nationals

Thursday morning Q&A from Chicago

June 08, 2016, 9:05pm

CHICAGO - Well, well, well ... look what team suddenly has one of the most potent lineups in baseball? Did you know the Nationals now lead the National League in home runs? It's true. They've hit 81 of them, one more than the Cardinals. Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon finally look like Zimmerman and Rendon. Bryce Harper is starting to look like Harper again. Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos, meanwhile, have looked like George Brett and Mike Piazza all season. Tonight, the Nationals will seek...

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime q&a frontstory_nationals1

District 34 podcast: Turner, Papelbon and the draft

June 09, 2016, 6:13am

Nationals

District 34 podcast: Turner, Papelbon and the draft

The Nationals offense is hot coming into the summer months! After their third straight 10-run game and victory, the Nats are looking to close out this 11-day road trip with a sweep of the White Sox before returning home. It's an exciting and eventful time in the baseball calendar with the First-Year Player Draft starting tonight. The Nationals hold the 28th, 29th and 58th overall picks in the first two rounds, so Byron Kerr and I give you a brief preview of the possible areas general manager...

Comments

Tags:

bobby blanco byron kerr district 34 jonathan papelbon nationals nationals buzz podcast trea turner frontstory_nationals3

David Huzzard: No early pick for Nationals, but Murphy good consolation prize

June 09, 2016, 5:18am

Nationals

Unlike years past, and by now I mean years passed, the Washington Nationals do not hold the first overall pick in tonight's MLB First-Year Player Draft. They don't even have a top-10 pick. They do, however, have two picks in the first round, but will have to be a little patient. The Nationals currently hold the 28th and 29th overall selections in this year's draft. But despite the lack of an "early pick" in the sport's yearly mid-season opportunity to improve an organization, the...

Comments

Tags:

daniel murphy david huzzard guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Nats cruise to another lopsided win, 11-4 over White Sox

June 08, 2016, 7:18pm

Nationals

Nats cruise to another lopsided win, 11-4 over White Sox

CHICAGO - They played the full nine innings at U.S. Cellular Field tonight, but that was merely to preserve the integrity of the official major league ballgame. There is no mercy rule at this level, even if the Nationals and White Sox happily would have agreed to one, probably after three innings. With an onslaught of offense against a woefully ineffective James Shields in his Chicago debut, the Nationals jumped out to a seven-run lead and never looked back, cruising to a 11-4 victory that felt...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox danny espinosa mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman stephen drew frontstory_nationals3

Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory

June 08, 2016, 8:56pm

Nationals

Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory

CHICAGO - On nights like this, when he is handed a comfortable lead and can actually take a few moments to watch his own teammates hit, Max Scherzer can't help but be impressed by what he sees. Then again, what wasn't to like about the Nationals' 11-4 thumping of a shell-shocked James Shields and the rest of the White Sox? "Man, one through nine we did a great job against Shields tonight," Scherzer said. "All the guys were just fouling off pitches, and any time there was a mistake, they...

Comments

Tags:

ben revere chicago white sox dusty baker mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals1

Baker on lack of bullpen changes, Rivero's struggles vs. lefties

June 08, 2016, 3:23pm

Nationals

Baker on lack of bullpen changes, Rivero's struggles vs. lefties

CHICAGO - After the Nationals needed to ask for 11 total innings out of their bullpen over the last two games, it was fair to wonder if they would need to bring in a fresh arm before tonight's game against the White Sox. The short answer: No. "We didn't even talk about it," manager Dusty Baker said. The thinking behind such a move: Blake Treinen just threw 66 pitches over three innings, leaving him out of commission for several days, and Sammy Solis threw three innings Sunday in Cincinnati,...

