nationals

What's realistic to expect in the end from .409-hitting Murphy?

May 12, 2016, 7:54pm

It got lost in the shuffle easily Wednesday night amid Max Scherzer's 20 strikeouts, Jordan Zimmermann's return to Washington and Bryce Harper's one-game suspension, but Daniel Murphy's torrid start to the season hit yet another high-water mark. With a 3-for-4 night in the Nationals' 3-2 win over the Tigers, Murphy raised his batting average to .409. Yes, that's .409. A number that is no small accomplishment. Of course there's way too much baseball left to start thinking about Murphy...

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National Parks come to Nationals Park

May 12, 2016, 11:45am

Nationals

The National Parks are coming to Nationals Park! (Say that five times fast.) The National Park Service is coming to Nats Park for a special night Friday as the Nationals host a series opener against the Marlins. The night will be filled with National Park-themed events all night to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial, and we're inviting you to join the fun! All night long, you can be social with the National Park Service and MASN by sharing your memories of your favorite national...

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Thursday morning Q&A from D.C.

May 11, 2016, 8:46pm

Nationals

So, uh ... anything interesting happen so far this week? I mean, think about everything that has happened in just the last four days alone. On Sunday, Bryce Harper tied the all-time record with six walks in a game, while Ryan Zimmerman stranded 14 runners on base. On Monday, the Nationals signed Stephen Strasburg to a $175 million contract extension, then Harper was ejected in the bottom of the ninth, then Clint Robinson hit a walk-off homer moments later. On Tuesday, the Strasburg contract...

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David Huzzard: Pitching is nice, but Nats need more offensive firepower

May 12, 2016, 5:11am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Pitching is nice, but Nats need more offensive firepower

Last night, Max Scherzer threw a 20-strikeout game. Earlier in the week, Stephen Strasburg agreed to a $175 extension. They are two fifths of the reason why the Washington Nationals are in the race for the NL East title. Every day I question how a team with so many hitters below league average can be winning as many games as they do. I question it even more when they have multiple comebacks in one game. If you judge a team on their gumption the Nats played their two best games of the season in...

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Zimmermann good in return to D.C., but not as good as Scherzer

May 11, 2016, 7:18pm

Nationals

Zimmermann good in return to D.C., but not as good as Scherzer

On a night when his former teammate Max Scherzer struck out a career-high and MLB-record-tying 20 batters, right-hander Jordan Zimmermann never backed down from the battle. In a 3-2 loss to the Nationals, Zimmermann went seven innings and allowed seven hits, three runs and three walks with three strikeouts. It was his second setback after five wins to start the season. The Nationals touched Zimmermann for three hits and a run in their first at-bat. "I was able to wiggle out of the first,"...

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Ramos reaches elite company following another game caught for Scherzer

May 11, 2016, 7:47pm

Nationals

Ramos reaches elite company following another game caught for Scherzer

Hey, I hear you are a Major League catcher? Yes, yes I am. What have you accomplished in your last 150 games? Oh, I don't know, three no-hitters, one by Jordan Zimmermann, two from Max Scherzer, plus a record-setting 20 strikeout performance from Scherzer. No big. I beg your pardon. That is just part of the resume for Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who caught Zimmermann's no-hitter to end the 2014 season, followed that up with a pair of no-hitters in 2015 and now a 20-strikeout performance...

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For Max Scherzer, a performance to top them all

May 11, 2016, 8:30pm

Nationals

For Max Scherzer, a performance to top them all

Max Scherzer has thrown two no-hitters. He has come within one oh-so-errant pitch of a perfect game. He has won a pennant clincher. He has started a game in the World Series. All significant achievements for any pitcher, but all things that have been achieved by more than a handful of hurlers over the course of baseball history. That's why tonight meant so much to Scherzer. And it's why what the right-hander did, striking out 20 batters during the Nationals' 3-2 victory over the Tigers,...

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Cheers for Zimmermann, K's for Scherzer (Nats win 3-2)

May 11, 2016, 4:00pm

Nationals

Cheers for Zimmermann, K's for Scherzer (Nats win 3-2)

Nationals fans finally got a chance to give Jordan Zimmermann the standing ovation they wanted to last September. But they're cheering louder for Max Scherzer each time their new ace strikes out a member of Zimmermann's Tigers lineup. In a marquee matchup of elite pitchers facing their former teams, Zimmermann and Scherzer have been front-and-center at Nationals Park early on tonight. Fans gave Zimmermann two loud ovations in the first three innings alone: When he was announced as part of...

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Scherzer sets record with 20 strikeouts in 3-2 win over Tigers

May 11, 2016, 5:47pm

Nationals

Scherzer sets record with 20 strikeouts in 3-2 win over Tigers

Right-hander Max Scherzer was determined to bounce back from his worst start of the season at Chicago, a game in which he allowed seven runs. He certainly did. On Wednesday, Scherzer (4-2) struck out a career-high and franchise-record 20 batters in the Nationals' 3-2 win over the Tigers. He is only the fifth pitcher to reach 20 strikeouts in any length of a game in Major League Baseball history. Scherzer allowed a solo shot to Jose Iglesias in the third and another homer to J.D. Martinez in...

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Bryce Harper suspended one game, playing tonight after appeal

May 11, 2016, 1:30pm

Nationals

Bryce Harper suspended one game, playing tonight after appeal

Bryce Harper has been suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for his actions following his ninth-inning ejection Monday night, but the reigning National League MVP is appealing the decision and remains eligible to play for the Nationals tonight against former teammate Jordan Zimmermann. Harper was suspended by Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB's senior vice president of standards and on-field operations, who in a news release announcing the punishment said it was...

