Nationals ransacked by Braves 13-2 in series finale

Nationals ransacked by Braves 13-2 in series finale
On the heels of one of their best West Coast trips ever, the Nationals laid an egg over the last week at home. With an uninspired 13-2 loss to the Braves this afternoon, the Nats ended their homestand on a sour note. They finished 2-5 against Baltimore, Texas and Atlanta, leaving their 7-2 trip through California a distant memory. Today's series finale might have been the low point of the week. It didn't involve a late bullpen meltdown like some previous losses, but it was a fairly lifeless...

Baker makes plea for bullpen help, discusses Alexandria shooting

Baker makes plea for bullpen help, discusses Alexandria shooting
Dusty Baker is tired of talking about his bullpen. But every time the subject comes up, the Nationals manager finds new ways to express his opinion and perhaps drop even more hints at the front office to address the club's biggest - only? - glaring hole. "They've all struggled," Baker said of a bullpen that enters play today with a 5.02 ERA (second-worst in the majors) and .808 opponent OPS (tied for worst in the majors). "Which one would you pick out to replace? Cause I hear people from...

Game 65 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 65 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The Nationals and Braves wrap up their series later this afternoon (weather permitting) and that means we get the latest round of Bryce Harper versus Julio Teheran. Harper owns no pitcher in baseball like he owns Teheran. In his career, he's 15-for-33 with seven homers, 17 RBIs and a 1.720 OPS against the Braves right-hander. This season? He's 2-for-2 with two homers, five RBIs and a 5.000 OPS. Yeah, probably worth tuning in at least for those head-to-head encounters. Tanner Roark gets the...

On Murphy's big night in the field and dispute with Porter

On Murphy's big night in the field and dispute with Porter
Daniel Murphy went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and two RBIs during the Nationals' 10-5 victory over the Braves on Tuesday night, but he might've had an even greater impact on the proceedings in the field than at the plate. And in spite of a bizarre confrontation with an umpire in the top of the second inning. Murphy fielded six grounders hit his way during the game, turning two of them into above-average double plays. That included a first-inning 4-6-3 on a hot shot by Nick Markakis in...

Ross felt he was just "OK" in no-decision

Ross felt he was just "OK" in no-decision
The Nationals dropped the Braves 10-5, thanks to another offensive outburst that included a five-run sixth inning and 14 hits overall. Right-hander Joe Ross was unable to hold an early 3-0 advantage as the Braves scored five runs to take the lead into the bottom of the sixth. But the Nationals rallied again, thanks to a two-homer three-RBI performance by Ryan Zimmerman to snap a four-game skid. Manager Dusty Baker said the big bats against Braves knuckleballer R.A. Dickey provided some relief...

With pair of homers, Zimmerman etches name into franchise lore

With pair of homers, Zimmerman etches name into franchise lore
It's an odd existence this franchise has lived, what with 36 years spent north of the border in Montreal followed by the last 13 years in Washington, but by Major League Baseball's definition the Expos and Nationals count as one franchise. Whether fans in either city want to embrace that definition or not, there's no denying the talent that has worn this franchise's various uniforms, from Andre Dawson to Tim Raines to Gary Carter to Larry Walker to Vladimir Guerrero to Alfonso Soriano to...

Luke Erickson: Who's going to Auburn and West Palm Beach?

Luke Erickson: Who's going to Auburn and West Palm Beach?
Tonight is Day 3 of the First-Year Player Draft and what this means to me is discovering which of the players drafted by the Nationals will be on the rosters of the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. That's it. I am well aware that this makes me an anomaly among some prospect followers, but consider this: I don't follow college baseball, which to me is like baseball the way 10-pin bowling is like candlepin bowling, nor do I care about the...

Nats continue to go for pitchers in First-Year Player Draft

Nats continue to go for pitchers in First-Year Player Draft
The Nationals made pitchers their pick in nine of their first 10 selections in the first two days of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. Assistant general manager & vice president, scouting operations Kris Kline said that was by design. "We wanted to fortify our system with pitching," Kline said. "That was the goal going in." Kline said this draft had a good mix of pitchers with "a lot of velocity and guys with secondary stuff." The Nationals selected six right-handers and three...

Baseballs flying out of Nats Park again (Nats win 10-5)

Baseballs flying out of Nats Park again (Nats win 10-5)
What is going on at Nationals Park in mid-June to baseballs in 91 degree weather? On Monday night in the series opener between Washington and Atlanta, eight homers left the field of play, five by the Braves. On Tuesday night, the Nationals cranked back-to-back homers in the first inning, starting it all with a triple by Ryan Raburn. Bryce Harper's groundout scored Raburn and the Nats led 1-0. Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup with authority, crushing an R.A. Dickey offering over the...

Zimmerman's homers, bullpen's zeroes give Nats 10-5 victory

Zimmerman's homers, bullpen's zeroes give Nats 10-5 victory
Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup with a pair of big blasts. And the Nationals bullpen preserved a late lead for the first time on this homestand, helping snap a four-game losing streak. Zimmerman's two home runs off R.A. Dickey paced the Nationals' offensive barrage during tonight's 10-5 victory over the Braves, one that avoided the kind of relief meltdown that became commonplace in previous nights. Enny Romero pitched two scoreless frames after Zimmerman's second blast gave the Nats...

