Double-A Harrisburg Senators catcher Derek Norris suffered a sprained ankle Monday running to first base. The reports are it was his right ankle.
Norris stepped on first base awkwardly trying to beat out a ground ball versus New Britain.
A team spokesman says Norris' ankle is "just sore and stiff" and he has been placed on the 7-day disabled list.
Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth knew this day would arrive. The day he would take the field against his former teammates with the Phillies after four seasons in Philadelphia.
"I am looking forward to it," Werth said. "I really am. It is good to see those guys. The last time I saw all these guys was after the last game we played last year. I haven't seen some of them since then. There is still a lot of feelings there. We accomplished a lot together. When you go to war with guys, most...
Syracuse Chiefs left-handed starter Tom Milone had a very impressive 2011 debut with seven innings of shutout ball in a 2-0 win over Lehigh Valley on Sunday. Milone allowed just five singles with no walks and four strikeouts.
Milone says he was able to throw strikes early on, but the biggest thing is his mistake pitches weren't over the upper half of the plate.
"I am very happy with the way it turned out (Sunday)," Milone said. "The best thing I took out of that (start) was I wasn't as...
Potomac Nationals shortstop Rick Hague crushed a 10th-inning, walk-off double to lift the P-Nats to a dramatic, 7-6 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats Sunday.
It marked the first win of the season for the defending Mills Cup champions and involved big plays from Eury Perez, Destin Hood, Cutter Dykstra Stephen King, Brian Peacock, Jeff Kobernus and Steven Souza.
The Rice University product from Spring, Texas, says the work the team did in Florida is showing off even this early in the...
Here arethe starting lineups for today's Double-A Bowie-Harrisburg game:
Bowie
Xavier Avery CF
Greg Miclat 2B
Jeff Fiorentino LF
Brandon Waring 3B
Robbie Widlansky DH
Caleb Joseph C
Ronnie Welty RF
Billy Rowell 1B
Carlos Rojas SS
Rick Zagone LHP
Harrisburg
Josh Johnson SS
Jonathan Tucker CF
Steve Lombardozzi 2B
Tyler Moore 1B
Devin Ivany C R
Buck Coats DH
Jesus Valdez LF
Adam Fox 3B
Archie Gilbert RF
Luis Atilano RHP
Baseball America has released their position-by-position rankings for the top prospects in the game. To see the list you will need a subscription, but I wanted to share with you how it looks from a Nationals perspective.
The Nats' No. 1 prospect, Bryce Harper, is still at the top of the list, and the organization can take pride in seeing some other familiar names in the top-20 at each position.
At catcher, Jesus Montero of the New York Yankees is listed No. 1. Nationals prospect and...
The Double-A Harrisburg Senators could not have asked for a better way to start the campaign than a season-opening 5-0 shutout of rival Bowie before 4,042 at Metro Bank Park on Thursday.
Right-hander Brad Meyers tossed five innings of scoreless ball, scattering four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. He twice struck out the side for his first win of the season.
"My fastball was on the first couple of innings," Meyers said. "I was finding my spots pretty good. They started to figure...
2010 No. 1 pick Bryce Harper posted a solid professional debut Thursday night, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout. Harper's Hagerstown Suns held off Rome, 3-2, in Rome, Ga. in Harper's first regular season game as a pro.
Harper, playing right field and batting third in the order, had an RBI single and stole a base in the top of the first inning. In the top of the third, Harper singled on a bunt. He was later caught off first base and was tagged out in a rundown, pitcher to first base...
With the rosters at Single-A Hagerstown, Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg all announced as of this week, conspicuously not listed was the Nationals' 2010 second-round pick, pitcher Sammy Solis.
But not to worry, there is nothing wrong with Solis, and he has pitched well in spring training.
The Nats' left-handed pitching prospect says he expects to remain in Viera, Florida, for about two more weeks as he works in extended spring training. Solis suffered a quad injury while running...
Harrisburg Senators left-hander Cory VanAllen worked hard in the offseason to get ready, and his diligence paid off with a very good spring training. Now, VanAllen is ready to make that next step with the Senators as a relief pitcher.
"In the offseason, I trained back home in Houston with a lot of other big leaguers," VanAllen said. "I worked with left-hander Jaime Garcia of the St. Louis Cardinals."
VanAllen, who has worked with Garcia for several years, credits the St. Louis southpaw...
