CINCINNATI - So much for the notion that Bryce Harper could benefit from a day off because he was tired from all of the festivities surrounding the All-Star Game in Miami. Harper passed when offered the chance to take a breather in the opener of a four-game series against the Reds and the Nationals are glad he did.
Harper supplied the bulk of the offense - homering twice and driving in three runs at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, where he had previously only hit one longball, a...
CINCINNATI - Second baseman Daniel Murphy's absence from the Nationals lineup for tonight's opener of a four-game series against the Reds is nothing more than a day off, manager Dusty Baker's way of making sure a guy who was busy during the All-Star break gets some much-needed rest.
"I've just learned over the years that whoever goes to the All-Star Game - I've had Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, I've had some of the best come back and start slow because they don't' get that mental and...
Manager: Bryan Price (4th season)
Record: 39-49
Last 10 games: 6-4
Who to watch: 1B Joey Votto (26 HR, 68 RBIs), SS Zach Cozart (.316/.394/.547), CF Billy Hamilton (38 stolen bases), RHP Raisel Iglesias (1.69 ERA, 16 saves)
Season series vs. Nationals: 1-2
Pitching probables:
July 14: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Tim Adleman, 7:10 p.m., MASN2
July 15: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Luis Castillo, 7:10 p.m., MASN2
July 16: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Homer Bailey, 1:10 p.m., MASN2
July 17: RHP Stephen...
CINCINNATI - Right-hander Joe Ross, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow sprain on Friday afternoon, has undergone an enhanced diagnostic procedure called an MRI arthrogram, where dye is injected into the joint to determine the severity of an injury.
News that Ross, who left Sunday's start after 3 1/3 innings with what was termed triceps tenderness, has a sprained elbow ligament could be a signal that the Nationals are preparing to be without him in the rotation for an...
The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitchers Austin Adams and Trevor Gott from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, optioned left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis to Syracuse, and placed right-handed pitcher Joe Ross on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to July 11) with a right elbow sprain. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
Adams, 26, joins the Nationals for the first Major League assignment of his career. In his first season in...
CINCINNATI - The Nationals open the second half tonight with the first of four games against the Reds at Great American Ball Park in the second 2017 meeting between the teams. The Nationals have gone 38-42 against the Reds since moving from Montreal to D.C. before the 2005 campaign, and haven't won a season series against them since 2011, when they went 4-2. Since then, they're 16-17 against the Reds. Last season, Washington won two of three games on the shores of the Ohio River and dropped...
CINCINNATI - The Nationals' search for a dependable ninth-inning arm continues. It won't be veteran closer Francisco RodrÃguez, who was released this afternoon by the Nationals after five minor league outings.
RodrÃguez was signed June 27 to a minor league contract, but allowed five runs (one earned) in five innings over five appearances (one start) for low Single-A Hagerstown, high Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. He walked three and struck out two, posting a 1.40 WHIP and a...
There are two ways to add players from outside the organization. That is by spending money or spending talent. Most trades are completed by spending talent, but there is a way to spend money and make a trade that might present the Nationals with the best option for improvement this deadline. The rumors have begun swirling, and according to one writer's source the Tigers have no interest in moving right-hander Justin Verlander and according to another writer's source they aren't shopping him...
Rarely does anyone ever try to claim the All-Star break came at a bad time. Just about every team in baseball happily takes the four-day midsummer hiatus offered to the entire league, uses that time to rest up physically and mentally and then returns recharged for the second half of the season.
The Nationals certainly fall in that category. They limped a bit into the All-Star break, having played 36 games in 38 days, going 19-17 over that span, while also sending five key players to the...
As the second half of the season arrives, we have a pretty good idea just what the 2017 Nationals are. This is perhaps the most talented team they've had during their now-six-year run of contention, with an imposing and deep lineup, dominant starters atop the rotation and an experienced and productive bench.
This is also, of course, a team with one gigantic hole that could blow the entire thing up: a bullpen that desperately needs a midseason makeover. There's also reason to be concerned...
