Mark Zuckerman

After dramatic double play, Nats turn clunker into blowout win

April 10, 2017, 8:27pm

On a night in which the Nationals committed four errors - one a piece by every member of the starting infield - it was strangely fitting that the moment that changed the entire complexion of this game was a brilliant double play turned by three members of that very infield. Two on, one out in the top of the fifth, the Nationals trailing by two runs and teetering on the brink of disaster. Stephen Drew dives to his right at shortstop to make a backhanded snare of Jhonny Peralta's scorched...

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Nationals start ugly, finish strong in 14-6 win over Cardinals

April 10, 2017, 6:52pm

Nationals

It certainly wasn't easy on the eyes, unless your eyes were closed when they committed four errors and when they squandered a number of opportunities with men in scoring position. But sometimes you just gotta win ugly, and the Nationals won't be apologizing for the lack of style points they displayed tonight in beating the Cardinals 14-6 to snap a two-game losing streak. Especially given how well they finished. Clutch hits by Stephen Drew, Matt Wieters and Adam Eaton provided the offense...

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Turner lands on 10-day DL, Taylor recalled from Syracuse

April 10, 2017, 12:50pm

Nationals

Turner lands on 10-day DL, Taylor recalled from Syracuse

Had Trea Turner suffered a mild right hamstring strain on April 8, 2016, the Nationals might well have waited a week to let him heal and then put him back in their lineup, avoiding a 15-day stint on the disabled list. But because Turner suffered his injury on April 8, 2017, and because Major League Baseball has turned the 15-day DL into the 10-day DL, the Nationals decided not to waste any time and shelved their leadoff man and shortstop now. Turner was placed on the DL this afternoon, a...

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Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (Turner to DL)

April 10, 2017, 11:10am

Nationals

Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals (Turner to DL)

The Nationals are back in town, home for the entire week to face the Cardinals and Phillies, hoping for some better results than their weekend in Philadelphia. The bullpen probably will have a major say in how this all turns out, but first things first ... Tanner Roark is on the mound for the Nats in tonight's opener against St. Louis. He pitched well in his season opener, allowing two runs in six innings against the Marlins. If he can go six or seven tonight, the Nationals bullpen should be...

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More on Strasburg, Nathan and this week's pitching matchups

April 09, 2017, 9:02pm

Nationals

More on Strasburg, Nathan and this week's pitching matchups

Some day-after tidbits, quotes and thoughts as the Nationals lick their wounds from a tough weekend in Philadelphia and now prepare to host the Cardinals the next three days ... * It got lost in the shuffle after the ninth-inning drama Sunday, but Stephen Strasburg put together a very nice start. And it could easily have been a great start if not for some unfortunate developments behind him in the field. Strasburg allowed three runs over seven innings, providing the lengthy start the Nationals...

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One week in, Nats hope relievers' psyches aren't damaged

April 09, 2017, 2:56pm

Nationals

One week in, Nats hope relievers' psyches aren't damaged

PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Zimmerman and other veterans on the Nationals roster who have been through the grind before understand the significance of 1-of-26 weeks in a baseball season, especially when it's the first one. "It's one week," Zimmerman said. "So it's hard to take anything away from it." Easy for a veteran to say. For the younger members of the Nationals, especially those who spend the majority of their time in the bullpen, there is more danger of letting one ragged week have...

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Nats lose 4-3 to Phils, despite Zimmerman's clutch homer

April 09, 2017, 1:04pm

Nationals

Nats lose 4-3 to Phils, despite Zimmerman's clutch homer

PHILADELPHIA - They got the big blast they needed from Ryan Zimmerman, just in the nick of time. But the Nationals bullpen again couldn't seal the deal, and so what could've been an uplifting Sunday afternoon at the park instead turned into the team's first two-game losing streak of the young season. Zimmerman's three-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the top of the ninth brought the Nationals back from the dead to tie a game that had looked lost. But Koda Glover gave up the winning run...

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Murphy keeps on hitting in season's first week (Nats lose 4-3)

April 09, 2017, 11:09am

Nationals

Murphy keeps on hitting in season's first week (Nats lose 4-3)

PHILADELPHIA - If this is how Daniel Murphy hits after an abbreviated spring training, imagine how he'd hit had he actually been getting consistent at-bats throughout March. Murphy ripped a single to right field in his second at-bat this afternoon, extending his hitting streak to six games to open the season and raising his batting average to .522. Only the Rockies' Nolan Arenado, the Giants' Brandon Crawford and the Angels' Andrelton Simmons have also opened the year with six-game hitting...

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Nationals promote Albers, designate Guthrie for assignment

April 09, 2017, 8:25am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Needing a fresh arm after four consecutive days of extensive bullpen use, the Nationals purchased the contract of Matt Albers this morning, ensuring the veteran right-hander will be available if needed during today's series finale against the Phillies. Jeremy Guthrie, who was rocked for 10 runs in only two-thirds of an inning Saturday night, was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot. It was an unceremonious, but necessary, end to Guthrie's 24 hours with the...

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Game 6 lineups: Nats at Phillies

April 09, 2017, 6:44am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - It's a new day, and that can only be a good thing for the Nationals after last night's debacle. They still have an opportunity to win this series against the Phillies, and though their bullpen is pretty taxed at this point, they do have Stephen Strasburg starting this afternoon's finale at Citizens Bank Park. Strasburg has been electric inside this stadium during his career, going 2-0 with a 1.22 ERA in six starts, with the Nats winning all six of those games. And he was sharp...

