The Nationals announced that right-handed relievers Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover have been reinstated from the 10-day disabled list.
To make room for the two relievers, the club optioned left-hander Matt Grace and right-hander A.J. Cole to Triple-A Syracuse.
Kelley was out with lower back strain since May 2. Glover was on the shelf with a left hip impingement since April 26.
Kelley was happy to finally be done with the disabled list.
"Good, good. It was a long 12 or 13 days, whatever it was...
The Nationals' series finale against the Orioles has been postponed after a day and evening filled with rain - and not enough reason to believe it would end early enough to get the game in at a reasonable hour.
The game will be made up June 8 at 7:05 p.m., one of only two common off-days the clubs had the rest of the season.
One of those off-days is Monday, though a makeup that day would have required the Orioles to fly back to Washington in the middle of a road trip to Kansas City and...
Right-hander Tanner Roark seeks his fourth win in the season as he faces off against the Phillies Friday night. He will be opposed by former Nationals fourth round selection right-hander Nick Pivetta (0-2, 5.40 ERA).
Thursday's game against the Orioles was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up June 8.
The weather forecast tonight appears to show a good chance of precipitation at scheduled game time. Stay tuned to my Twitter handle (@masnkerr) for updates.
Left fielder...
The Washington Nationals returned from rehab and reinstated right-handed pitcher Koda Glover, reinstated right-handed pitcher Shawn Kelley, and optioned right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole and left-handed pitcher Matt Grace to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
Glover, 24, returns to the Nationals' active roster after missing 14 games with a left hip impingement. The right-hander made one rehab appearance,...
The Nationals bullpen for the next couple months will be the main focus of the club because it is the glaring weakness of an otherwise near flawless team. The rest of the Nationals roster is a close-to-perfect construction of what a baseball team should be. I now sympathize with Mike Rizzo because I understand the mistake he made in the construction of the Nats bullpen. It wasn't that the Nats were unwilling to spend. They tried very hard to give away their money this offseason, but relievers...
They won't, by their mere presence alone, turn the Nationals bullpen from a major problem into a major asset. But the anticipated return this weekend of both Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover from the disabled list certainly won't hurt the Nats' attempt to stabilize the shakiest unit on their roster.
The Nationals haven't made final decisions yet, but both Kelley and Glover are on track to be activated off the disabled list Friday and be available to pitch in their series opener against the...
The Nationals came from behind to drop the Orioles 7-6 on Wednesday night, scoring five runs and pounding out six hits in the last two innings.
Down 6-2, center fielder Michael A. Taylor charged up the rally with a two-run homer off of Orioles right-hander Alec Asher. It was his first homer since July 15, 2016 against Pittsburgh.
Taylor also contributed an RBI single in the fourth that plated the Nationals' first run of the night. He also smacked a run-scoring double Monday night in...
The Nationals needed this one. A comeback victory over a strong opponent when trailing with three outs remaining.
Down 6-2, the Nationals rallied for a 7-6 win over the Orioles.
The home team rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win it.
The rally was set up by the precision pitching of reliever Matt Albers, who won his second decision of the season by striking out the side in the ninth.
Albers was able to bounce back from allowing a three-run shot in Philadelphia on Sunday. In...
To answer the question you all want answered: I have no idea. It's been raining all day. It's supposed to continue raining through most of the night. The tarp is covering the infield. But no word yet about the status of tonight's series finale between the Nationals and Orioles. As always, stay tuned. As soon as we know anything, you'll know it. Promise.
If they play, it'll be A.J. Cole on the mound for the Nationals, trying to keep this potent Orioles lineup in check and give his own...
We've seen him do it so many times now during his Nationals career, we've come to expect that every time Jayson Werth engages in a long at-bat late in a ballgame, he's going to cap it off with a home run.
Werth, of course, doesn't actually do that every single time. But he sure does it a lot. And it certainly did it Wednesday night to ignite the Nationals' ninth-inning rally that ended in a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Orioles.
With an 11-pitch epic battle against right-hander Brad Brach,...
Just like his team, Stephen Strasburg didn't allow a rocky second inning to ruin his whole start.
