Dan Kolko

Johnson discusses Nats' 11-1 loss

August 19, 2013, 7:44pm

CHICAGO - Coming into today, the Cubs had only scored 10 or more runs once this entire season. They had scored one run or fewer in four of their last six games. They put up 11 on Jordan Zimmermann and company tonight. The Cubs had nine hits today, five of which left the ballpark. Three of those longballs came off Zimmermann, who worked just five innings and allowed a season-high eight runs, falling to 14-7 on the season with the loss. "Zim left the ball up. This is a ballpark, you leave the...

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Cubs teeing off on Zimmermann (Nats lose 11-1)

August 19, 2013, 5:38pm

Nationals

Cubs teeing off on Zimmermann (Nats lose 11-1)

CHICAGO - The Cubs are absolutely laying into Jordan Zimmermann. Three home runs, two of them three-run shots, have been hit off the Nationals' right-hander, who now trails 8-0 after five innings. Nate Schierholtz crushed a three-run shot to right four batters into the bottom of the first. Donnie Murphy smoked a solo shot to right leading off the fourth. And three batters into the fifth, Dioner Navarro demolished a Zimmermann offering out to right for another three-run blast. Add in two...

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DeJesus recaps a wild day after learning of trade to Nats (game update)

August 19, 2013, 4:36pm

Nationals

DeJesus recaps a wild day after learning of trade to Nats (game update)

CHICAGO - At around 1 p.m., David DeJesus looked down at his cell phone and saw that he had a missed call from Cubs team president Theo Epstein. DeJesus and his wife Kim were out getting green juice at the time, and DeJesus mentioned who the missed call was from. "You probably got traded," Kim DeJesus joked. They weren't laughing a few minutes later. DeJesus quickly called Epstein back and learned the news - that he'd been shipped from the Cubs to the Nats in exchange for a player to be...

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Rizzo and Johnson discuss DeJesus addition and Bernadina release

August 19, 2013, 4:08pm

Nationals

Rizzo and Johnson discuss DeJesus addition and Bernadina release

CHICAGO - The Nationals came into this year feeling like they had a solid, well-rounded bench, based largely upon what guys like Roger Bernadina, Chad Tracy, Tyler Moore and Steve Lombardozzi had done in 2012. After watching those guys struggle for much of this season, however, the Nats made another deal with the Cubs to add a bench player today (their second such deal with Chicago in six weeks), acquiring veteran outfielder David DeJesus for a player to be named later. The move led to the...

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Zimmmerman back in Nats lineup, hitting second

August 19, 2013, 2:55pm

Nationals

Zimmmerman back in Nats lineup, hitting second

CHICAGO - Ryan Zimmerman was held out of the Nationals' lineup in yesterday's series finale at Atlanta due to a bruised left shin, but he's back in there today. Zimmerman is hitting second today, with Anthony Rendon moving down to the No. 8 spot in the order. Wilson Ramos is back behind the plate after getting yesterday off to recover from catching all 15 innings Saturday night into Sunday morning. For the Nats CF Denard Span 3B Ryan Zimmerman LF Bryce Harper RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam...

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Nationals acquire DeJesus from Cubs, release Bernadina (updated)

August 19, 2013, 11:28am

Nationals

CHICAGO - The Nationals this afternoon acquired outfielder David DeJesus from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a player to be named. DeJesus, 33, was claimed off waivers by the Nationals. Ironically, since the Nationals open a four-game series at Wrigley Field tonight, DeJesus will only need to switch clubhouses to meet up with his new team. To make space on the 25-man roster for DeJesus, the Nationals released outfielder Roger Bernadina. A career .279 hitter who can play all three outfield...

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Back in the Windy City, Roark and Krol living a childhood dream

August 19, 2013, 9:35am

Nationals

Back in the Windy City, Roark and Krol living a childhood dream

CHICAGO - For Tanner Roark and Ian Krol, two rookie relievers, the Nationals' four games at Wrigley Field this week don't just represent four more big league contests that they can put under their belts. They represent the realization of a childhood dream. Roark and Krol both grew up in the suburbs outside of Chicago - Roark in Wilmington, Ill., 75 minutes from Wrigley, and Krol in Naperville, Ill., 50 minutes from one of the most historic ballparks in baseball. Both were huge Cubs fans...

