Nats hope Strasburg pitches Thursday; Drew gets start at third

Nats hope Strasburg pitches Thursday; Drew gets start at third
The Nationals are hoping Stephen Strasburg will feel well enough to start Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Braves, trying to avoid burning up their bullpen as an alternative in case he's not ready to return. Strasburg was scratched from tonight's scheduled start due to an illness that has plagued him the last couple of days. Manager Dusty Baker said the outlook has looked better with each passing day, and Strasburg was out on the field during batting practice this afternoon for...
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Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals have spent much of the last two weeks shuffling and then reshuffling their rotation, accounting for rainouts, scheduled off-days and other factors. Now they've had to reshuffle it again due to illness. Stephen Strasburg, who was scheduled to start tonight against the Braves, has been scratched because he's not feeling well. So it'll be Tanner Roark instead taking the mound at 7:05 p.m. The good news: Roark is still pitching on five days' rest, so he'll be plenty fresh. The...
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Strasburg scratched with illness, Roark starting vs. Braves

Strasburg scratched with illness, Roark starting vs. Braves
Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from tonight's scheduled start against the Braves due to what the Nationals say is an illness. Tanner Roark will pitch in his place, starting a day earlier than originally planned. Strasburg was set to make his second start of the season, facing the same Atlanta lineup he beat one week ago with six innings of one-run ball. The right-hander appeared to be under the weather earlier this week, though, prompting the postponement of his outing. Roark was due to...
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Delayed debut no issue for dominant Gonzalez

Delayed debut no issue for dominant Gonzalez
The Nationals can't say - with a straight face, at least - they knew with 100 percent certainty what they'd get out of Gio Gonzalez last night. Not in his season debut. Not a full 16 days removed from his last appearance on the mound. But when the left-hander navigated his way through a 13-pitch top of the first, they had reason to be optimistic. And when he made it through the third without allowing a run and with a manageable pitch count of 46, they had to be even more encouraged. And by...
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Harper delivers in the clutch, propelling Nats to 5-1 record

Harper delivers in the clutch, propelling Nats to 5-1 record
It was cold, with a steady wind having been blowing in from left field all night. What remained of an already-sparse crowd of 18,378 was praying for something good to happen, for somebody to finally break through and post something other than a zero on the scoreboard for the first time all evening. And then, with one well-timed swing from Bryce Harper, everyone inside Nationals Park was jumping up and down, the long wait on this chilly April night well worth it. Harper's two-out, two-run...
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Gonzalez sharp early despite long layoff (Nats win 2-1)

Gonzalez sharp early despite long layoff (Nats win 2-1)
Making his first appearance of the regular season and his first appearance of any kind in 16 days, Gio Gonzalez took the mound tonight at Nationals Park not entirely knowing for sure what to expect. Three innings later, the left-hander has to be pleased with the results so far: nothing but zeros. Gonzalez's season debut got off to a strong start, with only one hit surrendered to the Braves through three scoreless innings. There was a two-out walk issued to Freddie Freeman in the top of the...
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Nats backing up spring promise of aggressive baserunning

Nats backing up spring promise of aggressive baserunning
It's one thing to say you're going to be aggressive on the bases. Every team says that every spring. It's another thing to actually back that up once the season begins, which the Nationals most definitely have done so far. Entering tonight's game against the Braves, the Nationals have successfully stolen six bases, most in the National League and second-most in the majors (behind only the Astros' nine). They've also successfully taken a bunch of extra bases in other fashions, whether...
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Game 6 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 6 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals have a chance tonight to do something they've never done in their previous 11 years in the District, nor something any Washington ballclub has done in 65 years: start a season 5-1. With a win tonight over the Braves, the Nats would match the 1913 and 1953 Senators for the best six-game start to D.C. baseball history. No small achievement. In order to do it, they'll need to get a solid outing from Gio Gonzalez, who 16 days after he last pitched in Florida is finally making his...
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Why Scherzer's start was better than his final line suggests

Why Scherzer's start was better than his final line suggests
This didn't go down as one of Max Scherzer's better starts as a National, and it won't likely be included in any video montages of his 2016 season. But there's something to be said for churning out six innings on a night when you didn't have your best stuff. Especially when doing just that ultimately put your team in position to emerge victorious. "I thought Max did a great job tonight," second baseman Daniel Murphy said following last night's 6-4 win over the Braves. "I'm sure he...
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Balanced lineup delivers for Nats in latest win over Braves

Balanced lineup delivers for Nats in latest win over Braves
There are going to be nights when the Nationals need to rely on Bryce Harper to carry the load, but they want those to be few and far between. They'd much rather be able to count on the depth of their lineup to produce on a consistent basis, leaving the reigning National League MVP to do his thing without having to do everything. In that regard, tonight's 6-4 victory over the Braves was a prime example of what this lineup can do, from top to bottom. Harper didn't have a bad night; he got on...
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Bats pick up slack on night when Scherzer didn't have best stuff

