Josh Land

Williams unsure of timetable for Fister after MRI reveals no tear

May 16, 2015, 4:08pm

SAN DIEGO - Nationals starter Doug Fister met with team orthopedist Dr. Wiemi Douoguih in Washington, D.C., today after experiencing tightness in his right forearm in the second inning of his Thursday night outing. "He's got a flexor strain," Nationals manager Matt Williams reported. "The fact that there's no tear in the MRI, that's a really good sign." Fister was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday. "He gets shut down for a few days, making sure that it's calmed down...

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Werth sits with injured left wrist, Taylor makes start in left (with lineups)

May 16, 2015, 1:37pm

Nationals

Werth sits with injured left wrist, Taylor makes start in left (with lineups)

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals will be without Jayson Werth this evening after the left fielder was struck by a pitch in his left wrist during his second at-bat last night. Werth left the game and was taken for X-rays, which were negative. Rookie Michael A. Taylor will start in left today and bat eighth. Taylor was the hero on Wednesday after coming off the bench to hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Diamondbacks 9-6. In 24 games this season, Taylor is batting .264 with...

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Led by Harper, Nats offense has come charging back

May 15, 2015, 11:26pm

Nationals

Led by Harper, Nats offense has come charging back

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals had never scored more than seven runs in franchise history in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. On Friday night, they poured in 10 runs in a runaway shutout win. The attack started quick with the first five batters reaching base. A single from Bryce Harper plated Denard Span for the first run. A bases-loaded walk to Ryan Zimmerman sent Yunel Escobar across the plate. And even on a double play grounder by Wilson Ramos, the Nats were able to score. They put four on the board...

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X-rays on Jayson Werth's left wrist negative

May 15, 2015, 9:58pm

Nationals

X-rays on Jayson Werth's left wrist negative

SAN DIEGO - Just as Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth seemed to be turning the corner after a rough start, another setback occurred in Friday's 10-0 victory over San Diego. Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne ran a 92 mph sinker in on Werth that violently struck his left wrist in the second inning. Werth crashed to the ground, clutching his wrist in obvious pain. Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz quickly came out of the dugout to tend to Werth, who decided to...

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Harper homers, Nats win 10-0 (Werth hit by pitch, leaves game)

May 15, 2015, 7:00pm

Nationals

Harper homers, Nats win 10-0 (Werth hit by pitch, leaves game)

SAN DIEGO - The first five batters reached base tonight against Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne, leading to four runs in the first for the Nationals. Three straight singles from Denard Span, Yunel Escobar and Jayson Werth loaded the bases for Bryce Harper's broken bat RBI flare to right field. Harper has now driven in 32 runs, one behind major league leader Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins. The Nationals claimed the next run when Despaigne walked Ryan Zimmerman to score Escobar. Wilson...

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Tightness in Doug Fister's forearm forces a trip to the 15-day DL

May 15, 2015, 6:06pm

Nationals

Tightness in Doug Fister's forearm forces a trip to the 15-day DL

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals are no strangers to adversity this year. Infielder Anthony Rendon has yet to take the field because of a left knee sprain, and veterans Denard Span and Jayson Werth both have missed time after having the start of their year's delayed due to offseason surgeries. But other than right-hander Casey Janssen's shoulder tendinitis and rookie reliever Felipe River's stomach ulcer, no pitcher had spent any time on the 15-day disabled list until starter Doug Fister found his...

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Doug Fister lands on 15-day DL, A.J. Cole recalled (with lineups)

May 15, 2015, 3:15pm

Nationals

Doug Fister lands on 15-day DL, A.J. Cole recalled (with lineups)

SAN DIEGO - A day after being rocked for two homers and seven runs in just two innings, Nationals starter Doug Fister is heading to the 15-day disabled list with right forearm tightness. The Nats have recalled right-hander A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Fister's spot in the rotation. Fister is 2-2 with a 4.31 ERA in seven starts this year. The 31-year old has surrendered five homers in 39 2/3 innings so far. He spent the first month of last season on the DL dealing with a right lat...

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Matthew Taylor: Taking aim at Eutaw Street

May 15, 2015, 6:01am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Taking aim at Eutaw Street

I have long home runs on the mind. First, there was the anniversary last Friday of Frank Robinson becoming the only batter to hit a ball out of Memorial Stadium. Then the Miami Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton put a ball out of Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Let's talk longball in this week's guest blog. The longest Orioles home run so far this season belongs to ... Jonathan Schoop. Schoop's 432-foot home run on April 10 against the Blue Jays tops Chris Davis' 423-foot shot to center field on April...

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Patrick Reddington: Memories of Expos come full circle at Nationals Park

May 15, 2015, 5:40am

Nationals

I grew up a Montreal Expos fan. It was a completely different experience following a team from a city outside of your own at that point. No MLB.tv. No MLB Extra Innings or MLB Network. Just newspaper reports the next day, box scores and a few games a year when they played in or against New York. Living in New Jersey, surrounded by Phillies fans on one side, and Yankees and Mets fans on the another, with no team to call our own, there was no way I was cheering for any teams from Philadelphia or...

