nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Slow starts nothing new for Zimmerman

May 04, 2016, 5:41am

Ryan Zimmerman had what you might call a poor April. Of course, he's not the only one on the team that did, but after two disappointing and injury-prone seasons, there is some worry that maybe he isn't a very good hitter anymore. However, it's not time to worry about Zimmerman, at least not yet. Actually, March and April doldrums are not unfamiliar to the Nats' all-time leader in Wins Above Replacement. A career .283/.348/.474 hitter - he has only managed to hit .257/.323/.427 over his...

Comments

Tags:

charlie fliegel guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Royals rally to beat Papelbon in ninth, end Nats winning streak

May 03, 2016, 7:25pm

Nationals

Royals rally to beat Papelbon in ninth, end Nats winning streak

KANSAS CITY - They did everything right yet again, getting power and clutch hits from their lineup, a quality start from their hurler and effective work from their setup men. But when Jonathan Papelbon couldn't seal the deal in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals saw their perfect road trip come to an ignominious end. Papelbon blew a two-run lead, giving up four singles and then Lorenzo Cain's game-winning drive past a diving Michael A. Taylor in left-center, turning a 6-4 lead into a 7-6,...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon daniel murphy jayson werth kansas city royals mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman tanner roark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Early power can't offset Royals rally vs. Roark (Nats lose 7-6)

May 03, 2016, 5:23pm

Nationals

Early power can't offset Royals rally vs. Roark (Nats lose 7-6)

KANSAS CITY - The Nationals scored in the top of the first inning, keeping with their usual theme. But then their starting pitcher gave it right back (and then some) shortly after, completely bucking recent trends. Despite homers from Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy, the Nats find themselves trailing 3-2 after four innings at Kauffman Stadium after the Royals strung together a three-run rally against Tanner Roark. First, the good news: Rendon finally hit his first homer of the season, a...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon daniel murphy kansas city royals mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime tanner roark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 26 lineups: Nats at Royals

May 03, 2016, 12:33pm

Nationals

KANSAS CITY - Road interleague games present teams with the DH dilemma: Who to use, whether to pull a guy off the bench or whether to give one of your regulars a semi day-off by not playing the field. Last night, Dusty Baker went with a bench guy, Stephen Drew. Tonight, he'll go with a regular, Jayson Werth. (The tentative plan for tomorrow is to use Ryan Zimmerman.) Werth has been hitting the ball harder of late; perhaps a chance to focus solely on offense for one night will help get him...

Comments

Tags:

kansas city royals lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime tanner roark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Updates on Rendon, Zimmerman, Arroyo and Revere

May 03, 2016, 3:50pm

Nationals

Updates on Rendon, Zimmerman, Arroyo and Revere

KANSAS CITY - Any discussion of how the Nationals can improve their offensive production almost certainly starts with two struggling lineup members who have track records of success: Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman. The two infielders have lagged behind others through the season's first month, combining for just one home run and nine RBIs (eight of them via Zimmerman). There are signs of encouragement, though. Or, at least, signs of bad luck that may change. Rendon, in particular, has been...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon ben revere bronson arroyo injuries mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals1

Nats getting contributions from entire bullpen

May 02, 2016, 9:32pm

Nationals

Nats getting contributions from entire bullpen

KANSAS CITY - With his team holding onto a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning last night against a Royals lineup that won last year's World Series thanks in large part to its ability to string together big rallies late in games, Nationals manager Dusty Baker could have gone the paint-by-numbers approach with the back end of his bullpen. Felipe Rivero in the seventh. Blake Treinen in the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth. That, on paper, is the way the Nationals have drawn up the final three...

Comments

Tags:

bullpen dusty baker jonathan papelbon mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime oliver perez sammy solis featured_sidebar shawn kelley frontstory_nationals3

Calm, poised Gonzalez turning into "a different guy on the mound"

May 02, 2016, 8:52pm

Nationals

Calm, poised Gonzalez turning into "a different guy on the mound"

KANSAS CITY - There were moments during tonight's game that looked all too familiar to Gio Gonzalez, moments when the left-hander could have been on the brink of disaster and too often in the past succumbed to the pressure. A 28-pitch first inning that featured tough at-bat after tough at-bat from the Royals. A two-on, two-out jam in the third with the heart of the lineup at the plate. A two-on, one-out jam in the sixth as his pitch count approached and then topped the century mark. Each time,...

Comments

Tags:

gio gonzalez jose lobaton kansas city royals mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime dusty baker featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Gonzalez runs Nats' winning streak to four games

May 02, 2016, 7:26pm

Nationals

Gonzalez runs Nats' winning streak to four games

KANSAS CITY - They marched into St. Louis and won three straight, pulling off their first sweep at Busch Stadium. Now they've marched into Kansas City and taken the opener of their interleague series against the defending World Series champs. Behind another highly effective pitching performance from Gio Gonzalez and another early offensive explosion, the Nationals took a quick 2-0 lead on the Royals and made it hold up the rest of the night. Gonzalez wasn't as sharp as he had been in several...

