lineups - Blog

Game 161 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

September 30, 2017, 10:52am

It's not necessarily high on their priority list right now, but the Nationals do still have a chance to win 99 games this season and thus set a new franchise record. To get there, they need to win both tonight and Sunday afternoon against the Pirates, which is far from an impossible task. And it only helps to have Max Scherzer on the mound tonight for his final regular season start. The ace right-hander enters tonight with a 2.55 ERA and needing to have a strong outing if he wants to leapfrog...

Comments

Tags:

dusty baker lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates wilmer difo anthony rendon frontstory_nationals3

Game 160 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

September 29, 2017, 6:32am

Nationals

The Nationals are prepping their starters for the National League Division Series and if tonight's starter Stephen Strasburg is the Game 2 starter, he will have eight days off. Game 2 of the NLDS is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7. Strasburg has had a tremendous year, going 14-4 with a 2.68 ERA. Tonight is a good test for the Nats hitters, facing a very good right-hander in Gerrit Cole (12-11, 4.23) for Pittsburgh. Right fielder Bryce Harper back in the lineup batting second. Manager Dusty...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper byron kerr daniel murphy nationals ryan zimmerman stephen strasburg dusty baker lineups pittsburgh pirates frontstory_nationals3

Game 159 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

September 28, 2017, 11:09am

Nationals

And we're back on South Capitol Street for the final weekend of the regular season. The Nationals wrap things up with four games against the Pirates. A few months back, this series looked like it could carry some significance for at least one of the two teams, maybe even both. Instead, they're just playing out the string, with the Bucs having struggled over the last month and fallen out of contention and the Nats having long since clinched a division title and now just prepping for the Cubs...

Comments

Tags:

edwin jackson lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates frontstory_nationals3

Game 158 lineups: Nats at Phillies

September 27, 2017, 11:36am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where the Nationals and Phillies wrap up their season series tonight. Many thanks to Byron Kerr for covering the last two games; he's back home tonight hosting "Nats Xtra" on MASN, so I made the drive to Philadelphia to cover this final road game of the regular season. The Nationals have been very good away from home this year, with a 50-30 road record that is best in the National League. And, get this: If the Nats win tonight, they'd become the...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies tanner roark frontstory_nationals3

Game 155 lineups: Nats at Mets

September 24, 2017, 6:41am

Nationals

NEW YORK - Though their chances of securing home field advantage throughout the postseason are slim - they still trail the Dodgers by 4 1/2 games - the Nationals are on the verge of securing home field advantage at least for the National League Division Series. They enter play today with a seven-game lead over the Cubs, with eight to go. Thus, their magic number to clinch home field advantage for the first round is two, and if things go right, that could be locked up this afternoon. In order to...

Comments

Tags:

lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime new york mets frontstory_nationals1

Game 154 lineups: Nats at Mets

September 23, 2017, 11:35am

Nationals

NEW YORK - First, the most important news of the day: Bryce Harper (along with Brian Goodwin and Stephen Drew) batted in another simulated game today, facing Nationals minor leaguers Steven Fuentes and Alex Troop. By all indications (i.e., from what I could tell from my vantage point up in the press box) things went well, which means it should be decision time for the Nats with Harper, who doesn't seem to have any more hurdles to cross before playing in an actual game. Stay tuned for any...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper jayson werth lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets stephen strasburg frontstory_nationals1

Game 153 lineups: Nats at Mets

September 22, 2017, 11:41am

Nationals

NEW YORK - You want to see the kids? Well, tonight you get to see the kids. After playing his regulars three straight nights in Atlanta, Dusty Baker is giving them the series opener against the Mets off, instead going with a lineup full of youth, energy ... and inexperience. We'll see how that pays off against New York right-hander Robert Gsellman, who has been touched up for 13 runs and 20 hits in nine innings against the Nationals this season. Edwin Jackson, meanwhile, gets the start against...

Comments

Tags:

edwin jackson lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime new york mets frontstory_nationals3

Game 152 lineups: Nats at Braves

September 21, 2017, 11:54am

Nationals

ATLANTA - At this late stage of the season, most matchups against division opponents are going to feature familiar foes on the mound. And tonight is about as extreme an example as it gets: The Nationals are facing R.A. Dickey for the fifth time this year. The ageless knuckleballer has been one of the few constants in the Braves rotation, but this hasn't been a very good matchup for him. In his four previous starts against the Nats, he's 0-2 with a 5.92 ERA, having surrendered five homers in...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime tanner roark frontstory_nationals1

Game 151 lineups: Nats at Braves

September 20, 2017, 12:02pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - They may not have a realistic shot at surpassing the Dodgers for the National League's best record, but the Nationals do still have a realistic shot at something else before the season is over: the best record in franchise history. The 2012 club, which went 98-64, currently holds that title. The 2017 club currently sits at 91-59. So in order to set the record, the Nats need to go 8-4 the rest of the way. They'd need to go 9-3 to get to 100 wins. The process continues tonight with...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves daniel murphy gio gonzalez lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals1

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Braves (Murphy scratched)

September 19, 2017, 11:53am

Nationals

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Braves (Murphy scratched)

ATLANTA - Hello from SunTrust Park, here right smack dab in the middle of Unincorporated Atlanta. Some more development has sprung up around the ballpark since the last time the Nationals played here in May, but the Braves' new suburban home still feels far from complete. The Nats open their final road trip of the regular season tonight with the first of three games against Atlanta. And the opener features a pitching rematch from last week's series in D.C.: Max Scherzer vs. Luiz Gohara. That...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime daniel murphy wilmer difo frontstory_nationals3

Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

September 17, 2017, 12:06pm

Nationals

There may not be all that much riding on this weekend's series, but the Nationals certainly don't want to be swept by the Dodgers. That wouldn't be very good for morale, no matter the significance of these games on what will occur next month. The good news: Stephen Strasburg is on the mound tonight, and nobody in baseball has pitched better than he has over the last month-plus. Strasburg carries a 34-inning scoreless streak into tonight's game, and all those zeroes haven't been fluky. The...

