Mark Zuckerman

Nationals send Kintzler to Cubs in lone deadline deal

July 31, 2018, 12:16pm

If the Nationals were going to sell before today's trade deadline, they certainly had no shortage of veteran relievers on short-term contracts to offer up to other clubs. In the end, the guy they chose to move was a bit of a surprising one: Brandon Kintzler, who was dealt to the Cubs for Single-A right-handed reliever Jhon Romero. That was the club's only move before the 4 p.m. deadline. Kintzler, who turns 34 on Wednesday, had become a key late-inning reliever for the Nationals since his...

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Decision day for Nats, with Harper at the center of it all

July 30, 2018, 9:02pm

Nationals

Decision day for Nats, with Harper at the center of it all

Four months of ups and downs, encouraging moments and discouraging moments, reasons for hope and reasons for despair come to a head today. It's July 31, and the time has come for the Nationals front office to make some big decisions. And the biggest decision may well involve the biggest name in their organization: Bryce Harper. What would have sounded like a hoax in early April - or, shoot, even in early July - is at least within the realm of possibility today. The Nationals could deal Harper...

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Six potential trade deadline scenarios for the Nationals

July 29, 2018, 5:31pm

Nationals

The Nationals, in the strictest of baseball senses, are off today. On the heels of a roller coaster 3-4 road trip through Milwaukee and Miami, the players and coaching staff will catch their breath today, spend time with their families and prepare to return to action Tuesday night against the Mets on South Capitol Street. The Nationals, as an organization, are by no means off today. This may prove to be among the busiest days they have all summer, with everyone in the front office now charged...

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Nats go quietly in finale, now face deadline decision (updated)

July 29, 2018, 11:56am

Nationals

Nats go quietly in finale, now face deadline decision (updated)

MIAMI - It's tough to imagine that the outcome of one game on July 29 in front of a crowd of 12,112 at Marlins Park that was more interested in the Talking Pitbull Bobblehead Giveaway than the actual ballgame being played would be the sole determinant whether the Nationals front office decides to be a buyer or a seller before Tuesday's trade deadline. Club executives have watched the Nats play 105 games now in 2018, and the total sum of those four months should leave them with a better feel...

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Reynolds makes fourth straight start at third (Nats down 5-0)

July 29, 2018, 8:26am

Nationals

Reynolds makes fourth straight start at third (Nats down 5-0)

MIAMI - Mark Reynolds has played more games in his career at third base than any other position, but the vast majority of those games came early in his career with the Diamondbacks and Orioles, a full decade ago. Reynolds didn't spend a moment at third base in either 2016 or 2017 with the Rockies, and whatever playing time he has received with the Nationals this season has almost exclusively come at first base. Until this weekend. With Anthony Rendon away from the club for the entire series...

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Game 105 lineups: Nats at Marlins (updated)

July 29, 2018, 6:41am

Nationals

Game 105 lineups: Nats at Marlins (updated)

MIAMI - Is it actually possible that the fate of the Nationals' season comes down to one game on July 29 at Marlins Park? If they win today's series finale, they'll reach the trade deadline with a winning record and be either five or six games back in the division. If they lose, they'll reach the trade deadline with a losing record and be either six or seven games back in the division. In reality, that's not a significant difference. In the perception of the people who must decide whether...

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Despite another no-decision, a positive start for Gonzalez

July 28, 2018, 10:15pm

Nationals

Despite another no-decision, a positive start for Gonzalez

MIAMI - Lost amid the hubbub over the way Saturday night's game at Marlins Park ended was the way Gio Gonzalez pitched to ensure the outcome was still undecided in the final innings. The Nationals ultimately lost to the Marlins 2-1 in 10 innings, but not because of a poor start by their left-hander. Gonzalez authored one of his best outings of the season, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings and matching his season-high with 114 pitches thrown. "Progress," Gonzalez said. "It's...

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Nats left frustrated by 10-inning loss, on multiple levels

July 28, 2018, 8:14pm

Nationals

Nats left frustrated by 10-inning loss, on multiple levels

MIAMI - They could have made it all moot had they simply scored at any point during the first eight innings of tonight's game, or added the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth after tying things up with an impressive rally, despite that runner standing only 90 feet away with one out. But the Nationals did none of that, and so they left themselves in a position where an odd - and ultimately controversial - bottom of the 10th proved the difference between a potentially uplifting win and yet...

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Nats rally to tie game in ninth, then lose in 10th

July 28, 2018, 6:38pm

Nationals

Nats rally to tie game in ninth, then lose in 10th

MIAMI - The Nationals have proven they can win in blowout fashion, having done it each of the previous three days. It's the close games they're still having trouble with, and tonight was merely the latest example ... with a twist. With an opportunity to extend their winning streak to four games and potentially pick up ground again on both the Phillies and Braves, the Nationals pulled off a top-of-the-ninth rally to tie the Marlins and send the game into extra innings, only to then lose in the...

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Injection has Strasburg optimistic he'll be back soon (Nats down 1-0)

July 28, 2018, 2:28pm

Nationals

Injection has Strasburg optimistic he'll be back soon (Nats down 1-0)

MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg rejoined the Nationals today and is extremely optimistic he'll be pitching for them again in the near future after receiving a nerve-block injection in his neck two days ago. "It's very encouraging," the right-hander said. "I think they've kind of crossed all the boxes now, and it seems like it's something that should be good to go, and I'm excited to get back out there with the guys." Strasburg thought he was on track to do just that when he returned from a...

