nationals

Chapman wouldn't have been worth the price for Nationals

July 25, 2016, 12:59pm

The Nationals like Aroldis Chapman. A lot. Mike Rizzo tried to sign the closer out of Cuba in 2010, and even thought he had outbid every other franchise in the majors for him (until it turned out the Reds had done it instead). Dusty Baker, of course, managed Chapman his first four seasons in the big leagues, continues to speak glowingly about the flame-throwing left-hander and was one of his staunchest supporters after the pitcher was suspended for domestic violence. So the Nationals, to make...

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Trea Turner's speed messes up the opponent's defense, creates havoc

July 26, 2016, 4:40am

Nationals

Trea Turner's speed messes up the opponent's defense, creates havoc

Shortstop Trea Turner has made a big impact on the Nationals offense in his 10 games up this season. Already we are seeing more Turner running on double steals, going first to third, moving from second to third on sac flys and stealing home. Even what would normally be doubles by regular players are triples with Turner racing around the bases. This is just the beginning of Trea Turner. Turner isn't going to move levels any more this season. His game-changing speed has to remain in the Nats...

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Nationals reinstate first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left-hander Sammy Solis

July 26, 2016, 11:50am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis on Tuesday. Outfielder Michael A. Taylor and right-hander Lucas Giolito were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Zimmerman, 31, returns to the Nationals' active roster after missing 13 games with a left rib cage strain. The veteran first baseman hit .417 in...

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Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price

July 26, 2016, 5:23am

Nationals

Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price

How many postseason saves does Aroldis Chapman have? Zero. Chapman does have a blown save and a loss. Wade Davis has four postseason saves with a perfect save record, and he also has three holds and four wins. Davis has 23 postseason games on his record and no blemishes. There is something called "incremental improvement" that sabermetricians look at to compare a 2.4 WAR player versus a 2.8 WAR player while using their advances stats to determine which player is better. Not so fast:...

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After another underwhelming start, what's next for Giolito?

July 24, 2016, 7:49pm

Nationals

After another underwhelming start, what's next for Giolito?

Three starts into Lucas Giolito's career, the only thing the Nationals know for sure about their 22-year-old pitching prospect is that they don't really know yet what they've got. Giolito arrived in the big leagues late last month with a near-flawless pedigree. He had the stuff, the maturity and the presence to suggest he was ready for the big show. The results, though, haven't matched up with the pedigree. And now, following another underwhelming performance yesterday during what became a...

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Opposite dugout: Indians bring balanced attack in interleague matchup of division leaders

July 25, 2016, 7:58pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Indians bring balanced attack in interleague matchup of division leaders

Manager: Terry Francona (4th season) Record: 56-41 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: SS Francisco Lindor (.303/.360/.458 with 12 HR, 49 RBIs), 2B Jason Kipnis. (.285 with 16 HR, 52 RBIs), 1B Mike Napoli (22 HR, 68 RBIs), RHP Danny Salazar (11-3, 2.75 ERA), RHP Cody Allen (2.55 ERA with 19 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (2-1 in 2013) Pitching probables: July 26: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Danny Salazar, 7:10 p.m., MASN July 27: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco, 12:10...

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Bullpen maneuvers "didn't work out at all" (Giolito, Taylor down)

July 24, 2016, 2:58pm

Nationals

Bullpen maneuvers "didn't work out at all" (Giolito, Taylor down)

The Nationals, believe it or not, entered the day with the majors' lowest bullpen ERA (2.85), the fourth-lowest WHIP and sixth-lowest batting average against. Yet there is no unit on the roster that appears more in need of help as the trade deadline approaches than this team's relief corps. It's an odd dichotomy between stats and the eye test, but games like today's 10-6 loss to the Padres only underscore the challenge facing general manager Mike Rizzo before the Aug. 1 deadline hits in...

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Marty Niland: Three questions facing Nats as they begin road trip

July 25, 2016, 5:49am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Three questions facing Nats as they begin road trip

The Nationals seemed to have all the answers a week ago after starting their post All-Star break homestand with two wins in three games, but after a 2-4 finish, they hit the road to Cleveland, San Francisco and Arizona with more questions. Who will be the Nats' fifth outfielder? Michael A. Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse following Sunday's 10-6 loss to San Diego. Since being recalled from Syracuse on July 10, he's gone 3-for-16 with six strikeouts, including one to end the eighth...

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Murphy and Ramos continue to be Nats' most consistent hitters

July 25, 2016, 4:57am

Nationals

Murphy and Ramos continue to be Nats' most consistent hitters

The two most consistent hitters for the Nationals this season continue to be Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos. They are the top two hitters in the National League in batting average. They also combined for six hits in Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Padres. Before the San Diego comeback in Sunday's 10-6 loss, they were on tap to be the heroes. Murphy's sac fly gave the Nats a 1-0 lead in the first, and Ramos singled in that inning. Murphy tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single and Ramos' two-run...

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Aaron Barrett fractures elbow during Tommy John surgery rehab

July 24, 2016, 9:00am

Nationals

$Aaron Barrett fractures elbow during Tommy John surgery rehab$

Aaron Barrett, who was hoping to be in the final stages of rehab from Tommy John surgery and perhaps rejoin the Nationals bullpen before season's end, instead will be forced to undergo another major surgery Monday after fracturing his right elbow. Details of Barrett's latest injury weren't made public, but the Nationals said the 28-year-old reliever is scheduled to meet with orthopedist James Andrews on Monday. Andrews will repair the fractured elbow and evaluate the state of Barrett's...

