CHICAGO - When the night began, the Nationals certainly weren't expecting Joe Ross to last only four innings. And they really weren't expecting Blake Treinen to then throw three innings of relief after that.
Sometimes you've got to adjust on the fly, though, and that's exactly what last night's 10-5 victory over the White Sox required. Ross' uncharacteristic command issues early forced the young starter out of the game early and left the Nationals to ask Treinen to do something out of the...
CHICAGO - Though it perhaps hasn't happened as frequently as they would like, the Nationals have known all along their lineup is capable of scoring runs in bunches on a regular basis, more than enough to overcome even a moderate deficit on any given night.
As Bryce Harper put it: "When we're down, we're never down."
They've now proven that in consecutive games. Two days after storming back from a five-run deficit to beat the Reds, the Nationals stormed back from a three-run deficit to...
CHICAGO - Joe Ross' worst start of the season wound up an afterthought tonight, and all it took for that to happen was another double-digit offensive explosion from the Nationals' suddenly explosive lineup.
Behind another big showing from Anthony Rendon and some long-awaited clutch hits from Bryce Harper and Michael A. Taylor, the Nationals dug themselves out of the early hole Ross dug and wound up running away with a 10-5 victory over the White Sox.
The Nats trailed 5-2 after two laborious...
CHICAGO - When Joe Ross walked the night's first batter, it was immediately noted as out-of-character for the right-hander. When he walked the night's second batter as well, it seemed more than just out-of-character.
And when Ross proceeded to give up two runs in the bottom of the first and then three more in the bottom of the second to the White Sox, the red flag officially was raised on the young Nationals starter.
Ross certainly picked an inopportune moment to put forth his worst outing of...
CHICAGO - Dusty Baker had a simple, but important, message for Trea Turner upon sending the young infielder back to Triple-A Syracuse following his weekend stint in the big leagues.
"The world is yours," Baker said he told Turner. "All you've got to do is live and breathe and stay healthy, and the world's going to be yours at some point in time."
Promoted from Syracuse to take Ryan Zimmerman's roster spot while the veteran first baseman was away on paternity leave, Turner started only...
CHICAGO - Hello from the South Side, where the Nationals are appearing for the first time since the John McLaren Era. For those who have forgotten, that was June 24-26, 2011, when McLaren served as Nats manager for three games following Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation and before Davey Johnson took over, and proceeded to go 2-1 against the White Sox. That technically makes McLaren the most successful manager in team history, at least based on that .667 winning percentage.
But anyways, that...
Some Tuesday morning odds and ends to whet your appetite before the Nationals open their three-game interleague series against the White Sox in Chicago (to which I am currently en route)...
* The Nationals are catching a break this week when it comes to the White Sox's rotation ... sort of.
The good news: They're missing both Chris Sale (9-2, 2.54 ERA) and Jose Quintana (5-6, 2.58). The bad news (potentially): They're getting James Shields making his Chicago debut.
Shields, who was acquired...
Steve Lombardozzi is returning to the Nationals organization, signing a minor league contract after re-establishing himself this season playing independent ball in Waldorf.
Lombardozzi will report to Triple-A Syracuse. He's not on the Nationals' 40-man roster.
A 19th-round pick in the 2008 draft, Lombardozzi became one of the Nats' top prospects and made his major league debut in September 2011. The Columbia native wound up a key member of the 2012 National League East championship roster,...
The Nationals reinstated Ryan Zimmerman off the paternity leave list this morning and optioned Trea Turner back to Triple-A Syracuse, a move that was expected all along but nonetheless raised the question once again of the organization's plan for its top infield prospect.
Zimmerman was required to return to the active roster after spending the maximum three days on paternity leave following the birth of his second daughter on Thursday. He'll rejoin the club in Chicago in time for Tuesday's...
Bryce Harper was National League Player of the Month for April. Now Daniel Murphy is NL Player of the Month for May, continuing the Nationals' impressive run through the early portion of the 2016 season.
Murphy earned his honor after a remarkable month in which he hit .416 with seven homers, 23 RBIs and a .673 slugging percentage in 29 games. His 47 hits recorded in May tied a franchise record held by former Expos Al Oliver (August 1982) and Marquis Grissom (June 1994).
