In minor league updates, Rendon and Meyer deliver, Wang does not

In minor league updates, Rendon and Meyer deliver, Wang does not
Anthony Rendon made his first start for high Single-A Potomac since early April, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs in the Nationals' 5-1 victory at Myrtle Beach. Right-hander Alex Meyer was meticulous in his execution again on the mound, improving to 2-0. The Kentucky star went six innings, allowing just two hits, with five strikeouts, one walk and one run surrendered on a groundout. The news not as comfortable for right-hander Chien-Ming Wang in his fifth rehab start for Double-A...
    

Beasley: Maya pitching "lights out" for Triple-A Syracuse

Beasley: Maya pitching "lights out" for Triple-A Syracuse
Right-hander Yunesky Maya has had experience with the Nationals in the past, and was sent to Triple-A Syracuse to start the season to build on his command and control on the mound. Maya is 9-8 with a 3.54 ERA in 22 starts and has really turned it on since July 22, winning three straight games. In the last three starts, Maya has shown he can deliver on a consistent basis, allowing just three earned runs in the past 21 2/3 innings. In six of his last 10 starts, the Cuban right-hander has...
    

Rendon joining Potomac at Myrtle Beach, expected to play Tuesday

Rendon joining Potomac at Myrtle Beach, expected to play Tuesday
Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon has been moved from short-season Single-A Auburn back to high Single-A Potomac. Rendon completed his rehab assignment at Auburn by playing 21 innings in the field and nine as the designated hitter in the past four days. Included in that span was a hit by pitch on, of all places, his surgically repaired ankle. But in an example that he is physically ready to handle the rigors of playing evey day, he played the next day and has had no complications. Auburn...
    

Strasburg back to basics, beats Marlins

Strasburg back to basics, beats Marlins
Look out Major League Baseball. Stephen Strasburg could be starting to figure this thing out. On July 25, the Nationals right-hander, relying on his lethal fastball, fired 11 strikeouts, allowing one run in a seven-inning win over the Mets in New York. On July 31, going with a similar game plan, the Phillies jumped on Strasburg, notching eight hits and scoring six runs in handing him the four-inning loss, his shortest stint of the season. On Sunday, Strasburg returned to his "old" form...
    

Suzuki getting comfortable, excited about new challenge with Nationals

Suzuki getting comfortable, excited about new challenge with Nationals
Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki started his Sunday morning with a stroll through the clubhouse. Wearing a Nationals workout shirt and athletic long shorts with two white batting gloves, he was ready for work. Suzuki headed to the indoor batting cage for a session with Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein. Although Suzuki admitted he is not quite where he wants to be at the plate (.215), he believes he is making progress. "I feel good," Suzuki told me on 106.7 The Fan's "Nats Insider". "I...
    

Martinson, Goodwin, Perry, Rendon and Walters notes and more

Martinson, Goodwin, Perry, Rendon and Walters notes and more
Potomac Nationals shortstop Jason Martinson is an RBI machine. Martinson collected his 100th RBI of the season Saturday in a 10-8 loss at Winston-Salem. Martinson hit his 21st homer of the season in the fourth and had an RBI single in the ninth, which was his 100th RBI of the season between two teams. Martinson started the season at low Single-A Hagerstown. Outfielder Steven Souza, Jr., has been placed on the disabled list with a leg injury after running into the outfield wall in pursuit of...
    

Skole's walk-off grand slam highlights amazing season in Hagerstown

Skole's walk-off grand slam highlights amazing season in Hagerstown
Third baseman Matt Skole connected on a walk-off grand slam, his third homer in as many games, to lift low Single-A Hagerstown over the Lexington Legends, 6-3, Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. The grand slam completed a five-RBI night for the Georgia Tech product. He has three homers and 11 RBIs in his last three games. His season statistics are getting ridiculous. Skole now has 25 homers and 18 doubles with 87 RBIs in 94 games for a .292 average. The 25 homers lead the South Atlantic...
    

Zach Walters promoted to Triple-A Syracuse

Zach Walters promoted to Triple-A Syracuse
Making his second move of the season, shortstop Zach Walters has been promoted to Triple-A Syracuse, Nationals director of player development Doug Harris confirmed to MASNSports.com. Walters hit .293 in 43 games for Double-A Harrisburg, smacking 11 doubles, four triples, six homers and 19 RBIs. He scored 23 runs and walked eight times with one stolen base for the Senators. But what is more important is that he is a shortstop, and with the uncertainty of Ian Desmond's oblique injury and Steve...
    

Solid rehab start for Chien-Ming Wang in Harrisburg

Solid rehab start for Chien-Ming Wang in Harrisburg
A very good showing for right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (hip) Thursday in a no-decision for Double-A Harrisburg in a 4-3, 12-inning loss to the Binghamton Mets. Wang went 6 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits, three runs, a solo homer, only one walk (which was intentional) and two strikeouts. Pitching coach Paul Menhart always monitors the groundouts for his pitchers, and Wang netted 12 grounders for outs plus four flyouts. He threw 99 pitches, 65 for strikes. The Mets scored one run in the...
    

Rendon's ankle "fine" after hit-by-pitch; goes 3-for-4 with two doubles, RBI

Rendon's ankle "fine" after hit-by-pitch; goes 3-for-4 with two doubles, RBI
Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon had one of his best all-around games of his rehab stint Thursday, going 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles and an RBI in short-season Single-A Auburn's 11-3 rout of the Staten Island Yankees. Rendon played third base until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh, replaced by Khayyan Norfork. Rendon was hit by a pitch on his surgically repaired left ankle in Wednesday night's game, and left the contest early for precautionary reasons. Despite...
    