Nationals right-hander Jason Marquis won his last start at Sun Life Stadium on Aug. 30, 2010, but he has a 7.07 career ERA in South Florida. Marquis hopes to repeat the most recent past as he takes the mound in his season debut tonight against the Florida Marlins.
Marquis was very disappointed at the start he had to the 2010 season, and was determined in the offseason to put in the work necessary to come in ready to go in camp. Last season was Marquis' first losing campaign since 2006, going...
The Single-A Hagerstown Suns have announced their 2011 roster, with the biggest name being outfielder and No. 1 draft pick Bryce Harper. The roster also includes Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty's son, Shane McCatty, and catcher David Freitas.
The outfield appears to be extremely talented with Harper joining Wade Moore, Michael Taylor and Randolph Oduber.
Here is the full roster:
Pitchers:
LHP Paul Applebee
RHP Sam Brown
RHP Wilson Eusebio
LHP Matt Grace
RHP Ben Graham
LHP Bobby...
Catcher Jhonatan Solano is ready to begin his 2011 campaign with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs after spending last season at Double-A Hagerstown.
The Colombian-born Solano is making his second appearance with the Chiefs. Solano hit .252 with six homers and 42 RBI in 90 games with the Senators after playing 63 games with Syracuse in 2008. He was a great find for the Nationals in 2006 when he signed as a non-drafted free agent.
Now, the 25-year old gets another shot at Triple-A, a promotion...
The defending Single-A Carolina League champion Potomac Nationals announced their 2011 roster today. A lot of people within the organization have talked about how talented the roster looks to begin defense of the Mills Cup, with players like Rick Hague, Destin Hood, Sandy Leon, Trevor Holder and Danny Rosenbaum. Pat Lehman is a George Washington product.
Also of interest is Lenny Dysktra's son, Cutter Dykstra, who is one of the six infielders on the 25-man roster.
Here is the...
This was not the debut that Nationals right-handed reliever Brian Broderick was looking for in his first chance on the mound.
Broderick allowed four runs in just two-thirds of an inning on two hits, a walk and a balk. The Braves ended up scoring six runs in the inning to blow the game open, and eventually won, 11-2.
But a debut is just that: A start to his career. He won't be measured by the first outing and he will learn from the experience. He did, however, admit to being a little bit...
The Nationals won their first game of the season Saturday 6-3 over the Atlanta Braves, keyed by a big rally-killing effort from the bullpen with Tyler Clippard leading the charge.
The Braves threatened a big rally in the sixth inning when Dan Uggla led off the inning with a solo homer off of Chad Gaudin's first pitch that made it 4-2 Nationals.
Following a walk and a double, Clippard got out of a 3-1 count to strikeout pinch hitter Brooks Conrad and induced Martin Prado into a liner to...
Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann makes his 2011 debut Sunday at Nationals Park as Washington wraps up its three-game set with the Atlanta Braves.
Zimmermann was 1-2 with a 4.94 ERA last season. He will be opposed by Braves right-hander Tim Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA).
Zimmermann's first career start was a win against the Braves on April 20, 2009. After successfully rehabbing from ligament replacement surgery, Zimmermann made seven starts for the Nationals in 2010.
Sunday marks...
The Nationals are not concerned about Ian Desmond's first start as a leadoff man. Desmond went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against Derek Lowe and Braves relievers in Thursday's season opener at Nationals Park.
Desmond batted .290 with an on-base percentage of .364 in spring training, getting most of his leadoff starts after the team traded Nyjer Morgan to Milwaukee.
Last year, Desmond batted .269 with an on-base percentage of .308 in 154 games. He struck out 109 times.
Will Desmond have...
The Nationals look for their first runs and initial win of 2011 Saturday with a 1:05 p.m. start at Nats Park against the Atlanta Braves in Game 2.
The Braves send right-hander Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.33 ERA) to the hill, opposed by the Nationals' 2010 opening day starter, left-hander John Lannan (8-8, 4.65).
Lannan said he got what he needed out of spring training in Viera, Fla.
"I went out there and threw strikes," Lannan said. "I was not really too concerned with how I did out there...
Harrisburg Senators right-hander Jeff Mandel is winding down camp in Viera, Fla., and excited to get started in Double-A next week.
The 6-foot-3 200-lb., Houston, Texas, native said his transition from starter to reliever has gone well. He is seeing positive results in spring training from the time he spent playing winter ball in Puerto Rico.
The former Baylor Bear was in the bullpen for back-to-back innings Monday and Tuesday and reported the outings went well.
"I threw pretty well in...
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