Mark Zuckerman

After day off, Nationals now face longest stretch with no break

June 02, 2017, 9:40am

OAKLAND - Dusty Baker knows the potential perils of pitfalls of a long West Coast trip. Between the time change, the nice weather and other distractions, it's easy for a previously rolling East Coast club to head out this way and get thrown off track. "This is a business trip, and a lot of times this can turn into a pleasure trip," Baker said Monday morning before his Nationals opened a three-game series with the Giants, the first leg of a three-city trip that stops in Oakland this weekend...

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Two months in, Zimmerman continues to produce at the plate

May 31, 2017, 10:56pm

Nationals

Two months in, Zimmerman continues to produce at the plate

SAN FRANCISCO - There is still far more baseball to be played than has been played in 2017. But a not-insignificant amount of baseball has been played to date, with the calendar now turning another page. And just as was the case when April turned to May, Ryan Zimmerman still ranks among the league leaders in almost every offensive category as May turns to June. With a three-run blast during Wednesday night's 3-1 victory over the Giants, Zimmerman raised his home run total to 15 and his RBI...

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Scherzer goes the distance on 100 pitches to beat Giants

May 31, 2017, 10:13pm

Nationals

Scherzer goes the distance on 100 pitches to beat Giants

SAN FRANCISCO - As Max Scherzer stalked his way out to the mound for the bottom of the ninth inning tonight, Dusty Baker would have been justified in sending one of his relievers down to the bullpen to begin warming up. Not because Baker didn't believe Scherzer would be able to complete this game on his own. But with the Nationals leading the Giants by the relatively slim margin of 3-1, it wouldn't have taken much for the script of this contest to flip in a hurry. Yet the thought never really...

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Scherzer dealing, Zimmerman mashing (Nats win 3-1)

May 31, 2017, 7:41pm

Nationals

Scherzer dealing, Zimmerman mashing (Nats win 3-1)

SAN FRANCISCO - Max Scherzer had the look early tonight of a guy poised to once again do something special. The end result won't be special after the Giants plated a run in the bottom of the fourth, but Scherzer nonetheless still has the look of a guy putting together another dominant start. The right-hander retired the first 10 batters he faced, four via strikeout, before allowing a clean single and then a not-clean double when Jayson Werth and Michael A. Taylor appeared to lose a routine fly...

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Mays visits Nats clubhouse, plus notes on Lind and Blanton

May 31, 2017, 5:36pm

Nationals

Mays visits Nats clubhouse, plus notes on Lind and Blanton

SAN FRANCISCO - Having Dusty Baker for a manager carries some special perks. Like, for example, having Willie Mays show up in your clubhouse. The Hall of Famer made an unannounced visit to the visitors' clubhouse at AT&T Park this afternoon, catching up with Baker (a longtime friend) and meeting Nationals players and personnel. "They were kind of shy, kind of like little kids, when they see Willie Mays." Baker said. "And I feel like I'm very fortunate to have been with him for quite a...

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Game 52 lineups: Nats at Giants

May 31, 2017, 2:41pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Things have changed as the Nationals and Giants prepare to play the finale of their series tonight. For one thing, the temperature has warmed up a bit, the clouds have dissipated and it's actually a nice day by the bay. For another, Bryce Harper is suspended and not available to play in any of the next three games. The Nationals will attempt to sweep the series with a diminished lineup. Dusty Baker has bumped Daniel Murphy up to the No. 3 spot, with Ryan Zimmerman remaining in...

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Harper's suspension reduced to three games, starts tonight

May 31, 2017, 10:25am

Nationals

Harper's suspension reduced to three games, starts tonight

SAN FRANCISCO - Major League Baseball has reduced Bryce Harper's suspension to three games after hearing his appeal, and the Nationals slugger will begin serving his time tonight, according to a source familiar with the decision. Harper, who originally was suspended four games for charging the mound Monday after getting intentionally hit in the right hip by a 98 mph fastball from reliever Hunter Strickland, will sit out tonight's series finale against the Giants and the first two games of the...

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Unlikely Albers-Glover combo has stabilized Nationals bullpen

May 30, 2017, 11:16pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Maybe everyone should have listened to Koda Glover a couple of weeks ago when the rookie reliever insisted the beleaguered Nationals bullpen would be just fine. Glover reiterated that sentiment Tuesday night after closing out the Nationals' 6-3 victory over the Giants that included the latest in a string of dominant performances by this relief corps. "What'd I tell you earlier? We're starting to roll. We're fine," Glover said. "Like I said when everybody was kind of...

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No drama, only a convincing victory for Nats in San Francisco

May 30, 2017, 10:41pm

Nationals

No drama, only a convincing victory for Nats in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - The best revenge is living well, and Dusty Baker knew that well in advance of tonight's game against the Giants. Would there be retaliation for Hunter Strickland's intentional plunking of Bryce Harper 24 hours earlier? No, not if the Nationals manager had anything to say about it. "The best thing for us to do is beat up on them and win tonight," Baker said. The Nationals didn't entirely beat up on the Giants, but they made an early statement with some quick offense against...

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Hits piling up on chilly night in San Francisco (Nats win 6-3)

May 30, 2017, 8:03pm

Nationals

Hits piling up on chilly night in San Francisco (Nats win 6-3)

SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals made Jeff Samardzija work. And they inflicted some damage against the Giants right-hander. But they also squandered more than a few opportunities to expand their lead and now find themselves in a tight ballgame. Despite racking up nine hits and forcing Samardzija to throw 100 pitches in four innings, the Nationals scored only three runs in tonight's second game of a three-game series at AT&T Park. Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy delivered back-to-back,...

