Game 95 lineups: Nats at Diamondbacks

Game 95 lineups: Nats at Diamondbacks
PHOENIX - Hello from Chase Field, where the roof is closed and the air conditioning is cranked up (thank God). It's a scorcher here in the Valley of the Sun, with temperatures actually below normal (101 degrees, as we speak) but the humidity unusually high. Welcome to monsoon season. No, seriously, you can look it up. Anyway, the Nationals wrap up their long and winding road trip with a weekend series against a very good Diamondbacks club that currently holds the top wild card spot in the...
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How Madson and Doolittle have evolved into elite relievers

How Madson and Doolittle have evolved into elite relievers
PHOENIX - The arrival this week of Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle to the Nationals clubhouse was met with considerable exuberance. And why not, given the significance of the addition of two relievers with experience delivering in big moments to a bullpen that had all but lost the confidence of the rest of the roster. "It kind of sets your mind at ease," left fielder and unofficial clubhouse spokesman Jayson Werth said. "You've got some guys that have been there, been in the fire, been...
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Injuries continue to force Baker to cobble together top of lineup

Injuries continue to force Baker to cobble together top of lineup
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It's part of any manager's job, trying to compensate for injuries, but the challenge for Dusty Baker over the last several weeks has been amplified. Baker already lost leadoff man Adam Eaton to a torn ACL at the end of April. Then he lost No. 2 hitter Jayson Werth to a significant bone bruise and slight fracture of his left foot in early June. Then he lost another top-of-the-order bat, Trea Turner, to a fractured wrist at the end of June. In the wake of all that, Baker has...
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In long-awaited start vs. original club, Meyer one-hits Nationals

In long-awaited start vs. original club, Meyer one-hits Nationals
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Alex Meyer's name doesn't garner much reaction from most current members of the Nationals or most members of a fan base that barely remembers the club using a first-round pick on the big right-hander way back in 2011. The handful of players who spent time with Meyer in the low minor leagues for one season, though, have fond memories of him. And the 6-foot-9 hurler, whose career hasn't panned out quite as he once hoped, still has kind words to say about the franchise that...
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Meyer cruising against former organization (Nats lose 7-0)

Meyer cruising against former organization (Nats lose 7-0)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Alex Meyer's career hasn't panned out as originally hoped, but the Nationals drafted the big right-hander in the first round back in 2011 for a reason. And Meyer is showing exactly why tonight - against his former club. Meyer, now pitching for the Angels, has retired the first 12 batters he's faced, baffling one of the most potent lineups in baseball through four perfect innings so far. The Nationals have hit a few balls hard, and Daniel Murphy was robbed of a potential...
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Ross has Tommy John surgery, plus other injury updates

Ross has Tommy John surgery, plus other injury updates
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Joe Ross had Tommy John surgery this morning, a procedure that the Nationals said went smoothly but nonetheless will sideline the right-hander until at least the middle of the 2018 season. Ross had the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow replaced in Dallas by orthopedist Keith Meister, who reported it "went well," according to manager Dusty Baker. The typical timeline for pitchers returning from the surgery is 12 to 18 months, giving Ross a chance to contribute for...
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Game 94 lineups: Nats at Angels

Game 94 lineups: Nats at Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Did you know the Nationals haven't lost a baseball game in 11 days? OK, so that's a bit misleading when you consider four of those days included the All-Star break. Nevertheless, the Nats will carry a six-game winning streak into tonight's contest against the Angels, seeking to sweep this abbreviated, two-game interleague series. They'll attempt to do so without Bryce Harper in the lineup. As both the right fielder and Dusty Baker explained last night, they collectively...
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Harper turns it up a notch with near-cycle vs. Trout's Angels

Harper turns it up a notch with near-cycle vs. Trout's Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Maybe it was the presence of Mike Trout in the opposing dugout. Maybe it was the knowledge he was getting the next day off. Maybe it was just another ballgame and the opportunity to show off his skills like he does so many other nights. Whatever the case, it was hard to watch Tuesday night's game at Angel Stadium and not believe Bryce Harper was particularly motivated to do something special. And Harper indeed did something special during the Nationals' 4-3 victory. He went...
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Trio of newcomers pitch Nationals to tense win over Angels

Trio of newcomers pitch Nationals to tense win over Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Dusty Baker handed the ball to three pitchers during tonight's 4-3 victory over the Angels. Not one was a member of the active roster until 2:30 p.m., each summoned to join this staff at this particular moment in time out of necessity. Edwin Jackson was here because Joe Ross blew out his elbow and suddenly this team with All-Stars anchoring its rotation needed a fifth starter. The 33-year-old journeyman promptly threw seven innings of two-run, three-hit ball to earn his first...
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Fracture and bone bruise keeping Werth out (Nats win 4-3)

Fracture and bone bruise keeping Werth out (Nats win 4-3)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jayson Werth is back with the Nationals, and that part he likes. But he's not back playing with the Nationals, and likely won't be for some time with his left foot still ailing, and that part he does not like. "It's doing better," Werth said this afternoon. "It's just frustrating because this injury, the bone that's injured is crucial for running." The bone that's injured is the first metatarsal, the large bone at the base of his big toe. And in addition to the bone...
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No designated closer (yet) between Madson and Doolittle

