Mark Zuckerman

Nats shut out for third time in five games, lose 2-0 (updated)

June 16, 2018, 2:41pm

TORONTO - The Nationals, as currently constructed, know they have to win on the broad shoulders of their pitching staff, especially ace Max Scherzer. They also know there isn't a pitching performance in the history of baseball that could overcome a string of nine zeros by their lineup. And so it didn't matter that Scherzer today recorded the 74th double-digit strikeout game of his career, a mark only seven pitchers have ever topped. It didn't matter that Scherzer retired the first eight...

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Adams' finger in splint, X-rays inconclusive (Nats lose 2-0)

June 16, 2018, 11:19am

Nationals

Adams' finger in splint, X-rays inconclusive (Nats lose 2-0)

TORONTO - Matt Adams, as surmised, is not in the Nationals lineup this afternoon. Now the club can only wait to find out how many more games (if any) the slugger is going to need to miss with an injured left index finger. Adams, who was struck by a pitch while squaring around to bunt Friday night, had an X-ray taken after the game, the results of which appear to have been inconclusive. Manager Davey Martinez said, "it didn't really show much." "You can't even tell," Martinez said when...

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Game 67 lineups: Nats at Blue Jays

June 16, 2018, 8:36am

Nationals

TORONTO - The Nationals' unfamiliarity with Rogers Centre cost them during Friday night's 6-5 loss. Perhaps now that they've experienced this unique ballpark a little bit, they won't be victimized by it in the second game of their weekend series with the Blue Jays. It doesn't hurt, of course, to have Max Scherzer on the mound. The ace has made four prior starts here in his career, and all he's done is go 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA, 32 strikeouts and only five walks. And this was the Detroit...

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On Adams' swollen finger and Eaton's quick out in the ninth

June 15, 2018, 9:09pm

Nationals

On Adams' swollen finger and Eaton's quick out in the ninth

TORONTO - Matt Adams finished the at-bat, and he played another inning in the field, but deep down the Nationals first baseman knew his left index finger was in no real condition to continue playing after it was struck by a pitch in the top of the second Friday night. "I mean, I knew from the get-go it was bad, but I wanted to do everything I could to stay out there," he said. "I don't like coming out of the games and putting other guys in a tough position. So, tough situation." Yes, and...

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Against a late Canadian dusk, a lost ball costs the Nats

June 15, 2018, 7:05pm

Nationals

Against a late Canadian dusk, a lost ball costs the Nats

TORONTO - The ball came off Teoscar HernÃ¡ndez's bat, went high in the air toward right field and left just about everyone inside Rogers Centre assuming it would fall harmlessly into Adam Eaton's glove for the first out in the bottom of the seventh. Alas, both Eaton and Gio Gonzalez knew otherwise. Because each knew the same thing: They had no clue where the ball was, hidden somewhere in the post-9 p.m., mid-June Canadian dusk. "As soon as it goes up, it's a pretty helpless feeling,"...

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Misplay in right, subsequent homer send Nats to 6-5 loss to Jays

June 15, 2018, 5:44pm

Nationals

Misplay in right, subsequent homer send Nats to 6-5 loss to Jays

TORONTO - The Nationals put themselves in a position to win tonight's series opener at Rogers Centre with a late rally, but it would have required spotless relief and airtight defense, and they received neither. A misplay in right field by Adam Eaton in the bottom of the seventh turned a routine fly ball into a costly double, and Justin Miller's first poor relief outing in the majors or minors this season turned the game into a 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays. Summoned to try to pitch out of a jam...

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Adams departs after taking pitch off left hand (Nats lose 6-5)

June 15, 2018, 4:04pm

Nationals

Adams departs after taking pitch off left hand (Nats lose 6-5)

TORONTO - Matt Adams had been one of the few members of the Nationals lineup to avoid injury so far this season. Add the big first baseman to the list now. Adams had to depart tonight's game before the bottom of the third, one inning after he took a pitch off his left hand while squaring around to bunt the previous inning. Leading off the top of the second and facing the exaggerated infield shift he has seen from most opponents this season, Adams decided to try to surprise the Blue Jays and...

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Lineup, outfield decisions for Martinez this weekend

June 15, 2018, 2:24pm

Nationals

Lineup, outfield decisions for Martinez this weekend

TORONTO - A week's worth of games in American League ballparks is allowing Davey Martinez to ease Daniel Murphy into action as designated hitter, but it's also forcing the Nationals manager to sit one of his four healthy starting-caliber outfielders, creating daily lineup decisions. With right-hander Aaron Sanchez starting for the Blue Jays in tonight's series opener at Rogers Centre, Martinez is sticking with the same arrangement that produced five runs against the Yankees on Wednesday....

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Game 66 lineups: Nats at Blue Jays

June 15, 2018, 11:31am

Nationals

TORONTO - A very pleasant good day to you from Rogers Centre, where the Nationals are making their first appearance since 2012, when their 19-year-old slugger was asked a clown question by a Canadian reporter. What does this weekend have in store for the lads in curly W caps? The Nats face a reeling Blue Jays club that opened the season 13-6 and has since gone 17-32, including a three-game sweep at Tampa Bay to begin this week. They'll hope to take advantage of that, and the generally friendly...

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Friday morning news and notes from Toronto

June 14, 2018, 2:57pm

Nationals

Friday morning news and notes from Toronto

TORONTO - Some Friday morning news and notes for you as the Nationals prepare to play their first series north of the border since a 19-year-old Bryce Harper was asked a "clown question" back in 2012 ... * Erick Fedde's second big league start of the season was less impressive than his first start, but this one was a far tougher assignment. After getting his feet wet against a Padres lineup that scores 3.87 runs per game (sixth-worst in the majors), the rookie right-hander had to go up...

