DENVER - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg raced out of the blocks this season with the best start of his career, going 13-0 through his first 17 starts.
He didn't suffer his first loss until July 21.
But in his last six starts it has been a different story. Strasburg has gone 2-4 with a 7.75 ERA. In that span, he has allowed 26 runs over 30 2/3 innings.
Wednesday afternoon, Strasburg allowed the most runs in his career, nine earned runs, and lasted only 1 2/3 innings in a 12-10 loss to the...
DENVER - The bullpen was overused in the Rockies series, a problem Nationals manager Dusty Baker was hoping to avoid.
But the relievers pitched starter innings. Max Scherzer lasted four innings in Game One. Gio Gonzalez three innings on Tuesday and Stephen Strasburg lasted a stunning 1 2/3 innings in the finale.
The 16 1/3 innings in three games for the bullpen is too much, especially when coming in you would hope that number would be around six or seven frames for the three-game set.
Baker...
It is still a little early to start talking about the playoffs, but let's face it - despite a minor bump in the road in Colorado, the Nationals have the National League East division all but wrapped up. One of the main questions for the playoffs is who will be on the pitching staff. It can be said with almost near certainty that Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark will be the top three. Joe Ross is still working his way back from injury and Gio Gonzalez has been wildly...
DENVER - Coors Field is probably not the place to shake off a couple of tough outings.
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg had allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts. Wednesday's first inning did not get better for the Nationals ace.
It got worse.
The Rockies' first six men reached base on four hits and two walks. One of the big hits came from Gerardo Parra, who laced a three-run double that bounced up against the wall in right-center.
Nolan Arenado had a run-scoring single and catcher...
DENVER - Manager Dusty Baker announced that the club has placed left-hander Sammy Solis on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation, retroactive to August 16. Solis pitched one inning Monday, picking up the victory in relief, allowing no runs and two hits.
But after the game Tuesday, Baker reported that Solis was feeling "soreness" in his left shoulder, and was not available in the rain-delayed marathon where left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez pitched only three innings.
And today the...
DENVER - The first time right-hander Koda Glover was up with the Nationals, he made a pair of appearances July 20-21 against the Dodgers. In two innings in those two games he allowed no runs on one hit with no walks and one strikeout.
It was a good debut for the 23-year-old from Monroe, Okla., but this time around manager Dusty Baker expects the responsibility to be much more intense.
Glover was called up after the Nationals placed left-hander Sammy Solis on the disabled list with left shoulder...
DENVER - The Nationals and Rockies wrap up their three-game set on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in the Mile High City with the Nats seeking their 11th road series victory. The Nationals are 24-13 in series finales.
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg faces right-hander Jon Gray, who were each recipients of the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award. Strasburg with the honor in 2009 and Gray in 2013.
The Nationals will need Strasburg to go long in this game after using eight...
We've got a special treat for you on our 10th episode of the District 34 podcast: MASNsports.com's Nationals beat writer Mark Zuckerman calls in to the show!
With Byron Kerr out in Denver covering the Nats' series with the Rockies (and maybe or maybe not taking in some Broncos training camp), Mark was able to join me before he left for Atlanta. Our main talking point: the release of Jonathan Papelbon.
Due to previously scheduled time off last weekend, Mark was not able to give you, the fans,...
DENVER - To help a bullpen unit that has been taxed in the first two games of the series against the Rockies, the Nationals made two moves prior to Wednesday's series finale.
Right-hander Koda Glover has been called up and will join the team. The Nationals confirmed the move late this morning. Glover has been outstanding in the minors, especially recently. In the last 6 1/3 innings, the 23-year-old Glover has allowed no runs on no hits with 12 strikeouts over four outings.
Meanwhile, Sammy...
DENVER - The Rockies came back after a long rain delay and took it to the Nationals, scoring four runs after the third inning to break open a close game and win 6-2, wasting what could have been a good outing for Gio Gonzalez.
DJ LeMahieu has been the hottest hitter in the series. He tripled in the fifth for his seventh hit in two games. LeMahieu scored on a Nolan Arenado groundout to give the Rockies the lead for good 3-2.