Updates on Werth and Solís

Updates on Werth and Solís
Manager Dusty Baker updated the status of left fielder Jayson Werth, who has been on the disabled list since June 4 with a left toe contusion and has missed nine games. Baker said the Nationals miss Werth as a baseball player but also as an important team leader. "Jayson is doing pretty well," Baker said. "He's not as mobile as he would like to be. As you can tell, we miss Jayson. Not only on the field, but we miss Jayson in the clubhouse, on the bus. Jayson is a strength and...

Zimmerman returns to lineup after three-day break

Zimmerman returns to lineup after three-day break
There have been times in recent years when the loss of Ryan Zimmerman for three games wouldn't have had a dramatic effect on the Nationals, given the veteran's well-documented struggles at the plate. Right now, though, every game Zimmerman misses is a big deal for the Nats, who understandably are thrilled to have their cleanup hitter and MVP candidate back in the lineup for tonight's game against the Braves. Zimmerman sat out the last three days after tweaking his back, though he admittedly...

Nationals select eight players on second day of MLB's 2017 First-Year Player Draft

Nationals select eight players on second day of MLB's 2017 First-Year Player Draft
The Washington Nationals selected eight players on the second day of Major League Baseball's 2017 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals President of Baseball Operations & General Manager Mike Rizzo and Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline made the joint announcement. The Nationals kicked off Tuesday's action by selecting left-handed pitcher Nick Raquet out of the College of William and Mary (VA) in the third round. The hard-throwing lefty entered...

Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
It's an absolute scorcher here at Nationals Park today. And if last night was any indication, the ball should be flying out of the park again. The Nationals will have to hope that unlike last night, they can hit more balls out than they give up. So the challenge is on Joe Ross to duplicate his performance from over the weekend against the Orioles, when he struck out 12 batters. He pitched well against the Braves earlier this season, so perhaps this is a good matchup for the erratic...

Baker and Murphy liked the offense Monday despite late-inning loss

Baker and Murphy liked the offense Monday despite late-inning loss
Despite the loss, the Nationals offense showed some promise with 10 runs on 17 hits in the 11-10 series-opening setback to the Braves. The Nationals had seven extra-base hits with three homers in Monday's game. Trea Turner, Brian Goodwin and Bryce Harper all hit round-trippers. Turner, Adam Lind, Michael A. Taylor and Brian Goodwin all had three hits. Taylor finished with two doubles on a 3-for-5 night. Daniel Murphy went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. He said the Rangers series was...

Strasburg supports bullpen despite another late meltdown

Strasburg supports bullpen despite another late meltdown
The Nationals bullpen again was unable to hold a lead in the late going in an 11-10 setback to the Braves to open their series Monday night at Nationals Park. Atlanta slammed five home runs, including one each in the eighth and ninth frames to rally from a 9-6 deficit. Tyler Flowers' three-run shot off of Matt Albers in the ninth was the deciding blast. The Nationals have matched a season high with four losses in a row and their lead in the National League East is now 8 1/2 games thanks to the...

Nationals "comfortable" Romero's maturity won't be an issue

Nationals "comfortable" Romero's maturity won't be an issue
In making Seth Romero their first-round draft pick this year, the Nationals know they're getting one of the most talented amateur left-handers out there, with an arm they believe is big league-ready right now. They also know they're getting perhaps the first-rounder with the biggest question mark attached to his name. In the end, general manager Mike Rizzo, vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline and the rest of the Nationals front office believe the immense talent Romero brings to...

Nats take chance with first-round pick of expelled lefty Romero

Nats take chance with first-round pick of expelled lefty Romero
The Nationals have been willing to take risks with first-round draft picks in the past. They've never taken a risk quite like this, though. With their first pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft, the 25th overall selection, the Nationals selected University of Houston left-hander Seth Romero, a big left-hander with a big arm who could reach the big leagues quickly but has a major red flag attached to his name: He was kicked off his college team after twice being suspended for various...

Nats select right-hander Wil Crowe with second-round pick in First-Year Player Draft

Nats select right-hander Wil Crowe with second-round pick in First-Year Player Draft
The Washington Nationals selected collegiate right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe out of the University of South Carolina with the No. 65 selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, and Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline made the joint announcement. Rated the No. 36 overall prospect in the nation in the 2017 draft by MLB.com, Crowe went 6-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 starts for the...

Trevor Gott recalled from Syracuse, Wilmer Difo sent down

Trevor Gott recalled from Syracuse, Wilmer Difo sent down
With the bullpen laboring through a couple of rough games, the Nationals made a roster move today and called up right-hander Trevor Gott from Triple-A Syracuse. With Gott arriving, the Nats sent infielder Wilmer Difo to Syracuse. Gott said he got through a couple of tough games at the beginning of the season, but now is into a nice rhythm. Gott has been solid since May 1 with the Chiefs with a 2.37 ERA and 20 strikeouts. "Yeah, it's going well," Gott said. "I had a couple of rough ones in...