Mark Zuckerman

Ramos still hitting, Harper homers and bullpen delivers

June 28, 2016, 9:51pm

Lucas Giolito got most of the attention last night and deservedly so, despite the odd nature of his rain-shortened, major league debut. But there were some other noteworthy developments during the Nationals' 5-0 victory over the Mets, so let's give some of those their due ... * Wilson Ramos continues to hit as well as any hitter in baseball. With a 2-for-4 night that included a two-run double, the Nats catcher extended his current hitting streak to 11 games, during which he's batting .383...

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Rain can't spoil Giolito's long-awaited major league debut

June 28, 2016, 9:30pm

Nationals

Rain can't spoil Giolito's long-awaited major league debut

Like every kid who grows up with a baseball in one hand, a bat in the other and the imagination to believe anything is possible, Lucas Giolito had played out his major league debut in his own mind plenty of times. But did he ever envision that debut being interrupted twice by rain, the second delay dragging on long enough to prevent him from re-taking the mound despite his effectiveness? "Not once," the 21-year-old said with a laugh. "I never saw rain in the forecast at all. I thought it...

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Giolito dealing with Mets, rain (Nationals win 5-0)

June 28, 2016, 4:55pm

Nationals

The biggest threat to Lucas Giolito so far in his major league debut hasn't been the Mets lineup. It's the weather. A heavy cell of storms delayed the first pitch of Giolito's career for 55 minutes tonight. Now the Nationals rookie is trying to record as many outs as he can before the next cell hits. With ominous clouds hovering above Nationals Park, Giolito is pitching like a seasoned pro, not a 21-year-old just promoted from Double-A. He has tossed three scoreless innings to begin his...

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Strasburg's MRI shows "nothing serious" (we're underway)

June 28, 2016, 1:47pm

Nationals

Strasburg's MRI shows "nothing serious" (we're underway)

The Nationals remain optimistic that the injury that landed Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list isn't serious and that the right-hander will be able to return to their rotation soon after getting a positive report from medical tests administered over the last two days. Results of Strasburg's MRI confirmed the Nationals' initial diagnosis of a strained upper back, encouraging news for the club. "Nothing serious," manager Dusty Baker said. "As we had hoped it wasn't." Strasburg was...

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Game 78 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

June 28, 2016, 11:10am

Nationals

There's nothing quite like a major league debut. Every single one of them, no matter how hyped, is a big deal, literally a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a young man who gets to realize his dream. There are, of course, debuts that are bigger than others, and tonight we will be witnessing one of those when Lucas Giolito takes the mound shortly after 7 p.m. The 21-year-old right-hander may not be pitching tonight with as much hoopla surrounding him as Stephen Strasburg had six years ago, but he...

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Nats confident Giolito can handle pressure of tonight's debut

June 27, 2016, 8:41pm

Nationals

Nats confident Giolito can handle pressure of tonight's debut

The Nationals have seen their share of players take the field for much-hyped, big league debuts during their first 12 seasons of existence. Stephen Strasburg's inaugural appearance in 2010, of course, tops the list, but Bryce Harper's arrival in 2012 stands right alongside it. And more than just die-hard fans recognized the significance of the first games in the careers of top prospects like Jordan Zimmermann, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Ian Desmond, Drew Storen and (once-upon-a-time) Ryan...

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How the Nats turned a four-run deficit into a seven-run victory

June 27, 2016, 8:10pm

Nationals

How the Nats turned a four-run deficit into a seven-run victory

They were down four runs already to their chief division rivals, their starting pitcher getting rocked and an imposing flamethrower on the mound for the opposition who had pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the first. Given the way things had been going for the Nationals over the last week or so, you could forgive them if they were a bit demoralized at this particular moment, trailing Noah Syndergaard and the Mets in uninspired fashion. To listen to them describe...

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Nats bats come roaring back during 11-4 thumping of Mets

June 27, 2016, 6:24pm

Nationals

Nats bats come roaring back during 11-4 thumping of Mets

Down four runs early to Noah Syndergaard, with the Mets lineup all over Joe Ross, the Nationals found themselves in a precarious position in the middle of the third inning tonight, in danger of letting their chief division rivals draw even closer in the standings. And then came the bottom of the third, at which point a Nationals lineup that spent the last week searching for any hit it could possibly get with a man in scoring position finally decided enough was enough. Beginning with a five-run...

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Papelbon tosses perfect inning on rehab (Nats win 11-4)

June 27, 2016, 4:50pm

Nationals

Papelbon tosses perfect inning on rehab (Nats win 11-4)

Jonathan Papelbon cruised through a 1-2-3 inning in the first minor league rehab appearance of his career, moving a step closer to rejoining the Nationals bullpen. Pitching for high Single-A Potomac, Papelbon retired the side in the top of the first inning against Winston-Salem. Given a chance to start and get his work in quickly before making the short drive back up Interstate-95 to Washington, Papelbon recorded a flyout to center field, a swinging strikeout and then a groundout to second...

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Nationals trying out Trea Turner in center field at Syracuse

June 27, 2016, 2:38pm

Nationals

On the day they announced the promotion of their top pitching prospect to the big leagues, the Nationals also made an unconventional move that may be a precursor to a promotion of their top position player. Trea Turner, an infielder throughout his amateur and minor league career, is starting in center field tonight for Triple-A Syracuse. And the 22-year-old figures to see significant action there in the next week, with the Nationals strongly considering him for use in the big leagues as an...