Arenado then added a sacrifice fly to score Gerardo Parra from third...
A game in the thin air of Colorado is all a hitter needs to get his swing back, right? Bryce Harper got to play the Rockies, and had two hard-hit doubles, so maybe it's true. Obviously, one good night hitting, especially one in Denver, is probably not the best way to judge how well someone is hitting.
There are, however, some actual signs that he is emerging from a slump - signs that are less likely to be attributed to just luck. But they have little to do with the thin air of Coors...
DENVER - The Nationals had to employ five relievers Monday night after Max Scherzer was unable to get past the fourth inning. The bullpen was outstanding, keeping the Rockies off the scoreboard for the final five innings, en route to a 5-4 comeback victory.
Matt Belisle, Sammy Solis, Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley and Mark Melancon all pitched to combine for five scoreless innings. Oliver Perez and Yusmeiro Petit were the only relievers to not get into Monday's game.
Kelley said they should be OK...
DENVER - The Nationals had a single and a double in their first two innings against Rockies right-handed starter Chad Bettis but were unable to score any runs.
That changed in the third. With one out, Jayson Werth singled to reach base for the 44th game in a row, a new Nationals record. Daniel Murphy followed with a single. Werth went to third on a passed ball.
Bryce Harper's RBI groundout plated Werth and the Nationals lead 1-0. Wilson Ramos followed with a high fly ball off the wall in right...
DENVER - The Nationals have won nine of their last 12 games following Monday's comeback 5-4 win, continuing to play well recently versus the Rockies. Since the start of the 2013 season, the Nationals have won 13 of their last 20 games against Colorado.
Since 2005, the Nationals are now 18-21 at Coors Field. The Nats are also 18-13 in one-run games and have 29 come-from-behind victories.
The 23 games above .500 are their most games above the even line so far this season. In 2012, they reached...
DENVER - Left fielder Jayson Werth smacked his fourth home run in the past nine games in Monday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.
But he didn't think the homer was because of the thin air associated with Coors Field.
"Nah, you got to deal with the elements," Werth said. "Everybody deals with it when they come here. Played in the NL West when I was first coming up, I've been here enough times to know what you need to do so it's tough to come in here, it really is. It's a different style of...
Construction at The Ballpark at the Palm Beaches, the new spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., that the Nationals will share with the Astros, is progressing. According to photos shot earlier this summer, the outfield walls are taking shape and practice fields are clearly visible on the 160-acre parcel.
But according to this article in the Palm Beach Post, both the Astros and Nationals are making contingency plans in case the ballpark is not ready to host workouts in mid-February...
DENVER - A major reason for Monday's comeback victory over the Rockies for the Nationals was the bullpen, which picked up starter Max Scherzer with five shutout innings.
That allowed the Nationals to rebound from a 3-0 deficit to beat Colorado 5-4.
Matt Belisle, Sammy Solis, Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley and Mark Melancon combined to allow only three hits the rest of the way.
Treinen continues to master his time on the mound with an outstanding sinker. He arrived with one out in the seventh and...
DENVER - Bryce Harper had two doubles and went 3-for-3 with two walks, while Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos each homered as the Nationals came back to drop the Rockies 5-4 in the series opener Monday night at Coors Field.
The Nationals are now a season-high 23 games over .500 at 70-47.
Colorado raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first and led 4-2 after four innings. DJ LeMahieu went 4-for-4 and Charlie Blackmon hit his 21st homer for the Rockies.
Right-hander Max Scherzer lasted only four innings,...
The Washington Nationals announced the signing of a two-year player development contract extension with the Hagerstown Suns of the Single-A South Atlantic League on Tuesday. The extension, which begins in 2017, runs through the 2018 season. Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals vice president and senior advisor to the general manager Bob Boone, assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris and director of player...
The standard statistics we have will never be fair to a player like Trea Turner. Trust me, he is not complaining, but you look at a player who puts extreme pressure on the defense to rush their throws on infield grounders and those throwing errors never get credited to the batter when they are forced. Those E-5s and E-6s count the same as outs against Turner's batting average. The other statistic that does not give the appropriate credit to a speedster is stolen bases. They say when Turner is...



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