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Morning-after notes on the bullpen, Blanton, Kelley and Murphy

April 08, 2017, 8:14pm

Nationals

Morning-after notes on the bullpen, Blanton, Kelley and Murphy

PHILADELPHIA - Some more notes, reactions and repercussions of last night's ugly 17-3 loss to the Phillies ... * The last thing the Nationals needed last night was a start of anything fewer than five innings. So when Jeremy Guthrie had to be yanked with only two outs in the bottom of the first, the rest of the pitching staff might as well have gone into crisis mode. All things considered, though, the bullpen came out of this one as reasonably well as it could, given the circumstances. Blake...

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Encouraging news on Turner softens sting of blowout loss

April 08, 2017, 7:33pm

Nationals

Encouraging news on Turner softens sting of blowout loss

PHILADELPHIA - At the end of a brutal night of baseball that saw the Nationals dig themselves into a 12-run hole in the first inning amid a barrage of hits against Jeremy Guthrie, then burn up what remained of their bullpen just to record the requisite number of outs required to make this 17-3 thumping at the hands of the Phillies official, there was at least some encouraging news. Shortstop Trea Turner does not appear to be seriously injured after pulling up lame in the top of the...

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Disastrous first inning sends Nationals on way to 17-3 loss

April 08, 2017, 6:21pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - In the annals of worst innings in club history, this had to rank at the top. The Nationals gave up 12 runs to the Phillies in the first, and that might not even have been the worst thing to happen to them in the frame. As disastrous as that 12-spot was, with Jeremy Guthrie taking the brunt of the pounding, and as ugly as the Nationals' eventual 17-3 loss was, the larger concern in the big picture was the sight of Trea Turner departing in the top of the first inning with an...

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Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)

April 08, 2017, 3:34pm

Nationals

Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals avoided significant injuries to prominent players throughout the spring and entered the season as healthy as any team in baseball, but that run of good fortune may have come to an abrupt end. Trea Turner had to come out of tonight's game against the Phillies in the top of the first inning after suffering an apparent hamstring injury running the bases, a potentially major blow to a club that intends to rely on its dynamic leadoff hitter and shortstop heavily this...

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Taylor optioned to Triple-A, Ross struggles in Syracuse debut

April 08, 2017, 2:09pm

Nationals

Taylor optioned to Triple-A, Ross struggles in Syracuse debut

PHILADELPHIA - Needing to clear a roster spot for Jeremy Guthrie before tonight's game, the Nationals optioned Michael A. Taylor to Triple-A Syracuse, electing to keep an extra infielder on their bench instead of an outfielder. The decision essentially boiled down to demoting either Taylor or Wilmer Difo, who both made the opening day roster when the Nationals decided to carry a six-man bench. Neither player, however, has appeared in any of the team's first four games. Manager Dusty Baker...

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Game 5 lineups: Nats at Phillies

April 08, 2017, 11:35am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - If you asked anybody on the first day of spring training to name the Nationals' No. 5 starter to open the season, I don't think you would have found many people who would have replied: Jeremy Guthrie. Yet when the Nats take the field this evening at Citizens Bank Park, the man on the mound will be none other than the right-hander celebrating his 38th birthday in most surprising fashion. The lack of need of a permanent fifth starter until later this month is what prompted this...

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Saturday morning notes and quotes

April 07, 2017, 7:36pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Some more tidbits and reactions from yesterday's 7-6 win over the Phillies, and some other assorted thoughts to tide you over this Saturday morning until the Nationals arrive back at Citizens Bank Park for tonight's game... * Daniel Murphy isn't quite feeling right at the plate yet. We can say that because the Nationals second baseman is swinging and missing more than is typical (he already has three strikeouts in four games, this from a guy who struck out only 57 times in 142...

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The good, and the not-so-good, from a Nationals victory

April 07, 2017, 4:31pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Four games into his team's season, Dusty Baker hasn't had a whole lot of opportunity to relax and enjoy managing a first place club. His Nationals may be 3-1, but all four games have been tense, down-to-the-wire affairs, perhaps none more than today's contest at Citizens Bank Park. It didn't have to be that way. The Nats led by seven runs after five innings and were well on their way to giving Baker some well-deserved R&R. And then ... well, that seven-run lead somehow...

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Nats go deep early, hang on late for 7-6 win over Phillies

April 07, 2017, 2:44pm

Nationals

Nats go deep early, hang on late for 7-6 win over Phillies

PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Jayson Werth all launched multi-run homers, and Max Scherzer dominated the Phillies once again at Citizens Bank Park. But what should've been an easy Nationals victory this afternoon instead turned into near-disaster before Blake Treinen hung on for dear life to wrap up a 7-6 victory. An announced crowd of 45,121 braved wind chills in the 30s for the Phillies' home opener, only to suffer through a shellacking for five innings at the hands of the...

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Harper and Murphy go deep, Scherzer cruising (Nats win 7-6)

April 07, 2017, 12:28pm

Nationals

Harper and Murphy go deep, Scherzer cruising (Nats win 7-6)

PHILADELPHIA - Earlier this afternoon, noting how five of his team's six home runs to start this season have come with nobody on base, Dusty Baker joked that "homers are fine, but multi-run homers are better." Members of the Nationals lineup must've been eavesdropping, because they're putting that practice to work in today's game against the Phillies. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy each have launched two-run homers early, giving the Nats a 4-0 lead on a frigid opening day at Citizens Bank...