nationals

Plenty of storylines to first Nats-Mets series of the season

May 16, 2016, 1:01pm

When last the Nationals and Mets faced each other in a game of actual significance, the lasting image was that of Yoenis Cespedes circling the bases while Drew Storen fumed on the mound, the final dagger of a miserable three-day stretch for the Nats having been delivered in the harshest possible manner. That scene pretty much encapsulated the 2015 pennant race between these two teams. A Nationals club that was supposed to run away with another National League East title instead wilted in...

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Watch Bryce Harper visit "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

May 17, 2016, 5:26am

Nationals

Watch Bryce Harper visit "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

The Make Baseball Fun Again campaign made its way to New York City as Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper stopped by "The Tonight Show"! Along with host Fallon, Harper faced the duo of model Gigi Hadid and actor/comedian Andy Samberg in Catchphrase. Naturally, hilarity ... and maybe a little cheating ... ensued. Check out all the smack-talk and laughs and see if Harper and Fallon came out on top!

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Opposite dugout: Mets aiming for back-to-back division titles

May 16, 2016, 9:36am

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Mets aiming for back-to-back division titles

Manager: Terry Collins (6th season) Record: 21-16 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: CF Yoenis Cespedes (.287, 12 HR, 32 RBIs), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (.281, 38 hits), 2B Neil Walker (10 HR, 20 RBIs), RHP Noah Syndergaard (3-2, 2.53 ERA), RHP Jeurys Familia (2.60 ERA, 12 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (11-8 in 2015) Pitching probables: May 17: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Noah Syndergaard, 7:10 p.m., MASNMay 18: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Bartolo Colon, 7:10 p.m., MASNMay 19: RHP...

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Revere, now hitting .093, tells fans: "Don't give up on me yet"

May 15, 2016, 8:23pm

Nationals

Revere, now hitting .093, tells fans: "Don't give up on me yet"

It's not at all uncommon for a player to miss a sizeable chunk of time early in the season due to injury, then struggle at the plate for a prolonged stretch even when healthy at last. Ben Revere, though, is testing the boundaries of that phenomenon right now, and the end result is one awfully frustrating leadoff man. In nine games since returning from a strained right oblique muscle, Revere is a scant 4-for-41 at the plate. When he looked up at the scoreboard following his final at-bat...

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After 20-strikeout gem, what will Max Scherzer do for an encore?

May 16, 2016, 4:46pm

Nationals

After 20-strikeout gem, what will Max Scherzer do for an encore?

Pitcher Max Scherzer returns to the mound Tuesday night when the Nationals start a three-game series in Citi Field against the New York Mets, the team that beat them in the National League East last season. And while Nationals-Mets rivalry - with all that starting pitching on both sides - is one story, there's another to watch: How will Scherzer follow up his historic 20-strikeout game against Detroit on Wednesday night at Nationals Park? As Nationals fans learned during Scherzer's first...

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Marty Niland: Remembering Tom Cheney, who deserved better

May 16, 2016, 6:18am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Remembering Tom Cheney, who deserved better

Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout performance against the Tigers was certainly one for the ages, the highlight of one of the most remarkable weeks in the history of the Nationals. But Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, whose contract extension was a key part of that week, owe a debt of gratitude to a man who might have given an even more impressive performance more than 53 years earlier. As Scherzer piled up the strikeouts, matching the most ever in a nine-inning game, Nats fans posting in the...

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Fernandez gets stronger as game rolls along in 5-1 defeat of Nats

May 15, 2016, 1:50pm

Nationals

Fernandez gets stronger as game rolls along in 5-1 defeat of Nats

Miami right-hander Jose Fernandez tossed a career-high 117 pitches, and finished up with relative ease, as the Marlins defeated the Nationals 5-1 to split the four-game set. Fernandez struck out 10 of the last 12 batters he faced, striking out 11 batters overall. He pitched seven innings, allowing only four hits, one run (earned) and three walks. "I think that's been the whole season," Fernandez said on his surge to end the outing. "The whole season, as the game progresses, I've been...

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Are Rendon's 2015 injuries slowing progress this season?

May 16, 2016, 5:24am

Nationals

Are Rendon's 2015 injuries slowing progress this season?

