Game 133 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 133 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - The end of the Nationals' stretch of 20 games in 20 days has arrived, with one more game to play tonight against the Phillies before they'll enjoy their first off-day since Aug. 11. This has been a long, difficult stretch for many players, perhaps none more so than Trea Turner, who has started 29 consecutive games. That streak ends tonight, though, with Turner given a well-deserved night off. It'll be Michael A. Taylor getting the start in center field and leading off, with...
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Marathon stretch finally ending for weary Nationals

Marathon stretch finally ending for weary Nationals
PHILADELPHIA - It began way back on Aug. 12, with a weekend series against the Braves at Nationals Park. Bryce Harper was still on the bench, nursing a nagging neck injury. Ryan Zimmerman was still on the disabled list, a full week away from returning to the active roster. Stephen Strasburg was healthy. Trea Turner was hitting only .286. Jayson Werth still had six games left in his streak of consecutive games reaching base. Marc Rzepczynski was an Oakland Athletic. Koda Glover was a Syracuse...
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Scherzer makes everyone dream of something special again

Scherzer makes everyone dream of something special again
PHILADELPHIA - This is what it has come to, what Max Scherzer has done to our longstanding sense of baseball and how typically not to get too excited too soon about the possibility of history. Two innings into tonight's 3-2 Nationals victory at Citizens Bank Park, only two measly innings into this one, you couldn't help but think to yourself: Scherzer might just throw a no-hitter. That's not the kind of thought you're supposed to have after two innings. Or, if you do, you're supposed to...
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Nationals ride another Scherzer gem to 3-2 victory in Philly

Nationals ride another Scherzer gem to 3-2 victory in Philly
PHILADELPHIA - Stop us if you've heard this one before: Max Scherzer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning tonight at Citizens Bank Park, only to have it broken up on a double down the right field line by Freddy Galvis. It happened last summer. And it happened again tonight, with the pesky Phillies shortstop spoiling another one of Scherzer's attempts to make history with the same kind of hit in the same inning. Of more importance to Scherzer, the Nationals won both times, including...
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Scherzer's strikeout total continues to soar (Nationals win 3-2)

Scherzer's strikeout total continues to soar (Nationals win 3-2)
PHILADELPHIA - There's still a long way to go, and who knows what could happen between now and season's end. But if Max Scherzer can keep doing what he's been doing up to this point, he's going to wind up in some elite company. Especially in the strikeout department. Scherzer entered tonight's game against the Phillies with a league-leading 227 strikeouts in 182 innings. And after striking out six more batters in the first three innings, he now has left himself on pace to end the regular...
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Rehab updates on Drew and Strasburg

Rehab updates on Drew and Strasburg
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have understood all along that Stephen Drew's recovery from an inner ear ailment would have no set timetable. The veteran infielder would simply start to feel well enough at some point to resume playing. By all accounts, he's nearing that point. Drew has ramped up his baseball activities over the last two days, taking batting practice and fielding grounders with the rest of his Nationals teammates. His mood and energy level also have been noticeably different to...
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Game 132 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 132 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Max Scherzer has faced the Phillies seven times over the last two years. In those seven starts, he's 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 10 walks. Needless to say, the Nationals have fair reason to expect more good things tonight when Scherzer takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park. Dusty Baker has his entire regular lineup out there for the second game of this series. That includes Ryan Zimmerman, who sat out last night's game after working extensively in the cage earlier in...
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Robinson making the most of his rare opportunities

Robinson making the most of his rare opportunities
PHILADELPHIA - Dusty Baker constantly talks about how hard it is for players to be productive off the bench in the big leagues, how the lack of consistent at-bats makes it difficult to find a rhythm, even when there are rare opportunities to start games and step to the plate four or five times in one night. Which perhaps makes Clint Robinson's performance of late all the more impressive. Robinson hasn't seen a whole lot of action lately, not with the Nationals trying to give Ryan Zimmerman as...
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Roark is dominant yet again in Nats' win over Phillies

Roark is dominant yet again in Nats' win over Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Ask a bunch of people around baseball - players, coaches, managers, executives, scouts, media members - for a list of the best pitchers in the National League, and you're likely to get several recurring names: Kershaw, Arrieta, Scherzer, Strasburg, Bumgarner, Cueto, Lester, Syndergaard, Fernandez. All, of course, are excellent pitchers, all deserving of the recognition they receive. But how many voters are including Tanner Roark on their list? "If they're not," Jayson Werth...
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Nationals ride early offense, then Roark to 4-0 win in Philly

Nationals ride early offense, then Roark to 4-0 win in Philly
PHILADELPHIA - While their offense remains very much in hit-or-miss mode, the Nationals at least know they can still count on Tanner Roark to deliver a big-time start when they most need one. The Nationals scored two quick runs off the Phillies tonight, then sat back and watched as Roark and the bullpen took care of the rest, tossing a combined shutout during what became a 4-0 victory by night's end at Citizens Bank Park. Roark handled the first seven of those shutout innings, never entirely...
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Zimmerman gets day off to work in cage (Nationals win 4-0)

