Mark Zuckerman

From last spot in lineup, Difo delivers four times

May 01, 2018, 7:53pm

Davey Martinez had Wilmer Difo bat ninth Tuesday night with a specific goal in mind, especially with Bryce Harper batting leadoff for the first time in five years. "Hey, you got one job to do," the Nationals manager told his young infielder. "And that's get on base." Well, technically speaking, Difo did get on base in his first at-bat. He just never stopped rounding them after launching a solo homer into the right-center field stands. "He hit the home run, he said: 'I got this guy!'"...

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In unfamiliar leadoff spot, Harper finds familiar power stroke

May 01, 2018, 7:25pm

Nationals

In unfamiliar leadoff spot, Harper finds familiar power stroke

Bryce Harper was out on the field at 3 p.m. today, joining injured teammates Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy for a round of early batting practice. It's the kind of a thing a player does when he's struggling, when he needs to work on some specific techniques or change his mechanics. For Harper, the early BP session had a simpler purpose. "Just hit some homers," he said. "Get some balls over the plate and do some damage." When opposing pitchers are giving you nothing to swing at all...

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Lineup shakeup leads to 12-4 blowout win for Nationals

May 01, 2018, 6:03pm

Nationals

Who knew the best way to induce an offensive explosion from the Nationals' lineup was to move Bryce Harper to the leadoff position, Matt Adams into Harper's customary No. 3 spot and drop Wilmer Difo to ninth? Hey, as manager Davey Martinez said the afternoon when asked about the unconventional decision to stick Harper at the top of his lineup: "Why not?" It may not become a permanent thing, but it certainly worked just fine tonight. Behind Harper's three-run blast, Adams' pair of solo...

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Murphy cuts workout short after trying to run, and more injury updates

May 01, 2018, 1:47pm

Nationals

Murphy cuts workout short after trying to run, and more injury updates

The sight of Daniel Murphy on the field at Nationals Park this afternoon, hitting balls over the fence during batting practice and moving well as he fielded grounders at second base, could be viewed as nothing but encouraging for a team and a fan base desperate for a boost to their struggling lineup. But the sight of Murphy pulling up short of first base as he tried to run after getting his surgically repaired right knee worked on by a trainer and abruptly halting today's workout could be...

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Game 30 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

May 01, 2018, 11:22am

Nationals

What's this? Do the Nationals have a chance tonight to go on - dare we say it? - a legitimate winning streak? They've won two in a row, and now they send Max Scherzer to the mound, a development that has produced a 5-1 record so far this season. Scherzer will need to keep up his winning ways tonight against the Pirates, and he'd certainly like to reach at least the seventh inning for the first time since April 14 against Colorado. He's working on an extra day of rest, so that should allow...

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As walks pile up, Harper growing impatient and chasing

April 30, 2018, 7:58pm

Nationals

As walks pile up, Harper growing impatient and chasing

With a pair of walks - both intentional - during Monday night's 3-2 win over the Pirates, Bryce Harper racked up his 37th and 38th free passes of the season. Only Barry Bonds, with 39 in 2004, has ever drawn more walks in March/April. Harper enters May with a .458 on-base percentage, tops in the majors. Which is a good thing. Except Harper isn't doing much else these days besides drawing walks, which is a bad thing. With only five hits in his last 35 at-bats - all of those singles - he has...

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Nats eke out a win, but one-run games are coming at a cost

April 30, 2018, 7:55pm

Nationals

Nats eke out a win, but one-run games are coming at a cost

Davey Martinez sat down for his postgame news conference, minutes after yet another nip-and-tuck affair, and sighed. "That was exciting," the Nationals manager said. "We've got to start scoring runs when we can. They're playing well, they really are. But when we have a chance to put teams away, we've got to start putting them away." It needs to be stressed at this point that the Nationals won tonight's game. They beat the Pirates 3-2 to produce their first two-game winning streak in two...

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Roark goes seven, tired bullpen finishes off 3-2 win over Bucs

April 30, 2018, 5:39pm

Nationals

Roark goes seven, tired bullpen finishes off 3-2 win over Bucs

The back end of the Nationals' bullpen would've loved a blowout win - and the respite that would accompany it - tonight. Alas, this team doesn't enjoy many blowout wins these days, last Wednesday's 15-2 thumping of the Giants serving as a distinct anomaly. So it should have come as no surprise to anyone inside Nationals Park tonight when the home team carried a one-run lead into the eighth, forcing Davey Martinez to once again coax high-stress innings from his overtaxed bullpen. Somehow,...

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Murphy returns from Florida, Rendon tests out toe in workout

April 30, 2018, 2:04pm

Nationals

Murphy returns from Florida, Rendon tests out toe in workout

They don't have any of their three key injured regulars back in the lineup tonight, but the Nationals did have a welcome visitor to their clubhouse this afternoon: Daniel Murphy. The veteran second baseman, who has yet to make his season debut following October knee surgery, made the trip up from West Palm Beach after two weeks spent at extended spring training. Murphy, who was briefly seen in the clubhouse before the Nationals took batting practice but did not speak to reporters, was...

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Game 29 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Suero promoted)

April 30, 2018, 11:21am

Nationals

Game 29 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Suero promoted)

Another day, another roster move for the Nationals, who have been burning up the transaction wire during a busier-than-expected opening month of the season. One day after calling up Austin Voth from Triple-A for the first time, the Nats sent the right-hander back to Syracuse and called up Wander Suero from Syracuse for the first time. The rationale behind it all: The Nationals desperately needed someone who could throw multiple innings in case of emergency Sunday, so Voth was the guy. But he's...

