Mark Zuckerman

Offensive production has gone silent during homestand

August 09, 2016, 7:52pm

When the Nationals returned home from a long road trip last week, they did so hoping for a sustained surge of offense that began during a three-game sweep in Arizona. Turns out that series against the Diamondbacks (and their weak pitching staff) wasn't the beginning of anything, except a return to the offensive struggles that have plagued the Nats more routinely this season. They did score five runs Friday night in a win over the Giants. But they've proceeded to score one run in each of three...

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"Little things" cost Scherzer in latest no-hit bid

August 09, 2016, 7:29pm

Nationals

"Little things" cost Scherzer in latest no-hit bid

It has become somewhat commonplace in these parts, and so folks tend not to get overexcited when it happens. Make no mistake, though, Dusty Baker knew what was going on with Max Scherzer, just as every one of the 30,978 spectators at Nationals Park knew it. "Everybody was thinking it. You were thinking it," Baker said of Scherzer's no-hit bid against the Indians. "Because he knows how to close out those games. Then it went from a no-hitter to a loss in a matter of time, and we couldn't...

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Scherzer loses no-hitter, then 3-1 game to Cleveland

August 09, 2016, 6:00pm

Nationals

Scherzer loses no-hitter, then 3-1 game to Cleveland

Max Scherzer made yet another run at history on the mound, but a quick flurry of events in the top of the seventh combined with a lack of run support from his teammates left the right-hander and the Nationals to stew over a 3-1 loss to the Indians on a night that appeared to be headed for a much happier conclusion. Scherzer held Cleveland hitless into the seventh in his latest attempt at a third career no-hitter before things fell apart. Francisco Lindor's one-out single up the middle broke up...

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Scherzer strikes out 200 for fifth straight year (Nats lose 3-1)

August 09, 2016, 4:03pm

Nationals

Scherzer strikes out 200 for fifth straight year (Nats lose 3-1)

Only a select few major league pitchers surpass the 200-strikeout mark each season. Max Scherzer just got there on Aug. 9, with nearly two more months to add to that total. Scherzer hit the magical 200-strikeout number tonight with a third-inning punch-out of Indians catcher Roberto Perez. It's the fifth straight season the Nationals right-hander has done it, a feat duplicated only by Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander, among active pitchers. This is Scherzer's 24th start...

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Harper sits again with stiff neck, return uncertain

August 09, 2016, 2:03pm

Nationals

Harper sits again with stiff neck, return uncertain

Bryce Harper's stiff neck, which forced him from the Nationals game three days ago, is still preventing the struggling slugger from playing tonight. Harper is out of the lineup for the Nationals' series opener against the Indians, a somewhat surprising development given the way he and the team downplayed the significance of the injury when it first became public Saturday night. "It's the same thing," manager Dusty Baker said. "We were hoping that these couple days (would help). A stiff...

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Game 112 lineups: Nats vs. Indians

August 09, 2016, 11:10am

Nationals

The Nationals are back to work tonight, hosting the Indians in the opener of a two-game interleague series, the second half of their head-to-head matchup that included two games in Cleveland a couple weeks ago. The two clubs split that series at Progressive Field, but only because of Jonathan Papelbon's blown save in the opener. Obviously, things have changed a bit since then. Max Scherzer, who did not pitch in that first series, takes the mound tonight and looks to continue his recent surge...

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Does Ramos deserve to be in NL MVP discussion?

August 08, 2016, 7:40pm

Nationals

Does Ramos deserve to be in NL MVP discussion?

We're just about getting to that point in the season when we can start seriously talking about the major awards, and the Nationals are almost certainly going to find themselves smack in the middle of these debates. Daniel Murphy is an obvious candidate for National League MVP, perhaps even the favorite with two months to go. Stephen Strasburg is a contender for the NL Cy Young Award, and Max Scherzer is making a strong push to join that conversation as well. And Dusty Baker's name definitely...

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Was Guzman-for-Roark the best trade of Rizzo's career?

August 07, 2016, 9:15pm

Nationals

Was Guzman-for-Roark the best trade of Rizzo's career?

That Tanner Roark has established himself as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball is remarkable enough, given the right-hander's path to this point: a 25th-round pick in the 2008 draft who didn't make his major league debut until he was nearly 27. That the Nationals acquired this elite pitcher and rotation anchor from the Rangers six years ago in exchange for the final 15 games of Cristian Guzman's career ... well, that's almost beyond comprehension. The Guzman-for-Roark trade...

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Roark further establishes his pedigree with another gem

August 07, 2016, 2:27pm

Nationals

Roark further establishes his pedigree with another gem

When the Nationals tweaked their rotation prior to this weekend's series, casual observers noted today's series finale against the Giants would no longer feature a showdown between Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner. This news was, to many, a downer. Those who have watched the Nationals closely all season, though, know the man who wound up starting today's game has been every bit as reliable and nearly as successful as his All-Star rotation mate. Tanner Roark, folks, is no slouch. He is...

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Roark outduels Bumgarner, Ramos homers in 1-0 victory

August 07, 2016, 12:22pm

Nationals

Roark outduels Bumgarner, Ramos homers in 1-0 victory

They didn't have Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer at their disposal to face Madison Bumgarner. They had Tanner Roark, who right now is just as good. Roark outdueled Bumgarner during a tense pitchers' duel, then cheered from the dugout as Wilson Ramos homered off the Giants ace in the bottom of the seventh and the new-look back end of the Nationals bullpen closed out an awfully impressive 1-0 victory before a fired-up crowd of 32,790. With seven scoreless innings, Roark improved to 12-6 with...