The Nationals will open the second half of their season Friday with at least one change to their roster.
Struggling reliever Sammy SolÃs was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, the club announced today. A corresponding move will be made before Friday's second-half opener in Cincinnati.
SolÃs' demotion comes less than two weeks after he was activated off the disabled list following a long rehab from nerve inflammation in his elbow. The left-hander, who had been out 2 1/2 months, surrendered a...
Nationals right-handed Max Scherzer gets his second All-Star Game start tonight in Miami. The Nats' top starter has had another outstanding first half as he leads the club in their pursuit of a second straight division title.
But his effect on the Nationals in a philanthropic role in our nation's capital region is also very strong and dates back to his first season with the club.
Back in 2015 around Christmas time, Erica Scherzer, Max's wife, heard about an unfortunate break-in at a local...
The 88th All-Star Game was a showcase for the top notch pitching in the major leagues this season.
Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer started the game in impressive fashion. He held the American League to one hit with two strikeouts in the first inning.
The other highlight was the live on-air interview between FOX broadcasters and Bryce Harper during the game.
The American League defeated the National League 2-1 in 10 innings. Robinson Canó was named the MVP. His home run in the 10th off of...
Hope everybody enjoyed the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game the last two nights. One proved to be quite an exciting event. The other proved to be kind of a boring event. But it was nonetheless something to see four Nationals starting for the National League, especially when the camera would pan to the right side of the field and the screen would be awash with curly Ws.
Now that the festivities are over, though, it's time for the actual break part of the All-Star break. There are no games on...
As the season resumes, the Milwaukee Brewers are baseball's biggest surprise team with the Minnesota Twins a close second, 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the American League Central.
The Dodgers were the first team to win 60 games and have the best record in baseball at 61-29. The Astros were the second team with 60 wins and have the best record in the American League at 60-29.
The Phillies are the worst team (22 wins). The Mets, Mariners and Giants are the three biggest disappointments, each...
It wasn't exactly a joyous occasion for Ryan Zimmerman. Sure, he was excited to be an All-Star for the first time in his career, but his trip to St. Louis for the 2009 Midsummer Classic coincided with several developments that were not to be celebrated.
Only five days earlier, Zimmerman's grandmother Ilene had died, forcing him to leave the Nationals and head to North Carolina for her funeral. He rejoined the club in Houston in time for the club's first-half finale - a 5-0 loss, the lone...
When the Nationals convened at Oakland Coliseum way back on June 2, having just enjoyed a lovely day off in the Bay Area, they knew they were about to begin a particularly difficult and prolonged stretch that would take them right up to the All-Star break.
Staring at the Nats at that moment were 20 games in 20 days, then after one day off, another 17 games in 17 games before they at last could enjoy a breather. It was daunting, but this also was a team that not only was playing well but was...
To no one's surprise, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer was this afternoon named as the starting pitcher for the National League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Miami.
NL manager Joe Maddon of the Cubs made the announcement Monday afternoon in a press conference televised live on MLB Network.
Maddon said he'd have chosen Scherzer over Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw even if Kershaw hadn't taken himself out of the running for the assignment by pitching a complete game in a 5-2 win...
The bullpen was called upon to keep the Nationals in the game Sunday and it did its job.
Starter Joe Ross was held to just 3 1/3 innings, leaving with what manager Dusty Baker described as "triceps tenderness." Left-hander Matt Grace followed, and along with four other relievers, held the Braves to two runs the rest of the way, a span of 5 2/3 frames.
Grace ended up finishing 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and only one earned run (two runs overall) with one walk and one strikeout. It was...
The diminished velocity was noticeable from the outset, with the radar gun at Nationals Park consistently flashing "89" or "88" on Joe Ross' fastballs, with only an occasional "90" or "91" sprinkled in there.
But because Ross coasted through his first two innings against the Braves with little trouble, there wasn't much reason for those inside the home dugout to start asking questions.
It was the top of the third when the Nationals began to have some concerns about Ross' health, when...