Mark Zuckerman

Game 49 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

May 27, 2016, 11:10am

You wouldn't necessarily think it, given the number of potent left-handed bats in their regular lineup, but the Nationals actually are more productive when facing left-handed pitchers than right-handed ones this season. They enter play tonight with an .812 team OPS against lefties, fifth-best in baseball. It helps that the Nationals' two best lefty hitters (Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy) fare quite well against southpaws. And then, of course, it helps that right-handed hitters like Ryan...

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Papelbon impresses after long layoff, Rivero impresses in big spot

May 26, 2016, 8:08pm

Nationals

Papelbon impresses after long layoff, Rivero impresses in big spot

Jonathan Papelbon hadn't emerged out of the bullpen gate, Ric Flair's voice booming over the PA system, in a long time. It had been six days, in fact, since Papelbon last appeared in a game, 12 days since he had done it at Nationals Park. And now here the veteran closer was, asked to protect a 2-1 lead against the heart of the Cardinals lineup, cold as ice after the long layoff. Which didn't prove to be a problem at all. Papelbon retired the side in short order last night, inducing two...

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Harper, Espinosa snap out of funks with towering homers

May 26, 2016, 7:33pm

Nationals

Harper, Espinosa snap out of funks with towering homers

When Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning tonight for his third at-bat of the game, something was noticeably missing: His batting gloves. Harper occasionally decides to hit without them, so the sight of the struggling Nationals slugger gripping the bat with his bare hands perhaps left many thinking he purposely was trying to shake things up, trying to find anything that might change his luck. And so, of course, when Harper proceeded to crush a baseball 434 feet...

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Rookie's homer off Ross gives Cards early lead (Nats win 2-1)

May 26, 2016, 4:18pm

Nationals

Rookie's homer off Ross gives Cards early lead (Nats win 2-1)

Joe Ross has pitched effectively so far against the Cardinals, just as he did when he faced this same team four weeks ago. Mike Leake also has pitched effectively so far against the Nationals, unlike he did the last time he saw this lineup. Aledmys Diaz's leadoff homer in the top of the fourth gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead, the lone run to cross the plate so far in tonight's series opener at Nationals Park. Ross already owns one win over the Cardinals this season, having held them to one run in...

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Dusty Baker encouraged by Nats' handling of losses

May 26, 2016, 2:15pm

Nationals

Dusty Baker encouraged by Nats' handling of losses

He has seen his team get off to a rousing start, taking advantage of some weak April competition. And he has seen his team battle its way through a much tougher May, with nearly every opponent presenting a significant challenge. The end result of all that for Dusty Baker's Nationals? A 28-19 record entering tonight's series opener against the Cardinals and a 1/2-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. And a recognition that there's still plenty of room for improvement. "We've got work to...

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Game 48 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals

May 26, 2016, 11:07am

Nationals

It was four weeks ago when the Nationals embarked on what looked like one of the toughest road trips they've ever faced, the first leg of a prolonged stretch of games against mostly tough competition. That trip began in St. Louis, previously a house of horrors for this team. But the Nats flipped the script, sweeping the Cardinals for the first time in their history and kicking off that tough stretch in impressive fashion. Now the Cardinals come to D.C. for a four-game weekend series in what...

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More from last night's win over the Mets

May 24, 2016, 8:24pm

Nationals

More from last night's win over the Mets

Last night's game looked awfully familiar for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg dominated. Matt Harvey did not. The end result was a lopsided victory, something we saw only five days earlier when the same two pitchers matched up in New York. Here are some other notable things that happened that perhaps didn't draw the big headlines... * The Nationals bullpen delivered big again in a big spot. Though this turned into a lopsided affair, the outcome still was very much in doubt in the top of the...

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Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage

May 24, 2016, 7:46pm

Nationals

Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage

The bottom of the fourth had arrived at Nationals Park, the home team was trailing 1-0 and the cheers from the sizeable pockets of Mets fans was far more noticeable than anything that could be heard from those dressed in red. And yet ... It was the first truly warm evening of the season on South Capitol Street (first pitch temperature: 83 degrees), the Nationals were making solid contact despite nothing to show for it on the scoreboard and Matt Harvey was on the mound for New York. If ever...

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Home run barrage follows early zeros (Nats win 7-4)

May 24, 2016, 4:24pm

Nationals

Home run barrage follows early zeros (Nats win 7-4)

Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg spent the first three innings of tonight's rematch trying to one-up each other, posting dueling zeros on the scoreboard to the delight of many in the crowd and the disgust of others in what has turned into a bipartisan ballpark. But then came the fourth inning, which featured three solo homers: one from the Mets' Asdrubal Cabrera, then back-to-back shots from the Nats' Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon to give their team a 2-1 lead. Strasburg had retired the...

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Baker understands Harper's extra work to break out of slump

May 24, 2016, 1:59pm

Nationals

Baker understands Harper's extra work to break out of slump

Dusty Baker knows what it's like to endure a slump and knows the tricks for trying to snap out of a prolonged slide at the plate. So the Nationals manager knows what must be going through Bryce Harper's mind right now, and he understands what the struggling right fielder is trying to do to get himself back on track. When Harper went to the cage underneath the stands at Nationals Park following last night's loss to the Mets, still in full uniform with batting gloves and bat in hand, Baker...