Comments

Tags:

lineups los angeles dodgers mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime stephen strasburg frontstory_nationals3

Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

September 16, 2017, 6:25am

Nationals

The Nationals are looking to bounce back from an uncomfortable 7-0 loss to the Dodgers to open the three-game series between National League heavyweights. Three early home runs were too much to overcome and the Nats offense struggled to get a rally going all night. The Nats do have some players on upward trends. Shortstop Trea Turner is holding steady at 40 steals on the season, one away from the all-time Nats franchise record of 41 by Alfonso Soriano in 2006. Turner has slashed .371/.421/.686...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr dodgers nationals rich hill ryan zimmerman a.j. cole lineups trea turner victor robles frontstory_nationals3

Game 147 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

September 15, 2017, 10:37am

Nationals

The Nationals haven't played any truly meaningful pennant-race games in mid-to-late September in any of the last six seasons. They've always either clinched the division or been too far back to have a realistic chance, leaving these last two weeks of the regular season to relatively meaningless ball. This weekend, then, provides the closest thing we may experience to exciting pennant-race baseball. The Dodgers are in town, and so this is a showdown between the National League's top two...

Comments

Tags:

edwin jackson lineups los angeles dodgers mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime

Game 146 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

September 14, 2017, 10:56am

Nationals

The Nationals tonight are trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Braves, not to mention falling to 7-9 overall against them this season. All of that would be a surprise, given the respective state of clubs, but it does show you that Atlanta is making some strides in its rebuild and the Nats (for whatever reason) haven't enjoyed as much success against these guys as other division foes. It'll be Tanner Roark's job to pitch well enough to help change that downward trend. Roark has been...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime tanner roark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

September 13, 2017, 10:56am

Nationals

Last night was a stinker, plain and simple, for the Nationals. They looked pretty lifeless during an 8-0 loss to the Braves. Afterward, they all insisted there was nothing to read into it, it was just a bad game and not a reflection of a team suffering from a letdown after Sunday's clincher. We'll find out tonight if that's true, or if it really is tough to get yourself hyped up again when you've already clinched and still have three weeks of the regular season to go. It doesn't hurt to...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves jayson werth lineups mark zuckerman max schezer nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals3

Game 143 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

September 12, 2017, 11:07am

Nationals

And now ... it's time to play out the string. Or possibly not. The Nationals take the field tonight for the first time as 2017 National League East champs, so technically nothing is at stake. Except for those wacky Dodgers, who have lost 11 in a row and now only lead the Nats by 3 1/2 games for the best record in the league. Which means there may be more at stake over these final 19 games than anyone expected. Up first, it's tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Braves, who did...

Comments

Tags:

atlanta braves gio gonzalez lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals2

Game 143 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

September 10, 2017, 7:34am

Nationals

Manager Dusty Baker said Saturday he was going to start the youngsters in Sunday's series finale against the Phillies so his regulars can have two full days off before the Braves arrive Tuesday night. And with a win and a Marlins loss today, the Nationals will lock up their second consecutive National League East crown, and fourth in six seasons. Monday is a scheduled day off. The only regular starter in the lineup is Trea Turner. The big deal is that top prospect Victor Robles makes his first...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr nationals phillies stephen strasburg victor robles lineups frontstory_nationals2

Game 142 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

September 09, 2017, 11:18am

Nationals

The Nationals can't clinch the division title tonight, but they can get as close as possible without finishing the deal. With the magic number now at three, a Nats win over the Phillies combined with a Marlins loss at Atlanta would set the stage for them to control their own destiny Sunday afternoon and not have to worry about the result of another game. That's always a preferable scenario. Tonight, it'll be Edwin Jackson looking to bounce back from a rare rough start. The veteran was tagged...

Comments

Tags:

edwin jackson lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies raudy read frontstory_nationals3

Orioles and Indians lineups

September 09, 2017, 6:58am

Orioles

CLEVELAND - Austin Hays will make his first major league start this afternoon when the Orioles attempt to halt the Indians' 16-game winning streak. Hays is batting ninth and playing right field. Welington Castillo is behind the plate after being a late scratch from Friday's lineup. A reminder: Today's game is on FOX. For the OriolesTim Beckham SSManny Machado 3BJonathan Schoop 2BAdam Jones CFTrey Mancini LFChris Davis 1BMark Trumbo DHWelington Castillo CAustin Hays RFGabriel Ynoa RHP For the...

Comments

Tags:

austin hays lineups orioles school of roch welington castillo frontstory_orioles3

Game 141 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

September 08, 2017, 11:11am

Nationals

When last we saw Max Scherzer on the mound, he was hobbling around Miller Park, capable of pitching but not running after he took a comebacker off his left calf. That was six days ago, and tonight Scherzer will be back on the mound, insisting he's fine after getting treatment and throwing twice during the week in Miami with no issues. Scherzer returns for what could turn out to be a huge weekend for the Nationals. Their four-game winning streak, combined with the Marlins' five-game losing...