Dan Kolko

Tonight's Nats, Braves lineups

June 01, 2013, 11:56am

ATLANTA - Davey Johnson is going with the same lineup from 1-8 in the batting order tonight, leaving Steve Lombardozzi in the No. 2 spot, Roger Bernadina in the No. 6 spot and Danny Espinosa hitting seventh. Lombardozzi will play left field for the second straight game while Bernadina will play right. Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.90 ERA) starts tonight for the Nats. Gonzalez is coming off a rough start his last time out, when he allowed eight hits, four runs and four walks over 5 2/3 innings in a...

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Harper "likely" headed to DL, Davis coming up (roster move official)

June 01, 2013, 8:27am

Nationals

Harper "likely" headed to DL, Davis coming up (roster move official)

ATLANTA - The list of Nationals players on the disabled list will probably be growing shortly, as Bryce Harper is "likely" heading to the DL with bursitis in his left knee, a team source confirmed. The Nationals will be bringing up right-handed reliever Erik Davis from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Harper's spot on the active roster and provide support to a bullpen that will likely be without Craig Stammen and Tyler Clippard today after those two had heavy workloads last night. Harper has...

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Leftovers from last night, plus roster and rotation speculation

June 01, 2013, 5:55am

Nationals

Leftovers from last night, plus roster and rotation speculation

ATLANTA - For those who might've been out enjoying their Friday night and didn't catch yesterday's series opener between the Nationals and Braves, you missed quite a bit of action at Turner Field. As we await the details of a roster move that will bring right-handed reliever Erik Davis to the big leagues for the first time in his career and likely force either Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg to the disabled list, I've got some bonus quotes from an upbeat Nats clubhouse last night. Craig...

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Right-hander Erik Davis joining Nationals

May 31, 2013, 9:19pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - This incredibly eventful night in Nationals land just won't end. Right-handed reliever tweeted that he's getting called up to the big leagues. At this late hour, I'm not confident that I'll be able to get confirmation on the particulars of the roster move, but I can tell you there were rumblings that Davis was an option to get called up earlier in the week. The two most likely candidates to land on the disabled list to make room for Davis on the Nationals' 25-man roster are...

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Hearing from Johnson, Stammen and Suzuki after Nats' thrilling 3-2 win

May 31, 2013, 8:30pm

Nationals

Hearing from Johnson, Stammen and Suzuki after Nats' thrilling 3-2 win

ATLANTA - This is why sports are so great. You look at the line score from tonight's game and see that the Nationals won 3-2 and might assume that it was a nice, quiet, uneventful ballgame. Uh, not exactly. The Nationals lost their ace to an injury after two innings; they had a reliever retire all 12 batters he faced; they had their leadoff hitter smack two triples; they had another reliever hit two batters in an inning; they had their catcher feel like he might have broken his collarbone...

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Strasburg has strained right oblique

May 31, 2013, 7:56pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Stephen Strasburg will leave the Nationals in Atlanta and fly back to D.C. after he was diagnosed with a strained right oblique, an injury that knocked him from tonight's 3-2 Nats win after just two innings. It turns out that Strasburg has been feeling discomfort in the oblique for a few starts now, but while it had improved as he got deeper into his past outings, his right side only tightened up more as he went deeper into tonight's game. He finished off the second inning and then...

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Clippard goes into, and out of, a massive jam (Nats win 3-2)

May 31, 2013, 6:14pm

Nationals

Clippard goes into, and out of, a massive jam (Nats win 3-2)

ATLANTA - The Nationals' bullpen has put itself in a number of tough spots this season. Tyler Clippard might top the list with his effort tonight, but somehow, Clippard managed to right the ship and allow the Nats to keep clinging to a 3-2 lead after seven innings. Called upon to work the seventh and protect a two-run advantage after Craig Stammen had thrown 49 pitches and retired all 12 batters he'd faced, Clippard got into quite a pickle. He allowed an infield single to Ramiro Pena...

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Strasburg leaves after two innings (with injury update)

May 31, 2013, 4:30pm

Nationals

Strasburg leaves after two innings (with injury update)

ATLANTA - This can't be good. Stephen Strasburg has been pulled from tonight's game after just two innings with an apparent injury. Craig Stammen is now on to work the third inning for the Nationals, who will now have to deal with another injury issue, this one to their ace. Strasburg faced the minimum in the first inning tonight, getting a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Justin Upton to end the inning. He then surrendered a long solo home run to Freddie Freeman leading off the second,...

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Harper likely out through the weekend, could land on DL (with Werth update)

May 31, 2013, 2:53pm

Nationals

Harper likely out through the weekend, could land on DL (with Werth update)

ATLANTA - The Nationals have played 11 games without Bryce Harper in the starting lineup this season and have gone 2-9 in those contests. They could now be without Harper for a more extended period. Harper is out of the Nats' lineup for the fifth straight game with bursitis in his left knee, and because the condition hasn't improved much over that five-day span, manager Davey Johnson said Harper might need to land on the disabled list. "It's bothering him," Johnson said. "We've got to...

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Harper still out, Lombardozzi in left

May 31, 2013, 12:05pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals lineup for the fifth straight game because of bursitis in his left knee, leaving manager Davey Johnson to again try and piece together an outfield alignment featuring multiple bench players and a batting order that includes multiple guys with batting averages below the Mendoza Line. Johnson has opted to sit Tyler Moore for tonight's series opener against the Braves, instead going with Steve Lombardozzi in left field and Roger Bernadina in...