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Game 46 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

May 24, 2016, 11:09am

Nationals

As we saw last night, just because two starting pitchers are facing each other for the second time in six days, there's no guarantee the result will stay the same. And yet, the Nationals will be hoping for just that tonight when Stephen Strasburg faces Matt Harvey in a rematch of Thursday night's 9-1 victory for the Nats at Citi Field. They will hope Strasburg continues his torrid start to the season, which is really just a continuation of his torrid conclusion to last season. For those who...

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Tuesday morning Q&A from D.C.

May 23, 2016, 8:26pm

Nationals

Sorry for the lack of the supposedly weekly Q&A last week. Because I didn't travel to Miami, there wasn't an opportunity to squeeze the feature in during the series in New York. But never fear, because we're bumping this up to Tuesday this week, and we're ready to answer all your questions on the Nationals. Ask about last week's Mets series. Ask about this week's Mets series. Ask about Bryce Harper's slump. Ask about Stephen Strasburg's attempt to improve to 8-0 tonight. (Just...

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Nats can't make adjustments in flip-flopped loss to Mets

May 23, 2016, 8:19pm

Nationals

Nats can't make adjustments in flip-flopped loss to Mets

Baseball, you probably have heard, is a game of constant adjustments. This is especially true on those more-frequent-than-you-think occasions when a starting pitcher faces the same opponent twice in a row. So when Gio Gonzalez faced the Mets tonight for the second time in five days, with Bartolo Colon facing the Nationals also for the second time in five days, the challenge for each side was clear: Make the necessary adjustments to change the outcome from the first head-to-head meeting. Which...

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Colon bests Gonzalez 7-1 in reversal of last week's matchup

May 23, 2016, 6:31pm

Nationals

Colon bests Gonzalez 7-1 in reversal of last week's matchup

The prospect of a rainout couldn't have been particularly appealing to the Nationals, who only five days after winning a lopsided matchup between Gio Gonzalez and Bartolo Colon had to be licking their chops at tonight's scheduled rematch. But after waiting out a 1-hour, 7-minute delay to start their series opener against the Mets, the Nationals found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided game, unable to touch Colon while New York's lineup battered Gonzalez all around the park during a...

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Series opener delayed by rain (Nats lose 7-1)

May 23, 2016, 3:29pm

Nationals

Series opener delayed by rain (Nats lose 7-1)

Rain had been in the forecast all day, and sure enough it came as expected, delaying the start of the Nationals' series opener against the Mets. For now, the Nats say they plan to begin at 8:10 p.m., hoping the skies clear enough and soon enough to get the full game in as scheduled and avoid a makeup date down the road at some point. If it comes to that, the Nationals and Mets have options. With New York making two more trips to D.C. this season (June 27-29, September 12-14), there's no need...

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Why Dusty Baker doesn't believe in personal catchers

May 23, 2016, 1:32pm

Nationals

Why Dusty Baker doesn't believe in personal catchers

Dusty Baker isn't a big believer in the concept of personal catchers, but when he took the job as Nationals manager over the winter, he inherited the Gio Gonzalez-Jose Lobaton pairing. Gonzalez and Lobaton never formally were named as permanent batterymates, but the two had worked together in 19 of the left-hander's final 23 starts in 2015 and enjoyed success. So Baker kept them together each of the first eight times Gonzalez pitched this season. Until tonight. Seeking more offense from his...

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Game 45 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

May 23, 2016, 11:08am

Nationals

OK, let's get the answer to your most important question out of the way: I don't know. The question: Are they going to be able to play tonight? You know as much as I know. And if you don't, just click on any weather forecast and look at the Doppler map. It's probably going to rain, pretty hard, at some point late this afternoon/early this evening. It's probably not going to rain straight through the night. Will it not rain long enough for the Nationals and Mets to be able to play their...

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More on last night's blowout victory in New York

May 19, 2016, 9:01pm

Nationals

More on last night's blowout victory in New York

NEW YORK - While the focus of last night's game was squarely on the Stephen Strasburg-Matt Harvey pitching matchup, there was plenty else notable about the Nationals' 9-1 victory over the Mets. Before they get to Miami and open this weekend's series with the Marlins (and before my colleague Byron Kerr takes the reins of the blog for the second leg of the road trip), here are some more things worth mentioning from last night... * Daniel Murphy completed his Citi Field homecoming in style....

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Nats praise dominant Strasburg, defend struggling Harvey

May 19, 2016, 8:15pm

Nationals

Nats praise dominant Strasburg, defend struggling Harvey

NEW YORK - The comparisons are inevitable and likely will follow both Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey through the ends of their respective careers. Both are hard-throwing right-handers who burst onto the scene as rookies, only to suffer torn elbow ligaments that required Tommy John surgery and a long road to recovery. That, of course, is where Strasburg and Harvey's paths moved in alternate directions. Where the Nationals took the overly cautious route with their young ace, shutting him down...

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Strasburg cruises while Nats pummel Harvey in 9-1 victory

May 19, 2016, 6:10pm

Nationals

Strasburg cruises while Nats pummel Harvey in 9-1 victory

NEW YORK - Slump? What slump? Who said the Nationals couldn't score runs in bunches? All they needed was to face Bartolo Colon and Matt Harvey on consecutive nights. With a swift and emphatic flurry of hard-hit balls off the once-feared, suddenly-ineffective Harvey, the Nationals cruised to a 9-1 victory over the Mets tonight, following up last's lopsided win with another one to capture the first of six regular season series with their chief division rivals. A Nats lineup that looked tepid...