Josh Land

Aaron Barrett was pitching with pain before DL stint

August 21, 2015, 4:40pm

The move to call up top prospect Trea Turner garnered all of the attention earlier today. As part of the announcement, the Nationals placed Tyler Moore on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle and transferred right-hander Aaron Barrett to the 60-day DL with a right elbow sprain. Barrett made his second trip to the DL this season on Aug. 8, two days after the Nationals optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Barrett indicated he was pitching in pain before the Nats sent him down. "For...

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Nats blown out 10-3 (Escobar hurt, Turner debuts)

August 21, 2015, 3:29pm

Nationals

Nats blown out 10-3 (Escobar hurt, Turner debuts)

With two outs in the first, Milwaukee's Adam Lind lifted a foul pop toward the seats on the third base side. Third baseman Yunel Escobar chased in pursuit, crashing into the railing and then into a fan. Unable to make the catch, Escobar remained down as Ian Desmond signaled for assistance. It appeared Escobar injured his left side colliding with the top rail and then his upper body, which flung into a gentleman in the front row. Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee...

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Ian Desmond reacts to Trea Turner joining Nationals

August 21, 2015, 2:13pm

Nationals

Ian Desmond is experiencing the toughest season of his seven-year career. The 29-year-old has slashed a lowly .211/.255/.334 with a .589 OPS through the first three months, hitting just eight homers, driving in only 24 runs and committing a whopping 20 errors. But since the All-Star break, Desmond revived his season, batting .274 while leading the Nationals with eight homers and 21 RBIs. The Nats shortstop has improved in the field as well, recording just three errors. With his contract set to...

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Nats hope home cooking leads to run (with lineups)

August 21, 2015, 12:59pm

Nationals

Nats hope home cooking leads to run (with lineups)

After a lengthy West Coast road trip, the Nationals return home, where they will play nine games in a row and 16 of their next 19. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez looks to redeem himself from his worst start of the season last Saturday night. Gonzalez surrendered six run on five hits, departing after just 2 2/3 innings in a 12-6 loss to the Giants. With Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson on the mound, Ryan Zimmerman sits and the left-handed swinging Clint Robinson starts at first base. Robinson is...

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Nats summon top prospect Trea Turner

August 21, 2015, 11:50am

Nationals

Highly touted prospect Trea Turner will be in uniform for the Nationals when they open a three-game series with the Brewers tonight. The Nationals selected the contract of the 22-year-old shortstop from Triple-A Syracuse earlier this afternoon. Turner slashed .314/.353/.431 with seven doubles, three triples, three homers, 14 stolen bases and 15 RBIs in 48 games since being promoted to Syracuse on June 26. The speedy infielder was acquired from the Padres as part of a three-team trade last...

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Matthew Taylor: The Orioles' growth mindset concept

August 21, 2015, 7:01am

Orioles

The growth mindset concept is popular in education circles these days. Given its focus on the need to embrace failure as part of the learning process, growth mindset is a natural corollary for baseball, where repeated failure is ingrained in the game. I would argue that no game requires a growth mindset so much as baseball. The Baltimore Orioles are an example of that. If you're willing to embrace frustration as a fan, it can be a joy to watch over both the short-term and the...

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Patrick Reddington: Gio Gonzalez hoping to rebound at home

August 21, 2015, 6:36am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Gio Gonzalez hoping to rebound at home

Gio Gonzalez was on a roll before he took the mound last week in San Francisco's AT&T Park. He was on a streak of eight straight starts in which he had allowed two earned runs or less, dating back to June 15th in Tampa Bay. In those previous eight starts, the Washington Nationals' 29-year-old left-hander was 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA and a .245/.296/.326 line against in 48 2/3 innings pitched. Gonzalez was coming off an eight-inning outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine, in...

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Max Scherzer falls to 11-10 after disappointing road trip

August 20, 2015, 10:08pm

Nationals

Max Scherzer falls to 11-10 after disappointing road trip

After experiencing his shortest outing of the season, throwing just three innings in an 8-5 loss to the Giants last Friday night, Nationals ace Max Scherzer turned in extra work to fine-tune his mechanics prior to yesterday's outing in Colorado. "I could tell in the (bullpen sessions) with all the work I've been doing in between starts to get that right," Scherzer told reporters. "I could tell that the ball was going to have the plane that I needed. There was times that I threw glove side...

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Nationals limp home after 3-7 road trip

August 20, 2015, 8:23pm

Nationals

After scoring 15 runs in the opener, the Nationals managed to plate just two in the series finale as the Rockies prevented a sweep with a 3-2 win Thursday night. With the loss, the Nats wasted a prime opportunity to gain a half-game on the Mets, who were off tonight. Despite claiming just their third series win of the second half, the Nationals' detrimental road trip ends with a 3-7 mark. Shut out three times out west, the Nats found themselves trailing 2-0 in the seventh when Michael A....

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Nats' bats quiet in 3-2 loss

August 20, 2015, 6:07pm

Nationals

The Nationals have nothing working on offense tonight. Rockies starter Yohan Flande has limited the Nats to just three baserunners through the first five innings. Bryce Harper's double in the first is the Nats' lone hit of the evening. Yunel Escobar followed with a groundout to end the frame and strand Harper. Harper and Ryan Zimmerman have reached on walks tonight. Max Scherzer held the Rockies scoreless through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Up 0-2 on Flande,...

