Nats game blog: Nationals need Zimmermann to help down Mets without Zimmerman available

Nats game blog: Nationals need Zimmermann to help down Mets without Zimmerman available
With the loss Monday, the Mets now lead the season series with the Nationals 8-6. The Nationals are 3-4 against the Mets in D.C. and N.Y. Even with the loss, the Nationals are still 13-7 in their last 20 games and can still move within three games of the division lead with two wins in this series. However, Ryan Zimmerman will not start because of left oblique soreness. Lucas Duda has returned to the Mets lineup. He scorched the Nationals with big hits in the Mets' series sweep of the Nationals...

Ryan Zimmerman out, is day-to-day with left oblique soreness

Ryan Zimmerman out, is day-to-day with left oblique soreness
Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is not in the lineup for tonight's Game 2 of the three-game set against the Mets with left oblique soreness, according to manager Matt Williams. "He took a swing yesterday and hurt himself on the left side," Williams reported. "He's got some oblique soreness, trying to calm that down as much as we can today. Right now he's day-to-day. He's not in there tonight. We'll try to see if we can get him available late for pinch-hit opportunity tonight, but...

Nats need focus to be on winning baseball games with 25 games left

Nats need focus to be on winning baseball games with 25 games left
Fans know the bottom line is that the Nationals need to win baseball games. Everything outside of that is distraction. They have 25 games left. "I mean, it's games we got to win," outfielder Bryce Harper said. "I think it's games that we have to come in here and try to just win ballgames. That's the biggest thing but stay within ourselves, do what we can do as a team, as an organization, and just know it's just the game of baseball. "We've been doing it our whole life. We got a great...

Max Scherzer on outing against Mets: "I'm just making mistakes in the zone"

Max Scherzer on outing against Mets: "I'm just making mistakes in the zone"
Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer has allowed more home runs since the beginning of July than he did in the first three months of the season. Unfortunately, that trend continued against the Mets in a critical matchup on Monday as New York outlasted the Nationals 8-5. In six innings against the Mets, Scherzer allowed seven extra-base hits, three of those were solo homers. "I'm just making mistakes in the zone," Scherzer said. "I'm leaving the ball thigh high instead of getting the ball...

Nats game blog: Max Scherzer seeks first win at Nats Park vs. Mets

Nats game blog: Max Scherzer seeks first win at Nats Park vs. Mets
The Nationals take on the Mets in Game 1 of a three-game set on a beautiful Labor Day afternoon affair in D.C. Mets manager Terry Collins called it the "first round of the playoffs." The Nationals are also looking for a different result than the last time the clubs met in New York. The Mets swept that three-game set, holding the Nationals to five total runs. Nationals manager Matt Williams was asked if he believes the club is in a better mood since those losses to the Mets or their rough West...

Matt Williams: Bryce Harper learning using less force in swing can pay huge dividends

Matt Williams: Bryce Harper learning using less force in swing can pay huge dividends
The amazing season that is Bryce Harper at the plate continued through the weekend series versus the Braves. In the four-game sweep of Atlanta, Harper displayed is acumen for recognizing pitches and calmly waiting for the one he wanted in the place he wanted it to be in the strike zone. Thursday, he didn't even swing at a pitch, walking four times and scoring four runs. Friday, he went 2-for-3 with two walks and a home run. Saturday, 3-for-4 with two doubles and a two-run shot. Sunday, Harper...

Tanner Roark or Doug Fister could step in for Joe Ross if he has reached innings limit

Tanner Roark or Doug Fister could step in for Joe Ross if he has reached innings limit
The Nationals were able to get almost to the fifth inning Sunday with right-handed rookie starter Joe Ross in an 8-4 win over the Braves. But manager Matt Williams and pitching coach Steve McCatty saw that Ross' fastball velocity was down from what he had delivered in the past. "Today starting in the third inning, the fastball was down to 90 mph, which is a sign of fatigue," Williams said. "He got through that one, he got through the fourth. But with the lefties coming up there, we're not...

