Mark Zuckerman

Nats early offense: lots of homers, not a lot of two-out hits

April 07, 2017, 9:53am

PHILADELPHIA - The good news about the Nationals lineup so far this season: They've hit six home runs in three games, third-most in the majors. The bad news about the Nationals lineup so far this season: They've scored 13 total runs in those three games, tied for 12th in the majors. That's in only three games, of course, so be careful not to read too much into it. But manager Dusty Baker already is harping on the importance of hitting with runners in scoring position, a skill he believes is...

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Game 4 lineups: Nats at Phillies

April 07, 2017, 7:39am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where a couple of sleepy teams will take the field today for the home opener. The Nationals rolled into town around 1 a.m. following their twice-delayed 10-inning loss to the Marlins. The Phillies, meanwhile, flew in from Cincinnati last night following their loss to the Reds. So it'll be a quick turnaround for today's 3:05 p.m. first pitch. The Nationals will get a boost from the sight of Max Scherzer on the mound for the first time this season....

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Nationals relievers cope with first blown lead of 2017

April 06, 2017, 7:00pm

Nationals

During the first week of the season, when everything is magnified, it's easy to fall into the trap of drawing long-term conclusions on both positive and negative developments. Two games into their season, the Nationals bullpen looked like a strength, their new closer up to the challenge. Three games into their season, that same bullpen looks like a weakness, the new closer unable to deliver when he really needs to deliver. Truth be told, neither answer is fair at this ridiculously early...

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Bullpen struggles send Nats to first loss of season, 4-3 in 10

April 06, 2017, 5:54pm

Nationals

Bullpen struggles send Nats to first loss of season, 4-3 in 10

A marathon game that included more than two hours of rain delays, back-and-forth bullpen blow-ups and then extra innings ended with a first for the Nationals this season: a loss. Justin Bour's two-out double off Joe Blanton in the top of the 10th brought J.T. Realmuto all the way around from first to score the run that gave the Marlins a wild 4-3 victory at Nationals Park, a frustrating end to a frustratingly long day and night at the ballpark for the previously unbeaten home club. Despite...

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After adjusted spring prep, Scherzer ready for season debut

April 06, 2017, 1:39pm

Nationals

After adjusted spring prep, Scherzer ready for season debut

PHILADELPHIA - You wouldn't think there's anything special about Max Scherzer taking the mound later today at Citizens Bank Park, his first start of the season. That's no real accomplishment, right? "It's a major accomplishment," Scherzer insisted. Well, yes, considering what it took to ensure the Nationals ace would be ready to pitch a big league game in the first week of the season. "You've got to remember, the first time I picked up a baseball was the first day of spring," he said....

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Nats planning to start Guthrie on Saturday in Philadelphia

April 06, 2017, 11:33am

Nationals

Nats planning to start Guthrie on Saturday in Philadelphia

Though the Nationals haven't announced anything yet, Jeremy Guthrie is lined up to start Saturday's game against the Phillies, completing a remarkable journey back to the big leagues as a member of one of baseball's best rotations. The club announced Max Scherzer as the starter for Friday afternoon's game at Citizens Bank Park, with Stephen Strasburg pitching Sunday's series finale (and thus getting an extra day of rest after his opening day start Monday). Saturday's starter is "TBA"...

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Game 3 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

April 06, 2017, 8:06am

Nationals

I know what you're thinking: There's no way they can play baseball in D.C. today. Well, that may prove to be true, but I don't think we're going to get definitive word on that for a while. Because as hard as it is raining right now, and as much as it's expected to continue raining this afternoon, it is expected to stop at some point, perhaps sometime around or shortly after scheduled first pitch at 4:05 p.m. So in other words, stay tuned. If they do play, the Nationals will be going for...

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An eventful debut for Enny Romero out of Nats bullpen

April 05, 2017, 8:16pm

Nationals

An eventful debut for Enny Romero out of Nats bullpen

Enny Romero's first pitch as a National didn't go quite where he wanted it to go. Nor did it produce the kind of reaction he or anyone else in the park Wednesday night could have foreseen. Summoned by manager Dusty Baker to pitch the seventh inning with his team up four runs, Romero threw his very first pitch inside to Derek Dietrich, striking the Marlins third baseman in the elbow with a 98 mph fastball. Dietrich, who was one of two Miami batters hit by starter Tanner Roark earlier in the...

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Rusty Roark still finds a way to pitch Nationals to victory

April 05, 2017, 7:49pm

Nationals

Two innings into his season debut, Tanner Roark might well have been forced into changing his goals for the night. His pitch count at 46, his command unusually off, he could have gone into survival mode and hoped simply to reach the fifth inning without the game getting out of hand. Fast-forward an hour or so, and there was Roark walking off the mound to a hearty ovation from the crowd at Nationals Park, having retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced and having turned what could have been a...

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Nats bounce back from shaky start to beat Marlins 6-4

April 05, 2017, 6:11pm

Nationals

Nats bounce back from shaky start to beat Marlins 6-4

Tanner Roark looked awfully rusty early in his first start of the season, but the right-hander settled down nicely and then watched as his Nationals teammates went to work against the Marlins pitching staff en route to their second win of the season. Behind Roark's quality start and a four-run rally in the bottom of the fourth, the Nats beat Miami 6-4 tonight and improved to a perfect 2-0 on the young baseball campaign. Bryce Harper followed up his opening day heroics with a pair of RBI hits,...

