nationals

Strasburg undeterred by early struggles, downs Marlins

May 14, 2016, 1:43pm

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg doesn't need to strike out a batter every inning or completely shut down lineups to be successful. Fresh off signing a new seven-year, $175 million contact extension earlier in the week, Strasburg pitched out of frequent challenges Saturday afternoon to drop the Marlins 6-4 i n the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Strasburg continued his best start of the season, improving to 6-0, with six innings, allowing five hits and three runs with three walks, seven...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr christian yelich dusty baker marlins nationals stephen strasburg frontstory_nationals3

Bryce Harper drops appeal, will sit out tonight's game

May 14, 2016, 1:35pm

Nationals

Bryce Harper drops appeal, will sit out tonight's game

Bryce Harper has dropped the appeal of his one-game suspension and will sit out tonight's game against the Marlins, a decision that allows the reigning league MVP to play in next week's showdown between the Nationals and Mets at Citi Field. Harper had initially appealed Major League Baseball's suspension, which was handed down Wednesday in the wake of his ninth-inning ejection two nights earlier, subsequent return to the field and cursing at plate umpire Brian Knight seconds after teammate...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper mark zuckerman miami marlins mlb nationals nationals pastime suspension featured_sidebar

Nationals pick up Rizzo's option, keeping him as GM through 2018

May 14, 2016, 2:46pm

Nationals

The Nationals have picked up the two-year option on Mike Rizzo's contract, keeping the longtime general manager in D.C. through at least the 2018 season, the club announced this evening. Rizzo was in the final year of a deal he signed in 2013, but the club held a two-year contract option for the 2017-18 seasons that needed to be picked up by June 15. "It feels good," Rizzo said following his team's 7-1 loss in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Marlins. "We started from ground zero...

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman mike rizzo nationals nationals pastime ted lerner featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals1

Nats get blown out 7-1 in second game of doubleheader

May 14, 2016, 5:44pm

Nationals

Nats get blown out 7-1 in second game of doubleheader

Doubleheader sweeps are no easy task. Certainly not when they require a Tanner Roark victory over the Marlins. Needing their otherwise effective right-hander to reverse his recent trend against Miami, the Nationals instead watched a familiar storyline play out tonight. They lost the nightcap of a split-doubleheader 7-1, with every run charged to Roark. The Nationals had taken this afternoon's opener 6-4 behind an effective start from Stephen Strasburg, some clutch hits from several members of...

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime tanner roark frontfeatured_nationals

Roark still having trouble figuring out Marlins (Nats lose 7-1)

May 14, 2016, 4:14pm

Nationals

Roark still having trouble figuring out Marlins (Nats lose 7-1)

There's something about the Marlins that turns Tanner Roark from a dominant big league pitcher into just another guy on the mound. Who knows why this is, but facts are facts. And the fact is, the Marlins hit Roark like no other team in baseball. It's happening again tonight, with Miami plating three early runs off Roark to take a lead over the Nationals in the nightcap of their split doubleheader. Roark managed to get out of the first inning unscathed, which was no minor achievement for him....

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime tanner roark frontfeatured_nationals

Game 37 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

May 14, 2016, 1:50pm

Nationals

And we're back for the nightcap of this day-night doubleheader. Game 1 ended in a downpour, with Jonathan Papelbon striking out Giancarlo Stanton to preserve a 6-4 victory for the Nationals. Game 2 will begin under blue skies, believe it or not, though the temperature has dropped considerably and it's going to be quite chilly throughout this one. The Nationals will be going for the doubleheader sweep with a depleted lineup. Bryce Harper is out after dropping the appeal of his one-game...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper lineups mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime tanner roark frontstory_nationals1

Nationals exercise option on president of baseball operations & GM Mike Rizzo

May 14, 2016, 2:45pm

Nationals

Washington Nationals managing principal owner Theodore N. Lerner announced Saturday that the team has picked up president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo's contract option, keeping him with the club through the 2018 season. The Nationals exercised the option before the June 15th deadline, according to plan. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "We are pleased with the job Mike has done over the past nine years," said Lerner. "He and the baseball operations team...

