Mark Zuckerman

Eaton encouraged after surgery, wants to return in six weeks

May 15, 2018, 2:20pm

Adam Eaton has heard the reactions since he woke up from arthroscopic surgery Thursday in Green Bay and the baseball world was informed of the procedure he had to remove a flap of cartilage from his left ankle. Today, the Nationals outfielder sought to allay fears that came with that news by declaring his goal to return to the active roster in six weeks. "It's going to be soon," Eaton said, seated at his locker with his lower left leg in a cast that was due to be removed later in the day....

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Game 43 lineups: Nats vs. Yankees

May 15, 2018, 11:28am

Nationals

Hello from South Capitol Street, where the Nationals are home for the next week-and-a-half, hosting a pair of marquee opponents (Yankees, Dodgers) and then the Padres. The matchups don't get much bigger than what's on tap the next two nights (weather permitting). No two teams in baseball are hotter right now than the Nats (who have won 13 of 15) and the Yanks (who have won 19 of 22). It'll be up to Gio Gonzalez to try to contain that ferocious New York lineup tonight, a lineup that is loaded...

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How the Nationals have won 13 of 15 and righted their ship

May 14, 2018, 9:04pm

Nationals

At the end of play on April 28, the Nationals didn't very much look like a legitimate contender. With an 11-16 record, they found themselves in fourth place in the National League East, a full six games back of the first-place Mets, a full 4 1/2 games back of the third-place Braves. Only three teams in the NL had worse records, and all were among the group of franchises known to be tanking this season: the Padres, Marlins and Reds. So what happened? Well, since then, all the Nationals have...

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Monday morning Q&A from 33,000 feet above America

May 13, 2018, 10:53pm

Nationals

Monday morning Q&A from 33,000 feet above America

So I'm flying home from Phoenix today, and what better way to pass the time than by chatting with all of you! (Who needs Netflix?) There's plenty to discuss at the end of an eventful road trip that included a 6-1 record, a bunch of injures, dominant pitching performances, surprising offensive performances and six trips by Nationals relievers on the Chase Field bullpen cart. My flight is scheduled to depart Sky Harbor International Airport at 11:15 a.m. EDT and land at Dulles International...

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After long winter, spring at home, Reynolds debuts with a bang

May 13, 2018, 8:48pm

Nationals

After long winter, spring at home, Reynolds debuts with a bang

PHOENIX - As he sat around his house in Charlotte, N.C., all winter - and well into the spring, for that matter - Mark Reynolds battled conflicting emotions. There certainly was a relaxing element to all this, with an opportunity to coach his kids, play golf and enjoy an actual spring break for the first time "since I probably was, like, 8," he said. And yet there was an obvious void for the 34-year-old, who had missed all those previous spring breaks because he was in Arizona or Florida...

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Reynolds powers Nats to 6-4 win, four-game sweep of D-backs

May 13, 2018, 7:16pm

Nationals

Reynolds powers Nats to 6-4 win, four-game sweep of D-backs

PHOENIX - For a month and a half now, the Nationals have overcome a host of injuries to regulars thanks to some unlikely performances from guys who they've been forced to add to their big league roster along the way. Mark Reynolds just joined that club tonight with a most impressive debut in a most familiar setting. Reynolds, the veteran slugger who played the first four seasons of his career with the Diamondbacks before embarking on a meandering journey that on Saturday featured a promotion...

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After near misses, Harper finally homers in Arizona (Nats win 6-4)

May 13, 2018, 5:16pm

Nationals

After near misses, Harper finally homers in Arizona (Nats win 6-4)

PHOENIX - Bryce Harper spent all weekend crushing pitches to every corner of Chase Field without having anything to show for it. Finally, tonight he launched one farther than the park or its newly installed humidor could contain. With a green light on a 3-0 pitch from Zack Godley in the top of the third, Harper sent a 448-foot home run soaring into the back of the right field bleachers, only a few rows shy of a bright red truck on display on the concourse. Harper's 13th home run of the season,...

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Scherzer to face Yanks, Rendon gets day off thanks to Reynolds

May 13, 2018, 3:11pm

Nationals

Scherzer to face Yanks, Rendon gets day off thanks to Reynolds

PHOENIX - An unusual quirk in the schedule this week gave the Nationals the option to tweak their rotation, and they've decided to take advantage of it and move Max Scherzer up in the order so he can face the Yankees. With off-days scheduled for both Monday and Thursday around the two-day interleague series at Nationals Park, the team was afforded the chance to either give everybody extra rest or rearrange things so Scherzer could both stay on turn and face the most productive lineup in...

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Game 42 lineups: Nats at Diamondbacks

May 13, 2018, 12:33pm

Nationals

PHOENIX - What a weekend it's been for the Nationals. They learned Adam Eaton needed arthroscopic ankle surgery. They lost Matt Wieters to a hamstring strain (and possibly a knee injury as well). They lost Ryan Zimmerman to an oblique strain. Not good, any of that. Oh, and they also won the first three games of this series against the best team in the National League. Despite all their injury woes, the Nats are playing their best baseball of the season. They've won 12 of 14 overall, they've...

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On Strasburg's velocity, outs on the bases and blocking the plate

May 12, 2018, 11:23pm

Nationals

On Strasburg's velocity, outs on the bases and blocking the plate

PHOENIX - More from Saturday's 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks to help tide you over before the Nationals' series finale on Sunday Night Baseball ... * When Stephen Strasburg was giving up frozen-rope singles and then plunking opposing batters in the bottom of the first, all with a fastball that was registering only 92-93 mph, a few red flags went up in the Nationals dugout. It didn't help when everyone could see the right-hander massaging and stretching out his neck a few times. "We...

