Dan Kolko

Postgame notes on Werth's health, LaRoche's knock, another Braves win

April 29, 2013, 8:23pm

ATLANTA - Stephen Strasburg isn't the only one to have some health concerns coming out of tonight's game. Jayson Werth dealt with hamstring cramps tonight, an issue that worsened as the game went on. He told manager Davey Johnson before an eighth inning at-bat that if he reached base, he'd need to have a pinch-runner take over. During the at-bat, Werth fouled a ball off his left ankle. He then struck out for the second out of the inning and was replaced in right field by Roger Bernadina in...

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Johnson: Strasburg battling forearm tightness

April 29, 2013, 7:32pm

Nationals

Johnson: Strasburg battling forearm tightness

ATLANTA - The Nationals lost to the Braves 3-2 tonight, but that result took a backseat after the game when manager Davey Johnson said that Stephen Strasburg was dealing with some forearm tightness. Strasburg went six innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with four walks and eight strikeouts. He struggled with his fastball command throughout the game but managed to limit the damage. "That was a tough one, but the main thing, I was a little concerned about Strasburg," Johnson said....

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What to make of this Strasburg outing? (Nats lose 3-2)

April 29, 2013, 5:30pm

Nationals

What to make of this Strasburg outing? (Nats lose 3-2)

ATLANTA - Stephen Strasburg's stat line will show that he allowed just two earned runs over six innings against the Braves tonight. It'll go down as a quality start. It's hard to believe Strasburg will consider this outing of much quality, though. The Nationals right-hander allowed six hits and four walks tonight. He put the leadoff hitter on in five of his six innings pitched. He got into an animated discussion with pitching coach Steve McCatty during a fifth-inning mound visit....

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LaRoche snaps his skid, both teams make blunders on the bases (Strasburg struggling)

April 29, 2013, 4:41pm

Nationals

LaRoche snaps his skid, both teams make blunders on the bases (Strasburg struggling)

ATLANTA - Adam LaRoche's hitless streak is over. And you have to wonder how much of that is due to Chipper Jones. LaRoche snapped an 0-for-26 skid with a single to left in the second inning tonight. This comes just hours after LaRoche sat down and studied tape with his good buddy and former Braves star Chipper Jones. The Nationals first baseman's leadoff single started a two-run inning, as the Nats strung together four straight singles off Braves righty Julio Teheran and grabbed a 2-1...

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Johnson talks plans for Ramos and a strategy for Strasburg

April 29, 2013, 2:58pm

Nationals

Johnson talks plans for Ramos and a strategy for Strasburg

ATLANTA - With Wilson Ramos getting activated from the disabled list today and Kurt Suzuki having gotten a heavy workload recently, it wouldn't have been unreasonable to expect Ramos to get the start tonight against the Braves. Instead, it's Suzuki behind the plate again. Nationals manager Davey Johnson explained his decision to sit Ramos, saying he's taking a better-safe-than-sorry approach with his catcher after his recent left hamstring injury. "I treat hamstrings anything but...

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Adam LaRoche getting hitting tips from ... Chipper Jones?

April 29, 2013, 2:21pm

Nationals

Adam LaRoche getting hitting tips from ... Chipper Jones?

ATLANTA - It was a strange sight, really. A pretty cool sight, but a strange one. There was Chipper Jones in the visiting clubhouse here at Turner Field, the park that he called home for 19 years, dishing out hugs and chatting with Nationals players. There Jones was, the former Brave and future Hall of Famer talking shop with his good buddy and former teammate Adam LaRoche. There the two men were, sitting in a hallway adjacent to the Nationals' clubhouse, watching film and breaking down...

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Ramos activated, Suzuki behind the plate again (with lineups)

April 29, 2013, 11:48am

Nationals

Ramos activated, Suzuki behind the plate again (with lineups)

ATLANTA - The Nationals have activated Wilson Ramos from the 15-day disabled list, but Ramos is not in today's lineup against the Braves. Kurt Suzuki will start again behind the plate, marking the 15th time in a 16-game span that Suzuki has gotten the nod. He's played every inning of those 15 games. Ramos was sidelined the last 15 days with a left hamstring strain. Jhonatan Solano was optioned back to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Ramos on the 25-man roster. Solano appeared in three...

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Nats head to Atlanta in search of some revenge

April 28, 2013, 8:08pm

Nationals

Nats head to Atlanta in search of some revenge

I'm off to Atlanta, ready for some quality National League East baseball and a city that doesn't have a ridiculous pollen count. I forgot to take my allergy pill yesterday and probably ripped off 150 sneezes in a 12-hour span. My apologies to everyone near me in the press box. When the Nationals last saw the Braves back at Nationals Park a little over two weeks ago, they got their butts handed to them. Not much other way to put it. Atlanta outscored the Nats 18-5 over that three-game...

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LaRoche determined to claw his way out of deep slump

April 28, 2013, 2:51pm

Nationals

LaRoche determined to claw his way out of deep slump

Following this afternoon's 5-2 loss to the Reds, in which Adam LaRoche went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, making him 0-for-his-last-26, a frustrated LaRoche was asked how he feels at the plate right now. "Probably about as good as it looks," he said. Yeah, LaRoche is upset at himself for how he's been playing lately. He has 13 strikeouts in his last eight games and doesn't have a hit in more than a week. But he's going to keep fighting, trying to claw out of this deep slump and get...

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Johnson recaps Nats' 5-2 loss

April 28, 2013, 2:38pm

Nationals

This afternoon's game officially lasted three hours, 27 minutes. It sure felt a good bit longer than that. The Reds beat the Nationals 5-2 today, salvaging the final game of this four-game series and avoiding a sweep at the hands of their hosts. It wasn't a pretty ballgame to say the least, especially from the Nationals' side. Ross Detwiler allowed 11 hits and four runs over five innings, Anthony Rendon and Danny Espinosa made errors, Henry Rodriguez threw four strikes in a 17-pitch outing...