Bats pick up slack on night when Scherzer didn't have best stuff
On a night when Max Scherzer didn't have his best stuff, the Nationals knew right off the bat they'd need to score their share of runs to help out their surprisingly struggling ace. They managed to do just that, thanks to the continued early-season success of two key members of the heart of their lineup and a breakthrough performance from one of the members of the bottom of that lineup. Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy reached base a collective five times against the Braves pitching staff,...
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Slugfest breaks out in D.C. (Nats win 6-4)

Slugfest breaks out in D.C. (Nats win 6-4)
When Max Scherzer retired the Braves' first two batters of the evening, you couldn't help but wonder if the right-hander might be setting the tone for a dominant night on the mound. Those thoughts very quickly disappeared amid a flurry of hits by Atlanta off the veteran ace. Scherzer was roughed up early by the Braves, surrendering two runs in the top of the first and then two more in the top of the second. His only saving grace: His Nationals teammates wore their hitting shoes tonight as...
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Bryce Harper's MVP plate discipline is carrying over into 2016

Bryce Harper's MVP plate discipline is carrying over into 2016
Among the many remarkable things he did last season en route to unanimous election as National League MVP, Bryce Harper's ability not to get frustrated by opposing teams pitching around him stood out as a particularly impressive trait. Harper, who in his first three big league seasons could be prone to chasing pitches out of the zone, made a key adjustment in 2015 and began laying off those offerings, content to take his walks. He wound up accepting 124 free passes on his way to a league-best...
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Dusty Baker: Fans "need to love" Jonathan Papelbon

Dusty Baker: Fans "need to love" Jonathan Papelbon
He has surrendered four hits in three innings. He served up a titanic home run on Sunday. He twice has been handed a lead of at least two runs and wound up letting the tying or go-ahead run step to the plate. None of which matters to Dusty Baker at the moment. The only stat the Nationals manager cares about relating to closer Jonathan Papelbon is that he's 3-for-3 in save opportunities. "It doesn't matter what it looks like," Baker said. True, though Papelbon's last two appearances...
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Game 5 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 5 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
Hey, remember when the Braves were in the Nationals' heads or something like that? It was only two years ago when it seemed like anything that could go wrong against Atlanta did go wrong. Well, that's not so much the case anymore. Including their two-game sweep at Turner Field last week, the Nats have now won 20 of their last 27 games against the Braves, including 10 straight on South Capitol Street. Obviously, this is a very different Atlanta roster now than it was a couple years ago. In...
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How Joe Ross stifled Dee Gordon's running game

How Joe Ross stifled Dee Gordon's running game
Jayson Werth's bloop single was big. So was Clint Robinson's subsequent two-run single. Joe Ross' seven strong innings on the mound put the Nationals in position to beat the Marlins yesterday. And then Blake Treinen's perfect eighth and Jonathan Papelbon's shaky-but-ultimately-effective ninth sealed the deal in the Nationals' 4-2 victory. Here's one seemingly small moment, though, that actually played a major role in this game. You might not even have thought much of it at the time. But...
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After 0-for-13 opening slump, Werth delivers game-winning hit

After 0-for-13 opening slump, Werth delivers game-winning hit
The giant scoreboard in right-center showed it for all the world to see, but Jayson Werth didn't need it spelled out in print. As he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh this afternoon, the bases loaded with teammates, Werth knew his batting average contained nothing but zeroes. "I'm aware," the veteran outfielder said with a smirk an hour later in the Nationals clubhouse. The Marlins were aware, too, which is why they didn't hesitate to intentionally walk Daniel Murphy in...
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Early scoring chances missed (Nats win 4-2)

Early scoring chances missed (Nats win 4-2)
The Nationals are giving themselves plenty of chances to score runs. They just aren't converting on many of those chances so far. Despite racking up five hits and two walks off Tom Koehler through the first three innings of today's game, the Nats have scored just once, picking up on a theme they established during Thursday's home-opener loss to the Marlins. The saving grace: Miami missed an early opportunity to bust the game open as well. Giancarlo Stanton's one-out single through the left...
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Haphazard schedule throws wrench into Baker's plans

Haphazard schedule throws wrench into Baker's plans
The baseball schedule is a funny thing. The Nationals barely have been playing because of scheduled off-days and unscheduled rainouts, having taken the field only 12 times in the last 21 days. Now, though, they're looking at a grueling stretch in which they're scheduled to play 35 games in 36 days. With that in mind, manager Dusty Baker is trying to make plans to give many of his regulars a day off at some point in the next week. It begins today, with Ryan Zimmerman not in the lineup for the...
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Game 4 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 4 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
If it feels like it has been a while since the Nationals last played a ballgame, it has been. They had Friday off. Then yesterday's game got rained/snowed/colded out. So it's been nearly 72 hours since their last game, which in baseball terms is an eternity. In fact, the Nats have only played a ballgame in 12 of the last 21 days, thanks to rainouts and off-days. That's pretty unusual. The good news: The sun is out today and they'll be able to play. The bad news: It's going to be quite cold...
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