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Tigers clubhouse reacts to Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout performance

May 11, 2016, 7:51pm

Nationals

Tigers clubhouse reacts to Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout performance

The Nationals' Max Scherzer became history's fifth pitcher to have 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game when Washington beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Wednesday night. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has been involved three of the 20-strikeout games. He was the Houston catcher when the Chicago Cubs' Kerry Wood struck out 20 Astros on May 6, 1998 at Wrigley Field in a 2-0 Cubs win. And Ausmus was the Detroit catcher the night Boston's Roger Clemens struck out 20 Tigers on Sept. 18, 1996 in Tiger...

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Baker on switching Murphy and Zimmerman in the lineup

May 11, 2016, 1:50pm

Nationals

Baker on switching Murphy and Zimmerman in the lineup

Manager Dusty Baker finally moved hot-hitting Daniel Murphy ahead of Ryan Zimmerman in the batting order. He said before the game he doesn't believe it is that big a deal, it was more about the matchup with Tigers right-hander and former National Jordan Zimmermann. "It would probably be unusual to you guys but not unusual to me because I've been thinking about some things for quite sometime," Baker said. "I talked to Zim and talked to Murphy first because I thought about it today in...

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Trading Places: Zimmermann back at Nats Park to face Scherzer

May 11, 2016, 5:07am

Nationals

Trading Places: Zimmermann back at Nats Park to face Scherzer

The rubber match could not be any better Wednesday night as former Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann takes on former Tigers hurler Max Scherzer. "Of all the ways this could of shook out, this has to have happened exactly this way where I'm facing Jordie," Scherzer said. "He asked for a fastball right down the middle and I definitely said, 'no, you're not getting that'." "I saw it's Max and I just talked to him a few minutes ago, joked around and said we will be locking horns...

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Game 34 lineups: Nats vs. Tigers

May 11, 2016, 11:07am

Nationals

Every franchise experiences certain rites of passage throughout the course of its existence, and tonight the Nationals will experience a new one: The return of a star player now wearing an opposing uniform. Jordan Zimmermann makes his first-ever start at Nationals Park as a member of the Tigers, taking the mound for tonight's series finale. When he does, he'll become easily the best former National ever to face his old team here in town. Thinking back across the years, who else is even in the...

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Nationals lament missed late scoring opportunities

May 10, 2016, 8:40pm

Nationals

Though the Nationals were upset about the application (or, more specifically non-application) of Major League Baseball's new slide rule during last night's 5-4 loss to the Tigers, they admitted it would've been moot had they managed to take advantage of either of their golden opportunities to tie (or even win) the game in both the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings. "I would preface this whole conversation by saying that I had an opportunity there in the ninth inning to tie the...

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Charlie Fliegel: Did Strasburg signing mean a shift in thinking for Nats?

May 11, 2016, 4:52am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Did Strasburg signing mean a shift in thinking for Nats?

With a move that seemed to surprise everyone, the Nationals signed one of the best pitchers in baseball to a long-term contract. And he happens to be one that is already on the team; Stephen Strasburg. He really is one of the best in today's game. Since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2012, he is 13th in MLB in fWAR, 4th in K/9, 13th in ERA+, 9th in FIP, 7th in OPS+ against... and these numbers are somewhat dragged down by the beginning of 2015 when he was pitching when he shouldn't have...

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Zimmerman "trying to hit the ball hard" in searching for power stroke

May 10, 2016, 7:41pm

Nationals

Zimmerman "trying to hit the ball hard" in searching for power stroke

After what has happened to Ryan Zimmerman in Chicago, Tuesday's two homers are certainly a positive step forward offensively for the Nationals veteran. Against the Cubs, Zimmerman went 2-for-19 in four games, leaving 14 men on base in the frustrating 13-inning 4-3 loss on Sunday. Zimmerman also struck out on a changeup in the ninth against the Tigers' Francisco Rodriguez, but that can't take away how hard he has been hitting the ball in his other contact at-bats. The two-run blast in the...

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Confusion over new slide rule plays role in Nats' 5-4 loss

May 10, 2016, 8:19pm

Nationals

Confusion over new slide rule plays role in Nats' 5-4 loss

At first glance, there wasn't much to the play in question. With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the sixth tonight, Detroit's Andrew Romine grounded to second baseman Daniel Murphy. It wasn't an especially hard-hit grounder, and there was little reason to think in that moment the Nationals had any chance of turning an inning-ending double play. Which they didn't. Murphy threw to Danny Espinosa, who threw well late to Ryan Zimmerman. Anthony Gose was out at second, Romine was safe...

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Despite two homers from Ryan Zimmerman, Nats fall to Tigers 5-4

May 10, 2016, 6:05pm

Nationals

Despite two homers from Ryan Zimmerman, Nats fall to Tigers 5-4

Nationals right-hander Joe Ross had never given up more than six hits in a start this season. He also had not surrendered a home run in his first 32 1/3 innings. That all changed Tuesday as the Tigers used a home run by Nick Castellanos and a big sixth inning to end a seven-game losing streak and upend the Nationals 5-4. Ryan Zimmerman kept the Nationals close, with two homers and three RBIs. It was the 15th time in his career he had hit more than one homer in a game. The Nationals jumped out...

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Ross gives up rare homer off slider (Nats lose 5-4)

May 10, 2016, 4:18pm

Nationals

Ross gives up rare homer off slider (Nats lose 5-4)

Joe Ross has stared down plenty of challenges already this season, his first full campaign in the major leagues, and has emerged on top the majority of the time. Tonight's challenge, though, ranks among the toughest he's faced to date: A Tigers lineup loaded with talent and experience. Ross held his own early on in the second game of this interleague series, but then he left a slider over the plate to Nick Castellanos in the top of the fourth and watched the Detroit third baseman crush it...