Dan Kolko

Johnson on bullpen struggles, plus Garcia and Kimball updates

April 10, 2013, 2:33pm

Apparently, the Nationals experienced some technical difficulties during last night's game when the video system they use to track pitches and locations in real time went down. The system eventually was fixed by the time the game was in the middle innings, but the Nats had to adjust their normal in-game plan without the video. "We couldn't follow it," Davey Johnson said. "Rick (Eckstein, hitting coach) usually goes in there and then reports to everybody about what (the pitcher is) doing....

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Adam Dunn playing left field, batting cleanup for White Sox

April 10, 2013, 11:37am

Nationals

Adam Dunn playing left field, batting cleanup for White Sox

He didn't make an appearance in last night's 8-7 Nationals win, but Adam Dunn is in the White Sox lineup for tonight's contest. Dunn will hit cleanup for Chicago and will play left field. It'll be interesting to see what type of response Dunn gets from the Nats Park crowd in his first plate appearance tonight. This will be Dunn's first game played at Nats Park since 2010. He wore a Nats jersey from 2009-2010 and slugged 78 home runs during his tenure in D.C. Dunn spoke yesterday about...

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The many ways Denard Span can impact a game

April 10, 2013, 5:19am

Nationals

The many ways Denard Span can impact a game

Michael Morse crushed another home run for the Mariners last night, giving the former Nationals slugger six bombs and nine RBIs through the season's first nine games. Nationals fans might cringe seeing those totals. Morse, after all, is a guy the Nats traded away this offseason, choosing to go with Denard Span in center, Bryce Harper in left and Adam LaRoche at first base rather than keeping things status quo by leaving Harper in center, Morse in left and LaRoche at first. General manager...

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Drake LaRoche to his father: "It's about time"

April 09, 2013, 8:21pm

Nationals

Drake LaRoche to his father: "It's about time"

When Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche came into the clubhouse after tonight's 8-7 win over the White Sox, he had a visitor waiting for him by his locker. It was his 11-year-old son, Drake, who had a message for his father. "It's about time," Drake said, patting his dad on the back. Drake then turned and walked away. "I think he was getting fed up with the 0-fers," the elder LaRoche joked to reporters later. After starting the season 0-for-15, LaRoche busted out in a big way...

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Johnson discusses Nats' wild 8-7 win

April 09, 2013, 7:37pm

Nationals

There were six home runs hit in tonight's ballgame. The Nationals and White Sox combined to put up 24 hits. Over the final eight half-innings, at least one run was scored in seven of them. "Wasn't pretty," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said as he sat down for his postgame press conference. Johnson then took a deep breath. It was one of those kinds of nights, but at least it ended in a win. Gio Gonzalez needed 99 pitches to get through five innings of work, this after he threw 33...

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Werth keeps on crushing (Nationals eke out 8-7 win)

April 09, 2013, 5:13pm

Nationals

In his second at-bat tonight, Jayson Werth smoked a ball 400 feet to straightaway center. It died at the wall, and White Sox center fielder Alejandro De Aza brought it in for a loud out. In his third at-bat tonight, Werth took a shorter path to the seats. He crushed the first pitch he saw from Jake Peavy - a 90 mph two-seam fastball - deep into the left field bleachers. The two-run shot gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead, which they hold after six innings of play. Werth now has three home runs in...

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Gonzalez battling himself this time out (Nats take the lead)

April 09, 2013, 4:41pm

Nationals

Gonzalez battling himself this time out (Nats take the lead)

Gio Gonzalez threw 91 pitches over six shutout innings in his season debut last week, but he seems like a different guy tonight. It's taken the Nationals left-hander 84 pitches to get through four innings against the White Sox, as he's walked two, allowed three hits and had trouble putting Chicago hitters away. Gonzalez needed 33 pitches just to get through the top of the first, and his mental miscue brought in the first run of the ballgame. With the bases loaded and a 3-2 count on Alexei...

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Updates on LaRoche, Soriano and more

April 09, 2013, 2:42pm

Nationals

Davey Johnson and Bryce Harper took a little field trip this afternoon, heading down to City Hall to be honored by the D.C. Council with ceremonial resolutions. Johnson, the 2012 National League Manager of the Year, and Harper, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, received their resolutions, presented by council member Vincent Orange. "It was good. I'm glad to see they're doing some work down there," quipped Johnson, when asked about his afternoon. Johnson's resolution listed him as five...

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Adam Dunn: "It's great to be back"

April 09, 2013, 2:08pm

Nationals

Nationals fans will have to wait at least a few innings to give Adam Dunn a true welcome back to D.C. After all, this is interleague play, and Dunn isn't the most skilled defensive player out there. With no designated hitter in the lineup and the visiting White Sox having Paul Konerko already locked in as their first baseman, Dunn won't be starting in his return to Nationals Park. Still, Dunn, who played in D.C. from 2009-2010, is happy to be back in the district, getting a chance to see...

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LaRoche returns, Dunn absent from White Sox lineup in return to D.C.

April 09, 2013, 11:28am

Nationals

LaRoche returns, Dunn absent from White Sox lineup in return to D.C.

After missing the last two games with tightness in his back, Adam LaRoche is back in the lineup tonight for the Nationals' series opener against the White Sox. Including yesterday's off-day, LaRoche had three days to rest his ailing back, which initially tightened up on him late in the Nationals' series against the Marlins last week. The cold weather at Nats Park likely contributed to the discomfort. He told reporters Sunday that he was feeling better and apparently has been cleared to give...

