lineups - Blog

Game 152 lineups: Nats at Braves

September 21, 2017, 11:54am

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Game 138 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 05, 2017, 11:39am

Nationals

MIAMI - The Nationals may not be firing on all cylinders right now, but they're getting the job done for the most part. Especially in the games that matter most toward their clinching of another division title. They've now won four in a row against the Marlins over the last week-plus, reducing their magic number to 10, and tonight they'll have a chance to bring that number down to eight. It's Stephen Strasburg on the mound, facing the same Marlins lineup he shut out six days ago. Actually,...

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Game 137 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to DL)

September 04, 2017, 11:28am

Nationals

Game 137 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to DL)

MIAMI - Hello from Marlins Park, which is hosting the Nationals for the third time in 11 weeks. (Actually, for the club's All-Stars, the fourth time in 11 weeks. And yes, that's a lot of trips here in a short period of time.) This much I can report: Jeffrey Loria is still the owner. Giancarlo Stanton is still hitting bombs. And the Home Run Thingamabob still stands behind the fence in left-center field. After a frustrating weekend series in Milwaukee that featured only eight runs scored in...

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Game 136 lineups: Nats at Brewers

September 03, 2017, 7:34am

Nationals

MILWAUKEE - On the heels of a come-from-behind win Saturday night, the Nationals now try to salvage a four-game split with the Brewers this afternoon, and in the process win the rubber game of the season series between the two clubs. (It currently stands at 3-3.) In order to pull that off, the Nats will need another strong outing from Edwin Jackson, who took one of his three losses to the Brewers in July in D.C., giving up seven runs (three earned) in five innings. That remains one of only two...

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Game 135 lineups: Nats at Brewers

September 02, 2017, 11:50am

Nationals

MILWAUKEE - Not that their life depends on it or anything, but the Nationals certainly would like to win tonight's game at Miller Park. They've already dropped the first two games of this series to the Brewers. Now they send Max Scherzer to the mound against rookie Brandon Woodruff, so you have to this is a good a matchup as any to get back on track. Scherzer looked like his old self Monday night, showing no ill effects from the neck injury that forced him to the disabled list. He already...

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Game 134 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Madson, Romero activated)

September 01, 2017, 12:42pm

Nationals

Game 134 lineups: Nats at Brewers (Madson, Romero activated)

MILWAUKEE - It's September at last, and not a moment too soon for a Nationals club that has been playing the waiting game for quite some time now, another division title all but wrapped up, a host of injured players slowly but surely returning to the active roster. There's still one more long month to go, but for the first time the finish line is now within reach. September also means expanded rosters, and the Nationals have added five players today: relievers Ryan Madson, Enny Romero (both...

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Game 133 lineups: Nats at Brewers

August 31, 2017, 12:30pm

Nationals

MILWAUKEE - Hello from Miller Park, where the roof is open and there's a hint of autumn weather in the air as August comes to an end. The Nationals open a four-game weekend series with the Brewers, who are trying to hang on in the National League Central race while also trying to track down the Rockies for the final wild card berth as an alternative. Gio Gonzalez gets the ball from Dusty Baker for tonight's opener. The lefty pitched well against Milwaukee last month in D.C., allowing two runs...

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Game 132 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

August 30, 2017, 9:15am

Nationals

It never entirely feels like Stephen Strasburg is out of the woods from a previous injury, and there will always be those who hold their breath every time the right-hander throws a pitch. But based on what we've seen in two starts since his return from his latest elbow injury, he sure does look like he's 100 percent. Strasburg has been real sharp in both outings, holding the Padres and Astros to a combined two runs on seven hits in 12 innings, striking out 15 while walking only two. The...