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A much different picture in the series finale (Nats lose 5-2)

April 28, 2013, 11:14am

Nationals

A much different picture in the series finale (Nats lose 5-2)

A lot went right for the Nationals over the last three days. They pitched incredibly well, allowing just four runs and 11 hits in that three-game span. They brought the bats, scoring 15 runs after putting up just four through their previous four contests. They played sound defense, for the most part. All three of those games resulted in wins. Today, it's been a different story. Ross Detwiler has allowed four runs and 10 hits over his first five innings. He had surrendered four earned runs...

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LaRoche dropped to sixth in Nats' order

April 28, 2013, 8:37am

Nationals

Mired in an 0-for-22 slump, Adam LaRoche has been dropped to sixth in the Nationals' batting order. In an attempt to get his first baseman going, manager Davey Johnson has bumped LaRoche down a spot in the lineup and moved Ian Desmond up to the five-hole. This is the first time LaRoche has hit as low as sixth in the order since April 11 of last year. Typically a slow starter (he's just a .215 career hitter in March/April), LaRoche is really off to a rough 2013, batting just .143 through 21...

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The one-year anniversary of a special beginning

April 28, 2013, 6:34am

Nationals

The one-year anniversary of a special beginning

A year ago today, Bryce Harper threw on a Nationals jersey for the first time. The then-19-year-old started his big league career by going 1-for-3 with a rocket of a double, tossing his helmet to the Dodger Stadium dirt as he made a violent turn around first base and sprinted for second. Since his highly-anticipated debut, Harper has played 162 games. His numbers look more like what you expect out of an eight-year veteran than a first-year player who can't legally buy a beer. Harper has hit...

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Hearing from Haren, Span and more

April 27, 2013, 2:20pm

Nationals

Dan Haren put up his best start as a National this afternoon, allowing just two runs over six innings in the Nationals' 6-3 win over the Reds. With his patented brutally honest perspective, however, Haren couldn't help but take a jab at himself when discussing his outing with reporters after the game. "It sucks it's taken so long to have a good outing, but I finally feel like part of the team," Haren said. "I've got to be like this or better the rest of the year. There's no excuse for...

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Johnson discusses Nats' 6-3 win

April 27, 2013, 1:39pm

Nationals

Over his first four outings this season, Dan Haren had failed to record an out in the sixth and had surrendered 32 hits and four walks over 18 1/3 mediocre innings. This afternoon, Haren turned things around, holding the dangerous Reds at bay. The veteran righty allowed two runs on six hits over six strong innings, walking none and striking out five. "That was more like him," manager Davey Johnson said. "Just like what we were talking about before, he was still throwing with plenty of...

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A quality start for Haren (Nats win third in a row)

April 27, 2013, 11:21am

Nationals

A quality start for Haren (Nats win third in a row)

Five outings into his Nationals tenure, Dan Haren has his first quality start. After a rough start to the season, Haren bounced back with a nice outing today against a high-powered Reds lineup. Haren went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out five, throwing 88 pitches, 56 for strikes. With Haren's pitch count still fairly low, manager Davey Johnson could've opted to send his veteran right-hander out for the seventh, but Johnson is a fan of having his...

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Haren looking sharp, helping his own cause (Harper into Nats record books)

April 27, 2013, 10:10am

Nationals

Haren looking sharp, helping his own cause (Harper into Nats record books)

So far, so good this afternoon for Dan Haren. Haren has faced the minimum through three scoreless innings today, striking out three. He's thrown just 35 pitches thus far, and came out of the gates attacking, firing first-pitch strikes to five of the first six hitters he faced. Manager Davey Johnson has said he'd like to see Haren worry less about velocity and more about control and mixing his pitches. For much of the first three innings, Haren was bringing his four-seam fastball in at 88-89...

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Johnson talks Espinosa, Haren and Zimmerman

April 27, 2013, 8:28am

Nationals

Johnson talks Espinosa, Haren and Zimmerman

Danny Espinosa has hit sixth or seventh in the Nationals lineup every game that he's played this season. Not this afternoon. Espinosa will bat second against the Reds today. Manager Davey Johnson has Anthony Rendon back in the lineup playing third base today, and Johnson would rather have Espinosa in the table-setting No. 2 spot than Rendon, who is appearing in just his fifth big league game today. "I want him to think about line drives, getting on base, that kind of thing," Johnson said...

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Starting to see more from the starters (Rendon in lineup)

April 27, 2013, 5:21am

Nationals

Starting to see more from the starters (Rendon in lineup)

The Nationals are starting to play better ball, and the Braves are starting to come back down to earth. Atlanta got whooped by the Tigers 10-0 last night, with Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez striking out 17 Braves hitters in eight innings of work. After the game, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was so frustrated with his team that this was the entirety of his press conference: "(Sanchez) was pretty good, and we weren't. And that's about it, boys. That's all I've got for you." The Braves...

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Zimmermann discusses another complete-game win

April 26, 2013, 6:51pm

Nationals

Zimmermann discusses another complete-game win

How good was Jordan Zimmermann tonight? He was facing a Reds team that had scored the second-most runs in the National League coming into the game, and he held them scoreless. Six of his nine innings lasted just 10 or fewer pitches. He faced 30 batters and threw just 32 balls. You can do the math. That's impressive stuff. "I felt great. This is the best I've felt in a long time," Zimmermann said after his first career compete-game shutout. "A really good slider tonight and a good...