Mark Zuckerman

Pitching staff, defense falter in Nats' 10-inning loss to Braves

August 21, 2016, 2:18pm

ATLANTA - They tried to overcome some of their ugliest defensive play of the season and a cobbled-together bullpen, but the Nationals couldn't pull off one more victory at Turner Field to complete a series sweep, and instead were left to stew over a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves at the end of a long week of baseball. Leading by three runs in the sixth, the Nationals let the Braves claw back to win. Yusmeiro Petit, the only fully fresh arm in their bullpen, recorded 1 1/3 scoreless innings...

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Turner proving to be more than "speed guy" (Nats lose 7-6 in 10)

August 21, 2016, 8:31am

Nationals

Turner proving to be more than "speed guy" (Nats lose 7-6 in 10)

ATLANTA - The Nationals made the decision to make Trea Turner their everyday leadoff hitter because of his ability to get on base and then let his legs do the rest. Nearly a month into the experiment, they're learning there's a lot more to Turner's game, including some legitimate power potential. Turner enters today's series finale against the Braves sporting not only a .319 batting average, but also a .546 slugging percentage. That latter mark would rank eighth in the National League if he...

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Game 123 lineups: Nats at Braves

August 21, 2016, 6:50am

Nationals

ATLANTA - It's another steamy day at Turner Field, with (of course) a chance for rain this afternoon as the Nationals and Braves wrap up their four-game series. The Nats, who are already 11-1 against Atlanta this season, are going for a rare, four-game sweep. Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth are getting the day off. For Rendon, it's his first since July 19. He had started 28 consecutive games at third base. That was necessary in part because Stephen Drew has been on the disabled list, and...

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Bullpen running on fumes, with no break in sight

August 21, 2016, 4:47am

Nationals

Bullpen running on fumes, with no break in sight

ATLANTA - Stretches of 20 consecutive games, particularly at this juncture of the season, are taxing on everybody on a ballclub, but the effect probably is most noticeable on a bullpen. And it's quite noticeable on the Nationals' bullpen right now. Nine days into their 20-days-without-a-break stretch, Nats relievers look, at times, like they're just trying to hang on and survive. They have pitched a combined 31 1/3 innings (an average of 3.48 per game) and have allowed 22 runs (18 earned) on...

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Nationals surviving tough stretch thanks to resurgent lineup

August 20, 2016, 8:07pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - The notion of the dog days of August can be a tired clichÃ©, but sometimes there is truth to it. The Nationals certainly understand what it means right now, nine days into a stretch of 20 consecutive game days with no break, the heat and humidity and cross-country travel adding even more challenges to an already difficult schedule. Make no mistake, the Nationals are still winning games at a steady pace. After tonight's 11-9 victory over the Braves, they're 6-3 in this current...

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Nationals ride eight-run inning to 11-9 win over Braves

August 20, 2016, 6:20pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Buoyed by the return of Ryan Zimmerman from the disabled list, the fully healthy Nationals lineup put together its most productive inning of the season tonight, riding an eight-run top of the fourth to an 11-9 win over the Braves. Zimmerman, playing his first game in nearly three weeks since suffering a bruised left wrist, homered on the first pitch he saw and wound up with three hits and a sacrifice fly to lead a Nationals lineup that racked up 17 total hits on a muggy Saturday night...

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Homer for Zimmerman on first swing off DL (Nationals win 11-9)

August 20, 2016, 4:07pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - It took all of one pitch for Ryan Zimmerman to hit the virtual reset button on his difficult season. Returning to the lineup after a three-week stint on the disabled list with a bruised left wrist, Zimmerman smoked the first pitch he saw tonight over the left field wall. The 394-foot laser off rookie right-hander Tyrell Jenkins left his bat at 111 mph and gave the Nationals an early 1-0 lead over the Braves, though Atlanta would come right back to take the lead with a flurry of hits...

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Back from latest injury, Zimmerman tries to hit reset button

August 20, 2016, 2:18pm

Nationals

Back from latest injury, Zimmerman tries to hit reset button

ATLANTA - Ryan Zimmerman has returned from injuries before. Too many times in recent years for his tastes. He has always done so hoping to pick up where he left off before he landed on the disabled list. This time, manager Dusty Baker wants the veteran first baseman to think differently about his return. He doesn't want him to pick up where he left off. He wants him to hit the reset button. "I encouraged him to start his season all over," Baker said. "Forget whatever has transpired in the...

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Game 122 lineups: Nats at Braves (Zimmerman activated)

August 20, 2016, 11:22am

Nationals

Game 122 lineups: Nats at Braves (Zimmerman activated)

ATLANTA - They're not 100 percent healthy, but the Nationals are getting closer. And for the first time in a while, they've got a fully healthy lineup at their disposal. That's because Ryan Zimmerman has been activated off the disabled list (as has Jose Lobaton, for that matter). A.J. Cole and Pedro Severino were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to clear roster space for both returning players. Dusty Baker could go with a lineup of regulars tonight against the Braves, but he won't do that...

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On Werth's streak, Revere's catch and Glover's odd win

August 20, 2016, 5:24am

Nationals

On Werth's streak, Revere's catch and Glover's odd win

ATLANTA - Some more thoughts and reactions from Friday night's wild 7-6 Nationals win at Turner Field ... * It was never going to be the kind of streak that drew national headlines or would be recalled by people at the drop of the hat years from now, so Jayson Werth didn't put more stock in it than it deserved. Still, the end of the veteran's streak of consecutive games reaching base had a slight bittersweet tinge to it. Werth went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, bringing the streak to a halt...