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Breaking down the head-to-head beatdown

August 18, 2013, 10:18pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - Why do I have a feeling the Nationals are plenty happy to be out of Atlanta and done with trips to Turner Field for the rest of the season? The Braves have absolutely dominated the Nats this season, and if that wasn't already evident just by watching the games, you can look down at the game logs and see that yesterday's 2-1 Braves win boosts their record in the season series between these teams to 12-4. Yeah, that would qualify as domination. The strange thing, however, is that...

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Harper on Braves fans: "I love these fans. I really do"

August 18, 2013, 3:04pm

Nationals

Harper on Braves fans: "I love these fans. I really do"

ATLANTA - Bryce Harper got a villain's welcome in Atlanta this weekend. He got hit by two pitches in the first game of the series. He heard fans applaud after those two plunkings, even the one that came on a pitch near his head. He got booed every time he came to the plate or recorded an out in the field. But all that didn't seem to affect Harper's view of the Braves' fan base in general. "I love these fans. I really do," Harper said after today's 2-1 Nationals loss. "These people...

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Johnson discusses Nats' 2-1 loss to Braves

August 18, 2013, 2:36pm

Nationals

Johnson discusses Nats' 2-1 loss to Braves

ATLANTA - In many ways, today's 2-1 Nationals loss was a microcosm of their season to this point. The Nats got pretty solid starting pitching, as Gio Gonzalez allowed two runs over seven innings. They gave themselves chances to do damage offensively, putting 12 runners on base and getting 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position. And yet, they drove in a single run and ended up on the losing end of another tight ballgame. The Nats couldn't capitalize on putting the first two runners on...

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Nats' offensive futility hits a new low (Nats lose 2-1)

August 18, 2013, 11:25am

Nationals

Nats' offensive futility hits a new low (Nats lose 2-1)

ATLANTA - The Nationals haven't had a problem getting runners on base today. That's been relatively easy. The problem has been doing anything at all with the scoring opportunities that have presented themselves. The Nats are a ridiculous 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position through just three innings this afternoon. They've put the first two runners on base in every inning so far, and have done nothing with those chances. In the first, Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche went...

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Jordan reflects on his 2013 campaign, wants to add to his arsenal (the rain is gone)

August 18, 2013, 10:03am

Nationals

Jordan reflects on his 2013 campaign, wants to add to his arsenal (the rain is gone)

ATLANTA - Apparently Davey Johnson isn't the only guy who is unsure of how exactly Taylor Jordan suffered the lower back injury that landed him on the disabled list yesterday, essentially bringing his 2013 season to an end. Jordan isn't entirely sure, either. The rookie right-hander first felt the back issue (diagnosed by the Nationals as a lower right back strain) after he got out of a dentist's chair early this week, but he doesn't know exactly when discomfort originated. He does,...

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Notes on Ramos, Roark and LaRoche a day after the marathon (it's pouring)

August 18, 2013, 8:56am

Nationals

Notes on Ramos, Roark and LaRoche a day after the marathon (it's pouring)

ATLANTA - While everyone around him in the Nationals clubhouse was dragging this morning - players, coaches and reporters included - Kurt Suzuki was bouncing around looking ready to play at about 10:45 a.m. I guess that's what happens when you're the only position player on either team not to see action in the 15-inning marathon that went on last night. Suzuki will be behind the plate for the Nats today, giving Wilson Ramos a break after he caught all 15 innings last night. Ramos needed to...

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Harper and Werth playing, Zimmerman sitting

August 18, 2013, 8:18am

Nationals

Harper and Werth playing, Zimmerman sitting

ATLANTA - Who's ready for some more baseball? The Nationals will take on the Braves this afternoon, about 13 hours after yesterday's game ended. Three players who played all 15 innings last night are in the Nats lineup today: Denard Span, Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon. Jayson Werth (back stiffness) and Bryce Harper (left triceps bruise) are both in the lineup, as well. Harper was scratched from yesterday's starting lineup after he couldn't get his arm loose before the game, but replaced...

