nationals

David Huzzard: Trea Turner is the first wave of improvement

May 26, 2016, 4:39am

In late July 2015, the Washington Nationals held a three-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East. A couple of weeks later, they were eight games back. It was a depressing and shocking turn of events for Nats fans. Injuries played a role in the Nationals' struggles as several stars returned to the lineup and performed worse than those they replaced. But it wasn't just that the Nationals struggled. The Mets took advantage of the Nationals' struggles and it was partly due...

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Baker not out to fix Harvey for the Mets, but empathizes with situation

May 25, 2016, 8:38am

Nationals

Baker not out to fix Harvey for the Mets, but empathizes with situation

The biggest story from this week's series on the New York side has been the struggles of right-hander Matt Harvey which continued Tuesday in a 7-4 loss to the Nats. Harvey allowed three homers and five runs and eight hits in five innings, succumbing to his seventh loss and second against the Nats in five days. After the game, the New York media jumped on Harvey because he did not speak to them. Today during pregame, Nationals manager Dusty Baker was asked about the problems for Harvey right...

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Baker: "This is probably the worst period Bryce has gone through"

May 25, 2016, 8:11am

Nationals

Baker: "This is probably the worst period Bryce has gone through"

Manager Dusty Baker decided to rest slugger Bryce Harper for Wednesday's matinee series finale against the Mets. Harper went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly RBI in last night's 7-4 win. In Harper's last 15 games, he has hit .200 (8-for-40) with one homer, 4 RBIs, 24 walks and nine strikeouts. Baker said Harper was fine with the news he wouldn't start. "We got mutual respect, he was cool with it," Baker said. "He really showed no emotion with it, which is fine with me." The Nationals are...

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Game 47 lineups: Mets at Nats

May 25, 2016, 6:13am

Nationals

The Nationals have a shot to repeat last week's series win in New York with a matinee matchup against the Mets. Last week, the Nationals lost the first game at Citi Field, before bouncing back to win two games in a row and the series. This week, the Nationals lost the first game against the Mets at Nationals Park 7-1 and then rebounded last night with a 7-4 victory, highlighted by five homers and 11 strikeouts from Stephen Strasburg. This will be Tanner Roark's first meeting with the Mets...

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Strasburg's 8-0 run to begin 2016 puts him in elite company

May 24, 2016, 7:15pm

Nationals

Strasburg's 8-0 run to begin 2016 puts him in elite company

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg continued Tuesday night on the most consistent stretch of his career, winning for the eighth time this season in a 7-4 victory over the National League East rival Mets. The Nationals have now won 14 straight games that Strasburg has started. On Tuesday, he crafted 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs with two walks and 11 strikeouts. The biggest statistic is the run Strasburg is on. He is 8-0 this season, a career-best start. He has picked up from where...

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More from last night's win over the Mets

May 24, 2016, 8:24pm

Nationals

More from last night's win over the Mets

Last night's game looked awfully familiar for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg dominated. Matt Harvey did not. The end result was a lopsided victory, something we saw only five days earlier when the same two pitchers matched up in New York. Here are some other notable things that happened that perhaps didn't draw the big headlines... * The Nationals bullpen delivered big again in a big spot. Though this turned into a lopsided affair, the outcome still was very much in doubt in the top of the...

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Charlie Fliegel: It's time for Nats to call Turner to majors

May 24, 2016, 9:25pm

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: It's time for Nats to call Turner to majors

The Nationals' offense has made some strides in the last few weeks now that Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Ben Revere have started hitting. Unfortunately, Danny Espinosa has yet to get on track, and it's time to consider making a move there. Espinosa's hit a paltry .203/.305/.287 this season, and it's bad even if you dismiss his early performance as a slow start. Going back to April 29, he has hit .224/.302/.353, which is the best sample you can get leading up to today. This may be...

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Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage

May 24, 2016, 7:46pm

Nationals

Nats take down Harvey again with five-homer barrage

The bottom of the fourth had arrived at Nationals Park, the home team was trailing 1-0 and the cheers from the sizeable pockets of Mets fans was far more noticeable than anything that could be heard from those dressed in red. And yet ... It was the first truly warm evening of the season on South Capitol Street (first pitch temperature: 83 degrees), the Nationals were making solid contact despite nothing to show for it on the scoreboard and Matt Harvey was on the mound for New York. If ever...

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Five homers and steady Strasburg lift Nats to 7-4 win over Mets

May 24, 2016, 5:55pm

Nationals

Five homers and steady Strasburg lift Nats to 7-4 win over Mets

On Monday night, the Nats scored the first run followed by five runs in a row by the Mets. The Mets hit three home runs to go on to win 7-1. On Tuesday night, the Mets got on the board first with one run in the fourth. The Nationals retaliated with five runs fueled by three homers over two innings to lead 5-1. The Nationals went on to hit a season-high five homers and even the series courtesy of a 7-4 decision. Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to quickly...

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Baker understands Harper's extra work to break out of slump

May 24, 2016, 1:59pm

Nationals

Baker understands Harper's extra work to break out of slump

Dusty Baker knows what it's like to endure a slump and knows the tricks for trying to snap out of a prolonged slide at the plate. So the Nationals manager knows what must be going through Bryce Harper's mind right now, and he understands what the struggling right fielder is trying to do to get himself back on track. When Harper went to the cage underneath the stands at Nationals Park following last night's loss to the Mets, still in full uniform with batting gloves and bat in hand, Baker...