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SolÃs, Kelley, Madson finish off another close win for Nats

May 12, 2018, 5:02pm

Nationals

SolÃs, Kelley, Madson finish off another close win for Nats

PHOENIX - Much as he wants to hand the ball to Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle every chance he gets while holding a slim lead late in games, Davey Martinez knows those three elite relievers won't make it to September if he keeps calling their names over and over and over. No, there are five other relievers sitting in that bullpen every night, and sometimes they have to be the ones to take the mound in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings and try to secure a victory for the...

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Behind "B" bullpen, Nationals eke out 2-1 win over D-backs

May 12, 2018, 3:22pm

Nationals

PHOENIX - If the Nationals are going to insist on playing low-scoring, tight ballgames every night, Davey Martinez is going to have no choice but to ask the members of his "B" bullpen to record some key late outs every once in a while. Such was the case this afternoon at Chase Field, where Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle were unavailable after pitching the previous two nights (both low-scoring victories) and Ryan Madson was being saved to pitch the ninth. So it was that Martinez asked...

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Zimmerman to DL with oblique strain, Reynolds called up (Nats win 2-1)

May 12, 2018, 11:38am

Nationals

Zimmerman to DL with oblique strain, Reynolds called up (Nats win 2-1)

PHOENIX - The sore back that prevented Ryan Zimmerman from playing in five of the Nationals' last seven games has now landed him on the disabled list. The Nationals placed Zimmerman on the 10-day DL today with what the club called a right oblique strain and purchased the contract of veteran slugger Mark Reynolds from Triple-A Syracuse to take his place and provide another right-handed bat off the bench (and quite possibly in the lineup). Needing to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for...

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Game 41 lineups: Nats at Diamondbacks

May 12, 2018, 9:36am

Nationals

PHOENIX - With two games left to play, the Nationals have already locked up a winning record on this seven-game road trip through San Diego and Arizona. They'd like to do even better than that, though, and today they have an opportunity to take three in a row from the Diamondbacks, owners of the National League's best record to date. Stephen Strasburg takes the mound for this afternoon's game, looking to keep the train rolling after excellent starts the last two nights by Tanner Roark and...

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With Wieters on DL, Severino ready to take over as top catcher

May 11, 2018, 9:39pm

Nationals

With Wieters on DL, Severino ready to take over as top catcher

PHOENIX - For several years, Pedro Severino has been waiting for an opportunity to show the Nationals what he can do catching in the big leagues on a regular basis. And for several years, the Nats have been intrigued at the prospect of Severino playing on a regular basis but unwilling to go all-in on him while trying to contend for a title. They have no choice but to find out now. With Matt Wieters on the disabled list and expected to miss significant time with a strained hamstring, Severino...

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With early escape, Scherzer sets tone in Nationals' latest win

May 11, 2018, 9:12pm

Nationals

PHOENIX - Max Scherzer likes to say that a starter's outings are most defined by his final 15 pitches. And so often that has been the case for the Nationals ace during his remarkable and sustained run of excellence. Sometimes, though, the most important pitches come earlier. Much earlier. As he proved tonight during the Nationals' 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks, Scherzer's first 15 pitches were far more important than his final 15. When Trea Turner led off the game with a home run to left,...

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Scherzer piling up strikeouts and RBIs (Nats win 3-1)

May 11, 2018, 6:47pm

Nationals

Scherzer piling up strikeouts and RBIs (Nats win 3-1)

PHOENIX - Strikeouts may be up across baseball, but Max Scherzer is taking it to levels few ever dreamed of reaching. On the heels of a 15-strikeout performance in his most recent start, Scherzer already has eight of them through three innings tonight against the Diamondbacks. Not that the Nationals ace has been perfect, far from it. He had to pitch out of jams in both the first and second innings, stranding a runner on third base. And he served up a solo homer to David Peralta in the bottom of...

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Wieters placed on 10-day DL, Kieboom promoted (updated)

May 11, 2018, 2:18pm

Nationals

Wieters placed on 10-day DL, Kieboom promoted (updated)

PHOENIX - The Nationals, as expected, placed Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list today with a left hamstring strain, though the club has not yet announced what this morning's MRI of the catcher's injured left leg revealed. Wieters hurt himself rounding first base during the top of the second inning of Thursday night's 2-1, 11-inning win over the Diamondbacks, his left leg buckling. Afterward, he said he was hopeful the injury was confined to his hamstring, though the MRI was scheduled...

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Game 40 lineups: Nats at Diamondbacks

May 11, 2018, 2:15pm

Nationals

PHOENIX - It was only a few weeks ago when the Nationals kept needing Max Scherzer to be their stopper and put an end to losing streaks. Now they just want their ace to keep the team rolling while it's playing some exceptional baseball. Tonight the Nationals seek their 11th win in 13 games, a sustained hot streak that has allowed them to move from five games under the .500 mark to three games over. And who better to have on the mound than Scherzer, who comes into this game 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA...

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Doolittle rides bullpen cart, raves about its benefits

May 11, 2018, 12:38am

Nationals

Doolittle rides bullpen cart, raves about its benefits

PHOENIX - It wasn't anywhere close to the most important thing that happened Thursday for the Nationals, paling in comparison to Adam Eaton's ankle surgery, Matt Wieters' hamstring and/or knee injury, Tanner Roark's outstanding seven-inning start, Matt Adams' RBI single in the 11th or the overall bullpen effort that made the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks possible. But it certainly qualified as the most fun moment of the night: Sean Doolittle's entrance for the bottom of the...