Comments

Tags:

Nationals News Release nationals

Nationals cash in on early free passes (Nats win 6-4)

May 14, 2016, 9:32am

Nationals

Left fielder Christian Yelich got the Marlins off first with a mammoth home run to center field. The blast gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead after the first half-inning. It was the second straight start where Stephen Strasburg had allowed a first-inning home run. Nick Castellanos of the Tigers drilled a two-run shot on May 9. It also marked only the fourth homer Strasburg had allowed in his initial eight starts of the season. But the Nationals quickly got that run back for Strasburg - and then...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper byron kerr jayson werth marlins nationals stephen strasburg frontstory_nationals3

Baker on twinbill lineups, Harper, Revere, Belisle and bullpen

May 14, 2016, 8:06am

Nationals

Baker on twinbill lineups, Harper, Revere, Belisle and bullpen

Manager Dusty Baker said right-hander Matt Belisle, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 27 with a right calf strain, will go through a bullpen session today and is closer to getting to rehab games. "He has to go get some innings in and get some back-to-backs," Baker said. "He's doing fine. He's been working hard, which doesn't surprise anybody. He's in great shape. We actually had to slow him down a little bit because he's such a go-getter. "He will go out (on a rehab...

Comments

Tags:

ben revere bryce harper byron kerr dusty baker matt belisle nationals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Home run barrage from Harper and surprisingly potent bench

May 13, 2016, 8:13pm

Nationals

Home run barrage from Harper and surprisingly potent bench

For the better part of a week now, Bryce Harper has barely seen anything to hit. Over his last eight games, he has 36 plate appearances - but only 14 official at-bats - as opposing pitchers went out of their way to avoid getting beaten by the current best hitter on the planet. Throughout it all, Harper has showed impressive patience, refusing most of the time to expand his zone and start hacking at pitches he probably couldn't do much damage with in the first place. Yet at the same time, he...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper chris heisey mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime stephen drew featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Game 36 lineups: Marlins at Nationals

May 14, 2016, 4:39am

Nationals

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg gets the call in Game 1 of today's day-night doubleheader against the Marlins, fresh off signing a new seven-year, $175 million contract extension with the Nationals. Right-hander Tanner Roark gets the nod for the Nats in the nightcap. Strasburg is 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA in seven starts over 49 innings, the best start to a season in his career. He has struck out 58 batters and walked 12.The Nationals have recalled outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Syracuse...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr nationals stephen strasburg matt den dekker tanner roark frontstory_nationals2

Papelbon and bullpen hold down Marlins in Nats' comeback win

May 13, 2016, 7:28pm

Nationals

Papelbon and bullpen hold down Marlins in Nats' comeback win

The Nationals came back to beat the Marlins 5-3 as manager Dusty Baker maneuvered his bullpen around to find a way to get the win. Starter Gio Gonzalez got into the fifth, but left trailing 2-0. Plus, he had allowed three straight singles to open the sixth. After that, the bullpen took over, with Baker employing five relievers in the final four innings. They allowed just one more run as they watched the Nationals offense come alive. Baker was asked if he spread the wealth in the bullpen because...

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen bryce harper byron kerr dusty baker jonathan papelbon nationals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

MASN's Phil Wood to be celebrated at pregame event and in bobblehead form

May 13, 2016, 5:03pm

Nationals

MASN's Phil Wood to be celebrated at pregame event and in bobblehead form

If you want to add a unique piece to your bobblehead collection, and help a worthy cause in the process, have I got a deal for you. The Half Street Irregulars, one of the most active fan groups among the Nationals faithful, is conducting an eBay auction for a limited edition bobblehead likeness of MASN broadcaster Phil Wood, hosts "Nats Talk" with Mike Wallace on Saturday mornings, covers the team on the "Nats Xtra" pregame and postgame shows, and is part of the regular panel on the...