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Ryan Zimmerman ready to return from DL (Nats lose 10-6)

July 24, 2016, 8:29am

Nationals

Ryan Zimmerman ready to return from DL (Nats lose 10-6)

Ryan Zimmerman was back in the Nationals clubhouse this morning. And barring some surprise development, he'll be back in the Nationals lineup Tuesday night in Cleveland. Zimmerman completed a three-day rehab assignment with Single-A Potomac on Saturday and emerged reporting no issues with the strained left ribcage muscle that landed him on the disabled list earlier this month. He's scheduled to join his teammates on tonight's charter flight and be activated off the DL in time for the opener...

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Bullpen implodes late in Nationals' 10-6 loss to Padres

July 24, 2016, 1:10pm

Nationals

If the current back end of the Nationals bullpen wanted to convince general manager Mike Rizzo that he doesn't need to make any major acquisitions before next week's trade deadline, this wasn't the way to do it. Shawn Kelley and Jonathan Papelbon combined to give up six runs in the eighth and ninth innings this afternoon, turning a two-run lead into a 10-6 loss to the Padres that might have underscored this first place club's biggest weakness entering the final week of July. Handed a 6-4...

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Game 99 lineups: Nats vs. Padres

July 24, 2016, 6:45am

Nationals

It's another scorcher in the nation's capital, and today the Nationals and Padres will be playing smack dab in the middle of the afternoon with the sun beating down on them. That's going to be quite the test for Lucas Giolito, who makes his return to the big leagues after a very brief (two starts) demotion to the minors. The Nationals are hoping Giolito displays some better command of his off-speed pitches today against the Padres, which would help make his fastball more effective. That'll...

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On hot night, Scherzer stays cool for Nationals

July 23, 2016, 8:05pm

Nationals

Max Scherzer knew he needed to conserve as much energy as possible on a 94-degree night in which the heat index reached 103. But there's only so much you can do to combat the kind of conditions the Nationals right-hander faced last night: Change sopping wet jerseys every few innings, stand in front of a giant industrial fan to cool down, pour water over your head. "Look, it's hot for me, it's hot for them," Scherzer said. "It's just not an excuse. It's just something you've got to get...

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Nationals recall right-hander Lucas Giolito

July 24, 2016, 7:58am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Triple-A Syracuse and optioned right-handed pitcher Koda Glover to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Giolito returns to the Nationals to make the third start of his Major League career, for which he'll take the ball on Sunday afternoon vs. the San Diego Padres. Currently ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in Major League...

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"Pale white" after six days with flu, Drew returns in style

July 23, 2016, 7:48pm

Nationals

"Pale white" after six days with flu, Drew returns in style

For the first time in six days, Stephen Drew found himself in an oddly familiar place: The Nationals dugout. The veteran infielder, mind you, has been on the club's active roster all week, but not until the latter innings of tonight's game against the Padres was he able to actually put on a full uniform and join his teammates on the bench. Beset with a severe case of the flu, (or some other undiagnosed ailment that sure felt like the flu) Drew was of absolutely no use to the Nationals the...

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Could moving Bryce Harper around in lineup spark offense?

July 23, 2016, 8:08pm

Nationals

Could moving Bryce Harper around in lineup spark offense?

For the third game in a row, the Nationals scored only three runs. Their starting pitching and bullpen allowed only two runs, so they were able to squeeze out a dramatic 3-2 walk-off win over the Padres. But the lineup had difficulty for most of Saturday night putting together good rallies against Padres veteran Edwin Jackson. Despite managing to get at least a man on base in each of his six innings, plus a hit in five of those frames, they scored only on a sac fly by Daniel Murphy and a RBI...

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Drew comes off bench to deliver walk-off 3-2 win for Nats

July 23, 2016, 6:10pm

Nationals

Drew comes off bench to deliver walk-off 3-2 win for Nats

Runs are not coming easily to the Nationals right now, which only compounds the pressure when they do actually give themselves an opportunity to push a run across the plate. That made tonight's game against the Padres something of an exercise in frustration for the Nats, who just didn't give themselves that many opportunities and didn't take much advantage of them either. Until the bottom of the ninth, that is. Stephen Drew, in his first appearance in six days after battling flu-like...

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Baker on Revere: "We need him badly" (Nats win 3-2)

July 23, 2016, 2:31pm

Nationals

Baker on Revere: "We need him badly" (Nats win 3-2)

We're now nearly four months into the six-month baseball season, and Ben Revere's batting average remains a paltry .214, his on-base percentage an equally paltry .258. It's the time of year when struggling players often start worrying about job security, and Revere may well need to be thinking in those terms. Dusty Baker, though, did his part today to offer his struggling leadoff man some words of encouragement and reason to believe his job isn't in jeopardy at this point. "I'm hoping,...

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Giolito will return to big leagues, start Sunday vs. Padres

July 23, 2016, 1:21pm

Nationals

Giolito will return to big leagues, start Sunday vs. Padres

Lucas Giolito will return to the big leagues and start Sunday's series finale against the Padres, manager Dusty Baker announced, though the length of his second stint with the Nationals (as was the case for his first stint) may not be long. Giolito will be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse only two weeks after he was demoted following the first two major league starts of his career. The 22-year-old right-hander made two starts in the minors in the interim - he gave up four runs in seven innings...