Nats looking to take big offense against Atlanta into huge series vs. Mets (Ryan Zimmerman update)

Nats looking to take big offense against Atlanta into huge series vs. Mets (Ryan Zimmerman update)
The Nationals have come within four games of the first-place New York Mets thanks in part to their rejuvenated offense. The Nationals toppled the Braves 8-4 on Sunday, finishing with 36 runs in the four-game sweep. Right fielder Bryce Harper slammed his 34th homer of the season, one of three roundtrip shots the Nationals hit in the win Sunday. "Our whole team is swinging the bat right now," Harper said. "One through nine I think everybody's having really having good AB's, doing what we...

Nats game blog: Joe Ross looks to get a grip on Braves in series finale

Nats game blog: Joe Ross looks to get a grip on Braves in series finale
It feels like this will be one of the last starts we will get to see from right-hander Joe Ross this season. The Nationals have said they are monitoring his innings between the minor and major leagues in his rookie season. He lasted only 2 2/3 innings at St. Louis, walking six he said due to having difficulty gripping the baseball in the humid conditions. Is 160 innings the cap? Or 180 innings like Matt Harvey? He is currently at 145 1/3 combined innings. Either way, he has been quite a find...

Gonzalez's ability to get through fourth inning critical to quality start

Gonzalez's ability to get through fourth inning critical to quality start
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez had the kind of outing the Nationals will need from him as they look to make a run down the stretch. He did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and held the Braves scoreless in an 8-2 victory. For Gonzalez, it was his first win since Aug. 10 as he struck out 10 batters and allowed only two hits, both in the sixth inning. Gonzalez had Wilson Ramos catch for him Saturday instead of his regular batterymate, Jose Lobaton. Gonzalez always puts heavy emphasis on his...

Thornton on his key two outs, Den Dekker on pinch-hit, Stammen on Act of Valor Award nomination

Thornton on his key two outs, Den Dekker on pinch-hit, Stammen on Act of Valor Award nomination
Michael A. Taylor hit the dramatic walk-off three-run shot to beat the Braves on Friday night, 5-2 in 10 innings. His former high school teammate at Winchester Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Matt den Dekker, had the RBI single to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. "I'm very happy for him, that's a huge hit," Taylor said. "It's tough when you're coming off the bench. He stayed in the game and put together a good at-bat against a good pitcher." den Dekker discussed...

Papelbon goes two innings, earns win in dramatic extra-inning 5-2 win vs. Braves

Papelbon goes two innings, earns win in dramatic extra-inning 5-2 win vs. Braves
The Nationals grabbed a dramatic victory in 10 innings Friday, thanks to a pinch-hit three-run homer from Michael A. Taylor, a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Jonathan Papelbon (3-1) notched his first win as a National by extending to two innings, allowing two hits but no runs while striking out one. "He's a gamer," said left-hander Matt Thornton, who got two critical outs in the fifth. "He's going to take the ball. It doesn't matter if we're losing by two and they want him to pitch or...

Nats game blog: Nats need Tanner Roark to keep it going against the Braves

Nats game blog: Nats need Tanner Roark to keep it going against the Braves
The Nationals look for their eighth straight win against the Braves this season in D.C. as they take to the field Friday night. Right-hander Tanner Roark will put on his starter cap for only the seventh time in 2015 tonight against Atlanta so Stephen Strasburg can have a couple of more days to rest. Last season, Roark won 15 games as a starter. Roark is 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA in 10 games (five starts) against the Braves. He is 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA at home against Atlanta in five games (two starts)....