The Nationals offense has not had a moment yet where more than a handful of players were hitting at the same time. Bryce Harper started off well. Wilson Ramos is surging now. Daniel Murphy has been consistent throughout. But other key pieces like Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman haven't gotten into a groove yet at the plate. They have certainly had their moments, just not the day-to-day consistency up and down the lineup the team will need to really get rolling in the National League East. And...

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Nationals turn sloppy in homestand-ending loss to Marlins

May 15, 2016, 2:48pm

Nationals

There was a routine popup lost in the sun, letting two runs stroll across the plate. There was a clutch, two-run single by the opposing pitcher after the guy in front of him had been intentionally walked. And there were strikeouts, 15 of them in total, 10 of them with runners on base. Suffice it to say, the Nationals didn't do many things right this afternoon. And suffice it to say, all of that resulted in a 5-1 loss to the Marlins that never felt particularly close, given the manner in which...

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Fernandez too much for the Nationals in 5-1 loss

May 15, 2016, 12:06pm

Nationals

Jose Fernandez beat the Nationals with his arm and his bat Sunday. Fernandez threw seven innings, allowing only one run, and provided a huge two-run single with the bases loaded that put the game out of reach. The Marlins won 5-1, splitting the four-game set. Fernandez got some early assistance from the Nationals defense. With two outs and two men on in the third inning, Martin Prado's infield pop-up was dropped by Stephen Drew as he battled the bright sunshine, allowing both runs to score and...

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Early runs scoring in bizarre fashion (Nats lose 5-1)

May 15, 2016, 10:56am

Nationals

Early runs scoring in bizarre fashion (Nats lose 5-1)

The Sun Monster has claimed its share of victims at Nationals Park over the years, most memorably Bryce Harper (who coined the scary-sounding term after losing a fly ball in the sun during his rookie season in 2012). This afternoon, it reared its ugly head again and found a new victim at a most inopportune moment: Stephen Drew. Drew couldn't see a routine popup to second base with two outs in the third inning, ultimately letting the ball bounce off his glove as two Marlins baserunners came...

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Robinson makes 2016 debut in outfield, Murphy out with illness

May 15, 2016, 8:39am

Nationals

Robinson makes 2016 debut in outfield, Murphy out with illness

Two Nationals regulars are out of the lineup for today's series finale against the Marlins. One was planned, one was a last-minute change. Jayson Werth is sitting out this game, most likely a byproduct of his longstanding struggles against Jose Fernandez. (Werth is 1-for-16 in his career against the Miami ace.) That means Clint Robinson (who is 2-for-3 with a homer vs. Fernandez) gets the start in left field today, his first appearance in the outfield in any game so far this season. Robinson,...

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Taylor patient at the plate as he returns to reserve role

May 14, 2016, 2:19pm

Nationals

Taylor patient at the plate as he returns to reserve role

Michael A. Taylor got the start in the leadoff spot in Saturday's first game of a day/night doubleheader as the Nationals downed the Marlins 6-4. Taylor had struggled at times in the leadoff spot prior to Ben Revere's return to the lineup last weekend. But on Saturday, Taylor once again displayed what he can do on offense and defense, going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks. He stole two bases and made an outstanding catch of a fly ball off the bat of the Marlins catcher Jeff Mathis that...

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Game 38 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins (Murphy scratched)

May 15, 2016, 6:18am

Nationals

Game 38 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins (Murphy scratched)

What a strange few weeks of weather the Nationals have experienced. It seems like the conditions have alternated just about every day, from warm and muggy to mild and rainy to cold and windy. We've got the latter this afternoon for the Nats' series finale against the Marlins, with temperatures in the 50s and a strong, steady wind blowing from left to right fields. That may help the ball carry for left-handed batters today, which might not be a bad thing for the Nationals, who are going up...

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Nationals mystified by Marlins' mastery of Roark

May 14, 2016, 6:57pm

Nationals

If baseball truly is a game of adjustments, as they like to say, Tanner Roark has some major work staring him in the face before next weekend's series in Miami. Roark figures to start Friday night's opener at Marlins Park - unless Nationals manager Dusty Baker decides to bump him up to pitch against the Mets the night before instead of Stephen Strasburg - and that means the right-hander will have to figure out some way to beat a Miami lineup that has owned him for two seasons now. The latest...

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Strasburg undeterred by early struggles, downs Marlins

May 14, 2016, 1:43pm

Nationals

Strasburg undeterred by early struggles, downs Marlins

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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....