Mark Zuckerman

With quick strikes from the top, Nats lineup feasts all weekend

April 01, 2018, 4:29pm

CINCINNATI - There were home runs, four of them during today's 6-5 victory over the Reds, and four more during Saturday's blowout win. The Nationals are going to hit a lot of home runs this season, given the thunder they have up and down their lineup. But everything they did offensively this weekend during a season-opening sweep at Great American Ball Park began with one simple act from the first batter they sent to the plate. Adam Eaton led off Friday's game with a single to right, then...

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Nats again score early, never look back to complete sweep

April 01, 2018, 2:57pm

Nationals

Nats again score early, never look back to complete sweep

CINCINNATI - At some point this season, a Nationals pitcher will take the mound with his team trailing. Or even tied. That point, though, did not come during the club's three-game weekend series against the Reds. No, thanks to top-of-the-first runs in all three games at Great American Ball Park, Nationals starters never once stood on the mound with anything but a lead. And thanks to some sustained offense and effective pitching throughout the weekend, no Nats hurler ever threw a pitch with...

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Pitcher batting eighth for first time since 2011 (Nats win 6-5)

April 01, 2018, 1:20pm

Nationals

Pitcher batting eighth for first time since 2011 (Nats win 6-5)

CINCINNATI - In their first 13 seasons of existence, the Nationals submitted a starting lineup with their pitcher batting eighth only 11 times, all of them coming in succession in mid-June 2011. Unable to find a consistently effective leadoff man, former manager Jim Riggleman decided to shake things up, move Jayson Werth to the No. 1 spot, slide everybody else up a slot and bat guys like Roger Bernadina or Ian Desmond ninth behind the pitcher. Whether because of the change or not, the Nationals...

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SolÃs delivers big outs in first relief opportunity

April 01, 2018, 11:22am

Nationals

SolÃs delivers big outs in first relief opportunity

CINCINNATI - Davey Martinez knows he can't rely exclusively on his three best relievers this season, especially early on when workloads have to more diligently be monitored. Someone else from the eight-man 'pen is going to have to step up and deliver in key situations. So consider Saturday's performance by Sammy SolÃs a significant one, not only for the role it played in the Nationals' 13-7 over the Reds but perhaps for the trust it may earn the left-hander in his new manager's eyes...

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Game 3 lineups: Nats at Reds

April 01, 2018, 8:33am

Nationals

CINCINNATI - To the best of my knowledge, the Nationals have batted the pitcher eighth only 11 times in club history. All of those came in succession during a stretch in June 2011, when then-manager Jim Riggleman didn't have a real viable leadoff hitter and decided to just bump everyone else up a slot and have Jayson Werth at the top. The Nats proceeded to win 10 of those 11 games, at which point Riggleman decided to resign over a contract dispute. The Nationals haven't batted the pitcher...

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Goodwin makes most of his start with first career grand slam

March 31, 2018, 8:22pm

Nationals

Goodwin makes most of his start with first career grand slam

CINCINNATI - Brian Goodwin got to be a part of some significant moments last year, the first time the young outfielder was on a big league roster for an extended stretch. He led off two games for the Nationals with home runs. He gave his team late leads with clutch hits. He made the postseason roster. When asked Saturday where his ninth-inning grand slam during the Nats' 13-7 win over the Reds would rank among career highlights, though, Goodwin couldn't come up with anything better. "It's...

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Eaton turns emotional after 5-for-5 day in front of family

March 31, 2018, 3:11pm

Nationals

Eaton turns emotional after 5-for-5 day in front of family

CINCINNATI - Adam Eaton thought he had already experienced the emotional high point of his return from reconstructive knee surgery two weeks ago when he played in his first Grapefruit League game in West Palm Beach, homered and then motioned to his pregnant wife and young son in the stands. Little could the Nationals outfielder have known what still awaited him this afternoon at Great American Ball Park. It's not just that Eaton went 5-for-5 with 10 total bases during a 13-7 thumping of the...

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Big blasts aplenty in Nationals' 13-7 win over Reds

March 31, 2018, 1:27pm

Nationals

CINCINNATI - Matt Adams supplied the early power. Adam Eaton supplied the sustained offense all afternoon. Stephen Strasburg supplied another gem. And then Brian Goodwin supplied the biggest blast of all late to ensure the Nationals would open the season with back-to-back wins. Today's 13-7 victory over the Reds featured a little bit of everything, with contributions aplenty. And thanks to that, the Nats are 2-0 with a chance to sweep the series Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball...

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Adams' blast leads early offensive barrage (Nats win 13-7)

March 31, 2018, 11:23am

Nationals

Adams' blast leads early offensive barrage (Nats win 13-7)

CINCINNATI - Matt Adams is making the most of his first start with the Nationals. Given a chance to bat cleanup on the second day of the season with Ryan Zimmerman on the bench, Adams launched a three-run homer into the far reaches of the right-center field bleachers at Great American Ball Park. That first-inning blast, which measured 460 feet, gave the Nationals an early lead over the Reds, which they went on to extend to 5-0 in the fourth inning. With two on and one out in the top of the...

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Why Adams and Goodwin are in today's lineup

March 31, 2018, 9:22am

Nationals

Why Adams and Goodwin are in today's lineup

CINCINNATI - The sight of today's lineup may have induced a sense of dread for more than a few Nationals fans who are curious why Ryan Zimmerman and Michael A. Taylor are sitting out the season's second game. Manager Davey Martinez, though, insists he was planning to do this all along. Not as a reaction to anything Zimmerman or Taylor did on opening day but as a way to make sure Matt Adams and Brian Goodwin don't waste away on the bench. "Coming into the series, I had different lineups,...

