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Patrick Reddington: Tough rotation decision ahead

September 12, 2014, 6:15am

Back in January, when there was still some question about which pitcher would fill out the fifth spot in the Nationals rotation behind Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, 27-year-old right-hander Tanner Roark was asked about competing for a starting spot or possibly pitching out of the Nats bullpen. "I'd love to be the fifth starter," Roark told reporters, "but if I can make the team out of spring training, that would be great to help the team out any way I...

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Patrick Reddington: Changes in mental approach helped Roark, Souza become more major league-ready

June 27, 2014, 4:40am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Changes in mental approach helped Roark, Souza become more major league-ready

Tanner Roark struggled at Triple-A in 2012, but "just got over it mentally," as he put it this past winter when asked about his breakout campaign in 2013. "That was the biggest thing," the 27-year-old right-hander said. "I knew I had the tools, I just needed to get out of my own head and that's what helped me come up here and be able to do what I'm doing right now and keep doing what I'm doing, hopefully for a long time." The former Texas Rangers prospect finished the 2012 season at...

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Patrick Reddington: Enjoy LaRoche while you can

September 05, 2014, 5:33am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Enjoy LaRoche while you can

Veteran Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche was dealing with a lower back issue that kept him out of the lineup for Tuesday afternoon's game. Tyler Moore started at first base in the series finale in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but as the game went on, LaRoche's bat was needed, so Nats skipper Matt Williams turned to the 34-year-old middle-of-the-order bat after Bryce Harper singled with one down in the ninth and the Nationals trailing 2-0. LaRoche went 0-for-9 with three strikeouts...

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Patrick Reddington: Clippard finishes off one impressive battle against Rockies slugger

July 04, 2014, 7:13am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Clippard finishes off one impressive battle against Rockies slugger

A half-inning after Ian Desmond's solo home run off Colorado Rockies right-hander Matt Belisle put the Nationals up 4-3 in the series finale in the nation's capital on Wednesday night, Nats set-up man Tyler Clippard took the mound with the top of the Rockies order due up. The Nationals' 29-year-old reliever came out of the bullpen to face Charlie Blackmon, Drew Stubbs and Justin Morneau, but if any of the three reached base, Troy Tulowitzki was due to bat fourth. Blackmon lined out to left....

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Patrick Reddington: Murphy's return to New York a successful one

May 20, 2016, 6:44am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Murphy's return to New York a successful one

Daniel Murphy arrived in New York for Washington's three-game set with the Mets a .400 hitter after 37 games with the second organization he's known as a professional. Murphy signed a 3-year/$37.5M free agent deal with the Nationals in January after seven seasons with the Mets, who drafted him in the 13th Round of the 2006 Draft. "A lot of great memories in here," he told reporters before his first game in Citi Field as a member of the opposition. "A lot of great memories in this stadium,...

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Patrick Reddington: Nats remained at even keel during 10-game winning streak

August 29, 2014, 5:12am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Nats remained at even keel during 10-game winning streak

Before the Nationals' run of 10 straight wins, which started on Aug. 12 and lasted until Aug. 22, the longest winning streak this season came over a five-game stretch between June 28 and July 2, when the Nats beat the Chicago Cubs in both games of a doubleheader in Wrigley Field and took three straight from the Colorado Rockies on the road in Coors Field. The Nationals set a new season high of six straight with the second of back-to-back walk-off wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug...

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Patrick Reddington: Nats thinking big picture with ace Strasburg

July 15, 2016, 5:44am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Nats thinking big picture with ace Strasburg

In his first start back after a stint on the 15-day disabled list for an "upper back strain," Stephen Strasburg took a no-hit bid against the Cincinnati Reds into the seventh inning at Nationals Park. He was up to 93 pitches after six innings though, and two outs into the seventh, at 109 pitches, veteran skipper Dusty Baker made the decision to end the outing in spite of the fact that Strasburg hadn't allowed a hit. It wasn't a difficult decision. "No, because he had just come off the...

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Patrick Reddington: Severino thrust into different role with Ramos injury

September 29, 2016, 8:27pm

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Severino thrust into different role with Ramos injury

Pedro Severino caught Max Scherzer for the first time on Aug. 3rd in Arizona's Chase Field. Scherzer talked after the outing, an eight-inning start in which he allowed four hits and three earned runs, striking out 11, about getting to know the 23-year-old rookie and getting comfortable with Severino behind the plate. "It was great," Scherzer told reporters. "He did a great job behind the plate of getting me in rhythm and trying to get on the page with me and get some sequences right. "When...

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Patrick Reddington: Joe Ross takes a cautious first step

September 23, 2016, 5:26am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Joe Ross takes a cautious first step

In spite of their needs in the rotation, with Stephen Strasburg currently unavailable, the Nationals resisted the urge to rush 23-year-old righty Joe Ross back. Dusty Baker was excited about the idea of adding Ross to the mix after he missed more than two months working his way back from right shoulder inflammation. "I've heard guys around the league tell me that when he's right, he's as nasty as any young pitcher in the big leagues," Baker said last week before Ross pitched in the majors...

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Patrick Reddington: Long season taking a toll on Wilson Ramos

September 16, 2016, 5:55am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Long season taking a toll on Wilson Ramos

Dusty Baker spent quite a bit of time before and after the first two games of the now-completed three-game set with the visiting Mets talking about the offensive struggles of Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos. Ramos, 29, was 4-for-28 (.143/.200/.179) over the first eight games in September, with a double, two runs batted in, two walks and nine strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. The rough stretch left the soon-to-be-free agent with a .259/.299/.414 line, six doubles, seven home runs, 25 RBIs, 10...