Comments

Tags:

danny espinosa half street irregulars nationals nationals buzz pete kerzel phil wood

Harper, Drew, Heisey homer as Nats come back to beat Marlins 5-3

May 13, 2016, 6:28pm

Nationals

Harper, Drew, Heisey homer as Nats come back to beat Marlins 5-3

Kyle Barraclough pitched 20 games last season for the Marlins before allowing a home run. On Sept. 19, 2015, that streak ended thanks to a blast by Bryce Harper. The next 17 games, Barraclough appeared in, he did not allow another homer. Until Friday night, again at Nationals Park. With a man on, Harper connected for the second homer given up by the Marlins right-hander, lifting the Nationals to a 4-2 lead. It was Harper's 11th homer of the season. The Nationals went on to win 5-3 in the...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper byron kerr chris heisey gio gonzalez jonathan papelbon nationals stephen drew

Notes on tomorrow's doubleheader, Murphy and Espinosa

May 13, 2016, 2:26pm

Nationals

Notes on tomorrow's doubleheader, Murphy and Espinosa

Doubleheaders often create a headache for managers and general managers, who typically have to find someone to make a spot start, throwing a rotation out of whack. The Nationals, though, lucked out this weekend. With an off-day Thursday and another Monday, they're able to stick with their regular rotation and make it through tomorrow's day-night doubleheader against the Marlins without disrupting much of anything. Stephen Strasburg will start the 1:05 p.m. opener, with Tanner Roark then...

Comments

Tags:

daniel murphy danny espinosa mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime stephen strasburg tanner roark dusty baker featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Baker keeping relievers rested, up to date on when they will pitch

May 13, 2016, 1:47pm

Nationals

Baker keeping relievers rested, up to date on when they will pitch

During most pregame media sessions, at least one reporter asks Nationals manager Dusty Baker who is available to pitch from the bullpen that night. Baker never answers the question because he doesn't want the opponent to know who he might go to and who is getting a night off. If you go back over the previous three or four games, you can easily put together a good guess of which pitcher or pitchers might not be available because Baker has gone to them a lot. The 2016 bullpen is also a very...

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen byron kerr dusty baker jonathan papelbon nationals sammy solis shawn kelley yusmeiro petit featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Teams continue to play Walk-a-Bryce (Nats win 5-3)

May 13, 2016, 4:29pm

Nationals

Teams continue to play Walk-a-Bryce (Nats win 5-3)

Joe Maddon started the trend last weekend in Chicago. Now the craze is catching on elsewhere. Everybody in baseball wants to play Walk-a-Bryce. The Marlins became the latest team to pitch around Bryce Harper, walking the Nationals star in each of his first two plate appearances, not even making much of an attempt to give him anything to hit. Right-hander Tom Koehler walked Harper on four straight balls in the bottom of the first inning. Two innings later, he walked him on five pitches - though...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper gio gonzalez mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime frontfeatured_nationals

Game 35 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

May 13, 2016, 11:08am

Nationals

It's been a dreary couple of weeks in D.C., but here's some good news: The skies are supposed to clear later this afternoon and there may even be a bit of sunshine when the Nationals take the field at 7:05 p.m. for the opener of their weekend series with the Marlins. This is a four-games-in-three-days series, with a day-night doubleheader tomorrow to make up the game that was rained out way back in the season's first week. The Nationals haven't yet announced who's pitching when tomorrow,...

Comments

Tags:

gio gonzalez lineups mark zuckerman miami marlins nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals2

Opposite dugout: Marlins getting past Gordon's suspension by riding hot streak

May 11, 2016, 10:17pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Marlins getting past Gordon's suspension by riding hot streak

Manager: Don Mattingly (1st season) Record: 18-15 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 3B Martin Prado (.386/.413/.465), LF Christian Yelich (.325/.439/.509 with 4 HR, 16 RBIs), RF Giancarlo Stanton (10 HR, 24 RBIs), RHP Jose Fernandez (4-2, 3.54 ERA, 58 K's), RHP A.J. Ramos (1.38 ERA, 10 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-3 Pitching probables: May 13: RHP Tom Koehler vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 May 14: LHP Justin Nicolino vs. RHP Stephen Stasburg, 1:05 p.m., MASN May 14: RHP Kendry...

Comments

Tags:

bobby blanco marlins nationals nationals buzz opposite dugout frontstory_nationals3

Nationals to recognize 2016 Honorary Bat Girl contest winner

May 13, 2016, 12:12pm

Nationals

Major League Baseball announced the winners of the 2016 Honorary Bat Girl contest last week, which recognizes baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and who demonstrate a commitment to supporting the fight against the disease. The Honorary Bat Girl for the Washington Nationals is Corinne Irwin of Washington, D.C. She will be recognized on NatsHD and will be announcing play ball before the team plays the Miami Marlins on Saturday, May 14 at 7:05 p.m. Corinne was diagnosed with...