Werth primed for return, leads off and notches two hits at Potomac

Werth primed for return, leads off and notches two hits at Potomac
Jayson Werth is another step closer to returning to the Nationals following another successful rehab stint. Werth led off and played center field for high Single-A Potomac in its game versus the Salem Red Sox on Wednesday night in Woodbridge, Va. The game was called due to rain in the ninth inning. The game will be resumed at 5:05 p.m. Thursday with the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Werth was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in four plate appearances. "I felt good,"...
    

Rendon schedule heats up through weekend

Rendon schedule heats up through weekend
Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon's rehab from a fractured left ankle is gaining momentum, and this week will become a bigger test for the young third baseman to see how the injury reacts to sustained play in the field. Short-season Single-A Auburn manager Gary Cathcart confirmed that Rendon will play six innings tonight and Thursday morning at third base. He will be the designated hitter Friday. Then, on Saturday, Rendon is scheduled to play a full nine innings at third base for the first...
    

Rendon at third base Wednesday; updates on Purke, Giolito and Solis

Rendon at third base Wednesday; updates on Purke, Giolito and Solis
Third baseman Anthony Rendon (ankle) will continue his rehab schedule Wednesday in New York. The short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays have the day off and are traveling to New York City. Rendon will play third base against the Staten Island Yankees on Wednesday night. The team then faces the Brooklyn Cyclones starting Aug. 4. Rendon's recent schedule has followed the pattern of playing third the first day, serving as the designated hitter the next and then resting for a day. When in the...
    

Josh Wilkie no longer with the Nationals organization

Josh Wilkie no longer with the Nationals organization
Right-handed pitcher Josh Wilkie has been given his release by the Nationals. Director of player development Doug Harris confirmed today that Wilkie is no longer with the organization. Wilkie was suspended for 50 games June 2 for using a banned substance, which Wilkie described as Spice, a synthetic form of marijuana. He was eligible to return to the team last week after staying in shape pitching in Venezuela. Wilkie last pitched for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on May 29, and was 0-2 with...
    

Werth and Tracy again connect with hits for Triple-A Syracuse

Werth and Tracy again connect with hits for Triple-A Syracuse
The Nationals pulled off one their most memorable comebacks in recent memory by dropping Milwaukee 11-10 in 11 innings Sunday. Meanwhile, in the nightcap of a Triple-A doubleheader, veterans Jayson Werth and Chad Tracy combined to go 3-for-3 as Syracuse beat Lehigh Valley 6-1. Tracy (right adductor) smacked a pinch-hit solo homer in the sixth inning. Werth (left wrist) went 2-for-2 with two runs and two walks, playing right field for the Chiefs. That is back-to-back nights where both...
    

Anthony Rendon returns to Auburn lineup tonight at third base, will DH on Monday

Anthony Rendon returns to Auburn lineup tonight at third base, will DH on Monday
Nationals top infield prospect Anthony Rendon returns to the lineup Sunday night for short-season Single-A Auburn's game at 6:05 p.m., as he continues his rehab assignment from a fractured left ankle. Rendon got Saturday off to rest. Rendon will play third base for six innings today, according to a club source. Then on Monday, Rendon will be the designated hitter. It has not been announced where Rendon will play when he completes his rehab with the Doubledays, whether he will get a few...
    

Werth and Tracy deliver in rehab game; Souza monster home run to win; Wang struggles a bit for Sens

Werth and Tracy deliver in rehab game; Souza monster home run to win; Wang struggles a bit for Sens
Nationals rehabbers Jayson Werth (left wrist) and Chad Tracy (right adductor) delivered for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday. Werth went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Tracy went 3-for-4 with an RBI as the Chiefs outlasted Lehigh Valley, 6-4. Werth had a RBI double in the fifth and a two-run single in the seventh. Manager Davey Johnson had said pregame that it looked like Tracy could be the first activated for Tuesday when the Nationals return from Milwaukee to play Philadelphia. But, it is a good...
    

Early on, Nationals' 33rd-rounder McQuillan showing he could be "sleeper" of draft

Early on, Nationals' 33rd-rounder McQuillan showing he could be "sleeper" of draft
One of the younger prospects displaying his talent early is draft pick Mike McQuillan, a left-handed second baseman out of the University of Iowa, who is getting noticed for his nice start at short-season Single-A Auburn. McQuillan is hitting .293 with two doubles, two triples, one homer and five RBIs in 13 games for Auburn. Don't remember seeing McQuillan on the depth chart? McQuillan was selected in the 33rd round as pick No. 1,014. The Nationals selected only eight players after...
    

Rendon homers in Auburn rehab debut, starts as DH tonight; Karns shines again

Rendon homers in Auburn rehab debut, starts as DH tonight; Karns shines again
Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon homered for the third consecutive game in his rehab debut with short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. Rendon smacked a solo shot in his first at-bat Thursday, struck out twice and walked. Rendon will continue his rehab tonight as the designated hitter. He will then get Saturday off. Auburn manager Gary Cathcart confirmed yesterday that the plan with Rendon would be for him to play third base, serve as the designated hitter and get some days off. Rendon is...
    

Rendon to start at third base tonight for Auburn

Rendon to start at third base tonight for Auburn
Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon will continue his rehab from a fractured left ankle and start at third base tonight for the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. Doubledays manager Gary Cathcart said Rendon will also serve as the designated hitter for some games and have some days off. Rendon is expected to be with the Doubledays for at least one week, but it could be longer. With the GCL Nats, Rendon played three, five or seven innings as they slowly ramped him up. He never got more...