Soto lands on IL, Turner "a little ahead of schedule"

Soto lands on IL, Turner "a little ahead of schedule"
PHILADELPHIA - Juan Soto was hitting in the cage before Wednesday's game at Nationals Park when he first noticed a problem with his back. "I was hitting in the cage, and I just did a deep breath and started feeling something, and I went right to the trainer's room," he said. "And then it was stuck, and I can't even move. And after that I started getting treatments, and now we're here." "Here" is on the 10-day injured list, a place of residency Soto has never occupied in his brief...
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Scherzer still on track for Friday start after throwing off mound

Scherzer still on track for Friday start after throwing off mound
DENVER - Max Scherzer believes he'll be good to make his next scheduled start as planned Friday night. But even if he isn't, the Nationals ace is grateful he's only dealing with a mild ribcage strain after dodging a foul ball Sunday in Miami that could have caused far more damage had it struck him. "First of all, you've got to understand: This is best-case scenario," Scherzer said this afternoon. "That ball was hit over 100 mph, right at my head. I'm just lucky I still have one blue...
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Scherzer pushed back to Sunday, Sipp good to go tonight

Scherzer pushed back to Sunday, Sipp good to go tonight
Max Scherzer insists he could start as planned Saturday, but the Nationals decided not to take any chances with their ace after he was struck by a comebacker in his last outing, so they've pushed him back to Sunday's series finale against the Pirates. Aníbal Sánchez will now start Saturday afternoon, though the veteran right-hander will be on normal rest thanks to the club's off-day in between their just completed road trip and upcoming homestand. "It didn't affect anything,"...
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Kendrick nearly ready, but not for opening day

Kendrick nearly ready, but not for opening day
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Howie Kendrick, as expected, will stay back in Florida while the rest of the Nationals break camp this evening and open the season on the injured list while finishing his rehab from a hamstring strain suffered earlier this month. Kendrick has been taking batting practice and grounders while lightly running the bases in recent days but hasn't yet appeared in a game. He plans to get into minor league games within a few days, then get himself ready to join the active...
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Taylor not surprised by quick progress from leg injuries

Taylor not surprised by quick progress from leg injuries
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor plans to take batting practice today, play catch from long-toss range and run on the synthetic agility field that sits outside the Nationals' spring training complex. He'll be doing this exactly one week after he sprained both his left knee and hip making a diving catch, an injury and diagnosis that prompted manager Davey Martinez to declare that Taylor was likely to "miss a significant amount of time." All of this seems to be catching everyone...
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Taylor getting MRI on injured knee and hip

Taylor getting MRI on injured knee and hip
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor is getting an MRI on both his left knee and left hip today, leaving the Nationals to potentially cope with a thin outfield following Thursday's injury on a diving catch in Fort Myers. Taylor hurt himself diving to snag a Byron Buxton drive to right-center during the Nationals' 10-4 exhibition victory over the Twins, revealing today the turf was "a little soft and my knee stuck in the ground." Taylor was still limping in the clubhouse this morning as...
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Taylor injures left knee making diving catch (updated)

Taylor injures left knee making diving catch (updated)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor was forced to prematurely depart today's exhibition game in the third inning, shortly after the Nationals center fielder injured his left knee making a diving catch. Taylor's impressive catch of Byron Buxton's second-inning drive to right-center drew oohs and applause from the crowd at the Twins' spring training complex, but the reaction turned quiet as Taylor remained on the ground and manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul...
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Glover has forearm strain, has "no doubt" he'll be ready

Glover has forearm strain, has "no doubt" he'll be ready
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - An MRI of Koda Glover's elbow revealed a forearm strain but no ligament damage, the reliever said this morning, though he will be shut down from throwing for now while the Nationals map out a plan to try to keep their oft-injured right-hander healthy at last. "Just a forearm strain," Glover said. "Nothing crazy. UCL was great. That's good news. It's just one of them things where we think maybe some weakness in there or some fatigue. But I'll be fine. I'm really...
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Finally healthy after two months, Doolittle off DL (another delay)

Finally healthy after two months, Doolittle off DL (another delay)
What would Sean Doolittle have thought, the Nationals closer was asked today, if told when he first noticed what felt like a minor left toe injury on July 7 that he wouldn't return for two months? "I would've said you were crazy," the left-hander said. "I was feeling really good, and I was pitching better than I ever have in my career. If you had told me when I came out of that game that night that I was going to have to wait two months to get to do that again, I would've said you were...
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Injection has Strasburg optimistic he'll be back soon (Nats down 1-0)

Injection has Strasburg optimistic he'll be back soon (Nats down 1-0)
MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg rejoined the Nationals today and is extremely optimistic he'll be pitching for them again in the near future after receiving a nerve-block injection in his neck two days ago. "It's very encouraging," the right-hander said. "I think they've kind of crossed all the boxes now, and it seems like it's something that should be good to go, and I'm excited to get back out there with the guys." Strasburg thought he was on track to do just that when he returned from a...
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Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday

