nationals

Lopez still learning what it takes to beat big league lineups

September 04, 2016, 8:32pm

NEW YORK - Reynaldo Lopez has made six big league starts. Two of them have ended in victories for both the rookie right-hander and the Nationals. Each of those, however, came against the Braves, owners of the worst record in the National League and earlier today officially eliminated from the race for a division title. Lopez's four other starts all have come against teams contending for postseason berths: the Dodgers, Giants, Orioles and Mets. And the results in those four games have been...

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Marty Niland: Looking back on a classic Nats extra-inning win

September 04, 2016, 8:15pm

Nationals

Marty Niland: Looking back on a classic Nats extra-inning win

The Nationals are headed for the National League East championship with a possible division series matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently three games up on the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. It a little more than two years ago, as the Nats were rolling toward their most recent division title, that they clashed with the Dodgers in perhaps the two teams' most memorable regular season contest, an 8-5 Nationals victory in 14 innings. The five-hour, 31-minute marathon at...

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Nationals drop second straight (plus series) to Mets 5-1

September 04, 2016, 7:07pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Reynaldo Lopez still doesn't look quite ready for the big stage. The Nationals lineup, meanwhile, looked lost with runners in scoring position this weekend. Lopez labored again tonight against a quality opponent, lasting only four innings in a nationally televised Sunday night game against the Mets. Fellow rookie right-hander Seth Lugo had no such stage fright in mowing down the Nationals over seven strong innings en route to New York's 5-1 victory at Citi Field. With a chance to...

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Rookie starters being tested on Sunday night (Nationals lose 5-1)

September 04, 2016, 5:28pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - The Nationals and Mets already were looking at a late night with an 8:08 p.m. start on Sunday Night Baseball and then travel to Washington and Cincinnati, respectively, for Labor Day matinee games. The way both lineups have made Reynaldo Lopez and Seth Lugo work early, they're going to be even sleepier than initially feared when they get to the park Monday. Lopez and Lugo have been put to the test in this nationally televised matchup of dueling rookies. Lopez needed 25 pitches a...

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Strasburg on track to return Wednesday vs. Braves

September 04, 2016, 3:20pm

Nationals

Strasburg on track to return Wednesday vs. Braves

NEW YORK - Stephen Strasburg is on track to rejoin the Nationals rotation Wednesday night, though the rehabbing right-hander hasn't been 100 percent cleared for that assignment yet. Strasburg threw off the bullpen mound at Citi Field this afternoon, his fourth such session in the last week, and reported no issues. That lines him up to pitch Wednesday, which appears to be the Nationals' plan for now, barring any setbacks. "Possibly," manager Dusty Baker said when asked if Strasburg would...

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Game 136 lineups: Nats at Mets

September 04, 2016, 12:22pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - So, about that massive hurricane that was supposed to wreak havoc with tonight's series finale at Citi Field ... yeah, that was a whole lotta nothing. As I type this from the press box, staring out at the stadium, there isn't a cloud in the sky. There's a bit of a breeze, but hardly anything of consequence. In other words, the Nationals and Mets will be perfectly good to go tonight on Sunday Night Baseball. This is the Nats' lone Sunday night appearance of the season, which is...

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Sunday morning Q&A from New York

September 03, 2016, 7:36pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Sorry for the sporadic execution of what at one time was a weekly Thursday Q&A feature here - even one of the Nationals players asked me yesterday when I was going to do another one of these - but the schedule recently hasn't been real conducive. The good news is that the Nationals' first Sunday Night Baseball appearance of the season does offer up a good opportunity to bring the Q&A back, seeing as how there's nothing to do on Sunday morning for the first time all...

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Lack of production from bottom of lineup remains a concern

September 03, 2016, 7:31pm

Nationals

Lack of production from bottom of lineup remains a concern

NEW YORK - Tonight's 3-1 loss to the Mets shouldn't have a dramatic impact on the Nationals' ultimate fortunes. They still lead the National League East by 9 1/2 games with 27 to play. Their magic number remains 18. But the manner in which the Nats lost this game might raise some red flags and may offer some evidence of one of the club's few problem areas that could come back to haunt the team if and when they start playing in October. It takes clutch hitting to win in the postseason, and...

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Nationals recall right-hander Reynaldo Lopez

September 04, 2016, 11:47am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. He will start Sunday night at Citi Field against the New York Mets. Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Lopez will make the sixth start of his major league career on Sunday. He enters this start 2-2 with a 5.33 ERA in the big leagues this season with starts against Los Angeles (NL), San Francisco, Atlanta (2) and Baltimore on his...

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Nationals can't deliver big hits in 3-1 loss to Mets

September 03, 2016, 6:24pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Unable to convert countless opportunities with men on base, or keep the Mets from delivering themselves in clutch situations, the Nationals took a 3-1 loss tonight at Citi Field to momentarily halt the expansion of their hefty division lead. The Mets got a big two-run single from Curtis Granderson off Tanner Roark, added another insurance run later and rode their pitching staff to victory. In the process, they reduced the Nationals' cushion in the National League East to 9 1/2...