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Robinson finds hole in infield to tear up Braves' hearts

August 19, 2016, 8:50pm

Nationals

Robinson finds hole in infield to tear up Braves' hearts

ATLANTA - Consistent at-bats are hard to come by when you're Clint Robinson. And it's only going to get harder when Ryan Zimmerman returns from the disabled list Saturday, leaving Robinson to pick up an occasional start at first base and then hope to make the most of his pinch-hitting opportunities. Nights like this, though, remind the Nationals (and perhaps Robinson himself) why he's so valuable to this team. Stick him in the batter's box in a big spot late in a tie game, and the odds are...

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Nats blow late lead, but Robinson delivers hit to secure 7-6 win

August 19, 2016, 7:07pm

Nationals

Nats blow late lead, but Robinson delivers hit to secure 7-6 win

ATLANTA - They made it much more complicated than it needed to be, blowing a five-run lead with poor relief pitching and poor defense, but the Nationals managed to overcome their gaffes and still squeak out a 7-6 victory over the Braves tonight at Turner Field. Clint Robinson delivered a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield in the top of the ninth, giving the Nationals the lead for good after they had blown it over the previous three innings. The lefty slugger, who likely is...

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Solis diagnosed with shoulder inflammation (Nationals win 7-6)

August 19, 2016, 4:33pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Tests on injured reliever Sammy Solis revealed inflammation in the left-hander's shoulder, the same as the Nationals' initial diagnosis earlier this week when Solis was placed on the disabled list. There is no definitive timetable for Solis' return, but he should be cleared to resume throwing after a brief period of rest, and the Nationals remain hopeful he'll be part of their bullpen for the stretch run. "He has inflammation in his shoulder, which we're not shocked about,"...

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Zimmerman on MLB's exoneration and planned return from DL

August 19, 2016, 2:50pm

Nationals

Zimmerman on MLB's exoneration and planned return from DL

ATLANTA - Ryan Zimmerman hoped to play in tonight's game against the Braves. Instead, the Nationals first baseman settled for discussing how he has been cleared of any alleged drug use by Major League Baseball and how he now hopes to return to the field Saturday night after his latest stint on the disabled list. Zimmerman said he wasn't surprised by today's announcement that MLB found no evidence he or Phillies slugger Ryan Howard violated the league's drug policy in the wake of Al Jazeera...

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Game 121 lineups: Nats at Braves

August 19, 2016, 12:01pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - The Nationals look to make it two in a row tonight against the Braves, but they'll do so without the league's leading hitter or their veteran first baseman in the starting lineup. Daniel Murphy gets a rare (but deserved) night off. That's not a huge surprise. But the lack of Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup is a surprise, given that Dusty Baker yesterday said there was a "good chance" he and Jose Lobaton would be activated off the disabled list, not to mention that both players were...

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Nats reacquire Burnett, could use lefty in bullpen for stretch run

August 19, 2016, 9:21am

Nationals

Nats reacquire Burnett, could use lefty in bullpen for stretch run

ATLANTA - The Nationals have reacquired Sean Burnett and could give the veteran left-hander a chance to pitch out of their bullpen down the stretch, four years after he last donned a curly W cap for a big league game. Burnett has been acquired in a trade with the Twins for cash considerations and will report to Triple-A Syracuse today, the Chiefs announced, but he could be in line to join the major league bullpen once rosters expand in September. A key member of the Nationals bullpen from...

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MLB clears Zimmerman of PED use alleged in Al Jazeera report

August 19, 2016, 8:43am

Nationals

MLB clears Zimmerman of PED use alleged in Al Jazeera report

ATLANTA - Major League Baseball has cleared Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of any violations of the league's drug program, announcing today no evidence of wrongdoing was found during an investigation prompted by Al Jazeera America's controversial report of steroid use in professional sports earlier this year. MLB also cleared Phillies slugger Ryan Howard of the same allegations, made by pharmacist Charlie Sly in the report Al Jazeera aired in January. "The Office of the Commissioner...

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Friday morning Q&A from Atlanta

August 18, 2016, 9:17pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - There remains much baseball yet to be played - 41 games, to be exact - but the Nationals are sitting in an awfully comfortable position this morning. They're 9 1/2 games up on the Marlins in the National League East, with a 99.4 percent chance of winning the division (according to Baseball Prospectus). That doesn't, however, mean there aren't still questions facing this team. There's the back end of the rotation. There's the left side of the bullpen. There's the makeup of Dusty...

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Lopez finds his inner "caged animal" in dominant start

August 18, 2016, 9:09pm

Nationals

Lopez finds his inner "caged animal" in dominant start

ATLANTA - Reynaldo Lopez, to anyone who meets or watches him for a few minutes, is a quiet young man. Inside that calm veneer, however, is a 22-year-old pitcher who wants to take on the world and exudes the confidence necessary to do just that. Consider Lopez's reply to a question following tonight's 8-2 Nationals victory over the Braves, one in which the rookie right-hander struck out 11 batters over seven superb innings of what was, to that point, a tightly contested ballgame. "At the...

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Lopez tosses much-needed gem as Nats beat Braves 8-2

August 18, 2016, 7:54pm

Nationals

Lopez tosses much-needed gem as Nats beat Braves 8-2

ATLANTA - Salvation for the Nationals' overtaxed pitching staff came not from either of their aces, nor from an established big leaguer. No, when the Nats really needed a big-time pitching performance tonight, they turned to a 22-year-old flamethrower making his fourth career start. Reynaldo Lopez overwhelmed the Braves for the better part of seven innings, striking out 11 while allowing only one earned run, leading the Nationals to a much-needed 8-2 victory at Turner Field that was close...