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen bullpen chicago white sox dusty baker felipe rivero mark zuckerman matt belisle nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Shields ransacked in Chicago debut (Nats win 11-4)

June 08, 2016, 5:15pm

Nationals

Shields ransacked in Chicago debut (Nats win 11-4)

CHICAGO - On the bright side for James Shields and the White Sox, there's nowhere to go but up from here. The Nationals are putting a hurting on Shields in his White Sox debut, pounding out six runs on seven hits (three of them homers) in two innings to open up a commanding 6-0 lead at U.S. Cellular Field. Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa all homered in their first at-bats, the latter two prompting the crowd to boo their recently acquired veteran right-hander. Shields, just...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox danny espinosa mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman stephen drew frontfeatured_nationals

Harper slips to second in All-Star voting, Ramos up to fourth

June 08, 2016, 10:06am

Nationals

Harper slips to second in All-Star voting, Ramos up to fourth

CHICAGO - Bryce Harper has slipped behind Dexter Fowler in All-Star balloting, but the Nationals star remains comfortably in position to earn a starting spot in the outfield for the National League in next month's Midsummer Classic. Harper, who led all NL outfielders in the first round of voting released by Major League Baseball last week, has since fallen slightly behind Fowler. The Cubs center fielder currently has received 1,170,718 votes to Harper's 1,119,168. The Mets' Yoenis Cespedes...

Comments

Tags:

all-star game bryce harper daniel murphy mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime wilson ramos featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 59 lineups: Nats at White Sox

June 08, 2016, 12:29pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - They piled up 10 runs against John Moscot and the Reds bullpen. Then they piled up 10 runs against Mat Latos and the White Sox bullpen. Now the Nationals will try to keep their offensive surge going tonight against James Shields, the newest member of Chicago's rotation, plus this same relief corps. Shields, acquired from the Padres over the weekend, is trying to rediscover the form that made him one of baseball's most consistent starters for years before things surprisingly fell...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox daniel murphy lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals1

On Ross' short start and Treinen's long relief appearance

June 08, 2016, 5:35am

Nationals

On Ross' short start and Treinen's long relief appearance

CHICAGO - When the night began, the Nationals certainly weren't expecting Joe Ross to last only four innings. And they really weren't expecting Blake Treinen to then throw three innings of relief after that. Sometimes you've got to adjust on the fly, though, and that's exactly what last night's 10-5 victory over the White Sox required. Ross' uncharacteristic command issues early forced the young starter out of the game early and left the Nationals to ask Treinen to do something out of the...

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen chicago white sox joe ross mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime dusty baker featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Happy Strasmas anniversary: Remembering Strasburg's debut

June 08, 2016, 12:23pm

Nationals

Happy Strasmas anniversary: Remembering Strasburg's debut

Six years ago today, Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his big league debut for the Nationals against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Nationals won the game 5-2 before 40,315 fans at Nationals Park. The Nationals moved to D.C. from Montreal in 2005. At the time, Strasburg's debut was the biggest baseball event in Washington since the 1933 World Series. Among the highlights: * Fans stood six deep to watch Strasburg warm up in the bullpen before the game. Then, as he and Nationals pitching...

Comments

Tags:

frontstory_nationals4 mel antonen nationals stephen strasburg

Lineup finally coming together with back-to-back 10-run games

June 07, 2016, 9:32pm

Nationals

Lineup finally coming together with back-to-back 10-run games

CHICAGO - Though it perhaps hasn't happened as frequently as they would like, the Nationals have known all along their lineup is capable of scoring runs in bunches on a regular basis, more than enough to overcome even a moderate deficit on any given night. As Bryce Harper put it: "When we're down, we're never down." They've now proven that in consecutive games. Two days after storming back from a five-run deficit to beat the Reds, the Nationals stormed back from a three-run deficit to...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon bryce harper chicago white sox dusty baker mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar joe ross frontstory_nationals3

Nats storm back from early deficit to beat White Sox 10-5

June 07, 2016, 7:46pm

Nationals

Nats storm back from early deficit to beat White Sox 10-5

CHICAGO - Joe Ross' worst start of the season wound up an afterthought tonight, and all it took for that to happen was another double-digit offensive explosion from the Nationals' suddenly explosive lineup. Behind another big showing from Anthony Rendon and some long-awaited clutch hits from Bryce Harper and Michael A. Taylor, the Nationals dug themselves out of the early hole Ross dug and wound up running away with a 10-5 victory over the White Sox. The Nats trailed 5-2 after two laborious...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon blake treinen bryce harper chicago white sox joe ross mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime michael a. taylor frontstory_nationals3

Charlie Fliegel: LASIK isn't the only reason Ramos has improved at the plate

June 07, 2016, 8:23pm

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: LASIK isn't the only reason Ramos has improved at the plate

You'd be forgiven if, before this season started, you were concerned with the Nationals' catching situation and really wanted them to address it. At least I'd forgive you because I certainly felt that way. In 2014 and 2015, Wilson Ramos managed a sub-100 OPS+ and wRC+, hitting below the league average. 2015 was especially tough for him. But he wasn't always that bad. From 2011-2013, he hit a very respectable .269/.327/.449. He was a promising young hitter, then it seemed to all go away....