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An ownership change in name, but not in intentions

June 14, 2018, 9:26am

Nationals

An ownership change in name, but not in intentions

TORONTO - From the day he purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006, Ted Lerner made it clear this would - and always would - be a family-run operation. Though the patriarch of one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Washington would have final say over any organizational decisions, he insisted none would be made without consultation of the seven other top members of the club's ownership group: his wife, Annette; his son, Mark; his daughters, Debra and Marla;...

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With Miller's surprising emergence, Nats bullpen a strength again

June 13, 2018, 9:09pm

Nationals

With Miller's surprising emergence, Nats bullpen a strength again

NEW YORK - Juan Soto stole the show Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. But let's not ignore the job the Nationals bullpen did to ensure Soto's two homers made the difference in a 5-4 victory instead of being mere footnotes in another frustrating loss. After starter Erick Fedde departed, having allowed four runs in five innings, the quartet of Justin Miller, Sammy SolÃs, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle combined to pitch four scoreless frames, the final three while protecting a one-run...

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Soto's star shines brighter than ever in Nats' win (updated)

June 13, 2018, 6:25pm

Nationals

Soto's star shines brighter than ever in Nats' win (updated)

NEW YORK - Under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, a young left-handed slugger from Washington wowed a crowd of 45,030 (and the assembled New York media) with a prodigious display of power that surely left plenty around here dreaming he might someday wear the fabled pinstripes. And we're not talking about Bryce Harper, folks. No, the star slugger on this evening was Juan Soto, the 19-year-old who has taken the majors by storm since his arrival three weeks ago. And he took everything to new...

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Scoreless streak ends at 19 innings (Nats win 5-4)

June 13, 2018, 4:02pm

Nationals

Scoreless streak ends at 19 innings (Nats win 5-4)

NEW YORK - The Nationals' scoreless streak has mercifully come to an end. With a top-of-the-first rally tonight at Yankee Stadium, the Nats plated their first run since Saturday, snapping their streak at 19 consecutive scoreless innings. Adam Eaton got things started with a leadoff double off Sonny Gray, then advanced to third on Trea Turner's infield single. Turner promptly stole second base, recording the 100th steal of his career in the process. The Nationals, though, missed an opportunity...

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Murphy, Harper healthy after Tuesday's game and back in lineup

June 13, 2018, 2:15pm

Nationals

Murphy, Harper healthy after Tuesday's game and back in lineup

NEW YORK - Davey Martinez met with Daniel Murphy earlier today to check on the veteran's health status coming out of his season debut Tuesday night. Murphy told him his surgically repaired knee felt fine, but the manager probably didn't need that confirmation. By simply watching Murphy's postgame routine, he knew he was good to go. Fifteen minutes after the Nationals' 3-0 loss to the Yankees was completed, Murphy could be heard hacking at pitches in the batting tunnel outside the visitors'...

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Game 65 lineups: Nats at Yankees

June 13, 2018, 11:35am

Nationals

NEW YORK - The Nationals have been shut out in back-to-back games for the 12th time in club history. They've never been shut out in back-to-back-to-back games, so there's the minimum bar for success in tonight's series finale at Yankee Stadium. After flailing away at C.C. Sabathia and three Yankees relievers Tuesday night, the Nats will get a shot tonight at right-hander Sonny Gray, who enters with a 4.81 ERA but has allowed only one run over his last 14 innings. Daniel Murphy, who was...

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Why Nats didn't retaliate for Harper plunkings

June 12, 2018, 9:14pm

Nationals

Why Nats didn't retaliate for Harper plunkings

NEW YORK - Some more thoughts and reactions from Tuesday night's 3-0 loss to the Yankees, plus a look ahead to tonight's game in the Bronx ... * A good number of fans wanted to know why the Nationals didn't immediately retaliate after Bryce Harper was twice hit by pitches late in the game. To which I'd reply: Harper wasn't upset by any of it. And also, did you actually watch what transpired? Look, nobody was happy that Harper got drilled twice, in the right elbow by CC Sabathia and in the...

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Harper OK after getting hit, Nats lineup not OK after latest shutout

June 12, 2018, 7:19pm

Nationals

Harper OK after getting hit, Nats lineup not OK after latest shutout

NEW YORK - The scene - Bryce Harper getting hit by a pitch on his left foot, taking a few steps toward first base and then retreating to the dugout before a Nationals trainer could even emerge to check on him - looked bad, not only to the casual observer watching the game but to the man who suddenly had to find a replacement for his star slugger. "Yeah, I was really worried," manager Davey Martinez admitted. Once the Nationals' 3-0 loss to the Yankees was complete, though, Harper - who also...

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Fortified Nats lineup loses Harper to injury, gets shut out again

June 12, 2018, 5:57pm

Nationals

Fortified Nats lineup loses Harper to injury, gets shut out again

NEW YORK - Though their lineup is not yet at full strength, the return of Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy in recent days did give the Nationals batting order a more formidable look for the first time all season. The results, though, were painfully familiar tonight, no matter who had been added to the mix. The Nationals were shut out for the second straight game, dropping their interleague series opener to the Yankees 3-0 and losing Bryce Harper to a potential left foot injury in the...

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Fedde lined up to face Yankees on Wednesday (Nats lose 3-0)

June 12, 2018, 3:30pm

Nationals

Fedde lined up to face Yankees on Wednesday (Nats lose 3-0)

NEW YORK - Though they weren't ready to announce anything this afternoon, the Nationals are preparing to recall Erick Fedde from Triple-A Syracuse and send the right-hander to the mound for Wednesday's series finale at Yankee Stadium. Stephen Strasburg would have been scheduled to make the start, but he departed his last outing with shoulder inflammation and was subsequently placed on the disabled list. Fedde also last pitched Friday for Syracuse, so that makes him available for this...