Colorado Springs, Colo. - The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) is pleased to announce Anthony Rendon as the Washington Nationals 2017 Heart and Hustle Award winner. This esteemed award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game. The Heart and Hustle Award is also the only award in Major League Baseball that is voted on by former players.
"We are proud to present this award to...
CINCINNATI - Well, that didn't take long.
Three batters into the game, the Nationals had a 3-0 lead over the Reds courtesy of a Bryce Harper home run. Brian Goodwin doubled, Stephen Drew singled and Harper crushed his 23rd homer of the season over the wall in right field.
The blast extended Harper's hitting streak to 12 games and his on-base streak to 20 games.
Reds right-hander Scott Feldman's next pitch, to Ryan Zimmerman, was deposited into the seats in left for a solo homer. It was...
After opening the second half of the season going 7-for-11 (.636) with a double, three homers, three walks and four runs scored, Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon was named the National League Player of the Week on Monday. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network.
Rendon hit safely in all three games following the All-Star break and moreover, he reached base safely in 10 of his 14 plate appearances from Friday through Sunday. On July 15 at Cincinnati, Rendon went 3-for-3...
CINCINNATI - Dusty Baker knows who his starting pitcher will be for tomorrow's series opener in Anaheim. He's just not ready to make an announcement yet.
"It's the same as yesterday: I can't tell you yet," Baker said before Monday's series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. "There's an update. Same as yesterday."
However, general manager Mike Rizzo, in an interview this morning on MLB Network Radio on XM, said that right-hander Edwin Jackson would get the call for...
Last month, Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez sat down with MASN's Dan Kolko to discuss his upcoming Uncork for a Cause charity event on July 27, and what it means to be in a position to give back to his hometown.
Uncork for a Cause is an opportunity for professional athletes and celebrities to continue to be community leaders and to support charities that are close to their hearts. Originally established by TAG sports, the event is a one-of-a-kind experience with a fantastic selection of food...
For any Nationals fan, or frankly any baseball fan, the answer to this "Jeopardy!" question on Thursday, July 13 was fairly easy:
Bryce Harper makes Jeopardy (via @KcannonDFS and @charlcies) pic.twitter.com/6QXRl2Ek0r
-- Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) July 13, 2017
Although, as Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post pointed out, Bryce Harper hasn't been called "Bam Bam" in nearly four years. So this could have gone over most fans' heads. This is the second time the five-time All-Star has...
CINCINNATI - The Nationals have selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Turner, who takes Blake Treinen's spot on the 25-man roster as a long-relief option out of the bullpen. Edwin Jackson is still in line to start Tuesday's game in Anaheim. To create a 40-man roster spot, right-hander Koda Glover has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
Turner is 2-3 with a 5.08 ERA in 18 games (two starts) for the Nats this year.
Glover's move to the 60-day DL is a signal that he's nowhere...
The Nationals fixed their bullpen by trading for Oakland relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. The Chicago Cubs added starter José Quintana, who struck out 12 batters in an 8-0 win against the Orioles in his Cubs debut Sunday at Camden Yards.
As the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline approaches on July 31, what's next for teams?
The Dodgers, battling Washington for the best record in the National League, are looking for a starter and reliever, even though they start the week with a...
The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jacob Turner from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday and transferred right-handed pitcher Koda Glover to the 60-day disabled list. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Turner, 26, returns to the Nationals for his second Major League assignment of the season. He went 2-3 with a 5.08 ERA in 18 games (two starts) during his first stint with Washington. He reported to Triple-A...
CINCINNATI - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had been chatting with his A's counterpart, Billy Beane, over the past couple of weeks. Their conversations began centered around a single relief pitcher to help stabilize the Nats' bumbling bullpen.
But when both righty Ryan Madson and lefty Sean Doolittle became available, Rizzo couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a pair of pitchers who have worked high-leverage innings, closed games, and are capable of getting both right- and...
CINCINNATI - The Nationals have moved to shore up their sagging bullpen by acquiring two relievers - righty Ryan Madson and lefty Sean Doolittle - from the A's in a deal announced Sunday afternoon.
