Dan Kolko

Zimmerman remains in Nationals lineup for finale against O's

June 24, 2012, 7:48am

For at least another day, Ryan Zimmerman will stay in the Nationals lineup, hitting third and playing third. Zimmerman and manager Davey Johnson said last night that the third baseman might have to land on the DL and receive a cortisone shot because of inflammation in his right shoulder, but he'll be out on the field today as the Nats look to take their rubber game with the Orioles. Here's the Nationals lineup: LF - Steve Lombardozzi RF - Bryce Harper 3B - Ryan Zimmerman 1B - Adam...

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When Storen returns, Clippard likely remaining the closer

June 23, 2012, 8:09pm

Nationals

When Storen returns, Clippard likely remaining the closer

What seemed like a nice, quiet 3-1 Nationals win turned into a lot more shortly after the game. We learned Ryan Zimmerman might need to get another cortisone shot in his inflamed right shoulder and could land on the disabled list. And, we also learned that even when Drew Storen returns to the Nationals, he's unlikely to take over the closer's role that he's held for much of his major league career. Manager Davey Johnson said tonight that given how Tyler Clippard has been performing in save...

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Ryan Zimmerman could be heading back to DL

June 23, 2012, 7:31pm

Nationals

Ryan Zimmerman could be heading back to DL

It's been clear for a while now that Ryan Zimmerman's not healthy. He's just too good a hitter to be batting .218 with three home runs on the season. After tonight's 3-1 Nationals win, both Zimmerman and manager Davey Johnson acknowledged that the shoulder inflammation, which landed Zimmerman on the disabled list back in late April, is still a problem, and it might be something that will send him to the DL yet again. "I'm obviously not 100 percent," a somber Zimmerman said in the...

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No no-no for Jackson (Nats win 3-1)

June 23, 2012, 4:59pm

Nationals Orioles

The first 12 Orioles hitters that stepped to the plate tonight were all set down by Edwin Jackson. I'm no expert, but I believe if Jackson had retired the next 15 batters he saw, that would have been kind of a big deal. Instead, the perfect game and no-hitter both were blown up in the span of three hitters in the fifth inning. Adam Jones reached on a Ryan Zimmerman fielding error leading off the frame, (and man, was that a tough error considering how hard the ball was hit,) and two batters...

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DeRosa could return in next couple days

June 23, 2012, 4:03pm

Nationals

How does a player who's on a rehab assignment get in touch with his manager to find out when he'll be back in the majors? In Mark DeRosa's case, he shoots his skipper an email. DeRosa, who is currently rehabbing from a strained left oblique at Single-A Potomac, punched up a few lines that told his manager he's feeling great after two games. He then asked Davey Johnson what the plan was regarding his eventual promotion to the bigs. "I said,'Well, the plan was for you to get some...

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Johnson unwilling to address managerial future

June 23, 2012, 2:59pm

Nationals Orioles

Johnson unwilling to address managerial future

Davey Johnson's had some entertaining press conferences lately. The ones during the Tampa Bay series certainly qualify, with Johnson calling Rays manager Joe Maddon a "weird wuss," a "guru" and telling him to read the rule book after the GloveGate incident with Joel Peralta. Today, Johnson took a playful jab at 49-year-old hurler Jamie Moyer, who was granted his release this afternoon by the Orioles. "I think he's had a remarkable career," Johnson said. "I thought he was 50. I felt...

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Zimmerman stays in three-spot in Nats lineup

June 23, 2012, 11:53am

Nationals Orioles

Zimmerman stays in three-spot in Nats lineup

Davey Johnson admitted last night that he's given some thought to moving Ryan Zimmerman down in the order given his struggles this season. But Johnson said he planned to keep the .222-hitting Zimmerman in the three-spot in the lineup for now. That familiar three-hole is where Zimmerman remains today. The Nationals are going with their right-handed-heavy lineup today against Orioles lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who is 7-2 with a 3.36 ERA on the season. Tyler Moore will play left, Xavier Nady will...

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The one-year anniversary of a shocking decision

June 22, 2012, 11:32pm

Nationals

The one-year anniversary of a shocking decision

A year ago today, Jim Riggleman decided he'd had enough. The then-Nationals manager wanted to have his contract option for the 2012 season picked up. He was tired of working under one-year contracts and having to worry about his future. He wanted some sort of long-term security, even if another year was as long as that security would get at the time. His team had won 11 of its last 12 games. He and his players had fought their way above .500. They had just earned a walkoff win over the...

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Zimmermann the tough-luck loser yet again

June 22, 2012, 7:54pm

Nationals

Zimmermann the tough-luck loser yet again

Jordan Zimmermann entered tonight getting just 3.2 runs of offensive support when he's been in the ballgame this season. That total was the sixth-lowest in the National League. It got lower tonight. The Nationals were able to give Zimmermann just one run to work with here in Baltimore, largely due to the dominant effort put up by Orioles starter Jason Hammel. They couldn't get much going against the righty, who worked in the mid-90s with his fastball, showed a hard slider and a tough...

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Helpless against Hammel

June 22, 2012, 6:28pm

Nationals Orioles

The Nationals were able to get to Jason Hammel a bit on May 19, plating four runs off the Orioles' righty over 5 1/3 innings. Hammel still took the win that day, even though it was one of the few games this season when he wasn't really on his game. Hammel was on his game tonight, that's for sure. The Nats managed just one run and five hits against Hammel over eight innings tonight in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles. They struck out 10 times and forced Hammel to throw just 96 pitches over his...