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Harper out of lineup with stiff neck (Nationals win 1-0)

August 07, 2016, 8:39am

Nationals

The stiff neck that forced Bryce Harper to depart Saturday night's game early is keeping him out of the Nationals lineup today for their series finale against the Giants. Harper had started 101 of the Nationals' first 110 games this season, dealing only with an occasional day off and minor injuries. He doesn't sound concerned that this issue is anything serious, though he admitted it has been a problem for a few days. "It's a stiff neck," he said Saturday night. "That's not the greatest...

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Game 111 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

August 07, 2016, 6:41am

Nationals

Bryce Harper is not in today's lineup for the Nationals. That shouldn't come as a huge surprise, given the fact Harper left last night's game after six innings with a stiff neck he said has been bothering him for several days. Combine that with his ongoing struggles at the plate and the presence of Madison Bumgarner on the mound today for the Giants, and this just seems like a good time for a day off for Harper. The Nationals lineup, though, is left depleted. Danny Espinosa, who has slumped...

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Werth's streak reaching base reaches MLB-best 37 games

August 06, 2016, 8:18pm

Nationals

Werth's streak reaching base reaches MLB-best 37 games

It doesn't receive the fanfare a hitting streak does, but Jayson Werth's streak of consecutive games reaching base deserves some attention. Especially now that the Nationals veteran has reached base in more consecutive games than any other major leaguer this season. With a fifth-inning walk during Saturday night's loss to the Giants, Werth kept the streak alive. He has now reached base in 37 straight games, topping Miami's Marcell Ozuna for the longest such streak in baseball in...

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Strasburg beaten up by Giants, Harper banged up and departs

August 06, 2016, 8:01pm

Nationals

Strasburg beaten up by Giants, Harper banged up and departs

The Nationals' 7-1 loss to the Giants tonight most likely won't be remembered for much by season's end, lost among the handful of duds this otherwise very good team has played in 2016. We won't remember that Matt Cain held them scoreless for five innings despite putting 10 men on base, or that Jonathan Papelbon served up a second-deck homer to Brandon Belt in garbage time. The two most significant developments on this night, then, might well have involved the Nationals' two biggest-name...

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Giants pound Strasburg, Nats bullpen in 7-1 trouncing

August 06, 2016, 6:28pm

Nationals

Giants pound Strasburg, Nats bullpen in 7-1 trouncing

Stephen Strasburg was done in by the Giants lineup and possibly the D.C. humidity. Bryce Harper might have been done in by something else, appearing to tweak something on a swing and departing tonight's game after six innings. Needless to say, the Nationals' 7-1 loss to San Francisco did not go how anyone in the home dugout would have liked. Strasburg was roughed up during his shortest start of the season (4 2/3 innings) and suffered only his second loss in 21 outings. Harper, meanwhile, came...

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Goodwin stunned by big league promotion (Nationals lose 7-1)

August 06, 2016, 3:30pm

Nationals

Brian Goodwin always expected he'd get the call. He just didn't expect it to come when it did, late Saturday night, when the Nationals informed the 25-year-old outfielder he was getting promoted to the big leagues for the first time. "I just kind of blacked out once I heard it," he said. "I was just excited. Everything I ever dreamed of, everything I worked for. Just to get that news, it was unreal." Ryan Zimmerman's latest trip to the disabled list led to Goodwin's first trip to the...

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Zimmerman on the frustration of another DL stint

August 06, 2016, 1:57pm

Nationals

Zimmerman on the frustration of another DL stint

Seven times in the last six years Ryan Zimmerman has had to take these questions from reporters, seven times explaining why an injury was forcing him to the disabled list and seven times trying not to get frustrated by the situation. As he went through the process again today, after landing back on the DL with a left wrist contusion, Zimmerman admitted it's starting to get to him more than it has in the past. "Yeah, it's really frustrating," the 31-year-old first baseman said. "I think...

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Game 110 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

August 06, 2016, 11:29am

Nationals

Is tonight's game more important than the typical game? Well, it could be. You see, with a win tonight the Nationals would win the season series from the Giants, and that could come into play this fall should the two teams end up tied in the standings. If you think it's pointless to consider such miniscule possibilities, just know the manager cares about these kinds of things. "This is big," Dusty Baker said. "For those of us that have been in the playoffs many times, you realize how...

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Zimmerman lands on DL, Nats recall Goodwin from Syracuse

August 06, 2016, 11:11am

Nationals

Zimmerman lands on DL, Nats recall Goodwin from Syracuse

His left wrist still too sore to play six days after getting hit by a pitch, Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon, with the Nationals promoting outfielder Brian Goodwin from Triple-A Syracuse to take his roster spot. Zimmerman hadn't been able to play since taking a fastball off his left wrist in the ninth inning of Sunday's game in San Francisco. X-rays taken that day came back negative for any fractures, but the wrist was badly bruised by the pitch. Because...

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No saves yet, but Melancon soaks in "special" D.C. debut

August 05, 2016, 7:43pm

Nationals

No saves yet, but Melancon soaks in "special" D.C. debut

At some point, Mark Melancon will come charging out of the Nationals bullpen with his team holding a slim lead and needing him to be perfect in order to save a game. Until then, the Nationals' new closer will just have to be content closing out lopsided victories. "I think that's a good thing, that there hasn't (been a save situation)," he said. "We're winning. It's a good thing. But it'll be nice to get that first one out of the way, for sure." Acquired from the Pirates exactly one...