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Charted territory: How pitching charts benefit Nationals starters

May 24, 2016, 10:37am

Nationals

Pitching coach Mike Maddux has brought new strategies with him from the Rangers to the Nationals. One such strategy is that he requires his starting pitchers to chart the game the day before their scheduled outing. Most of the Nationals starters did this when they were in college or in the minors, some more than others. The Nationals have a young starter in Joe Ross, who is mixed with veterans like Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark. All of the starters agree that...

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Home run barrage follows early zeros (Nats win 7-4)

May 24, 2016, 4:24pm

Nationals

Home run barrage follows early zeros (Nats win 7-4)

Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg spent the first three innings of tonight's rematch trying to one-up each other, posting dueling zeros on the scoreboard to the delight of many in the crowd and the disgust of others in what has turned into a bipartisan ballpark. But then came the fourth inning, which featured three solo homers: one from the Mets' Asdrubal Cabrera, then back-to-back shots from the Nats' Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon to give their team a 2-1 lead. Strasburg had retired the...

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Steve Mears: Opportunity in offing as Zimmerman awaits blessed event

May 24, 2016, 2:24pm

Nationals

Steve Mears: Opportunity in offing as Zimmerman awaits blessed event

Have you looked lately to see what the one-two punch for the Syracuse Chiefs have been doing? Trea Turner and Brian Goodwin are just tearing up Triple-A while wreaking havoc on the base paths. They are usually running the bases two times a game if they get up five times since both are hovering around a .380 on-base percentage and have found other ways to get on base. Both are almost certain locks to be called up in September or sooner, and the Nationals might have a need real soon as it turns...

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Game 46 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

May 24, 2016, 11:09am

Nationals

As we saw last night, just because two starting pitchers are facing each other for the second time in six days, there's no guarantee the result will stay the same. And yet, the Nationals will be hoping for just that tonight when Stephen Strasburg faces Matt Harvey in a rematch of Thursday night's 9-1 victory for the Nats at Citi Field. They will hope Strasburg continues his torrid start to the season, which is really just a continuation of his torrid conclusion to last season. For those who...

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Tuesday morning Q&A from D.C.

May 23, 2016, 8:26pm

Nationals

Sorry for the lack of the supposedly weekly Q&A last week. Because I didn't travel to Miami, there wasn't an opportunity to squeeze the feature in during the series in New York. But never fear, because we're bumping this up to Tuesday this week, and we're ready to answer all your questions on the Nationals. Ask about last week's Mets series. Ask about this week's Mets series. Ask about Bryce Harper's slump. Ask about Stephen Strasburg's attempt to improve to 8-0 tonight. (Just...

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Colon bests Gonzalez 7-1 in reversal of last week's matchup

May 23, 2016, 6:31pm

Nationals

Colon bests Gonzalez 7-1 in reversal of last week's matchup

The prospect of a rainout couldn't have been particularly appealing to the Nationals, who only five days after winning a lopsided matchup between Gio Gonzalez and Bartolo Colon had to be licking their chops at tonight's scheduled rematch. But after waiting out a 1-hour, 7-minute delay to start their series opener against the Mets, the Nationals found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided game, unable to touch Colon while New York's lineup battered Gonzalez all around the park during a...

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Nats can't make adjustments in flip-flopped loss to Mets

May 23, 2016, 8:19pm

Nationals

Nats can't make adjustments in flip-flopped loss to Mets

Baseball, you probably have heard, is a game of constant adjustments. This is especially true on those more-frequent-than-you-think occasions when a starting pitcher faces the same opponent twice in a row. So when Gio Gonzalez faced the Mets tonight for the second time in five days, with Bartolo Colon facing the Nationals also for the second time in five days, the challenge for each side was clear: Make the necessary adjustments to change the outcome from the first head-to-head meeting. Which...

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Series opener delayed by rain (Nats lose 7-1)

May 23, 2016, 3:29pm

Nationals

Series opener delayed by rain (Nats lose 7-1)

Rain had been in the forecast all day, and sure enough it came as expected, delaying the start of the Nationals' series opener against the Mets. For now, the Nats say they plan to begin at 8:10 p.m., hoping the skies clear enough and soon enough to get the full game in as scheduled and avoid a makeup date down the road at some point. If it comes to that, the Nationals and Mets have options. With New York making two more trips to D.C. this season (June 27-29, September 12-14), there's no need...

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Why Dusty Baker doesn't believe in personal catchers

May 23, 2016, 1:32pm

Nationals

Why Dusty Baker doesn't believe in personal catchers

Dusty Baker isn't a big believer in the concept of personal catchers, but when he took the job as Nationals manager over the winter, he inherited the Gio Gonzalez-Jose Lobaton pairing. Gonzalez and Lobaton never formally were named as permanent batterymates, but the two had worked together in 19 of the left-hander's final 23 starts in 2015 and enjoyed success. So Baker kept them together each of the first eight times Gonzalez pitched this season. Until tonight. Seeking more offense from his...

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Game 45 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

May 23, 2016, 11:08am

Nationals

OK, let's get the answer to your most important question out of the way: I don't know. The question: Are they going to be able to play tonight? You know as much as I know. And if you don't, just click on any weather forecast and look at the Doppler map. It's probably going to rain, pretty hard, at some point late this afternoon/early this evening. It's probably not going to rain straight through the night. Will it not rain long enough for the Nationals and Mets to be able to play their...