After a much-deserved day off, the Nationals are back to work tonight, opening a very quick, two-game interleague series with the Angels. What would have been a marquee matchup between Mike Trout and Bryce Harper unfortunately doesn't carry the same luster anymore, with Harper on the disabled list after injuring his knee Saturday night. So that one head-to-head showdown between the two stars last month in Anaheim will have to suffice.
Gio Gonzalez makes the start, seeking a better result than...
It was quite an eventful weekend on South Capitol Street, between the weather, Bryce Harper's injury, three games in just over 24 hours, a walk-off grand slam and other assorted developments. The Nationals needed a day off yesterday (and, I suppose, so did some reporters) but everyone's back to work today, with the Angels coming to town for a quick, two-game series.
Before we get to that, let's spend some time this morning taking your questions. As always, submit them in the comments section...
As he tried to put Bryce Harper's knee injury into context with the rest of the ailments that have been suffered by the Nationals this summer, Mike Rizzo managed to crack a quick smile with one line.
"We've got some significant WAR on the disabled list right now," the general manager said. "And we're still playing extremely well."
Indeed, the Nationals already had Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, Jayson Werth, Michael A. Taylor, Stephen Strasburg, Joe Ross, Stephen Drew, Shawn Kelley and Koda...
They played three games in just slightly more than 24 hours, losing their biggest star to injury along the way and needing extra innings at the end of a really long day. After all that, at least the Nationals could say they walked away having won this rapid-fire series against the Giants.
With a 6-2, 11-inning victory this evening made possible by Howie Kendrick's walk-off grand slam, the Nationals salvaged a doubleheader split. Combined with their rain-delayed win Saturday night (and early...
Bryce Harper's initial thought when he fell to the ground in heap Friday night? The same as everyone who was watching it in the stadium and on television: He might have suffered a major knee injury to end his season.
"Of course, you're going to think the worst, and I'm one of the worst at it," Harper admitted this afternoon. "I think I'm going to die every time I have a stomachache. It's definitely a bad feeling."
But while the rest of the baseball-watching world woke up this morning...
The Nationals may have had their spirits lifted by the news that Bryce Harper's knee injury is not as serious as they initially feared, but that wasn't enough to overcome a lack of sleep (or the Giants pitching staff) during today's doubleheader opener on South Capitol Street.
Rookie right-hander Chris Stratton tossed seven scoreless innings, and the Nationals couldn't mount enough of a rally late during a 4-2 loss to San Francisco, a sour opening to a long day of baseball.
Taking the field...
Michael A. Taylor didn't expect it to take five weeks to return from a strained right oblique muscle. Then again, he also didn't expect to be summoned back to Washington this morning to replace an injured Bryce Harper.
Nevertheless, Taylor found himself boarding a plane in Hartford early this morning bound for Washington, then hitching a quick ride to Nationals Park to be in the clubhouse in time for today's doubleheader against the Giants.
Having already played both ends of Double-A...
Bryce Harper suffered a "significant" bone bruise inside his left knee but sustained no ligament or tendon damage, according to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, who said the starting right fielder could return to play before the end of the season.
That's a far more encouraging diagnosis than the Nationals initially feared late Saturday night when they watched Harper's left leg slip on first base, causing his knee to hyperextend before he fell to the ground in pain and had to be helped...
It's a beautiful day in Washington, D.C. Given everything that happened yesterday, here and nearby, at least we've got that.
The Nationals and Giants are playing two today, with the original game bumped up to 1:05 p.m. and the makeup of Friday night's game scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. Which means these teams will, in theory, be playing three games in 24 hours.
The bigger news, of course, involves Bryce Harper. We hope to have some kind of update shortly, so please stay tuned for that. In...
Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy have been managing against each other for the better part of the last two decades, their careers nearly running parallel.
Baker first became manager of the Giants in 1993, with Bochy hired by the Padres in 1995. Baker was fired by the Giants after the 2002 World Series; four years later, Bochy took over in San Francisco. Baker has since managed the Cubs, Reds and now Nationals; Bochy still remains with the Giants, owner of three World Series rings.
