Manager Matt Williams gave shortstop Ian Desmond off from the starting lineup Thursday in the final game of the series against the Diamondbacks. Danny Espinosa will play shortstop today for the Nationals, while Asdrubal Cabrera remains at second base.
So on Desmond's bobblehead day at Nationals Park, the shortstop gets a well-deserved game off.
"I figured it would be good to give him today," Williams said. "Definitely didn't want him to miss the Giants series, give him today through the...
Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon was given the day off to rest. But he still managed to produce the biggest hit of the ballgame.
Rendon's walk-off single down the left field line scored Bryce Harper from third base and the Nationals upended the Diamondbacks 3-2 for their ninth win in a row. It is their longest winning streak since 2005.
Rendon admitted pinch-hitting was "different to say the least, but it was awesome."
"I talked to a lot of the veteran guys, (Greg) Dobbs when he...
Wednesday's game was delayed a grand total of 12 minutes thanks to a late afternoon rain shower. The Nationals and Diamondbacks got under way with right-hander Tanner Roark facing fellow righty Trevor Cahill.
The Nationals are seeking their ninth straight win which would be the first nine-game winning streak for the team since 2005.
The Nationals got some work done in the second inning against Cahill. After a one out walk to Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper singled. Desmond moved to second base...
Nationals manager Matt Williams had an update on third baseman/outfielder Ryan Zimmerman as he recovers from a severe hamstring injury. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since July 23 with a right hamstring strain.
"I know that he's strengthening, I know he's been on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill). Certainly no baseball activity as of yet," Williams confirmed. "It's a question of him feeling good and then taking a little extra time, because the natural tendency is 'oh, I feel...
The Nationals steamrolled the Diamondbacks 8-1 Tuesday thanks to big offense from their double-play combination of shortstop Ian Desmond and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.
Desmond went 3-for-4 with three singles and four RBIs while Cabrera had a game-changing three-run double in a six-run third inning that broke open the game.
With the bases loaded and no one out in that explosive frame, Cabrera was just trying to get the run home from third, but instead got so much more with a good...
Stephen Strasburg's inability to get off to fast starts haunted him again to begin his second outing against the Diamondbacks this season.
In his first start against Arizona on May 13, Strasburg allowed only three runs that came later in the game, and took the hard-luck 3-1 loss.
With two outs Tuesday night in the first inning, David Peralta got a hold of a 1-2 pitch and crushed it over the right field wall to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. It was Peralta's second home run in as many at-bats as...
Nationals manager Matt Williams confirmed that outfielder Nate McLouth has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is done for the season.
McLouth had been on the disabled list since Aug. 4 (retroactive to Aug. 2) with right shoulder inflammation. An MRI athrogram and doctors' consultation confirmed the seriousness of the injury. Williams said McLouth will have surgery on Thursday.
"It's something he's been dealing with all year," Williams said. "For me, the symptoms got bad after that...
Momentum and motivation are terms thrown around a lot in sports and many times in the game of baseball.
That feeling a player gets when the tide turns, the momentum switch that happens can be from a big hit or a great defensive play.
Or even getting out of a bases loaded jam with no outs in a tie ball game. Extra innings, especially.
Nationals reliever Craig Stammen (3-4) got into just such a quandary in the 11th inning Monday night in a tie game against the Diamondbacks.
With the bases...
Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has tossed four scoreless innings to begin the four-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only hit from Didi Gregorius, a single, came in the third inning. The hit was wiped out by a rare 5-6-4-3 double play.
Left-hander Vidal Nuno counters for the Diamondbacks. He surrendered an Asdrubal Cabrera single also in the third inning.
In the fourth with one out, Jayson Werth, making his first start since August 7, laced a single to left. But Adam LaRoche was...
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman told Craig Heist of 106.7 The Fan that he has been able to do light walking on an underwater treadmill has he recovers from a Grade 3 right hamstring strain. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since July 23.
"It's one of those where if you try to rush it too much, your chance of re-injury are through the roof," Zimmerman told Heist. "I don't think it's a 'see you in spring training kind of thing', but that's me."
The Nationals hope they...