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Notes and quotes from the wildest game of the season

August 18, 2013, 12:58am

Nationals

Notes and quotes from the wildest game of the season

ATLANTA - The Nationals and Braves played 15 innings last night. The game lasted 5 hours, 29 minutes, making it the longest game, time-wise, in Nats team history. Eighteen pitchers were used, including four starting pitchers. The only position player on either roster that didn't see action was Nats catcher Kurt Suzuki. The guy must have felt pretty left out. Everyone else was taking part in this awesome game, and Suzuki was the new kid in town who didn't get picked for a kickball...

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Strasburg and others discuss the Upton plunking and the ejection

August 17, 2013, 11:03pm

Nationals

Strasburg and others discuss the Upton plunking and the ejection

ATLANTA - Perhaps not surprisingly, Stephen Strasburg didn't have much to say about his plunking of Justin Upton in the bottom of the first inning tonight (or should I say, last night, given that it's 3:00 a.m.) or his ejection after throwing behind Andrelton Simmons in the second. Asked bluntly whether he intended to hit Upton in the first, when he drilled the Braves' top power hitter with a 97 mph fastball in the backside, Strasburg declined to discuss the matter. "I'm not gonna get...

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Johnson and Knorr discuss Nats' 15-inning win

August 17, 2013, 10:26pm

Nationals

Johnson and Knorr discuss Nats' 15-inning win

ATLANTA - Anything to discuss after this one tonight? Pretty boring night of baseball, eh? The Nationals didn't just beat the Braves 8-7 in 15 innings tonight. They outlasted them. Neither starting pitcher tonight went more than two innings. Stephen Strasburg hit Justin Upton in the first and then was ejected in the second for throwing behind Andrelton Simmons. The Nats blew a 6-2 lead and then saw their two-run advantage in the ninth disappear when Rafael Soriano surrendered a two-out,...

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To the 12th we go (Nats win a marathon, 8-7 in 15 innings)

August 17, 2013, 7:48pm

Nationals

To the 12th we go (Nats win a marathon, 8-7 in 15 innings)

ATLANTA - This game is just nuts. We head to the 12th inning tied 7-7 here at Turner Field after Ian Krol delivered two scoreless frames working for the second straight day. This comes after the rookie right-hander allowed a walk-off homer to Justin Upton in the bottom of the 10th last night. Quite a strong bounce-back performance from Krol, who has been mentally beaten down pretty good lately during a rough stretch. The Nationals don't have a hit since Ryan Zimmerman's homer with one out...

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The Tanner Roark show (Soriano blows another save)

August 17, 2013, 5:34pm

Nationals

The Tanner Roark show (Soriano blows another save)

ATLANTA - Not only has Tanner Roark come on and delivered four scoreless innings in relief of Stephen Strasburg after Strasburg was ejected in the second inning, but Roark has delivered with the bat, as well. Quite a night for the rookie right-hander. Up for his second career major league at-bat with two outs in the top of the fifth, Roark smoked an RBI double to left-center, scoring Tyler Moore from first and boosting the Nationals' lead to 5-2. It was obviously the first career hit and...

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Strasburg drills Justin Upton with first-pitch fastball (Strasburg ejected)

August 17, 2013, 3:59pm

Nationals

Strasburg drills Justin Upton with first-pitch fastball (Strasburg ejected)

ATLANTA - Well, there we go. Stephen Strasburg drilled Justin Upton with a first-pitch 97 mph fastball in the backside in the bottom of the first inning, prompting warnings to be issued to both the Nationals and Braves by home plate umpire Marvin Hudson. The plunking came immediately after Jason Heyward hit a solo shot to right-center on a 3-2 Strasburg pitch. Upton stepped in, turned his back to the Strasburg heater and took it off the left buttocks. The Braves starting left fielder then...