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Turning to the ace

May 31, 2013, 10:18am

Nationals

ATLANTA - Hello from lovely Atlanta, where you'll have trouble finding a Pepsi anywhere and the tomahawk chop plays seemingly every 27 seconds at Turner Field. The Nationals open a big three-game set with the Braves tonight, and given that Davey Johnson's boys come into this series already 5 1/2 games back of their first-place hosts, this could be a relatively big weekend, at least as a May-June series goes. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but things won't be affected too much if the...

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Searching for change

May 30, 2013, 9:40pm

Nationals

The only time that the Nationals were at or below the .500 mark all of last year was four games into the season, when they were the owners of a 2-2 record. That's not to suggest that the Nats' ride in 2012 didn't have some bumps along the way, because it definitely did. But one thing is certain - the first third of this year's ride has been a heck of a lot more turbulent than what we saw during the 2012 regular season. The Nationals are 27-27 after their first 54 games of the 2013...

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Nats fall back to .500, know "it's time to turn it on"

May 30, 2013, 6:50pm

Nationals

Nats fall back to .500, know "it's time to turn it on"

BALTIMORE - After a 2-0 loss to the Orioles,= in which his team managed just three hits and played some shaky defense, Nationals manager Davey Johnson didn't have a whole lot to say. Johnson wasn't by any means curt with reporters after tonight's game, but he was brief when discussing the latest frustrating loss shouldered by his team, which now owns a .500 record. How brief? Johnson's postgame press conference lasted just 84 seconds. "We got a bunt and a broken-bat hit and one hard...

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A much more tame start tonight (Nats lose 2-0)

May 30, 2013, 4:31pm

Nationals Orioles

A much more tame start tonight (Nats lose 2-0)

BALTIMORE - Through the first five innings of last night's ballgame, the Nationals had put up six runs and smacked eight hits. They'd slugged four home runs - three of which came off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman - and had a nice 6-2 lead. Through the first five innings tonight, the Nats have yet to score and they've managed just two hits off Orioles starter Freddy Garcia. Garcia has struck out five Nats hitters - including Zimmerman once - and the Orioles have a 1-0 lead. Over their last...

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Harper could return tomorrow, Werth likely to miss Atlanta series

May 30, 2013, 3:00pm

Nationals

Harper could return tomorrow, Werth likely to miss Atlanta series

BALTIMORE - Tonight will mark the fourth straight game that the Nationals have been without Bryce Harper and the 24th straight game they've been without Jayson Werth. The Nats don't expect to be down two of their starting outfielders much longer, but there's still some uncertainty surrounding when both Harper and Werth will be able to return to action. Manager Davey Johnson said today that Harper has made a little progress as he rehabs the bursitis in his left knee, and Harper did some...

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Tracy at first, LaRoche DHing

May 30, 2013, 11:43am

Nationals Orioles

BALTIMORE - Davey Johnson will go with the same batting order as last night and make just one position change on the diamond, with the exception of the starting pitcher. Chad Tracy will play first base for the Nationals today, with Adam LaRoche getting a bit of a breather, serving as the designated hitter. The Nats will take their hacks against veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia, who has gone 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in five starts since getting called up by the Orioles. Garcia hasn't allowed...

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Some of this, some of that

May 30, 2013, 5:35am

Nationals

If you were surprised to see the Nationals blow a three-run lead in the late innings last night with Jordan Zimmermann on the mound and Tyler Clippard coming in behind him, well, you weren't the only one. "It's surprising in the sense that those games, traditionally, we're going to win," Clippard said. "We got a lead early and felt good about things. Jordan was throwing the ball well. But again, (the Orioles) have a good lineup. This is an offensive park and they took advantage of some...

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Zimmermann, Clippard on the seventh-inning blow-up

May 29, 2013, 7:30pm

Nationals

Zimmermann, Clippard on the seventh-inning blow-up

BALTIMORE - Facing the Orioles, pitching in Camden Yards, things can get ugly in a hurry. Case in point: The seventh inning of tonight's ballgame. A 6-3 Nationals' lead became a 9-6 deficit seemingly in the blink of an eye. Jordan Zimmermann looked to be in good shape when the bottom of the seventh inning began, having thrown just 75 pitches to that point. You give the ball to Zimmermann with a three-run lead in that situation 100 times, and he probably gets the job done 95 of them. Not...

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Johnson: "That one hurt"

May 29, 2013, 6:54pm

Nationals Orioles

BALTIMORE - With Ryan Zimmerman having smacked three home runs and Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals' ace through the first two months of the season, on the mound, this ballgame looked well in control after five innings. The Nats held a 6-2 lead after five and had gotten into the Orioles' bullpen, while Zimmermann - he of the 1.71 ERA entering tonight - still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Things then took a major turn for the worse. Zimmermann failed to retire a batter in the seventh...

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Big O's seventh, late offensive shutdown leads to Nats' 9-6 loss

May 29, 2013, 5:55pm

Nationals Orioles

Big O's seventh, late offensive shutdown leads to Nats' 9-6 loss

BALTIMORE - Through the first five innings tonight, the Nationals crushed four homers and put up six runs. Then the Orioles' bats woke up and the Nats' shut down. The Nats' 6-2 lead, procured on the back of Ryan Zimmerman, disappeared in a hurry tonight. Despite having Jordan Zimmermann on the mound to start the game, the Nats allowed seven unanswered Orioles runs, six of which came in the seventh inning, and dropped the first game of this two-game set in Baltimore 9-6. After giving up a...