In return, the A's will receive one major league piece, right-handed reliever Blake Treinen, and two prospects, Single-A Hagerstown third baseman Sheldon Neuse and rookie-level Gulf Coast League left-hander Jesus Luzardo.
General manager Mike Rizzo moved quickly ahead of the July 31 nonwaiver...
CINCINNATI - A little perspective makes the Nationals' 14-4 thumping of the Reds on Sunday afternoon all that much more enjoyable.
First baseman Ryan Zimmerman got the day off, just as manager Dusty Baker had promised. Three regulars - left fielder Jayson Werth, center fielder Michael A. Taylor (who replaced the injured Adam Eaton) and shortstop Trea Turner - remain on the disabled list with no timetables established for their returns. Nats starting pitcher Tanner Roark was desperately trying...
CINCINNATI - Yes, the Nationals are interested in obtaining a pair of A's relievers to bolster their beleaguered bullpen. And that should not come as a surprise.
Last night's report by Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network that the Nationals are interested in acquiring relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson is indeed accurate and would seem to check a couple of boxes heading into the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline. It would give the Nats two veteran bullpen arms, both of whom have closed at...
CINCINNATI - If Tanner Roark is going to revert to form and once again become a dependable member of the Nationals rotation, there's no time like the present.
With right-hander Joe Ross scheduled to undergo Tommy John ligament replacement surgery Wednesday in Texas, the rotation could use a boost. Lefty Gio Gonzalez and righty Max Scherzer have thrown 14 1/3 scoreless innings in the first two games of this four-game series against the Reds. Now it's Roark's turn.
There are reasons to be...
The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Ryan Madson and left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle in exchange for right-handed pitcher Blake Treinen, Minor League left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo and Minor League infielder Sheldon Neuse. In addition, right-handed pitcher Joe Ross was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
Madson, 36, owns a 2.06 ERA (9 ER/39.1 IP) and ranks in the top...
CINCINNATI - What should have been a cakewalk - a feel-good story punctuated by another 10-strikeout start by Max Scherzer and another offensive outburst by Anthony Rendon - turned into another reminder of why the Nationals so desperately need to find a couple of reliable bullpen arms - and fast.
First the good news: The Nats won again Saturday night, prevailing in a 10-7 slugfest over the Reds that never should have gotten so close.
Now the flip side: Handed a 10-0 lead, rookie Austin Adams...
CINCINNATI - If reliever Shawn Kelley can get through throwing long toss and on flat ground today and Sunday, he could be in line to throw a bullpen session early next week
"It could be Monday (or) Tuesday," Kelley said. "The bullpen depends on how the next two days of throwing goes."
Kelley has been on the 10-day disabled list since June 18 (retroactive to June 17) with a right trapezius strain. It's his second stint on the DL this season, having previously been down with a lower back...
CINCINNATI - The MRI arthrogram performed on Joe Ross' right elbow confirmed a "full-thickness tear of the ulnar collateral ligament," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Saturday afternoon, and the right-hander will undergo Tommy John ligament replacement surgery Wednesday in Texas.
"I think we knew (based on) the MRI it was going to be serious," said Rizzo. "Obviously, you don't know to what degree and the (MRI) arthrogram made it very clear what happened to him."
Manager Dusty...
CINCINNATI - For a pitcher prone to the home run ball - and Nationals ace Max Scherzer certainly qualifies - pitching in a bandbox like Great American Ball Park can be a challenge.
Though he's turned in one sterling start after another this season, the right-hander has still yielded 13 homers through 128 1/3 innings. That's an improvement over the pace that saw him serve up 31 gopher balls in 228 1/3 frames last year during his Cy Young season, but more than Scherzer would like. At least...
CINCINNATI - It took Matt Grace one pitch to escape a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night. But the 90 mph sinker he got Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart to ground to second base for the game's final out was more than just a shining example of pitch efficiency of a pitcher whose stock continues to rise.
When Stephen Drew dove to his left to smother the grounder, throwing to first base for the 27th out the Nationals needed to secure a 5-0 win, Grace got his first...