The Orioles tallied three runs on four hits in the frame, highlighted by three singles in a row from the bottom of the order. Suddenly, the Nationals found themselves in an early deficit.
Strasburg spoke about psychologically getting over the early deficit and focusing on his pitching.
"Yeah, I was a little frustrated at the time," Strasburg said. "But talking with Mad Dog (pitching coach Mike...
The Nationals had become too familiar in recent days with the slow trudge off the field after losing a road game in walk-off fashion. It's the worst feeling in baseball, and they had experienced it Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia and again Tuesday night in Baltimore.
So, if nothing else, the Nationals took the field tonight on South Capitol Street knowing they could not lose another walk-off. And if they played their cards just right, they might even put themselves in position to win one of...
On a night that was looking absolutely dreadful for Washington sports fans, the local baseball club managed to bring a ray of sunshine with its most dramatic comeback of the young season, toppling a previously thorn-in-their-side rival in the process.
Matt Wieters' bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth brought home the tying and winning runs and took down his former team while catapulting the Nationals to a stunning 7-6 victory over the Orioles.
Wieters' smoked liner past first...
Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the crossover edition of the Yard Work podcast. This week, I'm joined by District 34 podcast hosts Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr as the Battle of the Beltways gets underway for the 2017 season.
It's become a rivalry featuring two of the game's top teams, and this year is no exception. Both the Nationals and Orioles boast two of the best records in baseball. The Orioles got a terrific outing from starter Kevin Gausman in Monday's series opener, helping the Birds to a...
Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley threw a simulated game of around 20-25 pitches prior to Wednesday's game with the Orioles. He threw to Stephen Drew and Trea Turner. Kelley has been on the disabled list since May 2 with a lower back strain.
Kelley said the simulated game game went "very good. They asked me and I told them I'm ready. Hopefully, it's Friday."
Kelley said this was the best day of his rehab and assured him his back was going to be fine. He said he actually gets more out of...
Stephen Strasburg had a bit of trouble locating to the first couple of hitters he faced. Seth Smith doubled and Adam Jones walked to open the top of the first.
But he then struck out Manny Machado, induced a flyout to left by Chris Davis and struck out Mark Trumbo.
The Orioles put together a big second inning against Strasburg. After Jonathan Schoop was hit by a pitch, the Orioles reeled off three consecutive singles. Caleb Joseph had an RBI single to begin the scoring. A sacrifice fly by Seth...
Adam Eaton had surgery Tuesday to repair the torn ACL - as well as other injuries - in his left knee, immediately moving into the long rehab phase that now will consume the outfielder for some time.
Eaton's surgery was performed in Washington by Nationals team orthopedist Robin West, who in addition to the full ACL reconstruction also did repair work on other ligaments and the meniscus that was torn in the area.
"There was some other ligament ... the meniscus, and there was some other...
After a couple of frustrating losses in Baltimore, the Nationals now come home for the second half of this year's Battle of the Beltways, hoping to at least salvage a four-game split of the season series with the Orioles (which would match the best they've done against their interleague rivals for the last decade).
Stephen Strasburg gets the start tonight, hoping to do what Max Scherzer did last night during a dominant performance. And then Dusty Baker can only hope his lineup scores enough...
BALTIMORE - If it wasn't for another bullpen collapse, Adam Lind would have been the hero for the Nationals again.
His third pinch-hit homer of the season, a three-run shot in the eighth inning, broke a 1-1 tie to give the Nationals a 4-1 lead over the Orioles.
But the Nationals eventually lost 5-4 in 12 innings.
Still, what a find the Nationals have in Lind. And even more impressive: three pinch-hit homers in the season's first 33 games.
Lind's three pinch-hit homers are the most by a...
BALTIMORE - The Nationals' 12-inning loss Tuesday night was attributable, first and foremost, to their makeshift bullpen, which could not hold a two-run lead in the ninth and eventually was charged with the loss.
But there were other problems, especially late, when the Nationals started making careless mistakes at the plate, in the field and on the bases, and in one case let their emotions get the best of them.
It was enough to make their manager openly worry about their state of mind in...