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Nats starting to catch on

April 09, 2013, 5:00am

Nationals

I've decided that I would like a montage of moments from my life set to "One Shining Moment" and played at my funeral. I'm not sure whether I'm kidding or not. Is that weird? I don't care. Now I just have to get to work on creating some actual shining moments. I'm not sure me sitting on my sofa eating nachos will cut it. If you haven't yet seen how the Rangers-Rays game ended last night, take a look. Yikes. Just a bit outside. Nationals manager Davey Johnson knew going into the...

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Getting defensive

April 08, 2013, 5:14am

Nationals

Today's day off for the Nationals comes at a pretty good time. Not only does it allow Adam LaRoche, who sat out the last two games, a chance to rest his sore back a bit more prior to tomorrow's series opener with the White Sox, but it also gives the Nats a chance to enjoy some down time and put their three-game series in Cincinnati behind them. Even though they took one of the three games against the Reds in the weekend set, this was a series the Nationals will be hoping to forget. The...

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Rubber game goes to the Reds

April 07, 2013, 12:25pm

Nationals

Stephen Strasburg wasn't at his sharpest, the Nationals' infielders made a couple of more defensive miscues and the bats went silent after the second inning. Put it all together and it's a 6-3 loss to the Reds, giving Cincinnati the series win. After a big second inning, highlighted by Kurt Suzuki's three-run homer to left, the Nats had just three hits and four baserunners the rest of the way. Suzuki doubled with one out in the ninth, his third extra-base hit of the day, but the...

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Nats' catchers continue to crush Reds pitching (Nats trail as Strasburg leaves)

April 07, 2013, 9:50am

Nationals

Nats' catchers continue to crush Reds pitching (Nats trail as Strasburg leaves)

In their last four at-bats against Reds pitching, the Nationals' catchers are 3-for-4 with three home runs and six RBIs. Wilson Ramos did some damage yesterday, crushing two homers in the Nats' 11-inning win. In his first at-bat today, Kurt Suzuki got the Nats on the board in the second inning, taking a 1-1 slider from Johnny Cueto and smoking it out to left for a three-run shot. Suzuki has his first hit of the 2013 season, and the Nats have a tie ballgame. It's 3-3 midway through the...

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LaRoche sits for a second straight day

April 07, 2013, 7:37am

Nationals

Adam LaRoche is out of the Nationals' lineup for the second straight day. LaRoche, who has been dealing with some tightness in his back since late in the Nationals' series against the Marlins earlier this week, will not play in this afternoon's series finale against the Reds. Chad Tracy will play first base and hit in the No. 5 hole in LaRoche's stead again today. With the Nats having a day off tomorrow, manager Davey Johnson likely wants to give LaRoche three full days to rest his back...

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Much to digest from yesterday's dramatic extra-inning win

April 07, 2013, 5:33am

Nationals

Much to digest from yesterday's dramatic extra-inning win

The first two games of this Nationals-Reds series sure have been plenty interesting. First, the Reds put up two touchdowns and a two-point conversion on the Nats on Friday night in a 15-0 drubbing. Sorry, I feel bad even bringing that one up again. Yesterday's game was far more competitive and far more dramatic. The Nationals jumped out to a 5-1 lead, only to see Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano each allow two runs to leave the game tied after nine. In the top of the 11th, two home runs in a...

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Desmond redeems himself with clutch homer (Nats win a thriller)

April 06, 2013, 12:34pm

Nationals

Desmond redeems himself with clutch homer (Nats win a thriller)

It had been a pretty rough afternoon for Ian Desmond. The Nationals shortstop committed two errors in today's game against the Reds, both of which led to unearned runs. Desmond had gone 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his first four trips to the plate. He and the rest of the Nats watched as a 5-1 lead became a 5-5 tie. But Desmond redeemed himself for his early-season struggles with a clutch solo home run that was crushed into the upper deck in left, breaking an 11th-inning tie and giving the...

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Ramos making his mark in return to Cincinnati (Soriano blows the save)

April 06, 2013, 11:10am

Nationals

Ramos making his mark in return to Cincinnati (Soriano blows the save)

Prior to today, the last time Wilson Ramos was on the field at the Great American Ballpark, he wasn't able to walk off under his own power. Ramos tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee last May 12 in a game against the Reds, a devastating injury that knocked the Nationals' young catcher out of action for the remainder of the season and led to months of grueling rehab. Now fully healthy, Ramos has replaced that nasty memory with a much more positive one. Ramos crushed a two-run homer...

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Harper homers again (Detwiler dancing out of trouble)

April 06, 2013, 10:00am

Nationals

Harper homers again (Detwiler dancing out of trouble)

The Nationals left the bases loaded in the second. No matter. Bryce Harper got them on the board an inning later. Harper crushed the first pitch from Reds right-hander Mike Leake, an 87 mph cutter on the inner half, out to right for a two-run homer. The ball got out of the Great American Ballpark in the blink of an eye. It's Harper's third home run of the season. He's accounted for 60 percent of the Nationals' longballs so far this season. The Nats now have a 2-0 lead midway through...

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Tracy replaces LaRoche in Nats lineup

April 06, 2013, 6:48am

Nationals

The good thing about the Nationals having a 1:10 p.m. first pitch today is that last night's 15-0 drubbing at the hands of the Reds is quickly pushed into the background. No need to stew on that one through the afternoon. The Nats will get back out there in just a few hours and will start fresh. There's one change to manager Davey Johnson's lineup outside of the normal catcher swap and Ross Detwiler being inserted into the pitcher's spot for the first time this season. Adam LaRoche will...