PHILADELPHIA - Hello again from Citizens Bank Park, where the blowtorches were back out on the infield at noon today, only three hours before scheduled first pitch of this doubleheader. They've since been moved off to the side, but there's still a lot of tilling/rolling/drying work being done on the infield, so I'm not sure you can say with any confidence yet that today's action will start on time (or at all, if we want to consider the worst-case scenario). Oh, also there's a good chance...
PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where it is currently ... raining. Ah, there's a certain sense of comfort in traveling away from home but still feeling like you're home. The forecast actually doesn't look terrible for tonight: a 30 percent chance of showers. By Nationals standards of late, that's downright beautiful!
The Nationals arrive here weary from a ridiculously long weekend against the Cubs that included three games played in two days, two postponements and a final out...
Hope you didn't stray too far from your TV, cause we're already back for the nightcap of today's doubleheader. Yes, it's starting a little later than planned thanks to the 2-hour, 10-minute rain delay before the opener. And yes, there's a chance for more rain later tonight before this one is completed. But hey, at this point why complain anymore? Nothing any of us can do to change it.
The Nationals had a clear pitching advantage in the opener, with Max Scherzer facing Jaime Garcia, who...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Adam Jones is out of the Orioles' lineup again for the second game of their series against the Rays. He also didn't play last night.
Chris Davis returns and is the first baseman, with Trey Mancini serving as designated hitter.
Joey Rickard is in right field and Chance Sisco is catching.
David Hess will make his start after a football nailed him in the eye yesterday afternoon. Hess was questionable before being sent to an ophthalmologist, who determined that the rookie...
After a long and frustrating Friday night at the ballpark that featured fewer than two innings of baseball, the Nationals and Cubs are going to spend a long Saturday afternoon and night at the ballpark, hopefully playing 18 innings of baseball.
Everything that happened last night is wiped out, officially speaking. They'll start from scratch at 3:05 p.m. today, with Max Scherzer and Jaime Garcia on the mound for their respective clubs. Cole Hamels will pitch the nightcap for Chicago; the Nats...
It's been 425 days since Joe Ross last pitched in a major league game. Something didn't look right with the right-hander on July 9, 2017 when he lasted only 3 1/3 innings against the Braves and saw his velocity drop. Turns out he had a torn ligament in his elbow that required Tommy John surgery, and we all know how long it takes to return from that.
Tonight, Ross will take the mound at Nationals Park again, just shy of 14 months later. He'll be facing a tough Cubs lineup, not to mention an...
They just took the official 2018 team photo here at Nationals Park, with players, coaches and club executives all standing out in direct sunlight in the middle of the diamond on a brutally hot day to smile for a few seconds and capture a shot of the team in its entirety. That is, the team in its entirety as it currently exists on September 6. Several players who will have played a key role on this team this season aren't included, because they're no longer part of the team.
That includes...
Can the Nationals play well enough tonight to take a three-game series from the Cardinals? Can Tanner Roark continue his second-half surge? Can the lineup continue to produce, right down to the bottom of the ninth? Shoot, can they simply play a nine-inning game in fewer than 3 1/2 hours?
We'll find all of that out when the Nats wrap up their series with St. Louis with Roark on the mound. The right-hander took a bit of a step back in his last start, allowing three homers to the Brewers. But...
It's a disgustingly hot and muggy day here in Miami - wait, this is Washington? Could've fooled me. Step outside, close your eyes and you won't be able to tell the difference. Promise. So much for a September cool down.
Anyway, the Nationals and Cardinals return to action tonight after Monday's 10-inning thriller, the Nats looking to win two straight and get over the .500 mark. They'll do so with Erick Fedde on the mound for the first time in two months. Fedde, who last pitched July 4...
SEATTLE - Joey Rickard is in left field and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate as the Orioles begin their three-game series in Seattle.
Cedric Mullins is leading off, followed by Jonathan Villar. Adam Jones is back in right field and Tim Beckham is the shortstop.
Pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis and catcher Chance Sisco are in the clubhouse and happy to be back in the majors.
Chris Davis is batting .316 (12-for-38) in his last 10 games.
The Mariners are 49-22 (.690) this season in games decided by one or...