Murphy's...
PHILADEPHIA - It is, most agree, the toughest job in baseball. Come off the bench cold late in a game, to face a reliever probably throwing at least 95 mph, in a big spot that figures to dramatically affect whether your team wins or loses.
Pinch-hitting is not for the faint of heart, which is why the Nationals are grateful to have assembled a particularly effective group of bench players who have more than done their part to help this team get off to a 33-21 start this season.
"The main thing...
PHILADELPHIA - As each day passes and Wilson Ramos continues to produce at the plate like never before, the rest of the Nationals only find themselves more and more impressed with a catcher who has managed to elevate his game to lofty new heights this season.
"Extremely impressive," right-hander Max Scherzer said. "Because those guys are back there grinding and taking balls off the forearm and legs, and they're getting beat up behind the plate."
Ramos indeed takes a pounding while...
PHILADELPHIA - On nights like this, when Max Scherzer is dealing and guys are producing up and down the lineup to complete a road series sweep, the Nationals have the look of an elite ballclub.
Maybe the competition - the suddenly sliding Phillies - wasn't the stiffest, but the Nationals still have to play everyone on the schedule. And so this 7-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park, on the heels of victories each of the previous two nights, was exactly what the Nats needed: No drama.
And so they...
PHILADELPHIA - The weather's heating up, the Nationals are starting to drive the ball out of the park and Max Scherzer is striking out batters left and right.
With homers from Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa, plus a string of extra-base hits, the Nationals gave Scherzer plenty of cushion with which to pitch. And the ace right-hander responded with a dominant performance during a 7-2 drubbing of the Phillies to complete a three-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park.
The Nationals seemingly did...
PHILADELPHIA - Max Scherzer appears to have his good stuff, and his mound strut, going early tonight, which could mean trouble for the Phillies.
Scherzer is through three scoreless innings, allowing just two singles while striking out five as the right-hander attempts to pitch the Nationals to a series sweep at Citizens Bank Park.
Ryan Zimmerman's RBI double in the top of the first gave the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead, and Scherzer has taken over since then.
Scherzer cruised through his first...
PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals lineup for the second consecutive day, his right knee still sore after getting hit by a pitch two nights ago, though the club is hopeful he'll be ready to return for Friday night's series opener in Cincinnati.
Harper did take some swings in the batting cage this afternoon for the first time since getting hurt, but the team figured it wasn't worth taking any chances, especially with Thursday off before this weekend's series against the...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are going for a series sweep tonight at Citizens Bank Park, but they'll have to do it without the services of Bryce Harper once again. Harper remains out of the lineup, two days after taking a fastball off the outside of his right knee. This again isn't a huge shock. Harper said the knee didn't feel any better yesterday than it did the night before, and Dusty Baker hinted that he might try to take advantage of the team being off Thursday in order to give Harper...
PHILADELPHIA - The first round of National League All-Star voting was released this afternoon, and for the first time the Nationals have a legitimate shot of having two starters in the game.
Bryce Harper leads all NL outfielders early on, with 838,599 votes. Daniel Murphy, meanwhile, ranks second at second base with 488,468 votes.
Wilson Ramos, who is fifth among catchers with 209,949 votes, is the only other Nationals player to rank in the top five at his position so far.
Harper is a...
PHILADELPHIA - Is it really June already? How did that happen? Tonight the Nationals play their 54th game of the season, officially the one-third point of the 162-game marathon, and it certainly feels like things have flown by so far.
There has been a lot of good for this team so far (Bryce Harper's April, Daniel Murphy's April and May, Stephen Strasburg's perfect record, stellar defense from everyone, a much-improved bullpen). And there has been some bad (Harper's May, just about everyone...
PHILADELPHIA - Joe Ross understood the situation. The tying run was on base in a one-run game. The go-ahead run was at the plate. There were two outs in the seventh. His pitch count was about to reach triple digits. Sammy Solis was warming in the Nationals bullpen.
"It's like, if this guy gets on base," Ross said, "I doubt I'll get another chance to get the next guy."
So the young right-hander threw everything he had at that final Phillies batter he would face on this night. It happened...