Mark Zuckerman

Mistake in field sets up Ramos' grand slam (Nats down 5-2)

May 14, 2019, 4:00pm

The Nationals opened a key homestand this evening needing to play clean baseball and get things off on the right foot. Three batters into their series opener against the Mets, they couldn't turn a routine double play. And three batters after that, they gave up a grand slam to a former teammate and fan favorite. Yep, things are going swimmingly so far tonight on South Capitol Street. Wilson Ramos' grand slam off Jeremy Hellickson gave the Mets a 4-0 lead before many in the crowd had even...

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Turner rehabs at Potomac, Zimmerman takes grounders

May 14, 2019, 1:43pm

Nationals

Turner rehabs at Potomac, Zimmerman takes grounders

Trea Turner is taking the field tonight in Woodbridge, Va., for his first game action in six weeks. Ryan Zimmerman was on the field this afternoon at Nationals Park for his first baseball activities in 2 1/2 weeks. Slowly but surely, the Nationals are getting healthier, and the next player on track to return from the injured list appears to be Turner, who tonight is beginning a rehab assignment with Single-A Potomac. Turner is scheduled to play shortstop and bat second tonight at Pfitzner...

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Game 41 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

May 14, 2019, 10:53am

Nationals

There's a ballgame being played tonight in Washington, and that in and of itself is good news for the local club, which last set foot on the turf here 12 days ago. The Nationals have a six-game homestand against the Mets and Cubs, and they'll try to get things off on the right foot tonight against a New York team that has lost 10 of its last 16 and is facing an important week itself. The Nationals lineup is healthier than it was the last time they played here, with Anthony Rendon and Juan...

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Nats return home from brutal trip desperate to make up ground

May 13, 2019, 9:07pm

Nationals

Nats return home from brutal trip desperate to make up ground

It's been 12 days since the Nationals last played a ballgame in D.C. Derek Lilliquist was still their pitching coach. Juan Soto and Matt Adams hadn't gone on the injured list yet. Gerardo Parra was still employed by the Giants. Yeah, a lot has happened since then. Most of it negative, with a few positive developments sprinkled in around the edges. When the Nationals finally return home tonight to open a week's worth of games on South Capitol Street against the Mets and Cubs, they'll do so...

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Monday morning Nats Q&A

May 12, 2019, 7:51pm

Nationals

I'll admit I've been holding off doing a Q&A for a few weeks, because I know where this is likely going. There's a lot of aggravation out there among Nationals fans, and while it's certainly justified, it also tends to lead to irrational and unproductive conversations that put your trusty beat writer in awkward and no-win situations. But I know you have thoughts, and I know you want my thoughts on those thoughts. And so I thought I'd give this a shot today and see how it goes. But here...

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How do Nationals flip narrow losses into narrow wins?

May 08, 2019, 4:57pm

Nationals

The Nationals knew this was going to be a tough road trip. But this tough? Yikes. Already 1-5 at Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the Nats now must head to Los Angeles for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium against the National League's best team to date in 2019. And they'll do so with a lineup still decimated by injuries, a bullpen still lacking in reliable arms and a defense still unable to make routine plays (let alone non-routine plays). This team has gone 3-14 over the last 2 1/2 weeks. And...

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Lifeless Nats fall into early hole, get swept for first time (updated)

May 08, 2019, 12:35pm

Nationals

Lifeless Nats fall into early hole, get swept for first time (updated)

MILWAUKEE - No matter how agonizing the losses have been up to this point, the Nationals have been able to legitimately say they played hard and walked off the field at the end of the day confident that a lack of effort was not the issue. They had to answer that question, though, after today's 7-3 loss to the Brewers, even after a last-ditch rally in which they brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. The outcome of the game was understandable, but the manner in which they came...

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Source: Nats in talks with veteran outfielder Parra (down 7-3)

May 08, 2019, 8:24am

Nationals

Source: Nats in talks with veteran outfielder Parra (down 7-3)

MILWAUKEE - Desperate for healthy position players and more veterans on their bench, the Nationals are in discussions with outfielder Gerardo Parra and could finalize a deal in the coming days, according to a source familiar with the talks. No deal is done at this point, the source said, but the addition of Parra would make sense for a Nationals club that has been decimated by injuries to its lineup and has felt the domino effect on its bench. Parra, 32, is a career .277 hitter with a .324...

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Game 36 lineups: Nats at Brewers

May 08, 2019, 6:40am

Nationals

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals haven't been swept in any of the 11 series they've played to date. For all their woes, they've managed to go 8-3 in series finales and 5-0 when facing a potential sweep. So that's what's at stake this afternoon at Miller Park, where the Nats have dropped two in a row despite getting dominant starts from Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Obviously, they could use a quality start out of Jeremy Hellickson today. But as we've seen, that's not enough. They have to...

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Martinez pleads for hitters to start putting the ball in play

May 07, 2019, 8:31pm

Nationals

Martinez pleads for hitters to start putting the ball in play

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals have been fielding a lineup lacking a host of key regulars for a while now, that's nothing new. Guys are starting to return, with Anthony Rendon coming off the injured list Monday, Juan Soto hopefully joining him Saturday and Trea Turner perhaps within two weeks of his activation off the IL. How, though, do the Nats score any runs in the meantime? They've scored 21 runs over their last eight games. But that includes a 10-run outburst in Philadelphia on Saturday...