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Nationals insist there won't be retaliation vs. Giants

May 30, 2017, 5:31pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Neither the Nationals nor the Giants were totally satisfied with the punishments handed down by Major League Baseball today for Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland. The Nats felt Harper deserved a suspension fewer than four games, Strickland a suspension more than six games. The Giants felt the opposite way. On one point, though, both sides appear to agree: The matter is closed, and there's no reason for any carryover tonight or in the future. "I don't think retaliation is the...

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Game 51 lineups: Nats at Giants

May 30, 2017, 2:46pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Hello again from AT&T Park, where the Nationals and Giants will play the second game of their series tonight. Whether there's anything in addition to baseball taking place here tonight remains to be seen. With Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland suspended but appealing, both guys are eligible and available to play. And Harper is in the lineup, batting third as always in between Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. We'll see if Strickland gets into the game out of the Giants...

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Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

May 30, 2017, 2:26pm

Nationals

Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

SAN FRANCISCO - Bryce Harper has been suspended four games by Major League Baseball for charging the mound yesterday after getting hit with a 98 mph fastball by Hunter Strickland, who was suspended six games for his actions. Both players have appealed the suspensions and will be eligible to play tonight when the Nationals and Giants meet in the second game of their three-game series at AT&T Park. The suspensions were doled out by Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, and varied somewhat...

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Harper, Murphy lead early All-Star Game voting

May 30, 2017, 8:36am

Nationals

Harper, Murphy lead early All-Star Game voting

SAN FRANCISCO - Major League Baseball made an announcement today about Bryce Harper. But not the one everyone has spent the last 18 hours anticipating in the wake of yesterday's brawl at AT&T Park. This announcement, though, underscored just how popular Harper is, not only among Nationals fans but across the sport. Which is why the 24-year-old has received more All-Star votes so far than any other player in the National League. The first All-Star Game ballot update of the year was unveiled...

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Before brawl, Roark continues recent return to form

May 29, 2017, 10:00pm

Nationals

Before brawl, Roark continues recent return to form

SAN FRANCISCO - So, there was an actual ballgame played yesterday afternoon at AT&T Park. Easy as that might have been to forget once Hunter Strickland decided to reignite a three-year-old feud with Bryce Harper. The Nationals beat the Giants, 3-0, with one of those runs made possible by Strickland's apparently premeditated plunking of Harper in the top of the eighth. It was a nice way to start this long West Coast trip, and it leaves the Nats with a 31-19 record, the best record they've...

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Three-year-old grudge fuels brawl between Harper, Strickland

May 29, 2017, 5:15pm

Nationals

Three-year-old grudge fuels brawl between Harper, Strickland

SAN FRANCISCO - Baseball grudges are a strange thing. They carry over from year to year, sometimes longer. Events you think would bury the hatchet instead only allow the bad vibes to fester. Everybody in this game remembers everything that happened before. And so when Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the top of the eighth this afternoon at AT&T Park, with Hunter Strickland on the mound in what had been a nondescript game that eventually ended a 3-0 Nationals victory over the Giants,...

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Harper-Strickland brawl mars Nationals' 3-0 win over Giants

May 29, 2017, 3:11pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants won the war over the Nationals in the 2014 playoffs. That apparently didn't stop Hunter Strickland from starting a fight against Bryce Harper three years later. A major benches-clearing brawl broke out after Strickland drilled Harper with a first-pitch fastball in the top of the eighth inning today as a long-festering vendetta marred what eventually ended as a 3-0 victory for the Nationals over the Giants. Strickland had faced Harper only twice before, both times in...

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Zimmerman inching up home run leaderboard (Nats win 3-0)

May 29, 2017, 1:29pm

Nationals

Zimmerman inching up home run leaderboard (Nats win 3-0)

SAN FRANCISCO - Ryan Zimmerman's ascent up the franchise home run leaderboard took a brief hiatus, but he's back at it this afternoon in the opener of the Nationals' long West Coast trip. Zimmerman launched a solo homer to left-center to lead off the top of the second and stake the Nationals to an early lead against the Giants. His 420-foot moonshot off left-hander Matt Moore was his 14th of the season, one behind club leader Bryce Harper. That blast ended a power drought for Zimmerman, who...

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Drew activated off DL, Heisey begins rehab assignment

May 29, 2017, 11:46am

Nationals

Drew activated off DL, Heisey begins rehab assignment

SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals' bench got a major boost today at the start of a long West Coast trip when Stephen Drew was activated off the disabled list, his right hamstring strain finally healed enough to allow him to play on the big league roster. Drew had been out since April 12, suffering his hamstring injury only three days after teammate Trea Turner did the same. But while Turner was able to return only 12 days later, Drew needed nearly seven weeks to be cleared for game...

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Game 50 lineups: Nats at Giants

May 29, 2017, 9:03am

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Hello from the banks of McCovey Cove, where it's currently 54 degrees with a nice marine layer hovering over everything as the Nationals begin their week-long tour of the Bay Area. Yes, this is a rare (and nice) road trip that includes three games against the Giants, an off day and then three games against the Athletics on the other side of the bay. These Giants are not the Giants we've come to know over the last half-decade or so, languishing near the bottom of the National...