The Nationals will try to even their series with the Brewers tonight, and right fielder Bryce Harper will try to extend his 17-game hitting streak, which is already a career high. He's 28-for-64 (.426) with six doubles, one triple, seven homers, 17 RBIs, 12 walks and 23 runs scored during the streak.
Harper is also in the midst of a 25-game on-base streak, the second-longest of his career. During that span, he is slashing .398/.496/.724.
The Nats send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound...
It has at times been easy to overlook, because the group collectively continues to produce, but the Nationals do miss their injured position players.
How could any lineup not miss Jayson Werth, Trea Turner and Michael A. Taylor, who progressively have gone on the disabled list over the last six weeks?
"Do you want all your guys healthy? I think, of course," first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said after Tuesday night's 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the Brewers. "You look at the teams at the end of...
When the Nationals suddenly found themselves in need of a No. 5 starter during the All-Star break, they turned to an old friend. Edwin Jackson, who had recently returned to the organization for which he pitched five years earlier, was performing well at Triple-A Syracuse and was a logical replacement for the injured Joe Ross.
And when Jackson proceeded to dominate the Angels over seven sparkling innings last week in Anaheim, the Nationals might have tempted to believe their back-of-the-rotation...
Dusty Baker mentioned this afternoon he wanted to see the Nationals start playing better at home, noting in particular his team's struggles when it returns from the West Coast.
Tonight's performance in an 8-0 loss to the Brewers didn't do anything to allay Baker's fears. It only underscored his point.
Some sloppy defense, some poor hitting with runners in scoring position and a ragged start from Edwin Jackson all contributed to a lopsided loss to open this six-game homestand against teams...
The forearm discomfort that caused Stephen Strasburg to depart Sunday's start after only two innings was the result of nerve impingement, which has since been alleviated according to the Nationals, allowing the club to remain optimistic the right-hander will make his next scheduled start.
Strasburg played long-toss catch in the outfield at Nationals Park this afternoon, his typical routine four days before a start, further evidence neither he nor the team believes his ailment is serious.
"He...
There's only one National League team the Nationals have yet to see in person this season. That will change tonight when they take the field to face the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series. It's been a surprising year for Milwaukee, which took advantage of the Cubs and Cardinals' struggles to lead the Central Division for most of the last 3 1/2 months. Things have begun to slide, though, and now the lead over the Cubs is down to a half-game, with the Pirates lurking three games back...
There's a ballgame tonight at Nationals Park, the first such ballgame there in 16 days. Such is life when you have a three-city road trip coming out of the All-Star break.
The Nationals team that takes the field tonight will be markedly different than the one that was last seen here July 9, when Joe Ross departed with an injury that turned out to be a torn elbow ligament and Matt Albers closed out a 10-5 victory over the Braves.
Edwin Jackson is now the No. 5 starter. Ryan Madson and Sean...
It's a beautiful morning for a cross-country flight. (At least, I assume it is. I actually typed this last night.) After an eventful week out west, the Nationals are headed home and so is your trusty beat writer. No charter flight for me, though. No, it's Seat 27A on United Flight 236, departing Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at (gulp!) 6:25 a.m. MST and scheduled to arrive at Washington-Dulles International Airport at 1:43 p.m. EDT.
And what better way to pass the time than to...
PHOENIX - Stephen Strasburg has been through enough in eight seasons in the big leagues to have felt just about every possible ache and pain in just about every possible part of his body when he pitches. Perhaps he has dealt with more ailments than most, but if nothing else, that has helped him recognize which ailments he needs to worry about and which ones he does not.
So if you want to interpret Strasburg's explanation for his early departure today during the Nationals' 6-2 victory over the...
PHOENIX - They lost Stephen Strasburg to an apparent injury in the third inning. They lost Enny Romero to an apparent injury in the seventh inning. They had a makeshift lineup after losing two more outfielders on Saturday. They were facing an opponent with a potent lineup and an All-Star on the mound.
Recipe for disaster for the Nationals, right? No, not at all.
In spite of all those hurdles, the Nats somehow found a way to cobble together a 6-2 victory over the Diamondbacks this afternoon,...