No designated closer (yet) between Madson and Doolittle
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle are both here, both wearing Nationals uniforms - Madson wearing No. 44, Doolittle wearing No. 62 - and both insist they're ready and available for whatever role Dusty Baker envisions for the newly acquired relievers. What roles exactly will those be? Well, the answer for now is a simple-yet-unsatisfying one: Baker doesn't know. Madson and Doolittle certainly will be pitching late innings for the Nationals, particularly when they hold a lead....
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Game 93 lineups: Nats at Angels

Game 93 lineups: Nats at Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Nationals have made only two previous trips to Angel Stadium in their history, and boy were they eventful. In 2005, Frank Robinson (with some help from Jose Guillen) fought Mike Scioscia. In 2011, Davey Johnson returned to a big league dugout for the first time in a decade. Now, in 2017, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson officially join the Nats, and Edwin Jackson officially rejoins the Nats after five years away. The club announced its flurry of roster moves this afternoon....
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Eventful night in Anaheim ahead for ever-changing Nationals

Eventful night in Anaheim ahead for ever-changing Nationals
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Hello from Orange County, home of Disneyland, reality TV stars and - for a quick two nights - the ever-changing Washington Nationals. Fresh off a four-game sweep in Cincinnati, the Nats have made their way west for the second and third legs of a strange road trip to open the season's second half. They'll play two against the Angels, then fly to Phoenix for three with the Diamondbacks before finally heading home for the first time in a long time. There are going to be no...
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Thoughts on the Nationals' blockbuster bullpen trade

Thoughts on the Nationals' blockbuster bullpen trade
We knew it was coming, there wasn't any question about that. We only didn't know when it was coming, whether the Nationals would be able to strike a big deal to address their bullpen early in the summer or whether they would have to wait until the final flurry at the July 31 trade deadline to fix the most glaring hole on their roster. So when it did happen Sunday, it was both surprising and completely predictable, all at the same time. Of course Mike Rizzo and Billy Beane were going to...
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Nationals hope to return recharged after All-Star break

Nationals hope to return recharged after All-Star break
Rarely does anyone ever try to claim the All-Star break came at a bad time. Just about every team in baseball happily takes the four-day midsummer hiatus offered to the entire league, uses that time to rest up physically and mentally and then returns recharged for the second half of the season. The Nationals certainly fall in that category. They limped a bit into the All-Star break, having played 36 games in 38 days, going 19-17 over that span, while also sending five key players to the...
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Solís optioned to Syracuse, weekend rotation announced

Solís optioned to Syracuse, weekend rotation announced
The Nationals will open the second half of their season Friday with at least one change to their roster. Struggling reliever Sammy Solís was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, the club announced today. A corresponding move will be made before Friday's second-half opener in Cincinnati. Solís' demotion comes less than two weeks after he was activated off the disabled list following a long rehab from nerve inflammation in his elbow. The left-hander, who had been out 2 1/2 months, surrendered a...
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Top second-half storylines for the Nationals

Top second-half storylines for the Nationals
As the second half of the season arrives, we have a pretty good idea just what the 2017 Nationals are. This is perhaps the most talented team they've had during their now-six-year run of contention, with an imposing and deep lineup, dominant starters atop the rotation and an experienced and productive bench. This is also, of course, a team with one gigantic hole that could blow the entire thing up: a bullpen that desperately needs a midseason makeover. There's also reason to be concerned...
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Nationals' first-half report card

Nationals' first-half report card
Hope everybody enjoyed the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game the last two nights. One proved to be quite an exciting event. The other proved to be kind of a boring event. But it was nonetheless something to see four Nationals starting for the National League, especially when the camera would pan to the right side of the field and the screen would be awash with curly Ws. Now that the festivities are over, though, it's time for the actual break part of the All-Star break. There are no games on...
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Zimmerman is a "completely different" All-Star eight years later

Zimmerman is a "completely different" All-Star eight years later
It wasn't exactly a joyous occasion for Ryan Zimmerman. Sure, he was excited to be an All-Star for the first time in his career, but his trip to St. Louis for the 2009 Midsummer Classic coincided with several developments that were not to be celebrated. Only five days earlier, Zimmerman's grandmother Ilene had died, forcing him to leave the Nationals and head to North Carolina for her funeral. He rejoined the club in Houston in time for the club's first-half finale - a 5-0 loss, the lone...
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Despite rough stretch, Nationals in strong position at the break

Despite rough stretch, Nationals in strong position at the break
When the Nationals convened at Oakland Coliseum way back on June 2, having just enjoyed a lovely day off in the Bay Area, they knew they were about to begin a particularly difficult and prolonged stretch that would take them right up to the All-Star break. Staring at the Nats at that moment were 20 games in 20 days, then after one day off, another 17 games in 17 games before they at last could enjoy a breather. It was daunting, but this also was a team that not only was playing well but was...
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