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Overworked relievers taking it day-by-day at end of long month

April 29, 2018, 8:26pm

Nationals

Overworked relievers taking it day-by-day at end of long month

As they gathered at Nationals Park on Sunday morning, Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle did a quick analysis of their respective statuses for the upcoming series finale against the Diamondbacks. All three relievers have been getting plenty of work through the season's first month, but given the state of things only one of them could reasonably be given the day off. So who was it going to be? Kintzler had thrown 12 pitches Saturday, but none the previous three days. Madson had...

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Martinez gives Gonzalez rope, lefty responds with big win

April 29, 2018, 2:05pm

Nationals

Martinez gives Gonzalez rope, lefty responds with big win

It was as animated as Gio Gonzalez had been during a postgame interview in several years. After getting pulled by new manager Davey Martinez following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth on Monday night in San Francisco, the veteran left-hander didn't hide his true feelings about the matter. "It sucks, because I want to be out there," said Gonzalez, who had thrown 94 pitches at the time of his exit. "Apparently, I've just got to some way, somehow convince (Martinez and pitching coach...

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Nats jump on D-backs early, then ride Gonzalez to 3-1 win

April 29, 2018, 12:25pm

Nationals

Nats jump on D-backs early, then ride Gonzalez to 3-1 win

The familiar elements were there. An early lead but missed opportunities to add on. A starter getting into trouble late in his outing, leaving the manager to decide whether to stick with him or turn to his struggling bullpen. And then some tense moments late as they tried to hang on for a much-needed win. The setup was familiar. The end result was not. The Nationals flipped the script for a change and hung on for a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks this afternoon, avoiding a weekend sweep and...

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Rendon unlikely to return until Tuesday at earliest (Nats win 3-1)

April 29, 2018, 10:02am

Nationals

Rendon unlikely to return until Tuesday at earliest (Nats win 3-1)

Anthony Rendon wasn't activated off the disabled list today even though he was eligible, but the Nationals third baseman appears to be close to returning from a bruised left big toe. Rendon hit, ran and took grounders this morning with no issues, manager Davey Martinez said. The Nationals weren't prepared to activate him off the 10-day DL yet, and Martinez said the move probably won't be made Monday, either, though it won't be much longer. "I'd probably say no (to being active Monday),...

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Voth gets first big league call, struggling A. Adams is optioned

April 29, 2018, 8:54am

Nationals

Voth gets first big league call, struggling A. Adams is optioned

Needing a fresh arm after using all seven of their relievers during Saturday's 10-inning loss, the Nationals optioned Austin L. Adams to Triple-A and promoted fellow right-hander Austin Voth from Syracuse for the first time. Adams was on the mound for the critical moment of the 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks, summoned by manager Davey Martinez with two on and one out in the top of the 10th to face Jarrod Dyson - Martinez expected the batter to be Chris Owings, but the pinch-hitter was never...

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Game 28 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

April 29, 2018, 6:29am

Nationals

It's been said on several occasions already this young season, but the Nationals really need a win today. They've already lost the first two games of this series to a very good Diamondbacks club, each by one run, and they simply can't afford another loss in today's finale at suddenly chilly and windy Nationals Park. Gio Gonzalez takes the mound for this one, on the heels of a start in San Francisco in which he was critical of manager Davey Martinez for pulling him after a leadoff walk in...

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What to make of the Nats' awful record in one-run games

April 27, 2018, 8:07pm

Nationals

What to make of the Nats' awful record in one-run games

Does a team's record in one-run games reveal anything about it? Is a good record in those tight games evidence of a team that just finds ways to win or a sign of good fortune? Is a bad record evidence of an unlucky team or one that has a fundamental flaw? We don't know yet which explanation applies to the 2018 Nationals. But we do know this: They've been terrible in one-run games so far. Friday night's 5-4 setback to the Diamondbacks left the Nats with a 1-7 record in one-run games, worst...

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Nats lament another night of missed chances

April 27, 2018, 7:33pm

Nationals

Nats lament another night of missed chances

Four runs, with Stephen Strasburg on the mound, probably should have been enough for the Nationals tonight. It would've been enough in any of his final 10 starts last season. This season, it's been a slightly different story. Three times in six starts, Strasburg has allowed four or more runs, including the five he surrendered to the Diamondbacks in 6 1/3 innings tonight. So you could pin the Nationals' 5-4 loss on the right-hander, who twice was handed a lead by his teammates and twice gave...

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Nationals drop another one-run game, lose 5-4 to D-backs

April 27, 2018, 6:07pm

Nationals

The depleted Nationals know they have little margin for error right now if they want to eke out victories in close ballgames. Once again tonight, they did just enough to put themselves in position to win, and then just enough to end up on the wrong side of the final tally. Despite several opportunities to bust the game open at the plate, and despite multiple opportunities for one of their aces to protect a slim lead, the Nationals found a way to lose 5-4 to a very good Diamondbacks club and...

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Rizzo on ever-changing roster: "Nobody said it would be easy"

April 27, 2018, 2:18pm

Nationals

Rizzo on ever-changing roster: "Nobody said it would be easy"

Mike Rizzo goes into every season knowing there will be unexpected ailments and performances that require roster changes. And the Nationals general manager goes into every season prepared to tap into as much depth as is necessary from his club's farm system. The first month of this season, though, is testing that depth like never before. "It's a grind, man," Rizzo said this afternoon before his fourth-place, 11-14 Nationals opened a 10-game homestand. "Nobody said it would be easy." Well,...