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Game 104 lineups: Nats at Marlins

July 28, 2018, 11:34am

Nationals

MIAMI - Three wins in a row is nice. Four in a row would be nicer for a Nationals club that flat-out owns the Marlins right now. The Nats are 8-1 against them this season, 16-1 over the last calendar year. And they've still got 10 more games to play vs. Miami in 2018. Gio Gonzalez has been a part of that ownage. The Miami native went 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA against the Marlins last season and allowed two runs in five innings in his lone appearance against them so far this year. It's been said...

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Slowly but surely, Murphy starting to look like pre-surgery self

July 27, 2018, 8:39pm

Nationals

Slowly but surely, Murphy starting to look like pre-surgery self

MIAMI - Anyone who watched Daniel Murphy in his first week back from major knee surgery could tell the veteran second baseman wasn't himself at the plate. One of baseball's best pure hitters the last two-plus seasons, Murphy opened his 2018 campaign 3-for-29 with five strikeouts for the Nationals. Anyone who watched Murphy in his second and third weeks back from major knee surgery could tell he was better, but still not himself at the plate. Though he was starting to make better contact and...

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Scherzer dominates in another Miami blowout (updated)

July 27, 2018, 5:56pm

Nationals

Scherzer dominates in another Miami blowout (updated)

MIAMI - If the intention of Nationals players this weekend is to convince the front office to keep believing in their chances and not sell before Tuesday's trade deadline, they've done everything they can the last 48 hours to move the needle in their preferred direction. It helps, of course, to be facing the Marlins. And to have Max Scherzer starting one of these games. Not that the Nationals are about to apologize for their performance in the first two games of what could be a critical...

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Robles activated onto Triple-A Syracuse's roster (Nats up 9-1)

July 27, 2018, 3:39pm

Nationals

Robles activated onto Triple-A Syracuse's roster (Nats up 9-1)

MIAMI - They may not have room for him in their crowded outfield right now, but Victor Robles is healthy again and available should the Nationals require his services before season's end. Robles, who entered the year as the organization's top prospect only to hyperextend his left elbow making a diving catch at Triple-A Syracuse in early April, has completed his rehab and is back on the Chiefs' active roster. The 21-year-old outfielder probably would have been playing in Washington after...

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Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday

July 27, 2018, 2:16pm

Nationals

Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday

MIAMI - The Nationals have received what they believe to be good news about Stephen Strasburg, though it's still an open question when the right-hander will be ready to pitch again. Strasburg, in Los Angeles on Thursday to have his ailing neck examined by a neurologist, was given a shot and is set to rejoin the Nationals in Miami on Saturday. He'll need to wait 72 hours for the shot to take full effect, but provided he feels well at that point he'll be cleared to resume throwing. "That's...

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Game 103 lineups: Nats at Marlins

July 27, 2018, 11:32am

Nationals

MIAMI - The last time the Nationals won three in a row, the opponent was the Marlins. This was three weeks ago in D.C., a streak that began with a record-breaking comeback from nine runs down. Miami's starting pitcher that evening: Pablo LÃ³pez, who is starting tonight's game as well. The Nats actually didn't get off to a good start that evening against LÃ³pez, who faced the minimum through his first three innings. Then they finally got to the young right-hander in the fourth and fifth,...

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On Milone's start, Zimmerman's stroke and Difo's blunder

July 27, 2018, 4:18am

Nationals

On Milone's start, Zimmerman's stroke and Difo's blunder

MIAMI - More from Thursday night's 10-3 victory over the Marlins ... * This wasn't the first time the Nationals needed to summon a starter from Triple-A Syracuse to fill in for a regular member of the big league rotation. They previously had called upon Erick Fedde, Jefry Rodriguez and Austin Voth for situations such as the one they faced Thursday, when Stephen Strasburg landed back on the disabled list. It took until now, though, for the Nats to call upon Tommy Milone, and that was the...

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Depleted Nats rally from early deficit to rout Marlins (updated)

July 26, 2018, 6:24pm

Nationals

Depleted Nats rally from early deficit to rout Marlins (updated)

MIAMI - Their No. 2 starter back on the disabled list with a mysterious neck injury, two of their top hitters out of the lineup and their emergency starter in a three-run hole early, the Nationals had given even their most ardent supporters no legitimate reason to be optimistic after one inning of baseball tonight at Marlins Park. If this weekend series really is going to determine the front office's approach to Tuesday's trade deadline, and by extension determine whether a late-season run is...

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Murphy gets night off, Reynolds subbing for Rendon (Nats lead 6-3)

July 26, 2018, 3:48pm

Nationals

Murphy gets night off, Reynolds subbing for Rendon (Nats lead 6-3)

MIAMI - When Daniel Murphy, originally listed in the Nationals lineup for tonight's series opener against the Marlins, was scratched about 3 1/2 hours before first pitch, it was only natural for conspiracy theorists out there to wonder if the veteran second baseman had just become the first victim of an unexpected late-July fire sale. Rest assured, the Nationals didn't trade Murphy, nor have they made any decisions to become surprise sellers in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline. Not yet,...

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Strasburg getting examined by neurologist in L.A.

July 26, 2018, 2:23pm

Nationals

Strasburg getting examined by neurologist in L.A.

MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg, despite a poor pitching line, didn't report any physical issues following his start Friday night against the Braves, his first outing following a six-week stint on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Strasburg also didn't report any problems after he threw off the bullpen mound in Milwaukee on Monday. But when the right-hander returned to the clubhouse Wednesday morning after playing catch at Miller Park, he informed manager Davey Martinez something was wrong...