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Fister won't blame it on the rain in Nats' 8-3 pounding in San Diego

May 15, 2015, 4:53am

Nationals

Fister won't blame it on the rain in Nats' 8-3 pounding in San Diego

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals entered this season with the so-called most-feared rotation in all of baseball. Words like historic and legendary were thrown around to describe them. Now, as all five have made seven starts each this season, there are more questions than guarantees. Four have ERAs over 4.00 as tall righty Doug Fister was the latest to get rocked in last night's 8-3 drubbing by the Padres. Fister's evening lasted just 41 pitches as he was unable to make it past the second inning...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Truman"

May 15, 2015, 4:44am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Truman"

David McCullough is my favorite historical writer and one of my favorite writers, period. I could have picked any of his works to mention here and been positive on all, but "Truman" was a delayed read for me and I just finished it. President Harry S. Truman was unique and appears even moreso today. Plain speaking and a common touch are not exactly words we use describing most current politicians. This book covers Truman's life from first breath to end. As McCullough told the New York Times...

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gary thorne orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Fridays with Red"

May 15, 2015, 4:43am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Fridays with Red"

Bob Edwards hosted the National Public Radio morning show for years. For 12 of those years, baseball broadcaster Red Barber joined Edwards once a week for an over-the-fence conversation on subjects that ranged from the Brooklyn Dodgers to bird watching to blooming flowers. Barber was retired in Florida during this time. He had concluded one of the most storied broadcast careers in history. For more than 60 years, Barber's voice was as familiar to sports fans, especially those in Brooklyn, as...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "If Beale Street Could Talk"

May 15, 2015, 4:42am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "If Beale Street Could Talk"

Let's hit the books with one of this country's most influential writers on matters of race relations in the United States - James Baldwin. "If Beale Street Could Talk" was written in 1974, but it could have been written today, and we would recognize the story as one of current events. A young black man is wrongly charged with rape and the story of his fight for freedom is told through the eyes of his pregnant fiancÃ©e. The characters are painfully real without exaggeration. One feels the...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Return of George Washington"

May 15, 2015, 4:41am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Return of George Washington"

There is a time in U.S. history that we generally take for granted, if we think of it at all. This nation defines its early history through the Revolutionary War and the goings on in Philadelphia in 1776. Despite that history, the United States almost wasn't. In 1787, when the constitutional convention met, the very idea of united states was in issue. Rather than rework the Articles of Confederation, the founding fathers took the convention in a different direction, with great controversy in...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die"

May 15, 2015, 4:39am

Orioles

Quite simply, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die" is a must-read for Orioles fans and for those who just love good baseball stories. This is part of a series of books on sports teams by writers from various major league cities. Connolly, the national baseball writer and Orioles reporter for The Baltimore Sun, seeks to recap the history of the franchise, highlight major and minor figures in Orioles history, and recite some of the best Orioles stories. He does so with...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Bank Shot"

May 15, 2015, 4:37am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Bank Shot"

In case this is the first time you've found our blog, welcome! Once a week, we take a look at a book that is a favorite of mine that helps eat up all that baseball travel time. The Enoch Pratt Free Library lends us a hand with recommendations from their staff, we note others sites that offer suggestions and, thanks to you, we have recommendations in the comments section. Thanks for that. Generally, you don't figure to be lying on the floor and laughing your head off when you read a mystery...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Kid"

May 15, 2015, 4:35am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Kid"

There will be books written about baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams for as long as the printing presses roll. Williams provided a lot of material in a life filled with his baseball superstar status, turbulent private life, running quarrels with the Boston baseball press and cryogenic ending. In "The Kid," Ben Bradlee Jr. left none of that life untouched in this can't-wait-to-turn-the-page read. Check out the accompanying video for more on "The Kid." A shout out to the Selby Public...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Crazy Horse - A Life"

May 15, 2015, 4:29am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Crazy Horse - A Life"

Crazy Horse is a name that evokes the history of Native Americans in the western United States at a time when they were being pushed from their lands, and the violence between U.S. troops and numerous tribes was ongoing. Among the most noted of all chiefs, Crazy Horse's life is tough to recreate. Larry McMurtry tried to do just that in "Crazy Horse - A Life," written in 1999. The writing is suburb. The story is engrossing. Check out the video for more on the book. I am delighted the Enoch...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Old Man and the Sea"

May 15, 2015, 4:28am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Old Man and the Sea"

In my 30 years of broadcasting Major League Baseball, there have been far too many plane rides, far too many delays and what could have been, far too many wasted hours. Thank heavens, since the earliest years, I have loved to read. Books are friends to me. Libraries are where those friends live. I engage both as often as possible in my travels. Just for fun, with the help of some friends at MASN (the human kind) and the wonderful folks at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, we begin...

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Doug Fister rocked early as Nats fall 8-3

May 14, 2015, 9:00pm

Nationals

Doug Fister rocked early as Nats fall 8-3

SAN DIEGO - Padres starter Tyson Ross opened the game by striking out Nationals center fielder Denard Span. Then the skies opened up, and for only the fifth time in the history of Petco Park, a Padres game was delayed by rain. One hour, 56 minutes later, the game resumed with third baseman Yunel Escobar softly grounding out to Padres first baseman Will Middlebrooks. Ross then struck out left fielder Jayson Werth swinging to end the Nats' half of the inning. Right-hander Doug Fister quickly...