Comments

Tags:

charlie fliegel guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz wilson ramos

Uncharacteristic command dooms Ross early (Nats win 10-5)

June 07, 2016, 5:30pm

Nationals

Uncharacteristic command dooms Ross early (Nats win 10-5)

CHICAGO - When Joe Ross walked the night's first batter, it was immediately noted as out-of-character for the right-hander. When he walked the night's second batter as well, it seemed more than just out-of-character. And when Ross proceeded to give up two runs in the bottom of the first and then three more in the bottom of the second to the White Sox, the red flag officially was raised on the young Nationals starter. Ross certainly picked an inopportune moment to put forth his worst outing of...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox joe ross mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime anthony rendon frontstory_nationals3

Baker to Turner: "The world's going to be yours at some point"

June 07, 2016, 3:20pm

Nationals

Baker to Turner: "The world's going to be yours at some point"

CHICAGO - Dusty Baker had a simple, but important, message for Trea Turner upon sending the young infielder back to Triple-A Syracuse following his weekend stint in the big leagues. "The world is yours," Baker said he told Turner. "All you've got to do is live and breathe and stay healthy, and the world's going to be yours at some point in time." Promoted from Syracuse to take Ryan Zimmerman's roster spot while the veteran first baseman was away on paternity leave, Turner started only...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox dusty baker mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman trea turner featured_sidebar wilson ramos frontstory_nationals3

Game 58 lineups: Nats at White Sox

June 07, 2016, 12:22pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - Hello from the South Side, where the Nationals are appearing for the first time since the John McLaren Era. For those who have forgotten, that was June 24-26, 2011, when McLaren served as Nats manager for three games following Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation and before Davey Johnson took over, and proceeded to go 2-1 against the White Sox. That technically makes McLaren the most successful manager in team history, at least based on that .667 winning percentage. But anyways, that...

Comments

Tags:

chicago white sox joe ross lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman jayson werth michael a. taylor wilson ramos frontstory_nationals3

Middle of the order needs consistency to pair well with starting pitching

June 07, 2016, 8:09am

Nationals

Middle of the order needs consistency to pair well with starting pitching

Sunday's 10-9 win over the Reds was the best offensive output for the Nationals during the three-game set. Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos combined for nine hits, seven runs, two homers and five RBIs. Manager Dusty Baker said it was a welcome sight to see, following losses in the first two games of the series in which the club combined for five runs on 10 hits. "That was big for Harp, that's the first time he's had three hits in long time," Baker said. "You'd like to see...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper byron kerr daniel murphy dusty baker nationals wilson ramos featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

MASN booth heading to Celebrate Fairfax! community festival

May 30, 2016, 6:38am

Nationals

MASN booth heading to Celebrate Fairfax! community festival

Don't have tickets to go see the Nationals take on the Phillies at Nats Park on June 10-12? Still want to be outside in the early summer sun while showing your support for the Nats and getting free stuff? We have you covered. The MASN booth is taking its talents to Northern Virginia, specifically the Celebrate Fairfaix! community-wide festival! On the weekend of June 10-12, the annual celebration will host tens of thousands of visitors at the Fairfax County Government Center with more than 300...

Comments

Tags:

bobby blanco celebrate fairfax full moon masn booth nationals nationals buzz featured_sidebar

Tuesday morning notes as Nats prepare to face White Sox

June 06, 2016, 3:50pm

Nationals

Tuesday morning notes as Nats prepare to face White Sox

Some Tuesday morning odds and ends to whet your appetite before the Nationals open their three-game interleague series against the White Sox in Chicago (to which I am currently en route)... * The Nationals are catching a break this week when it comes to the White Sox's rotation ... sort of. The good news: They're missing both Chris Sale (9-2, 2.54 ERA) and Jose Quintana (5-6, 2.58). The bad news (potentially): They're getting James Shields making his Chicago debut. Shields, who was acquired...