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Game falls apart in seventh as Nats fall on road again (updated)

May 07, 2019, 6:41pm

Nationals

Game falls apart in seventh as Nats fall on road again (updated)

MILWAUKEE - Anthony Rendon was a welcome addition to the Nationals lineup, until he got ejected. Stephen Strasburg was dominating a tough lineup, until he couldn't get one final out. And Dan Jennings ... well, he simply couldn't get any outs, turning a competitive game into a rout. The Nationals' 6-0 loss to the Brewers tonight was dripping with all sorts of new drama, none of it positive for a team that has now lost 10 of 13 and is barely hanging on by a thread. Not even Strasburg's...

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On today's flurry of roster moves, plus injury updates (Nats down 6-0)

May 07, 2019, 3:16pm

Nationals

On today's flurry of roster moves, plus injury updates (Nats down 6-0)

MILWAUKEE - Though they got one key player back from the injured list today, the Nationals placed a key reliever on the IL. All while watching two players hurt during Monday night's loss avoid the IL (for now) and another key regular who has been on the IL more than a month take an important step forward his recovery. Oh, they also demoted their top prospect and recalled one of their top young starters, making him a full-time reliever for the first time. Yeah, it's been an eventful day. Just...

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Game 35 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Rendon up, Kieboom down)

May 07, 2019, 12:21pm

Nationals

Game 35 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Rendon up, Kieboom down)

MILWAUKEE - It's not enough to completely change the complexion of the lineup, but the Nationals do have to feel a little better about the state of things now because they've got Anthony Rendon back 17 days after he was hit by a pitch in the left elbow. Yes, the Nationals have officially activated Rendon off the 10-day injured list. He'll be at third base and should be batting third, a major boon to the club both at the plate and in the field. The corresponding roster move: Carter Kieboom...

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With Rendon ready to return, will Kieboom return to Fresno?

May 06, 2019, 10:48pm

Nationals

With Rendon ready to return, will Kieboom return to Fresno?

MILWAUKEE - For the first time in a long time, the Nationals expect to be adding significant players to their active roster today instead of subtracting them. Anthony Rendon is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list. And unless something unforeseen happened late Monday night or happens over the next few hours, the star third baseman will be activated and be in the Nats' lineup for tonight's game against the Brewers. It's a major boost to a team ravaged by injuries and sorely in need...

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Nats lose two more players, another series opener (updated)

May 06, 2019, 7:14pm

Nationals

Nats lose two more players, another series opener (updated)

MILWAUKEE - The sleep-deprived Nationals landed in Milwaukee 16 hours later than scheduled, thanks to a travel nightmare late Sunday night and early this morning in Philadelphia. They had every reason to complain about their travails, and the fact they now had to open another tough road series while fielding an injury depleted lineup. But they chose to try to look on the bright side. They shrugged off their charter flight mechanical problems and wondered if somehow the whole experience might...

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Rendon on track to return to lineup Tuesday (game tied 2-2)

May 06, 2019, 3:17pm

Nationals

Rendon on track to return to lineup Tuesday (game tied 2-2)

MILWAUKEE - The first key injured member of the Nationals lineup is on the verge of returning to the active roster. Anthony Rendon is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Tuesday, and manager Davey Martinez said the club is preparing for its star third baseman to be activated for the second game of this week's series against the Brewers. "He's going to hit today in the cage," Martinez said. "And then hopefully barring no setbacks, he should be ready tomorrow." Rendon, who hasn't...

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Game 34 lineups: Nats at Brewers

May 06, 2019, 12:59pm

Nationals

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals successfully made it to Milwaukee, albeit 16 hours later than originally scheduled. After landing at the airport shortly after 11:30 a.m., they decided to push back their pregame routine and give guys more time to rest up at the hotel. So there's no formal batting practice today, and the clubhouse doesn't even open until two hours before first pitch. (It typically opens 3 1/2 hours before first pitch.) So the team that takes the field for tonight's series opener...

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Nats finally heading to Milwaukee after being grounded in Philly

May 06, 2019, 6:50am

Nationals

Nats finally heading to Milwaukee after being grounded in Philly

MILWAUKEE - How banged up are the Nationals right now? Even the team's charter plane was physically unable to perform Sunday night. A mechanical issue on the club's Delta charter left the entire team sitting on the tarmac in Philadelphia nearly eight hours late Sunday night and early Monday morning. After all that, the entire traveling party went back to its downtown hotel to get a little bit of sleep before returning to the airport this morning. The Nationals finally took off from...

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Pressure's on veterans to produce until lineup gets healthy

May 05, 2019, 5:58pm

Nationals

Pressure's on veterans to produce until lineup gets healthy

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals are in a real bind right now. That's not some kind of major revelation, but it's the truth. When you lose the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitters from your opening day lineup, plus the guy who took over as cleanup hitter because of one of those injuries, plus the No. 4 outfielder who had been thrust into the daily lineup, you're going to struggle to score runs. Few teams could overcome that many injuries to that many important hitters. (And before anyone asks about the...

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Injury-ravaged Nationals fold late in loss to Phillies (updated)

May 05, 2019, 1:09pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - They might not have ever admitted it publicly, but the Nationals knew the deck was stacked against them when they took the field for today's series finale against the Phillies. On a gray, windy, rainy Sunday afternoon, the Nats fielded a lineup with only three regulars who started on opening day. Their usual leadoff hitter was batting third. Their backup catcher was batting cleanup. Their fourth-string first baseman had just flown in on a red eye from Las Vegas. And yet for five...