nationals

Nationals insist there won't be retaliation vs. Giants

May 30, 2017, 5:31pm

SAN FRANCISCO - Neither the Nationals nor the Giants were totally satisfied with the punishments handed down by Major League Baseball today for Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland. The Nats felt Harper deserved a suspension fewer than four games, Strickland a suspension more than six games. The Giants felt the opposite way. On one point, though, both sides appear to agree: The matter is closed, and there's no reason for any carryover tonight or in the future. "I don't think retaliation is the...

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Game 51 lineups: Nats at Giants

May 30, 2017, 2:46pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Hello again from AT&T Park, where the Nationals and Giants will play the second game of their series tonight. Whether there's anything in addition to baseball taking place here tonight remains to be seen. With Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland suspended but appealing, both guys are eligible and available to play. And Harper is in the lineup, batting third as always in between Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. We'll see if Strickland gets into the game out of the Giants...

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Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

May 30, 2017, 2:26pm

Nationals

Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

SAN FRANCISCO - Bryce Harper has been suspended four games by Major League Baseball for charging the mound yesterday after getting hit with a 98 mph fastball by Hunter Strickland, who was suspended six games for his actions. Both players have appealed the suspensions and will be eligible to play tonight when the Nationals and Giants meet in the second game of their three-game series at AT&T Park. The suspensions were doled out by Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, and varied somewhat...

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Harper, Murphy lead early All-Star Game voting

May 30, 2017, 8:36am

Nationals

Harper, Murphy lead early All-Star Game voting

SAN FRANCISCO - Major League Baseball made an announcement today about Bryce Harper. But not the one everyone has spent the last 18 hours anticipating in the wake of yesterday's brawl at AT&T Park. This announcement, though, underscored just how popular Harper is, not only among Nationals fans but across the sport. Which is why the 24-year-old has received more All-Star votes so far than any other player in the National League. The first All-Star Game ballot update of the year was unveiled...

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Before brawl, Roark continues recent return to form

May 29, 2017, 10:00pm

Nationals

Before brawl, Roark continues recent return to form

SAN FRANCISCO - So, there was an actual ballgame played yesterday afternoon at AT&T Park. Easy as that might have been to forget once Hunter Strickland decided to reignite a three-year-old feud with Bryce Harper. The Nationals beat the Giants, 3-0, with one of those runs made possible by Strickland's apparently premeditated plunking of Harper in the top of the eighth. It was a nice way to start this long West Coast trip, and it leaves the Nats with a 31-19 record, the best record they've...

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Will MLB be able to rid game of beanball incidents?

May 30, 2017, 11:27am

Nationals Orioles

Will MLB be able to rid game of beanball incidents?

First, it was the beanball war between the Red Sox and Orioles, starring Manny Machado. Now it's the Nationals and Giants recovering from a good old-fashioned baseball brawl in San Francisco on Monday. Here's the question: Is there anything Major League Baseball can do to put an end to beanballs before some one gets seriously hurt with a 95 mph heater to the face? Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland was reliving the 2014 National League Division Series, a series won by the Giants even...

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Three-year-old grudge fuels brawl between Harper, Strickland

May 29, 2017, 5:15pm

Nationals

Three-year-old grudge fuels brawl between Harper, Strickland

SAN FRANCISCO - Baseball grudges are a strange thing. They carry over from year to year, sometimes longer. Events you think would bury the hatchet instead only allow the bad vibes to fester. Everybody in this game remembers everything that happened before. And so when Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the top of the eighth this afternoon at AT&T Park, with Hunter Strickland on the mound in what had been a nondescript game that eventually ended a 3-0 Nationals victory over the Giants,...

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Strickland's action provides extra motivation for Nats now

May 30, 2017, 7:52am

Nationals

Strickland's action provides extra motivation for Nats now

The one postgame quote that resonates after the Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland brawl in Monday's 3-0 Nationals win over the Giants is this one: "It's so in the past that it's not even relevant anymore," Harper told reporters after the game. "They won the World Series that year. I don't even think (Strickland) should be thinking about what happened in the first round. He should be thinking about wearing that ring home every single night. I don't know why he did it or what he did it...

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Harper-Strickland brawl mars Nationals' 3-0 win over Giants

May 29, 2017, 3:11pm

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants won the war over the Nationals in the 2014 playoffs. That apparently didn't stop Hunter Strickland from starting a fight against Bryce Harper three years later. A major benches-clearing brawl broke out after Strickland drilled Harper with a first-pitch fastball in the top of the eighth inning today as a long-festering vendetta marred what eventually ended as a 3-0 victory for the Nationals over the Giants. Strickland had faced Harper only twice before, both times in...

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Zimmerman inching up home run leaderboard (Nats win 3-0)

May 29, 2017, 1:29pm

Nationals

Zimmerman inching up home run leaderboard (Nats win 3-0)

SAN FRANCISCO - Ryan Zimmerman's ascent up the franchise home run leaderboard took a brief hiatus, but he's back at it this afternoon in the opener of the Nationals' long West Coast trip. Zimmerman launched a solo homer to left-center to lead off the top of the second and stake the Nationals to an early lead against the Giants. His 420-foot moonshot off left-hander Matt Moore was his 14th of the season, one behind club leader Bryce Harper. That blast ended a power drought for Zimmerman, who...