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Nationals game blog: Ryan Zimmerman feasting on Rockies pitching

August 20, 2015, 4:10pm

Nationals

With the Mets idle tonight, the Nationals look to finish off a sweep over the Rockies and gain a half-game in the race for the National League East crown. The Nationals took the first two games of the series in very different fashion. After pouring in 15 runs on Tuesday night, the Nats were held scoreless until Bryce Harper raced home on a wild pitch in the seventh last night. A two-run triple from Jayson Werth a frame later broke a tie and helped the Nats to a 4-1 victory. "These games are...

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Max Scherzer looks to rebound for series sweep (with lineups)

August 20, 2015, 1:33pm

Nationals

Max Scherzer looks to rebound for series sweep (with lineups)

For much of this season, Max Scherzer was the game's most imposing right-hander, tossing a no-hitter and one-hitter in consecutive games. But Scherzer has come back to earth in August. He's 0-1 with a 7.80 ERA while surrendering five home runs over three starts this month. Scherzer takes the hill tonight aiming to correct his recent troubles and claim the Nationals' first series sweep since July 3-5 over the Giants. The 31-year-old fanned 10 Rockies over six innings but was tagged for three...

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David Huzzard: Nationals need a hot streak

August 20, 2015, 6:59am

Nationals

With the Nationals' 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday evening, they won back-to-back games for the first time since July 29 and 30. It was also the first series that the Nats have won in the month of August. The Nats' recent cold stretch has put them in an unfamiliar position. In 2012 and 2014, I wrote this same column about what it would take to overtake the Nationals, and now the Nats are the team hoping to overtake the Mets. The good thing for the Nationals is that the...

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Zach Wilt: How quickly things change

August 20, 2015, 6:30am

Orioles

Since we last spoke, the Orioles have won five of their last six games and grabbed the second wild card spot in the American League. A week ago, I searched far and wide for good news to share about my favorite ballclub after they were no-hit by Hisashi Iwakuma in the finale of what ended up being a 4-5 West Coast road trip against the A's, Angels and Mariners. Today, I'm struggling to figure out how to cram all these positive nuggets into 600 words. How quickly things can change in...

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A healthy Stephen Strasburg proves dominance

August 19, 2015, 10:17pm

Nationals

A healthy Stephen Strasburg proves dominance

Stephen Strasburg watched the Nationals and Rockies combine for 21 runs on 28 hits, including four homers on Tuesday night. He entered Wednesday's start having lost his only two outings at Coors Field, dinged with a 5.56 ERA. But the talented right-hander blocked all of that out as he blitzed the Rockies lineup with a blazing, high-90s fastball, a baffling changeup and a filthy curveball in the Nationals' 4-1 win. The Rockies combined an error and a wild pitch to score an unearned run off...

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Nats gain ground as Jayson Werth delivers late

August 19, 2015, 8:48pm

Nationals

Nats gain ground as Jayson Werth delivers late

A night after lighting up the scoreboard, the Nationals' offense fell asleep for most of Wednesday's game. With the game knotted at 1-1 with two outs in the eighth, Jayson Werth woke them up, thumping a two-run triple to propel the Nats to a 4-1 win over the Rockies. "I'm just trying to be aggressive," Werth said on MASN's "Nats Xtra". "Things haven't really been going as planned. I'm just glad to help the team get a win. Big win for us." The timing of Werth's clutch hit couldn't...

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Stephen Strasburg dominant in 4-1 win

August 19, 2015, 5:39pm

Nationals

An error and wild pitch led to the Rockies' first run of game. With one out, Ben Paulsen hit a sharp grounder down the first base line. Ryan Zimmerman shifted to his left but the ball skipped over his glove and into right field. Paulsen hustled to second on Zimmerman's third error of the season. D.J. LeMahieu's groundout advanced Paulsen to third. With Nick Hundley batting, Stephen Strasburg bounced a curveball that jumped away from Wilson Ramos. The Nats catcher hustled to the ball, but his...

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Nationals game blog: Stephen Strasburg aims to foil Rockies

August 19, 2015, 4:33pm

Nationals

The Nationals snapped their six-game losing streak, scoring a whopping 15 runs, in last night's win over the Rockies. It was the eighth time the Nats scored 10 or more runs this season. Ian Desmond continued swinging a hot bat, going 3-for-6 with a double and four RBIs. In his last 27 games, Desmond is slashing .313/.376/.606 with eight homers, three doubles, one triple, 19 runs scored and 21 RBIs. Desmond is hitting .436 in 19 career games at Coors Field. Bryce Harper walked a career-high...

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Anthony Rendon sits, Danny Espinosa starts again (with lineups)

August 19, 2015, 2:19pm

Nationals

Anthony Rendon sits, Danny Espinosa starts again (with lineups)

Other than slotting Stephen Strasburg in as tonight's starter, Nationals manager Matt Williams didn't touch his lineup card from last night, a lineup that produced 15 runs. That means Jayson Werth remains the leadoff hitter and Anthony Rendon sits for the second consecutive night while Danny Espinosa starts at second base. Espinosa was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored in last night's win. He's hitting .385 (5-for-13) with two homers and four RBIs in six games...

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MASN giving fans chance to win Jayson Werth NLDS bobblehead from Great Moments in Nationals History series

August 19, 2015, 11:11am

Nationals

Win or go home. That was the situation the Washington Nationals found themselves in on a cool October afternoon at Nationals Park in 2012. Ater three games of the National League Division Series, they had their backs against the wall, down two games to one against the Cardinals. Heading to the ninth inning in Game 4, both the Nats and their opponent had mustered just one run. With All-Star Lance Lynn on the mound, Jayson Werth stepped in the box for what is now the most well-known at-bat in...