Zimmerman gets day off to work in cage (Nationals win 4-0)
PHILADELPHIA - Dusty Baker planned to give Ryan Zimmerman his share of days off down the stretch, regardless of the veteran's performance. So the fact Zimmerman was not in the Nationals lineup for tonight's series opener against the Phillies wasn't a shock. Baker, though, didn't want Zimmerman to take the day off altogether. No, the two spent considerable time (along with other members of the coaching staff) in the batting tunnel at Citizens Bank Park earlier in the afternoon working on...
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Strasburg, Ross progressing toward September returns

Strasburg, Ross progressing toward September returns
PHILADELPHIA - It has taken a while, and it has included a few more bumps than they would have liked, but the Nationals have reached the final leg of their 20-games-in-20-days stretch. That also means they've almost reached September and the home stretch of a season they hope to continue well into October. Make no mistake, the Nationals are well aware of all this. "You start checking off the months until the season goes by. Now, we're down to one-sixth of the season," manager Dusty Baker...
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Game 131 lineups: Nats at Phils (Taylor up, Giolito optioned)

Game 131 lineups: Nats at Phils (Taylor up, Giolito optioned)
PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where the Nationals wrap up this 20-games-in-20-days stretch with one final series against the Phillies. And there's plenty going on here already. The Nats have made a roster move: Michael A. Taylor was recalled and Lucas Giolito was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. That gives the team a full bench again. With an off-day Thursday, the club can afford to go with four starting pitchers for the moment. And remember, players who are sent down at the end...
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Gonzalez on win No. 100, Harper and Werth on surging lineup

Gonzalez on win No. 100, Harper and Werth on surging lineup
Rain in Colorado prevented it from happening in his first attempt. Then an erratic performance in Atlanta prevented it from happening in his next attempt. Fortunately for Gio Gonzalez, the third time was the charm in his pursuit of 100 career wins, thanks to one of the left-hander's better starts in a while and some much-appreciated run support from his teammates during an 8-5 victory over the Rockies. "I'm just happy it came," said Gonzalez, who has notched 62 of those wins while wearing a...
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Lineup gives Gonzalez plenty of support for 100th career win

Lineup gives Gonzalez plenty of support for 100th career win
Gio Gonzalez kept giving back the leads his teammates provided, but the Nationals kept providing enough run support until the left-hander settled down and then handed the game over to his bullpen, which finished off an 8-5 victory over the Rockies. Gonzalez, who allowed two runs and four hits over six innings, earned his 100th career win. Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy homered for the Nationals, who won their second straight after a four-game losing streak. Werth got the Nationals on the board...
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Howard calls induction into Nats Ring of Honor "a real thrill"

Howard calls induction into Nats Ring of Honor "a real thrill"
For a generation of Washington baseball fans, there always has been no bigger figure in this town than Frank Howard. And that's only in part because of Hondo's 6-foot-7 frame. Howard has long been remembered as by far the best to ever play for the expansion version of the Senators that called D.C. home from 1961-71. He wasn't good enough to merit serious consideration for the Hall of Fame, but he was good enough to merit a statue outside Nationals Park, alongside permanent Cooperstown...
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Barrett determined to make full recovery from "traumatic" injury

Barrett determined to make full recovery from "traumatic" injury
The road to recovery from Tommy John surgery is long and lonely, and tests the mind just as much as it tests the reconstructed elbow of a pitcher. Aaron Barrett was far down that road in late July, a full 11 months removed from his surgery and fully confident he'd be ready to pitch in a big league game for the Nationals after only one more month of rehab. Barrett was standing on a mound on one of the practice fields in Viera, Fla., on July 22, 10 pitches into a scheduled 20-pitch simulated...
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Game 128 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

Game 128 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies
After the excitement and drama of the four-day, two-city Beltways Series, the Nationals get back to business this weekend with the Rockies in town. Max Scherzer saved the bullpen last night with his dominant eight-inning performance. But in order to keep that bullpen from getting burned up again, Gio Gonzalez will need to follow up his rotation mate with a strong start of his own tonight. Gonzalez will be working with Jose Lobaton, a pairing that has enjoyed plenty of success in the past. That...
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Rzepczynski thrilled to join Nationals after whirlwind day

Rzepczynski thrilled to join Nationals after whirlwind day
Marc Rzepczynski was taking a nap in Northern California when he was startled to find out he'd just been traded from the Athletics to the Nationals. Not upset, mind you, because he was suddenly heading from a last-place club to a first-place club for the final six weeks of a pennant race. But the veteran left-hander's life was suddenly being uprooted, and his new team needed him on the other side of the country ASAP. "I was actually taking a nap when this happened," Rzepczynski said. "We...
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Scherzer shows he's "the guy" in latest dominant performance

Scherzer shows he's "the guy" in latest dominant performance
Jose Lobaton doesn't get very many opportunities to catch Max Scherzer. He's only been behind the plate with the Nationals' $210 million right-hander eight times in two seasons. But, boy, does he savor those opportunities, especially when they come in particularly big games like tonight's 4-0 win over the Orioles. "He's in the moment," Lobaton said. "He wants to show that he's the guy. I love that. I love that." Scherzer most definitely was "the guy" tonight. With his team mired in...
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