Pinch-hitter Scott Hairston came up in the eleventh and delivered the game-winning, walk-off winner. He drove a pitch to deep left field that scored Jayson Werth from third base on a sac fly, lifting the Nationals to an 11-inning thrilling 6-5 win over the Pirates.
Hairston knew it was so late in the game that a lefty-righty matchup wasn't the only way he could pinch-hit.
"I figured the pitching spot was up third," Hairston told reporters. "I don't think we had anybody else on the bench....
The Nationals are going for their second straight three-game series sweep Sunday against the Pirates, after taking three in New York against the Mets earlier this week.
If the Nationals win the game, it would be their first season series win over the Bucs. The Nationals lost the first three games against the Pirates this season in late May and have bounced back to win three in a row.
Doug Fister did not allow a baserunner until the third after walking Ike Davis. Davis went to second on a wild...
It's not the only MLB rankings out there, but it's always interesting to see what others think of the Nationals.
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has the Nationals at No. 5 on his latest team rankings. The first three teams are American League squads in Oakland, the L.A. Angels and the Orioles. The Dodgers are in fourth place.
The next closest National League club is the Brewers at No. 7.
* The Nationals looked like a machine this week in New York. Each game featured the power of the lineup...
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Harrisburg Senators bounced back in nightcap of their Wednesday doubleheader to defeat Reading 9-6.
Matt Skole got the Senators on the board in the first with a three-run homer. It was his 11th homer of the season and gave him 58 RBIs. The opposite-field shot cut Reading's lead from to 4-3.
Reading held the lead into the bottom of the sixth when Harrisburg erupted for six runs to seal the win. Cutter Dykstra and pitch-hitter Drew Vettleson dropped in two-run doubles off...
The Nationals did not play Monday, but benefitted from the Braves difficult homestand schedule.
The Dodgers beat the Braves easily 6-2, pushing the Nationals' lead to four full games in the National League East and a robust five games in the loss column.
Atlanta is now 2-2 on a 10-game homestand that includes the Nationals, Dodgers and Athletics.
Despite losing two of three against Atlanta over the weekend, the Nationals have three more on the road in New York before heading home for a...
Nationals prospect Wilmer Difo is riding a six-game hitting streak and continues to impress at low Single-A Hagerstown.
He is batting .407 (11-for-27) in those six games. He had three hits at West Virginia and four hits against Kannapolis just in the last week. Difo hit a two-run shot to break a 4-4 tie in that Kannapolis game, and the Suns ended up winning 9-4.
Hagerstown director of broadcasting/media relations Eli Pearlstein said Saturday's performance by Difo was the best he has seen this...
It has been quite the ascension for Nationals outfield prospect Michael Taylor.
Reports have Taylor in Atlanta ready for possible activation to the big league club if outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has to be placed on the disabled list due to injury.
Back in January, Taylor was honored as the 2013 Potomac Nationals Player of the Year. He was placed on the 40-man roster around the same time.
The previous season started with then-Potomac hitting coach Mark Harris working on adjusting Taylor's...
Nationals top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito's record stands at 8-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts for low Single-A Hagerstown. He has pitched 88 innings and struck out 99 batters.
In his most recent start on Aug. 5, Giolito allowed an early home run and a total of three runs. But he finished five innings, scattering seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts. It was his fourth straight victory.
The Nationals have been determined to bring Giolito along slowly as he recovers from Tommy John...
The Nationals are playing better baseball on both sides of the ball compared to the last time they faced off against the Braves. Especially when you consider the games in early April when Atlanta set the tone, winning five of the first six meetings between the clubs.
Atlanta is in their worst spiral of the season, losers of eight straight.
On July 28, the Braves were 58-48 and had won three in a row. They trailed the Nationals by 1/2 game and the D.C. squad was still trying to figure out...
Left fielder Bryce Harper hit his 46th career home run, the second walk-off homer of his career, as the Nationals beat the Mets 5-3 in 13 innings. The two-run shot off of Carlos Torres earned the Nationals their first win in the last 10 extra-inning games at home.
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"I knew it was gone. I felt it," Harper said. "It was a ball that I thought I hit pretty well. Torres got me last night with a curveball down and in. I didn't think I would really see...