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Streak of first-inning success continues (Nationals lose 3-1)

September 03, 2016, 4:19pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - The Nationals seem to have this top-of-the-first thing down pretty well now. For the fifth time in as many games on their current road trip, the Nationals scored in their opening frame, handing their starting pitcher a lead before he ever took the mound. They jumped on the Mets again tonight, taking a quick 1-0 lead after loading the bases against rookie right-hander Robert Gsellman and then getting Anthony Rendon's sacrifice fly to bring home Trea Turner with the game's first...

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Nats will give Scherzer extra day off, start Lopez on Sunday

September 03, 2016, 2:26pm

Nationals

Nats will give Scherzer extra day off, start Lopez on Sunday

NEW YORK - The Nationals will give Max Scherzer an extra day off, bumping his originally scheduled start from Sunday night against the Mets to Monday afternoon against the Braves. Reynaldo Lopez, who will be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, will start the series finale at Citi Field in Scherzer's place ... provided the weather cooperates. (The edges of Tropical Storm Hermine could impact the New York area at some point Sunday and Monday.) There's nothing physically wrong with Scherzer, who...

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Game 135 lineups: Nats at Mets (Turner wins rookie of month)

September 03, 2016, 11:25am

Nationals

Game 135 lineups: Nats at Mets (Turner wins rookie of month)

NEW YORK - They took last night's series opener in impressive fashion. Now the Nationals try to take the series from the Mets and expand their growing lead in the National League East beyond their current 10 1/2-game cushion. It'll be Tanner Roark on the mound tonight at Citi Field, and he has been awfully good against the Mets this season (one earned run, five hits in 9 1/3 innings). Rookie Robert Gsellman (whose name apparently is pronounced like "Gazelle-Man") makes his second career...

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Power to left field offers further evidence of Harper's resurgence

September 03, 2016, 5:18am

Nationals

Power to left field offers further evidence of Harper's resurgence

NEW YORK - Want the surest sign yet that Bryce Harper has at long last snapped out of his months-long slump? He's now racking up opposite-field doubles. There has been mounting evidence of Harper's resurgence over the last couple of weeks, ever since he took five days off to rest an ailing neck injury. But the last few days have bolstered the argument, and Friday night's performance during the Nationals' 4-1 victory over the Mets was among the best examples yet. Harper went 2-for-3 in the...

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Rookies shine brightest for Nationals in key win over Mets

September 02, 2016, 7:41pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - The 2016 Nationals are built to win, first and foremost, with experienced stars. Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, Daniel Murphy, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman are supposed to lead the way and (in the best-case scenario) lead this franchise to the promised land come October. But Mike Rizzo is, at his core, a development guy. And so the general manager has attempted to infuse his veteran-laded roster with a handful of young players that can inject life and energy to the...

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Trea Turner named NL Rookie of the Month

September 03, 2016, 11:33am

Nationals

Trea Turner named NL Rookie of the Month

After an August in which he set the franchise record for rookie runs scored in a month, challenged the record for hits in a month, and tied the Nationals' rookie record for stolen bases in a season, infielder/outfielder Trea Turner was named the National League Rookie of the Month for August. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network on Saturday afternoon. Turner, 23, put together a blisteringly hot month of August, hitting .357 with a .366 on-base percentage and .571...

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By the numbers, Trea Turner showing he can stay with the best leadoff hitters

September 03, 2016, 6:35am

Nationals

By the numbers, Trea Turner showing he can stay with the best leadoff hitters

Trea Turner stole two bases in the first inning Friday to help begin the scoring for the Nationals in their 4-1 win over the Mets. Playing center field, Turner has excelled in the leadoff spot with 20 stolen bases in 45 games this season. Turner is the first rookie in franchise historyto steal at least 20 bases since Mike Lansing stole 23 for the Expos in 1993. We had this discussion on Wednesday at "Nats Xtra," with Ray Knight asking to name some of the top leadoff men in the history of...

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Nats take opener from Mets 4-1, reduce magic number to 18

September 02, 2016, 6:19pm

Nationals

Nats take opener from Mets 4-1, reduce magic number to 18

NEW YORK - While fellow prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez leapfrogged him on the organizational depth chart and got the first opportunities to pitch for the Nationals this summer, A.J. Cole hung around and waited for his turn. Who would have guessed "Option C" would prove more reliable at this point? Cole turned in another impressive performance tonight, holding the Mets to one run and three hits over six innings, putting himself in position to earn his first career win. The...

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Rizzo on rehabbing players, den Dekker DFA (Nationals win 4-1)

September 02, 2016, 3:35pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross have both passed recent tests on their injured arms and both remain on track to rejoin the Nationals' active roster within the next week or so. Strasburg threw another bullpen session this afternoon at Citi Field, his third in the last week. He continues to ramp things up, but given the fact he hasn't missed much time with a sore elbow, the Nationals believe he'll be able to return without making any minor league rehab starts. "Everything looked...

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Burnett and Latos appreciative of chance to return to majors

September 02, 2016, 2:34pm

Nationals

Burnett and Latos appreciative of chance to return to majors

NEW YORK - Sean Burnett and Mat Latos each has been a successful big league pitcher, yet each found himself on the outside looking in all summer, for different reasons. So when each pitcher found himself inside the visitors clubhouse at Citi Field this afternoon, a Nationals uniform waiting in each locker, there were no shortage of emotions, not to mention some genuine gratitude for an opportunity neither necessarily thought would be afforded. "It's incredible," Burnett said. "It's...