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Nats believe Giolito gives them "best option to win" Tuesday

June 27, 2016, 2:09pm

Nationals

Nats believe Giolito gives them "best option to win" Tuesday

The Nationals had seen enough of Lucas Giolito in recent weeks to believe he was ready for a promotion. To Triple-A Syracuse, not the big leagues. But when Stephen Strasburg's lingering back injury opened up a spot in their rotation, the Nationals decided to go ahead and promote their top pitching prospect all the way up from Double-A Harrisburg and send him to the mound Tuesday night against the Mets. "We figured he gave us the best option to win the game tomorrow," general manager Mike...

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Lucas Giolito to make major league debut Tuesday vs. Mets

June 27, 2016, 12:01pm

Nationals

Lucas Giolito to make major league debut Tuesday vs. Mets

The long wait is finally almost over as top Nationals pitching prospect Lucas Giolito will make his major league debut and start Tuesday against the Mets, manager Dusty Baker confirmed today in his pregame press briefing. The announcement comes after much speculation that the Nats would recall either the right-handed Giolito or 24-year-old right-hander Austin Voth to make a spot start with Stephen Strasburg landing on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with an upper back strain. With Giolito...

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Game 77 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

June 27, 2016, 11:11am

Nationals

Why does it feel like it's been ages since the Nationals last played a game here on South Capitol Street? OK, maybe it hasn't been ages in the technical sense, but it has been a full 12 days since Jayson Werth's walk-off single beat the Cubs and sent the Nats out west flying high for the moment. They return now after winning yesterday in Milwaukee to snap a seven-game losing streak, with Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list, a bullpen still trying to cobble things together minus Jonathan...

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Martin called up from Syracuse to bolster bullpen for now

June 27, 2016, 10:52am

Nationals

Martin called up from Syracuse to bolster bullpen for now

The Nationals called up right-hander Rafael Martin from Triple-A Syracuse, giving themselves another reliever for tonight's series opener against the Mets but still leaving the question of Tuesday night's starter unanswered for now. Martin becomes the eighth member of the Nationals bullpen, but his stay in D.C. could be brief. Unless the club intends to use long reliever Yusmeiro Petit as Stephen Strasburg's replacement in the rotation - and manager Dusty Baker said Sunday in Milwaukee that...

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Jonathan Papelbon to begin rehab Monday at Potomac

June 26, 2016, 6:20pm

Nationals

Jonathan Papelbon to begin rehab Monday at Potomac

Jonathan Papelbon's return to the Nationals bullpen may only be a handful of days away. Papelbon will begin a rehab assignment with high Single-A Potomac on Monday night, the minor league affiliate announced, suggesting the injured closer is nearly ready to come back from a strained ribcage muscle. Out since June 13 with what officially is considered a strained right intercostal muscle, Papelbon traveled with the Nationals throughout their just-completed road trip and had been playing catch...

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Nats struggling to cobble together bullpen with Papelbon out

June 23, 2016, 10:45am

Nationals

Nats struggling to cobble together bullpen with Papelbon out

When Jonathan Papelbon landed on the disabled list for the first time in his career 10 days ago, it was viewed in some corners as a potential addition by subtraction, given the veteran closer's oft-shaky outings that seemed to feature more hard-hit balls than swings and misses. Dusty Baker knew better. Whatever heart palpitations Papelbon may cause his manager at times, he more than makes up for with experience and the domino effect he has on the rest of the Nationals bullpen. "I think the...

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After disastrous West Coast trip, Nationals try to refocus

June 22, 2016, 11:54pm

Nationals

LOS ANGELES - Michael A. Taylor's game-ending error late last night would have been tough enough for the Nationals to cope with had it come during a long winning streak. That it instead extended their current losing streak to a season-long five games only added to the disconsolation that was felt throughout the visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium at the end of a brutal West Coast trip. "Every loss on this road trip has been devastating," manager Dusty Baker said. "We had the lead in...

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Taylor's game-ending error hands Nats another crushing loss

June 22, 2016, 11:25pm

Nationals

Taylor's game-ending error hands Nats another crushing loss

LOS ANGELES - For a split-second when the ball came off the bat, there was a fleeting thought it could be a double-play ball, one that would wrap up a much-needed victory for the Nationals. But then Yasiel Puig's hard grounder up the middle got past a diving Danny Espinosa, and so everyone inside Dodger Stadium immediately assumed it would be a simple single to center field, extending the bottom of the ninth. But then as he came charging in, Michael A. Taylor's eyes gazed slightly upward,...

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Young arms dueling at Dodger Stadium (Nats lose 4-3)

June 22, 2016, 7:36pm

Nationals

Young arms dueling at Dodger Stadium (Nats lose 4-3)

LOS ANGELES - After a frustrating few nights trying (and mostly failing) to come up with clutch hits, the Nationals managed to record a couple of them in succession in the top of the second tonight, giving themselves an early lead over the Dodgers. Danny Espinosa and Joe Ross hit back-to-back RBI doubles off 19-year-old phenom Julio Urias, a pair of desperately needed two-out hits with men in scoring position for a Nationals lineup that has struggled mightily to deliver in those situations. The...

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Strasburg throws off flat ground, Ramos moves up to fifth

June 22, 2016, 5:17pm

Nationals

Strasburg throws off flat ground, Ramos moves up to fifth

LOS ANGELES - Stephen Strasburg played catch in the Dodger Stadium outfield this afternoon, the first time he had thrown a ball since an upper back strain left him unable to start Monday night's game. It's still too soon for the Nationals to know if Strasburg will be able to make his next scheduled start Sunday in Milwaukee, and he'll likely need to throw off a bullpen mound one of the next two days to do that. But today's step was an encouraging one. "Yeah, it's an encouraging sign,"...