PHOENIX - Despite their sudden influx of injuries, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he's not likely to look outside the organization for outfield help before next week's non-waiver trade deadline, believing at least some of his regulars will be back in early to mid-August.
Jayson Werth (fractured left foot) and Michael A. Taylor (strained right oblique) are both on the disabled list, with Werth transferred to the 60-day DL this morning. Chris Heisey (strained groin) was placed on the...
PHOENIX - In a perfect world, the Nationals wouldn't have promoted Andrew Stevenson to the big leagues for the first time in this manner, with a late-night phone call and an early-morning flight from Columbus to Phoenix in advance of a 1:10 p.m. ballgame.
But rarely does a baseball season play out perfectly, so when they lost Chris Heisey to a strained groin late in Saturday night's game against the Diamondbacks - after finding out earlier in the day Ryan Raburn needed to go on bereavement...
PHOENIX - It's another scorcher outside Chase Field, but thankfully the roof is closed inside and it'll be another comfortable day inside the big hangar for a ballgame as the Nationals and Diamondbacks wrap up their weekend series.
There's plenty of intrigue to this one, with the Nats scrambling to get enough healthy outfielders on site to field a starting lineup. No official word yet on the moves, but Ryan Raburn is heading to the bereavement list following his grandfather's death and...
PHOENIX - Already dealing with a thin outfield following the long-term injuries to two starters and their primary backup, the Nationals now may find themselves in a full-fledged outfield crisis for today's series finale against the Diamondbacks.
Ryan Raburn is going on the bereavement list today following his grandfather's death. And Chris Heisey may need to go on the disabled list after tweaking his groin during a key triple in Saturday night's 4-3 victory at Chase Field.
Even if Heisey can...
PHOENIX - There are two traits required to pitch the eighth and ninth innings in the big leagues. The obvious one is stuff, the exceptional repertoire of pitches that gives a guy the best chance to retire hitters with the game on the line.
But the other one, many believe, is more important. There's no one word for it, and some of them aren't clean enough to use on a family website, but let's just use the term Dusty Baker used tonight in describing why Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle were able...
PHOENIX - Others in the Nationals lineup may be slumping a bit right now. Bryce Harper most certainly is not.
The slugger continued his recent torrid stretch at the plate tonight, blasting a towering home run off Diamondbacks rookie Anthony Banda in the top of the first to give the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead at Chase Field.
Harper's homer against the lefty, who is making his major league debut, landed on the concourse that sits high above the pool in right-center field here. No official...
PHOENIX - It's no secret Ryan Zimmerman has been in a prolonged funk at the plate, masked only by the MVP-caliber first 2 1/2 months of his season, a start that allows him to take the field tonight at Chase Field still sporting a .319 batting average and .939 OPS.
That batting average, though, stood at .372 back on June 13, his OPS at 1.140. In the five weeks since, he has hit a scant .210 with a .528 OPS, only one homer and three doubles.
Zimmerman knows this. He doesn't like it. But he also...
PHOENIX - Good afternoon from Chase Field, where after last night's wild 6-5 loss, the Nationals return to action and attempt to beat a quality Diamondbacks club that is handing the ball to a rookie for his major league debut.
Left-hander Anthony Banda gets the call-up from Triple-A, filling the vacancy created when Taijuan Walker was placed on the paternity leave list. Banda's numbers at Reno (5.08 ERA, 1.426 WHIP) were not impressive, but he is regarded as a top pitching prospect (88th in...
PHOENIX - Max Scherzer has made his share of history over the years. He's one of only 30 pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters. He's one of only 18 pitchers to win multiple Cy Young Awards. He's one of only four pitchers ever to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.
But the history Scherzer made Friday night in a 6-5 loss to the Diamondbacks was perhaps the most shocking thing he's ever done in the major leagues. Because you simply don't expect one of the best pitchers in the game...
PHOENIX - After two wholly unexpected innings at Chase Field tonight, the notion of Dusty Baker facing a tough pitching decision for the bottom of the ninth seemed nothing more than wishful thinking. The Nationals trailed the Diamondbacks by five runs, all five scoring against Max Scherzer, three of them via a historic spurt in the bottom of the first.
What were the odds the Nationals manager would need to decide whether or not to use his closer at the end of the night?
Well, actually that...