Taylor gets another day off, Barrett has Tommy John surgery

Taylor gets another day off, Barrett has Tommy John surgery
Center fielder Michael A. Taylor is getting one more day off to rest his right knee and is not in the starting lineup. Taylor originally hurt the knee last weekend and then banged it again early in the week in the series at St. Louis. Manager Matt Williams said the move is precautionary. "We got to make sure," Williams said. "Yesterday, when we showed up here he wasn't feeling really good. We want to side on the cautious side on that one. Because having that injury, then being able to play,...

Jordan Zimmermann's low pitch count in win helps prep for Mets

Jordan Zimmermann's low pitch count in win helps prep for Mets
Oftentimes, starting pitchers say they don't let the amount of runs their offense is scoring during their outing alter what they are trying to do on the mound. But when your team scores 10 runs in the first three frames, it doesn't hurt. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann struggled with his control a bit early, he allowed three walks to the first five Atlanta hitters he faced, but battled through in a 15-1 Nationals win over the Braves. Despite the four walks allowed overall, he only surrendered...

Robinson on Ryan Zimmerman after 15-1 crushing of Braves: "He's a rock in the lineup"

Robinson on Ryan Zimmerman after 15-1 crushing of Braves: "He's a rock in the lineup"
The Nationals picked on a battered and bruised Atlanta Braves club Thursday night in a 15-1 laugher, scoring 10 runs in the first three frames. The 14-run advantage marked the largest margin of victory in Nationals history. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman continued his feverish hitting with a 3-for-3 performance, including two doubles and four RBIs. In his last 11 games, Zimmerman has 23 RBIs, going 17-for-42 (.405) with five doubles and seven homers. He has now hit safely in eight straight...

Nats game blog: Nats look to continue roll vs. Braves as four-game series begins in D.C.

Nats game blog: Nats look to continue roll vs. Braves as four-game series begins in D.C.
The Nationals return home with a chance to get on a roll against a struggling Atlanta Braves squad. The Braves are 54-79 and have lost 15 of their last 16 games. Washington comes home after going 1-2 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals led 5-3 in each of the first two games of the series, only to fall 8-5 each time. But Jonathan Papelbon got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth as the Nationals salvaged the finale, 4-3. Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-4 with...

As A.J. Cole returns to Nats, adjustment in mechanics has made big difference

As A.J. Cole returns to Nats, adjustment in mechanics has made big difference
Right-hander A.J. Cole is back with the Nationals and is hoping an adjustment he has made in his mechanics will pay big dividends. Cole made three appearances for the Nationals early in the year in late April and May. He tossed 9 1/3 innings and allowed 14 hits and six earned runs, finishing with a 5.79 ERA. "I did figure out what I was struggling with which was mostly (my) stride and then basically everything just kind of clicked after that with the motion to (the plate), timing," Cole...

Skole, Voth, Marmolejos and others headline minor league update

Skole, Voth, Marmolejos and others headline minor league update
We've seen more power from Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs first baseman Matt Skole. The 26-year-old Skole hit two homers, with four RBIs, in a Syracuse 7-1 dispatch of Buffalo. The Chiefs hit three homers off of Bison starter Todd Redmond. They blew it open in the seventh. Up 2-0, Skole launched a solo homer. Kevin Keyes then cranked one over the fence in left field to make it 4-0. Caleb Ramsey added a triple. Later, Steve Lerud dropped in a double and Syracuse was up 5-0. Syracuse pounded out 15...

Wilmer Difo highlights seven Nats prospects playing on Arizona Fall League squad

Wilmer Difo highlights seven Nats prospects playing on Arizona Fall League squad
The Arizona Fall League announced their 2015 rosters Tuesday and the Nationals' entrant, the Salt River Rafters, includes seven Nationals prospects. The Rafters will be managed by high Single-A Potomac manager Tripp Keister. He guided the P-Nats to the 2014 Mills Cup by winning the Carolina League title. Nationals pitchers include Double-A Harrisburg right-handers Dakota Bacus and Abel De Los Santos, plus left-hander Nick Lee. Also on the roster is right-hander John Simms from Potomac. The...