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Patrick Reddington: Strasburg's latest injury not the worst-case scenario

September 09, 2016, 5:48am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Strasburg's latest injury not the worst-case scenario

Considering what the worst-case scenarios could have been, the diagnosis of a strained flexor mass for Stephen Strasburg was relatively "good" bad news. It's still a significant blow for the Washington Nationals and their 28-year-old starter, of course. "It's very good to know," Dusty Baker told reporters after the official announcement of the results of the MRI on Strasburg's elbow. "I met with our trainer Paul Lessard and we discussed it extensively and everybody was pretty satisfied...

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Patrick Reddington: Rizzo on the Schrock-Rzepczynski deal

September 02, 2016, 4:43am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Rizzo on the Schrock-Rzepczynski deal

After drafting Max Schrock out of the University of South Carolina in the 13th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft, the Washington Nationals signed the infielder to a $500,000 bonus, which MLB.com's Jim Callis noted was the highest bonus after the 10th round to that point. In a 46-game stint with the New York/Penn League's Auburn Doubledays in 2015, the 20-going-on-21-year-old put up a .308/.355/.448 slash line with 10 doubles, four triples and two home runs in 186 plate appearances. At...

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Patrick Reddington: Baker feels Nats are on verge of breaking out offensively

August 25, 2016, 6:27pm

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Baker feels Nats are on verge of breaking out offensively

Stephen Strasburg in on the disabled list with right shoulder soreness. Joe Ross is still working his way back from shoulder inflammation, though there were positive reports on the right-hander on Thursday. Sammy Solis is on the DL with a left shoulder issue and likely a couple of weeks away from a return. Oliver Perez is dealing with back tightness, but reportedly available. Before beating the Orioles on Thursday, the Nationals had lost four straight and six of 10 games. Nationals skipper...

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Patrick Reddington: Mark Melancon credits cutter for his career success

August 19, 2016, 5:35am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Mark Melancon credits cutter for his career success

With a scoreless ninth inning last night in Atlanta, new Washington Nationals closer Mark Melancon has retired 23 of the 27 batters he's faced since he was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates. When the 31-year-old right-hander has talked about the turning point for him in his career, he's pointed to the development of his cutter, as he did in an MLB Network Radio interview following the trade that brought him to the Nationals last month when he was asked what changed for him once he got to...

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Patrick Reddington: Plays at the plate still in a gray area

August 15, 2014, 5:53am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Plays at the plate still in a gray area

The Nationals swept the New York Mets with Thursday's win, but on Wednesday night, the Nats came close to blowing a late lead to their National League East rivals. Jordan Zimmermann and the first two members of the Nationals' "A" 'pen, Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, handed a 3-1 lead to closer Rafael Soriano, but the veteran right-hander struggled with his command after a couple of days off waiting for a save opportunity. A 2-2 fastball up in the zone to Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud...

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Patrick Reddington: What now for Jonathan Papelbon?

August 12, 2016, 4:41am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: What now for Jonathan Papelbon?

In five appearances out of Washington's bullpen, new closer Mark Melancon has thrown five scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing just one hit from the 16 batters he's faced. Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates to take over as the Nationals closer, Melancon has provided exactly what he was expected to. "He's not doing anything different than he was before we got him," Dusty Baker told reporters earlier this week. "He doesn't give up a lot of hits... very few walks, and he has...

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Patrick Reddington: Baker and Rizzo on Melancon's role with Nats

August 05, 2016, 5:25am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Baker and Rizzo on Melancon's role with Nats

In his two relief appearances for the Washington Nationals since he was acquired last weekend, new closer Mark Melancon has taken the mound with 14-1 and 8-3 leads. Not exactly high-leverage situations, but he's thrown two scoreless innings in relief for the Nationals on 25 pitches, giving up one hit and striking out three. Dusty Baker was impressed with the right-hander's Nationals debut. "Same stuff we saw on the other side," Baker said. "We know he throws strikes and we know he's tough...

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Patrick Reddington: Exploring Nats' in-house bullpen options

July 29, 2016, 5:09am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Exploring Nats' in-house bullpen options

When the Nationals missed out on Aroldis Chapman this week, manager Dusty Baker told reporters that he was disappointed that he wouldn't be reunited with the hard-throwing lefty who debuted in the majors with the Reds while Baker was their manager. "Disappointing," Baker said. "Would've liked to have him." While Baker was interested in a reunion with Chapman, he said last week that generally speaking, he doesn't pay too much attention to the chatter that precedes the non-waiver trade...

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Patrick Reddington: Trea Turner's speed affects the whole game

July 22, 2016, 5:37am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Trea Turner's speed affects the whole game

Late in Sunday's 18-inning series finale with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the game tied up at 1-1, Washington Nationals infielder Trea Turner hit a line drive leadoff single to left and tried to turn it into a double. Turner was thrown out at second by left fielder Starling Marte in spite of the fact that the Pirates outfielder made a fairly nonchalant play and throw into second. "Turner was cursed by his own speed," Dusty Baker told reporters after what ended up a 2-1 loss. "If he didn't...

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Patrick Reddington: Nats' advice shaped Walters

August 01, 2014, 5:32am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Nats' advice shaped Walters

Zach Walters was 166 games into his professional career after Arizona drafted him in the ninth round of the 2010 Draft out of the University of San Diego when the Nationals acquired him from the Diamondbacks in a July 2011 trade that sent veteran right-hander Jason Marquis to Arizona. "Zach Walters (is a) switch-hitting shortstop that we had seen as an amateur in the college ranks that we really liked," Nats general manager Mike Rizzo explained in a radio interview that summer. "He's...