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Drew activated off DL, Heisey begins rehab assignment

May 29, 2017, 11:46am

Nationals

Drew activated off DL, Heisey begins rehab assignment

SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals' bench got a major boost today at the start of a long West Coast trip when Stephen Drew was activated off the disabled list, his right hamstring strain finally healed enough to allow him to play on the big league roster. Drew had been out since April 12, suffering his hamstring injury only three days after teammate Trea Turner did the same. But while Turner was able to return only 12 days later, Drew needed nearly seven weeks to be cleared for game...

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Game 50 lineups: Nats at Giants

May 29, 2017, 9:03am

Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO - Hello from the banks of McCovey Cove, where it's currently 54 degrees with a nice marine layer hovering over everything as the Nationals begin their week-long tour of the Bay Area. Yes, this is a rare (and nice) road trip that includes three games against the Giants, an off day and then three games against the Athletics on the other side of the bay. These Giants are not the Giants we've come to know over the last half-decade or so, languishing near the bottom of the National...

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Opposite dugout: Struggling Giants find themselves in unfamiliar position

May 27, 2017, 3:51pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Struggling Giants find themselves in unfamiliar position

Manager: Bruce Bochy (11th season) Record: 22-30 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: C Buster Posey (.333 with 7 HR, 11 RBIs), 1B Brandon Belt (10 HR, 22 RBIs), 3B Eduardo NÃºÃ±ez (.283 with 17 RBIs, 13 SB), RHP Matt Cain (3-3, 4.45 ERA), RHP Mark Melancon (2.51 ERA, 10 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (3-4 in 2016) Pitching probables: May 29: RHP Tanner Roark vs. LHP Matt Moore, 4:05 p.m., MASN2 May 30: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Jeff Samardzija, 10:15 p.m., MASN2 May 31: RHP...

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Ross falls back into early-season struggles, Treinen's foot bruised

May 28, 2017, 3:38pm

Nationals

Ross falls back into early-season struggles, Treinen's foot bruised

Against the Padres on Sunday, Joe Ross was unable to build off his last start. This was the same scenario that hurt him to begin the season. On April 19, he had a good start against the Braves. He followed that with two tough starts against Colorado and the Mets in which he allowed a combined 10 runs over 8 2/3 innings. After working on his mechanics at Triple-A Syracuse and building his velocity back up, Ross returned to D.C. and had a very solid effort in a 10-1 win over Seattle on May 23. In...

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Nationals reinstate infielder Stephen Drew

May 29, 2017, 9:24am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals reinstated infielder Stephen Drew from the 10-day disabled list and optioned left-handed pitcher Matt Grace to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Drew, 34, missed 41 games with a right hamstring strain. The veteran infielder had appeared in eight games before the injury struck, going 4-for-18 (.222) with one double, three runs scored and four RBI. A valuable member of the...

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Marty Niland: Wounded warriors were part of 1945 contenders

May 29, 2017, 5:38am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Wounded warriors were part of 1945 contenders

During every game at Nationals Park, the Nationals and their fans pay tribute to members of the United States military who have recently returned from combat, some who were wounded in the line of duty. The fans seemed especially appreciative of World War II veterans in Sunday's pregame Memorial Day Tribute, giving them a rousing welcome. Imagine then, a Washington team where wounded service members were not only honored, but were an actual part of a ballclub that contended for a pennant....

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Padres take early lead against Ross (Nats lose 5-3)

May 28, 2017, 11:29am

Nationals

Padres take early lead against Ross (Nats lose 5-3)

Ryan Schimpf hit a home run on Friday night for the Padres' lone tally against Max Scherzer. It was their only run in the first two games of the three-game weekend set. On Sunday, in the rain-delayed start of the series finale between the Nats and the Padres, Schimpf connected on a two-run shot in the top of the first off Joe Ross to lift San Diego to an early 2-0 lead. Trea Turner laced a single up the middle to begin the bottom of the first against San Diego right-hander Jhoulys Chacin....

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With robotic precision, Strasburg dominates another opponent

May 27, 2017, 4:31pm

Nationals

With robotic precision, Strasburg dominates another opponent

When Max Scherzer does something big, you know it. Scherzer puts all his emotions on display, celebrates when he succeeds, laments when he fails. When Stephen Strasburg does something big, you have no idea. Strasburg rarely reveals any emotions, and his expressions and words aren't much different after a win than they are after a loss. Take, for example, the Nationals right-hander's response this evening to a question about the 15 strikeouts he recorded in a 3-0 victory over the Padres, a...

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Taylor's numbers continue to rise since assuming everyday role

May 28, 2017, 5:12am

Nationals

Taylor's numbers continue to rise since assuming everyday role

The caveats will continue, because it has only been 24 games and because he'll need to do this over a much longer period of time before anything declarative can be said. But in those 24 games since he took over as the Nationals' starting center fielder, Michael A. Taylor sure has done everything he can to make sure he can continue holding that role. With another key home run in yesterday's 3-0 victory over the Padres, Taylor added to his growing resume. In 24 games since Adam Eaton tore his...

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Turner hopes mechanical adjustment helps to get his groove back

May 26, 2017, 7:16pm

Nationals

Turner hopes mechanical adjustment helps to get his groove back

With Adam Eaton out for the season, the pressure on the top of the order to get on base and create offense almost completely falls on talented shortstop Trea Turner. However, Turner has recently been going after first pitches too often, and opposing pitchers started throwing him more off-speed stuff. His numbers began to wane. His average had dropped to .236 on May 18 after an 0-for-5 against the Pirates. Since then, Turner has accumulated eight hits in his last seven games. His average is up...