Along the way, the...
The Nationals' weekend opener against the Giants was postponed this evening due to rain, but not before another round of confusion and poor communication with a fan base that has grown increasingly frustrated by the club's handling of these situations.
With more rain in the forecast early Saturday, the two teams will play a day-night doubleheader on Sunday, with the originally scheduled 1:35 p.m. game bumped up to 1:05 p.m. and a makeup game now scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tickets for tonight's...
If you're expecting any fireworks this weekend between the Nationals and Giants, Dusty Baker is cautioning you not to get yourself worked up too much.
Yes, the last meeting between these clubs included a brawl. But it's been 2 1/2 months since then, and it really didn't stem from any beef between the Nats and Giants as a whole, but rather from San Francisco reliever Hunter Strickland, who three years after serving up two playoff homers to Bryce Harper decided to intentionally drill him with...
The last meeting between the Nationals and Giants was rather eventful. If you've forgotten, it involved Hunter Strickland, Bryce Harper and a three-year-old beef. That series took place way back on Memorial Day in San Francisco, and a lot has changed since then. So will there be any reason for any carryover this weekend? I've got to think probably not. What good does it do the Nationals, 15 games up in the division and trying to get everybody healthy for October, to instigate...
Sean Doolittle is a one-pitch pitcher. He's not afraid to admit it. As noted before, he's willing to throw the occasional slider or changeup, but at his core he's a fastball guy and he'll keep living and dying by that fastball.
Which is why, in part, the final at-bat of Thursday night's game at Nationals Park was so compelling.
With two outs and the tying runner on third base, Doolittle was facing Marlins leadoff man Dee Gordon. The left-hander kept pumping out high fastballs, and Gordon...
The Nationals expect to have a fully healthy lineup within a matter of weeks, with Michael A. Taylor set to return from the disabled list first, then Jayson Werth and Trea Turner following shortly after that. Which means Brian Goodwin is headed back to the bench in the near future, and Andrew Stevenson is likely headed back to the minors (at least until rosters expand in September).
As long as both rookie outfielders are here and wearing Nationals uniforms, though, they're going to keep...
Brian Goodwin may have slumped at times, and he may not have been able to duplicate the production the Nationals would have received from Adam Eaton or Michael A. Taylor had either of their top two center fielders been healthy all summer. But where would this team be without its third-stringer, who has more than held down the fort in the absence of others and has delivered more than his share of big hits along the way.
Just like he did tonight. Goodwin's leadoff homer in the bottom of the...
Trea Turner was out at his familiar shortstop position this afternoon, fielding grounders and making throws across the diamond for the first time since an errant fastball fractured his wrist six weeks ago He's been running nearly nonstop the entire time he's been on the disabled list.
All that's left for Turner to do is swing a bat, and that should be happening in the very near future after the Nationals leadoff man was cleared to begin rotational weight-lifting with right hand.
"That...
It's too early to actually write about these things, but because you're wondering (and because we're smack dab in the middle of the dog days right now) ... the Nationals' magic number to clinch the NL East is currently 37. Obviously, there's still a long way to go, but that's also a really low number for Aug. 10.
The Nats will have a chance to reduce that number to 35 tonight if they beat the Marlins again and take this four-game series from the division's current second-place squad....
There are few compliments one ballplayer can heap on another more telling than to refer to him as a "professional hitter."
It sounds silly, but that's the kind of designation that is reserved for only a select few, those who consistently produce the kind of quality at-bats that impress even the best this game has to offer.
So when Dusty Baker referred to Howie Kendrick last night by that term, you knew he meant it as the highest compliment.
"He knows how to hit," the Nationals manager...
Some athletes try to compartmentalize their professional lives and their personal lives, making sure not to let one impact the other. Gio Gonzalez just decides to embrace it all and enjoy both to the fullest, even if they sometimes intersect.
For the veteran left-hander, there was no way to separate the two this week, not with everything he experienced. Nine days ago, he nearly threw a no-hitter in Miami, on the night the Marlins were memorializing José Fernández on what would have been...