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Zimmerman's struggles continue, Desmond's hustle continues (updated)

June 22, 2012, 5:29pm

Nationals Orioles

Zimmerman's struggles continue, Desmond's hustle continues (updated)

Boy, Ryan Zimmerman is in a bad way right now. The third baseman has gone 0-for-2 so far tonight, grounding out to short in the first and striking out looking in the fourth. His average now sits at a lowly .224, the lowest it's been since May 9. Zimmerman has struck out in four of his last six at-bats, three of them looking. He went down on three Jason Hammel pitches in the fourth inning tonight, with strike three coming on a ball right down the middle. He doesn't have an extra-base hit...

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Mooneyham signed, Storen happy with throwing session (first pitch set for 8 p.m.)

June 22, 2012, 3:17pm

Nationals

Mooneyham signed, Storen happy with throwing session (first pitch set for 8 p.m.)

Davey Johnson sat down in the visitor's dugout at Camden Yards and cracked a big smile. "This looks familiar," Johnson said. "Little different angle from here." The Nationals' skipper seemed legitimately happy to be back in Baltimore, shaking hands with Jim Palmer and Rick Dempsey and soaking in the atmosphere at the park he once managed in. Johnson will also be happy to know that the Nats have signed Stanford left-hander Brett Mooneyham, their third-round pick in this year's...

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Johnson back in Baltimore (plus rehab updates)

June 22, 2012, 10:44am

Nationals Orioles

Johnson back in Baltimore (plus rehab updates)

Making his second rehab appearance for Triple-A Syracuse last night, Henry Rodriguez walked two batters but worked a scoreless ninth inning in the Chiefs' win over Pawtucket. This comes after Rodriguez delivered a scoreless frame for Syracuse on Tuesday, but tossed a pitch to the backstop. The control issues will need to get worked out at some point before Rodriguez works meaningful, high-leverage innings for the Nationals again. The righty landed on the DL on June 7 with a strained right...

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Some of this, some of that

June 22, 2012, 5:54am

Nationals

Check out this quote from Danny Espinosa last night when asked about how manager Davey Johnson has stuck by him this season despite his lengthy slump. "I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't have stuck with me that long," Espinosa said, "so it feels awesome to know that Davey's got my back." Yet another reason why guys love playing for Davey Johnson. Espinosa's numbers from the left side of the plate haven't really improved all that much recently. His batting average has jumped only...

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Postgame thoughts from Espinosa, Mattheus, Desmond

June 21, 2012, 8:38pm

Nationals

Postgame thoughts from Espinosa, Mattheus, Desmond

Danny Espinosa isn't going to lie. When the Rays intentionally walked Adam LaRoche to get to the Nats second baseman with two outs in the sixth inning, he took it as a bit of a smack in the face. "I definitely take it personally in the sense that I want to get 'em," Espinosa said. "I want to make 'em pay for what they're doing. I definitely don't gear up and try to do anything that I can't do. Just try to have a good at-bat and get a good pitch to hit." He sure did, ripping a 1-1...

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Johnson talks after Nats take the series from Rays

June 21, 2012, 8:00pm

Nationals

Johnson talks after Nats take the series from Rays

After the top of the sixth inning, Davey Johnson walked up to Gio Gonzalez and told him he was done for the night. The Nationals' starter wasn't thrilled with that decision. "Gio worked up a big anger on me," Johnson said with a smile. "And once we got the runs to go ahead, he forgave me." The Rays had tied things up at 2-2 in the top of the sixth. But the Nationals immediately responded, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the frame on Danny Espinosa's two-out double, which served...

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Espinosa comes through in the clutch (Nats win 5-2)

June 21, 2012, 5:37pm

Nationals

Espinosa comes through in the clutch (Nats win 5-2)

Danny Espinosa has gotten a handful of big hits this season. Not many of them have come when he's been hitting left-handed. The dramatic difference in Espinosa's lefty/righty splits has been well-documented, but tonight, the Nationals second baseman came through with a monster hit in the sixth inning, plating two runs with a double to right. And the go-ahead knock came from the left side of the plate. It gave the Nats a 4-2 lead as we go to the seventh, and put Gio Gonzalez in line for the...

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Peralta suspended, Storen to face hitters tomorrow

June 21, 2012, 2:21pm

Nationals

Peralta suspended, Storen to face hitters tomorrow

The Major League Baseball league office has spoken. Joel Peralta has been suspended eight games for having an illegal substance in his glove Tuesday night. The Rays reliever will appeal the suspension, meaning he's still available to be used tonight in the series finale against the Nationals. Peralta faced two hitters last night and retired them both. Keeping on the reliever topic, Nats closer Drew Storen has now thrown a handful of bullpen sessions, the latest of which was yesterday....

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Detwiler, Wang react to rotation change

June 21, 2012, 1:55pm

Nationals

Ross Detwiler was minding his business before yesterday's game when pitching coach Steve McCatty approached him. McCatty had some news. Detwiler was being reinserted into the Nationals' rotation. "Hey, this is what's going to happen," Detwiler recalls McCatty saying. "Be aggressive." That last word - aggressive - might be the key for the left-hander now that he finds himself back in the starting rotation. In his final two starts before being moved to the bullpen on May 26, Detwiler...

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Nady back in lineup, Moore at first (Meyer to play in Futures Game)

June 21, 2012, 11:36am

Nationals

Nady back in lineup, Moore at first (Meyer to play in Futures Game)

Facing Rays lefty Matt Moore, Xavier Nady is back in the Nationals' lineup tonight, playing left field and hitting seventh. The veteran outfielder will look to improve his .143 average on the season. Adam LaRoche will also get a day off, with the right-handed hitting Tyler Moore starting at first base. LaRoche has been nursing an oblique issue for much of the season and also fouled a ball off his right foot a little over a week ago. Against a lefty, manager Davey Johnson apparently feels...