Friday morning Q&A from D.C.

Friday morning Q&A from D.C.
This has been quite a way for the Nationals to open the season. Not only are they 7-1, matching both the franchise and D.C. records for the first eight games of a baseball season, but they've done it in impressive fashion. Bryce Harper has three homers already, including his 100th career blast yesterday (on a grand slam, to boot). Daniel Murphy is hitting .480 and slugging .880. The starting rotation has collectively given up just 13 earned runs in eight games. The bullpen sports a collective...
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Seizing the moment once again, Harper joins the century club

Seizing the moment once again, Harper joins the century club
Bryce Harper had all week to hit the 100th home run of his career. He could've done it Sunday against the Marlins against a pitcher he has owned (Tom Koehler). He could've done it Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday nights against the Braves, perhaps lofting a solo shot into the bleachers. He could've done it in any number of mundane ways. But that, of course, isn't the way Harper does these things. He picks just the right moment and adds just enough extra drama to the situation to make you take a...
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Harper's first grand slam is 100th career homer (Nats win 6-2)

Harper's first grand slam is 100th career homer (Nats win 6-2)
Bryce Harper's 100th career homer was as grand as they come. Harper launched his first major league grand slam this afternoon, blasting a 1-0 fastball from Julio Teheran in the bottom of the third off the façade of the second deck in right-center at Nationals Park. That blast gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead over the Braves, a worthy development in its own right. That it also happened to bring Harper to the century mark for his career only sweetened the moment. The crowd saluted Harper with a...
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Baker wants slumping Taylor to relax, show more patience

Baker wants slumping Taylor to relax, show more patience
He was the hottest hitter on the roster all spring, arguably the hottest hitter in the Grapefruit League. But Michael A. Taylor is finding out now what so many have found out before him: Hitting in April isn't the same as hitting in March. Taylor enters play today sporting a .138 batting average (4-for-29), with a .133 on-base percentage that's actually lower (something possible only when you've got a sacrifice fly but zero walks). It's a far cry from his performance this spring, when he...
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Game 8 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 8 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
Rest easy, everybody: Stephen Strasburg is pitching today. After getting scratched from his scheduled start last night due to an illness that has plagued him for several days, Strasburg is good to go for this afternoon's series finale against the Braves. That saves Dusty Baker from needing to turn to emergency starter Yusmeiro Petit and keeping his bullpen fresh, not only for this game but for the next few days as well. The Nationals will be looking to win, incredibly, their 14th consecutive...
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Nationals feasting on early-season competition

Nationals feasting on early-season competition
First, the optimistic view on the Nationals so far this season: They're 6-1, the best start in club history and one more victory shy of matching the best start in both franchise and D.C. baseball history. Now, the skeptical view of that accomplishment: They've gone 6-1 against the Marlins and Braves, who are currently a collective 3-12. OK, so maybe it would be wise not to go overboard with praise for this team quite yet, given the less-than-overwhelming competition it has faced. But all they...
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Roark rides two-seamer to victory over Braves

Roark rides two-seamer to victory over Braves
It's his bread-and-butter pitch, the kind of pitch that helped make him such a revelation in 2014 but also eluded him during his disappointing 2015. Well, it was back tonight, and if Tanner Roark can keep firing those comeback, two-seam fastballs over the inside corner to left-handed hitters ... well, the Nationals might just have themselves another frontline starter again this year. "That's a tough pitch," manager Dusty Baker said. "It looks like a ball, and by the time you see it, it's...
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Drew, Werth homer to support Roark (Nats win 3-0)

Drew, Werth homer to support Roark (Nats win 3-0)
Tanner Roark has been awfully sharp so far in his rescheduled start. Matt Wisler was equally as sharp for three innings, but then Stephen Drew and Jayson Werth took care of that and gave Roark and the Nationals the evening's first lead. Drew's solo homer in the bottom of the fourth (his first of the season) put the Nats up 1-0 on the Braves. Moments later, Werth took Wisler deep to left-center, a two-run shot that extended the lead to 3-0. Drew is making his first start of the year, filling...
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Nats hope Strasburg pitches Thursday; Drew gets start at third

Nats hope Strasburg pitches Thursday; Drew gets start at third
The Nationals are hoping Stephen Strasburg will feel well enough to start Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Braves, trying to avoid burning up their bullpen as an alternative in case he's not ready to return. Strasburg was scratched from tonight's scheduled start due to an illness that has plagued him the last couple of days. Manager Dusty Baker said the outlook has looked better with each passing day, and Strasburg was out on the field during batting practice this afternoon for...
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Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 7 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals have spent much of the last two weeks shuffling and then reshuffling their rotation, accounting for rainouts, scheduled off-days and other factors. Now they've had to reshuffle it again due to illness. Stephen Strasburg, who was scheduled to start tonight against the Braves, has been scratched because he's not feeling well. So it'll be Tanner Roark instead taking the mound at 7:05 p.m. The good news: Roark is still pitching on five days' rest, so he'll be plenty fresh. The...
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Strasburg scratched with illness, Roark starting vs. Braves