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Game 2 lineups: Nats at Reds

March 31, 2018, 6:47am

Nationals

CINCINNATI - And we're back. With the anticipation and hoopla of opening day behind them, the Nationals now begin the long grind this afternoon. It's Game 2 of 162, and it's a little bit of a quick turnaround with a 2:10 p.m. start here at Great American Ball Park. The Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to the mound for his first start of the season, his first meaningful outing since his Game 4 victory at Wrigley Field in October. The conditions won't be nearly as tough today in Cincinnati,...

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Little things add up to produce Nats' first two runs of season

March 31, 2018, 3:59am

Nationals

Little things add up to produce Nats' first two runs of season

CINCINNATI - The Nationals are going to score a lot of runs this season via big blasts and sustained rallies. There's simply too much thunder in their lineup to believe otherwise. But sometimes you've got to manufacture a run or two to win a ballgame. And that's what made Friday's 2-0 opening day victory over the Reds particularly encouraging. The Nationals scored their runs by virtue of three singles (one of them on a bunt), a stolen base, some well-executed baserunning and three...

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Nats stick with the formula to give Martinez first managerial win

March 30, 2018, 5:00pm

Nationals

Nats stick with the formula to give Martinez first managerial win

CINCINNATI - Davey Martinez wasn't expecting it. His mind was still racing moments after his team had finished off a 2-0 opening victory over the Reds, the first of his managerial career. So he never saw it coming when Nationals players ambushed him in the clubhouse with a celebratory beer shower, the olfactory remnants of which were still evident 30 minutes later after Martinez had taken an actual shower to try to clean himself off. "I was a little wet," he said. "A lot wet,...

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Nationals grind out 2-0 opening day win in Cincinnati

March 30, 2018, 3:19pm

Nationals

CINCINNATI - The day began with Davey Martinez answering questions about his unconventional lineup decisions. The day ended with the Nationals' new manager needing no explanation for sticking with the conventional bullpen order that closed out his team's 2-0 victory over the Reds and made Max Scherzer a winner on opening day for the first time in three career tries. Scherzer dominated for six innings, striking out 10 with only one walk issued, putting himself in line for the win after he took...

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Murphy traveling with club while rehabbing (Nats win 2-0)

March 30, 2018, 1:18pm

Nationals

Murphy traveling with club while rehabbing (Nats win 2-0)

CINCINNATI - Though he's not on the big league roster to begin the season, Daniel Murphy is going to be hanging out with the rest of the Nationals for at least a little while. Murphy, who is on the 10-day disabled list while completing his rehab from October knee surgery, made the trip to Cincinnati with the Nats, was introduced on the field alongside everybody else on the roster before today's opener and will stay with them until he's ready to play in minor league rehab games. "He's one...

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Martinez explains his opening day batting order decision

March 30, 2018, 11:33am

Nationals

Martinez explains his opening day batting order decision

CINCINNATI - Davey Martinez had been thinking about his opening day lineup for some time. He had scribbled out different varieties, with and without players who were trying to return from injuries this spring. And once he knew for sure who he'd have available to him for today's game at Great American Ball Park, he didn't hesitate to write it down in pen on his first official lineup card as a big league manager. Even if it had Trea Turner batting sixth. That unconventional decision surely...

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Game 1 lineups: Nats at Reds

March 30, 2018, 8:15am

Nationals

CINCINNATI - They're playing a ballgame here today. No, really. They are. Pay no attention to the tarp that has been on the field at Great American Ball Park, or the rain that started falling yesterday and hasn't stopped since. It's going to clear up in time for first pitch at 4:10 p.m. That's what everyone insists, so we have no choice but to believe them. The Nationals face the Reds on opening day for the first time, and so maybe it's appropriate that there's a first in today's lineup:...

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Nats' opening day payroll ranks fourth in majors

March 29, 2018, 1:47pm

Nationals

Nats' opening day payroll ranks fourth in majors

CINCINNATI - The precise figure varies depending on your preferred method of calculation, but here's one fact that holds true no matter the math: The Nationals have one of the highest payrolls in baseball this season. The Nationals' opening day payroll of $180,193,628 (by USA Today's calculations) ranks fourth in the majors, trailing only the Giants ($220,881,444), Red Sox ($206,247,686) and Cubs ($182,560,002). The Associated Press has the Nats tied with the Dodgers for fourth place, behind...

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Nationals finalize 25-man roster for opening day

March 29, 2018, 7:42am

Nationals

Though they won't play until Friday, the Nationals were nonetheless required to submit their opening day roster to Major League Baseball this morning along with the sport's 29 other clubs. The 25-man roster contains no surprises. The transactions the Nationals made Sunday night upon leaving West Palm Beach already revealed their intentions. The Nationals will carry an eight-man bullpen to open the season, with only four players on their bench. That arrangement could change in relatively short...

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2018 Nats media season predictions

March 28, 2018, 8:37pm

Nationals

So we always run this feature on opening day. It's a tradition, now in its ninth consecutive season, spanning three different websites. The idea is to reveal these predictions just before the Nationals take the field for their first game of the season. Just one problem: They're not playing today. (Thanks, Cincinnati weather!) Well, rather than postpone the publication of this season's media predictions - and thus have to come up with some other story idea I never planned for - I made the...