 campaign, the answer is: Yes, it is possible.
There's a long way yet to go, but heading into tonight's series finale against the Marlins (the Nationals' 80th game of the season) Soto is sporting a higher batting average (.302), slugging percentage (.525) and OPS (.925)...
MIAMI - The last time the Nationals owned a .500 record, they were wrapping up a late April series in Colorado. Trea Turner was on the injured list with a fractured index finger. Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup but not yet on the IL with a bruised elbow. Ryan Zimmerman had just landed awkwardly on his right foot. Trevor Rosenthal had been on the active roster since opening day.
With a win tonight, the Nationals would not only sweep the Marlins but would reach the coveted .500 mark for the...
MIAMI - As July creeps ever closer and thoughts of the trade deadline begin creeping into his mind, Mike Rizzo made a series of bullpen changes this week that could go a long way toward determining just how the Nationals general manager chooses to approach July 31.
In releasing Trevor Rosenthal and then summoning veterans Fernando Rodney and Jonny Venters from the minors, Rizzo ostensibly declared this new-look relief corps has one month to prove itself before he must decide whether to be...
MIAMI - The Nationals lineup needed some time to figure out Marlins rookie starter Zac Gallen tonight, a chance to watch the young right-hander up close more than once and figure him out. That also meant the Nationals needed Patrick Corbin to keep them in this game and give that lineup a chance to do something later on.
Which is precisely what Corbin did. The left-hander gave up one early run but otherwise was stellar over the course of seven innings to give his teammates a chance to...
MIAMI - Ryan Zimmerman appears to have completed his rehab assignment in Harrisburg and is on track to come off the injured list Friday when the Nationals open a weekend series in Detroit.
Which means the organization and manager Davey Martinez are about to face some delicate decisions.
Zimmerman's pending return will require the Nationals to remove someone prominent from the current 25-man roster. And then once he is officially back, Martinez will have to figure out how much playing time to...
MIAMI - The last time Patrick Corbin faced the Marlins ... well, he put forth his best performance of the season. Corbin shut out Miami on 116 pitches May 25 in D.C., a four-hitter that served as the high point for his debut season with the Nationals. It was followed, of course, by three straight subpar outings, which prompted some concern about the left-hander. Until he bounced back in a big way last week against the Phillies, allowing one run and four hits over seven innings.
So Corbin should...
MIAMI - What's the best seven-start stretch of Max Scherzer's career with the Nationals?
The mind immediately turns to the summer of 2015, his first in Washington, when he - in succession - tossed a one-hitter in Milwaukee, then no-hit the Pirates in D.C., then carried a perfect game into the sixth inning in Philadelphia. But that was only three starts, great as they were.
You might remember a run of dominance in June 2017, when Scherzer posted an 0.86 ERA and 0.554 WHIP across seven starts,...
MIAMI - If the Nationals' primary objective over these final two weeks before the All-Star break is to take care of business against the sub-.400 competition they're facing, they put on a clinic tonight that should be bottled up and saved for future teams to watch and admire.
It helps, of course, to have peak Max Scherzer on the mound.
Scherzer continued his month of dominance with yet another gem, carving up the Marlins for eight innings and leading the Nationals to a simple, efficient,...
MIAMI - Austin Voth will get a chance to make another start this weekend in Detroit. And Ryan Zimmerman is on track to be there, on the Nationals' active roster for the first time in two months.
Manager Davey Martinez confirmed what became clear Monday after the Nationals optioned Erick Fedde to Triple-A Fresno: Voth will remain in the big league rotation after his impressive season debut Sunday against the Braves. The rookie right-hander is lined up to start Saturday at Comerica Park in the...