The Nationals and Brewers didn't get much sleep last night, so these will be some weary teams that take the field this afternoon for the series finale. The good news: Though it's going to be hot and humid, the chance of rain appears to be minimal, some welcome relief after what happened Friday and Saturday nights.
The Nats are going for a series victory, one that would not even be possible if not for their eighth-inning rally last night, with Juan Soto's bases-loaded single proving the...
The Nationals will send Stephen Strasburg to the hill this evening trying to even up their series with the Brewers and hoping the right-hander can continue to progress after being activated off the disabled list last month.
Since returning a month on the DL with a cervical nerve impingement, Strasburg has twice faced the Phillies, working four innings in an 8-7 home win on Aug. 22 and six innings in a 5-3 triumph where he posted his seventh victory on Aug. 27 at Citizens Bank Park (his only win...
The Orioles have expanded their roster by one player today, recalling infielder Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Norfolk.
They still have two openings on the 40-man roster.
Valera, acquired from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade, was 1-for-4 with an RBI in his only game with the Orioles. He was batting .229/.310/.364 in 38 games with the Tides.
The Orioles have an extra utility infielder with Valera joining Jace Peterson.
John Andreoli gets the start in left field tonight as the Orioles...
An August to forget comes to a close tonight when the Nationals host the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series (weather permitting). And it will close with another big-name veteran no longer part of the roster after Ryan Madson was traded to the Dodgers for a minor league right-hander.
Madson had made only one appearance since returning from his back injury, so the Nats bullpen has become used to functioning without him. But it's nonetheless striking to know neither he nor Kelvin...
PHILADELPHIA - Gio Gonzalez will take the mound for the finale of a three-game series between Nationals and Phillies. The Nats are going for a sweep of the Phillies and their fourth straight victory. But which version of the erratic left-hander will show up at Citizens Bank Park?
In his last outing against the Mets on Aug. 24 at Citi Field, Gonzalez pitched a gem, spinning seven innings of seven-hit, one-run ball without walking a batter. But he took the loss in a 3-0 defeat, falling to 7-11...
PHILADELPHIA - Appointment baseball tonight as a pair of Cy Young candidates go head-to-head for the second time in five days: It's Max Scherzer vs. Aaron Nola Part II.
The pair has combined for 31 wins this season.
Scherzer is six strikeouts shy of reaching the 250-strikeout plateau for the fifth straight season. Scherzer is currently tied with Ferguson Jenkins and Pedro Martinez with four straight seasons of 250 strikeouts. Randy Johnson owns the major league record with six straight seasons...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals arrive in Philadelphia one game under .500 with 31 games remaining. The deficit in the division race is 8 1/2 games. But the mood has to be somewhat upbeat after Sunday's 15-0 thumping of the Mets.
The Nats lost the series in New York, but bring their two best starting pitchers to the first two games of the series against the Phillies. The Nats trail the second-place Phillies by 5 1/2 games, having just taken a series from them last week in D.C.
The bad news from...
NEW YORK - Will the Nationals score a run today? That it has come to this is quite a statement on where things currently stand for this ballclub. Since Ryan Zimmerman's dramatic, walk-off homer Wednesday night against the Phillies, the Nats have come up to bat 27 times. And 27 times they have failed to score a run. As you know, this is the first time in club history they've been shut out three straight games.
So that's the task facing today's lineup, which doesn't include Bryce Harper (not...
NEW YORK - We know the Nationals' offensive production has been awfully hit-or-miss - no pun intended, though actually, yes pun intended - this season, and we got a good glimpse of that Friday night when a group that has been pretty effective over the last month was completely shut down by underwhelming left-hander Jason Vargas.
What reason is there to believe today will be different? Well, for starters the Nats are facing a different starter, one they've enjoyed much success against over the...
NEW YORK - Gio Gonzalez's season has, by every measure, been a colossal disappointment. If you want to compile a list of things that went wrong this year, the lefty's performance ranks high. One positive constant remains for Gonzalez, though: He still dominates the Mets.
Gonzalez enters tonight's start at Citi Field the owner of a 15-5 record and 2.90 ERA in 25 career starts versus New York. And that includes a 1-0 record and 2.53 ERA in his two head-to-head matchups this season. Both of...