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How Baker and Maddux manage late-inning bullpen usage

April 05, 2017, 2:26pm

Nationals

How Baker and Maddux manage late-inning bullpen usage

For all the attention, ink and pixels devoted this spring to the question of who would be pitching the ninth inning for the Nationals in 2017, Dusty Baker knew all along that was a short-sighted take on the situation. "I'm always stressing to our guys: Let's win the seventh, eighth and ninth, if necessary," the manager said. "Which we did the other day." Indeed, the Nationals' opening day victory over the Marlins was made possible by their performance in the game's final three innings,...

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Game 2 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

April 05, 2017, 11:04am

Nationals

The hoopla of opening day is over. The frustration of the day-off-after-opening-day is over. Now we begin the grind of the baseball season, Game 2 of 162. For the Nationals, there is good news before they take the field tonight against the Marlins: Anthony Rendon is in the lineup, his left calf feeling better a full nine days after he fouled a ball off it in Florida. Not that there was ever serious concern about him, but as we've seen, until a guy is actually in the lineup, you just never know...

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Nats' $162 million opening day payroll ranks ninth in majors

April 04, 2017, 6:49pm

Nationals

Nats' $162 million opening day payroll ranks ninth in majors

The Nationals' opening day payroll was up 16 percent from last season and ranks ninth among all Major League Baseball clubs, according to figures compiled by USA Today. The players who made the Nats' opening day 25-man roster or disabled list have a combined salary of $162,742,157. That ranks ninth in the majors, behind the Dodgers, Tigers, Rangers, Giants, Mets, Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs. The Nationals' average salary of nearly $6.3 million ranks fifth in the sport, while their median...

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Tuesday morning Nats Q&A

April 04, 2017, 8:04am

Nationals

So, how did everybody out there enjoy opening day? On the field, you certainly couldn't have many complaints about the Nationals' performance in a 4-2 victory over the Marlins. In the stands, it sounds like there were some unfortunate issues with concessions and the distribution of the ballpark giveaway. On the air ... well, I can't speak to that since I was covering the game from the press box with my own eyes, but hopefully everything was smooth in that regard. Since today is an off-day -...

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Strasburg does his part with another effective opener

April 03, 2017, 2:43pm

Nationals

Strasburg does his part with another effective opener

Stephen Strasburg was still in the first base dugout at Nationals Park during the bottom of the seventh Monday afternoon, having only completed his work a few minutes earlier, when he watched with glee as Adam Lind's pinch-hit homer sailed over the fence, turning a 2-1 deficit to the Marlins into a 3-2 lead. Until that moment, Strasburg was staring at a hard-luck loss next to his name, his first in four opening day starts. And then in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly in line to take the...

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Lind debuts with a D.C. curtain call: "You can't really beat it"

April 03, 2017, 2:05pm

Nationals

Lind debuts with a D.C. curtain call: "You can't really beat it"

One has been hitting big home runs in front of big crowds seemingly from the moment he reached the big leagues, especially on opening day. The other, despite 186 career home runs to his name, had never before taken a curtain call. Bryce Harper and Adam Lind don't share a whole lot in common, either in baseball pedigree or off-field personality, but they will forever share the two biggest moments on this opening day, the pair of late home runs that propelled the Nationals to a 4-2 victory over...

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Late homers by Harper, Lind propel Nats to 4-2 win in opener

April 03, 2017, 11:52am

Nationals

Late homers by Harper, Lind propel Nats to 4-2 win in opener

For five innings, the Nationals gave their opening day sellout crowd reason to get nervous about the long grind ahead. Despite countless opportunities to make a dent into Marlins starter Edinson Volquez, they simply could not produce a hit with a runner in scoring position, surely making fans (and manager Dusty Baker) cringe about the long-term prospects for this lineup. Turns out the Nats didn't need a big hit with men in scoring position. They just needed two big blasts off the Miami...

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Update on Rendon and the Nats' fifth starter options

April 03, 2017, 9:27am

Nationals

Update on Rendon and the Nats' fifth starter options

The Nationals enjoyed a particularly healthy spring, enough to leave manager Dusty Baker as encouraged as he's ever going to be heading into a season. But not healthy enough to field their full starting lineup on opening day. Anthony Rendon, who fouled a ball off his left calf one week ago in Florida, was held out of today's season opener against the Marlins. Baker described this more as a precautionary move than anything, not wanting to take any chances the first week of April. "He's doing...

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Game 1 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

April 03, 2017, 5:28am

Nationals

The day has come at last. The 2017 season is here, and it all gets underway this afternoon on South Capitol Street when the Nationals host the Marlins in Game 1 of 162 (or more). There will be plenty of pomp and circumstance leading up to first pitch at 1:05 p.m., from the introduction of both teams to the ceremonial first pitches thrown by one member of each of the five branches of the military to the national anthem by the U.S. Army Brass Quintet and flyover by the F/A-18E Super Hornets to...

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2017 Nats media season predictions

April 02, 2017, 7:17pm

Nationals

OK, your long nightmare is over. It's no longer the offseason. It's no longer the preseason. It's officially baseball season again in Washington. Opening day is full of all kinds of traditions, and so it is that we present our own annual tradition: the Nationals media opening day season predictions. Now in its eighth year of existence, this feature has spanned three different websites and has had some revolving door participants, as the beat has changed over time. But it always makes for...