Strasburg receives shot in neck, could resume throwing Sunday
MIAMI - The Nationals have received what they believe to be good news about Stephen Strasburg, though it's still an open question when the right-hander will be ready to pitch again. Strasburg, in Los Angeles on Thursday to have his ailing neck examined by a neurologist, was given a shot and is set to rejoin the Nationals in Miami on Saturday. He'll need to wait 72 hours for the shot to take full effect, but provided he feels well at that point he'll be cleared to resume throwing. "That's...
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Stress reaction will sideline Doolittle several more weeks

Stress reaction will sideline Doolittle several more weeks
The Nationals are going to be without their All-Star closer a while longer than they initially expected. Sean Doolittle, who hoped the injury to his left foot that sidelined him for the first week before the All-Star break and then prevented him from pitching in the Midsummer Classic at Nationals Park, learned this weekend he'll be out several more weeks after a follow-up MRI revealed a "stress reaction" in the bridge of the foot. The injury, which is not as severe as a stress fracture, is...
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Doolittle not ready yet, but Nats believe he's close to returning

Doolittle not ready yet, but Nats believe he's close to returning
The Nationals got two of their key injured players - Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman - back from the disabled list today. They'll have to wait a bit longer for Sean Doolittle to join them on the active roster. Doolittle, eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list today, has made significant progress in his recovery from a pinched nerve in his left foot, but he said he's not quite ready yet. "Today was a good day," the Nats closer said. "I did some light jogging, and it was the...
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Doolittle to miss at least 10 days, All-Star Game with foot injury

Doolittle to miss at least 10 days, All-Star Game with foot injury
PITTSBURGH - Sean Doolittle knew something wasn't right in his left foot as far back as Friday, but he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about, that all would be fine if he took a couple days off. But by the time Monday arrived and Doolittle decided to see how the foot felt when he threw off a bullpen mound and simulated fielding bunts, he realized this problem was more serious than he initially thought. And so today the Nationals were forced to place their All-Star closer on the...
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Strasburg throwing again, Hellickson ready for start at Potomac

Strasburg throwing again, Hellickson ready for start at Potomac
Two weeks removed from his last start, Stephen Strasburg is throwing again, his right shoulder inflammation having cleared up enough to allow the Nationals right-hander to get back to baseball activities. Strasburg has thrown off flat ground in the outfield twice this week, most recently this afternoon. It was only a light game of catch, and there are several steps left for him to take before he could return from the disabled list, but it's nonetheless an encouraging sign that his injury does...
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Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)
ATLANTA - After watching their bullpen throw seven perfect innings during Saturday's 14-inning win, the last thing the Nationals needed was to have to turn to their relief corps early today. Which is exactly what happened after starter Jeremy Hellickson departed only two batters into the bottom of the first with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hellickson hurt himself trying to make a leaping catch of Mark Reynolds' high toss on Ozzie Albies' grounder to first. The ball caromed off...
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Madson returns to roster, Goodwin appears to be next up

Madson returns to roster, Goodwin appears to be next up
ATLANTA - The Nationals are getting the first of their key injured players back tonight, with Ryan Madson activated off the disabled list. And more appear to be coming, with Brian Goodwin likely joining the club this weekend and Daniel Murphy and Matt Grace not too far behind. Madson was added back to the active roster in time for tonight's opener against the Braves, the strained right pectoral muscle that sidelined him for two weeks having healed. The veteran setup man was able to make it...
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Madson throws for first time since landing on DL

Madson throws for first time since landing on DL
When Ryan Madson made three appearances in four days against the Diamondbacks earlier this month, his velocity up from previous outings, the veteran reliever was as encouraged as he had been all season about the way he was pitching and the way his arm felt. Then on the flight home from Arizona, Madson felt a cramp in his right pectoral muscle. And a week later, having not pitched in a game since, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list. "I didn't feel it pitching, or during the game,"...
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Kendrick out for year with ruptured Achilles, Soto to be promoted

Kendrick out for year with ruptured Achilles, Soto to be promoted
Howie Kendrick, the Nationals and everybody inside the ballpark who watched the veteran left fielder crumple to the ground and grab his lower right leg this afternoon knew this probably was a serious injury. By the end of the night, they all knew just how serious: Kendrick needs season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. That diagnosis was announced by manager Davey Martinez minutes after Sean Doolittle blew his first save of the season, leaving the Nationals scarred from a 5-4...
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Kendrick suffers apparent serious right leg injury (updated)

Kendrick suffers apparent serious right leg injury (updated)
The Nationals' already thin outfield lost another key player today when Howie Kendrick appeared to suffer a significant right lower leg injury making a catch in the top of the eighth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers. Kendrick retreated to the wall to catch what otherwise was a routine fly ball by Los Angeles first baseman Max Muncy, then threw the ball toward the infield as Justin Turner tagged up from third and scored. Kendrick immediately went down to the ground...
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