Strasburg scratched with illness, Roark starting vs. Braves
Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from tonight's scheduled start against the Braves due to what the Nationals say is an illness. Tanner Roark will pitch in his place, starting a day earlier than originally planned. Strasburg was set to make his second start of the season, facing the same Atlanta lineup he beat one week ago with six innings of one-run ball. The right-hander appeared to be under the weather earlier this week, though, prompting the postponement of his outing. Roark was due to...
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Delayed debut no issue for dominant Gonzalez

Delayed debut no issue for dominant Gonzalez
The Nationals can't say - with a straight face, at least - they knew with 100 percent certainty what they'd get out of Gio Gonzalez last night. Not in his season debut. Not a full 16 days removed from his last appearance on the mound. But when the left-hander navigated his way through a 13-pitch top of the first, they had reason to be optimistic. And when he made it through the third without allowing a run and with a manageable pitch count of 46, they had to be even more encouraged. And by...
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Harper delivers in the clutch, propelling Nats to 5-1 record

Harper delivers in the clutch, propelling Nats to 5-1 record
It was cold, with a steady wind having been blowing in from left field all night. What remained of an already-sparse crowd of 18,378 was praying for something good to happen, for somebody to finally break through and post something other than a zero on the scoreboard for the first time all evening. And then, with one well-timed swing from Bryce Harper, everyone inside Nationals Park was jumping up and down, the long wait on this chilly April night well worth it. Harper's two-out, two-run...
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Gonzalez sharp early despite long layoff (Nats win 2-1)

Gonzalez sharp early despite long layoff (Nats win 2-1)
Making his first appearance of the regular season and his first appearance of any kind in 16 days, Gio Gonzalez took the mound tonight at Nationals Park not entirely knowing for sure what to expect. Three innings later, the left-hander has to be pleased with the results so far: nothing but zeros. Gonzalez's season debut got off to a strong start, with only one hit surrendered to the Braves through three scoreless innings. There was a two-out walk issued to Freddie Freeman in the top of the...
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Nats backing up spring promise of aggressive baserunning

Nats backing up spring promise of aggressive baserunning
It's one thing to say you're going to be aggressive on the bases. Every team says that every spring. It's another thing to actually back that up once the season begins, which the Nationals most definitely have done so far. Entering tonight's game against the Braves, the Nationals have successfully stolen six bases, most in the National League and second-most in the majors (behind only the Astros' nine). They've also successfully taken a bunch of extra bases in other fashions, whether...
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Game 6 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 6 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals have a chance tonight to do something they've never done in their previous 11 years in the District, nor something any Washington ballclub has done in 65 years: start a season 5-1. With a win tonight over the Braves, the Nats would match the 1913 and 1953 Senators for the best six-game start to D.C. baseball history. No small achievement. In order to do it, they'll need to get a solid outing from Gio Gonzalez, who 16 days after he last pitched in Florida is finally making his...
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Why Scherzer's start was better than his final line suggests

Why Scherzer's start was better than his final line suggests
This didn't go down as one of Max Scherzer's better starts as a National, and it won't likely be included in any video montages of his 2016 season. But there's something to be said for churning out six innings on a night when you didn't have your best stuff. Especially when doing just that ultimately put your team in position to emerge victorious. "I thought Max did a great job tonight," second baseman Daniel Murphy said following last night's 6-4 win over the Braves. "I'm sure he...
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Balanced lineup delivers for Nats in latest win over Braves

Balanced lineup delivers for Nats in latest win over Braves
There are going to be nights when the Nationals need to rely on Bryce Harper to carry the load, but they want those to be few and far between. They'd much rather be able to count on the depth of their lineup to produce on a consistent basis, leaving the reigning National League MVP to do his thing without having to do everything. In that regard, tonight's 6-4 victory over the Braves was a prime example of what this lineup can do, from top to bottom. Harper didn't have a bad night; he got on...
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Bats pick up slack on night when Scherzer didn't have best stuff

Bats pick up slack on night when Scherzer didn't have best stuff
On a night when Max Scherzer didn't have his best stuff, the Nationals knew right off the bat they'd need to score their share of runs to help out their surprisingly struggling ace. They managed to do just that, thanks to the continued early-season success of two key members of the heart of their lineup and a breakthrough performance from one of the members of the bottom of that lineup. Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy reached base a collective five times against the Braves pitching staff,...
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Slugfest breaks out in D.C. (Nats win 6-4)

Slugfest breaks out in D.C. (Nats win 6-4)
When Max Scherzer retired the Braves' first two batters of the evening, you couldn't help but wonder if the right-hander might be setting the tone for a dominant night on the mound. Those thoughts very quickly disappeared amid a flurry of hits by Atlanta off the veteran ace. Scherzer was roughed up early by the Braves, surrendering two runs in the top of the first and then two more in the top of the second. His only saving grace: His Nationals teammates wore their hitting shoes tonight as...
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