Comments

Tags:

daniel murphy gio gonzalez mark zuckerman nationals ryan zimmerman frontstory_nationals3

Revere goes five innings for Syracuse, still trending toward Thursday return

May 03, 2016, 7:38am

Nationals

Revere goes five innings for Syracuse, still trending toward Thursday return

Center fielder Ben Revere, on a minor league rehabilitation assignment with a strained right oblique, played five innings in Triple-A Syracuse's 1-0 win over Rochester on Monday, going 0-for-3. On defense, he caught a pair of flyouts in the second inning and one in the third. He squeezed a flyout in the fourth and then retrieved a single later in the inning. On offense, he grounded out to the pitcher in the first and grounded out to the first baseman in his second at-bat. He later grounded out...

Comments

Tags:

ben revere byron kerr nationals syracuse chiefs frontstory_nationals2

Steve Mears: A look at the Nats' developing outfielders

May 03, 2016, 5:01am

Nationals

Steve Mears: A look at the Nats' developing outfielders

The Nationals' minor league affiliates are developing outfielders, and this started years ago with Billy Burns, who was used as trade bait to snag Jerry Blevins. In a subsequent trade of Blevins, Mike Rizzo traded him to snag Matt den Dekker. Let's review the pipeline of prospects: * Hagerstown Low-A, Victor Robles* Potomac High-A, Andrew Stevenson* Harrisburg Double-A, Rafael Bautista* Syracuse Triple-A, Brian Goodwin All of those minor leaguers are currently batting over .300 and each have...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper guest blogger guestblogger matt den dekker michael a. taylor nationals nationals buzz steve mears

After shaky debut, Kelley quietly dominant out of Nats bullpen

May 02, 2016, 3:13pm

Nationals

After shaky debut, Kelley quietly dominant out of Nats bullpen

KANSAS CITY - The Nationals gave Shawn Kelley a three-year, $15 million contract over the winter because they believed he was a guy they could trust to pitch in big spots late in ballgames. And they couldn't have found a much bigger spot to throw Kelley into for his first assignment this season: a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game on opening day. So when Kelley proceeded to walk that batter (Atlanta's Adonis Garcia) on four pitches (all of them at...

Comments

Tags:

bullpen mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime shawn kelley featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

First-inning offense continues, even without Harper (Nats win 2-0)

May 02, 2016, 5:30pm

Nationals

First-inning offense continues, even without Harper (Nats win 2-0)

KANSAS CITY - The Nationals continue to do damage in the first inning, even if Bryce Harper isn't contributing to it. With Harper mired in a sudden slump, the Nats have had to turn to others for offense. They delivered all weekend during a three-game sweep in St. Louis, and they delivered again in the top of the first tonight in their interleague series opener in at Kauffman Stadium, scoring two quick runs to take an early lead. Michael A. Taylor and Anthony Rendon set the table with a leadoff...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper gio gonzalez kansas city royals mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime frontfeatured_nationals

Bryce Harper wins NL Player of the Month Award

May 02, 2016, 11:15am

Nationals

Bryce Harper wins NL Player of the Month Award

KANSAS CITY - Bryce Harper was named National League Player of the Month for April this afternoon, further confirmation of the reigning league MVP's torrid start to the 2016 season. Harper hit .286 with nine homers, 24 RBIs, five stolen bases and a 1.120 OPS in 23 game for the month, which the 23-year-old actually ended in a 1-for-13 slump. He was hitting .328 with a 1.274 OPS as recently as April 26 before falling into his current skid (which included an 0-for-11 weekend in St....

Comments

Tags:

awards bryce harper mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 25 lineups: Nats at Royals

May 02, 2016, 12:43pm

Nationals

KANSAS CITY - Hello from beautiful Kauffman Stadium, maybe baseball's most underrated ballpark. This is only the Nationals' second trip here; they took two of three in 2013, but this is a far different Royals team they're facing now than they did back then. The defending World Series champs are off to a bit of a ragged start, but they remain an imposing foe, making this a marquee matchup for the next three days. The Nationals are flying high after their three-game sweep in St. Louis, their...

Comments

Tags:

gio gonzalez kansas city royals lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime frontstory_nationals1

What we learned from the first month of the baseball season

May 02, 2016, 12:34pm

Nationals Orioles

What we learned from the first month of the baseball season

The first month of the baseball season is in the books. The first checkpoint has arrived, and so here's what you need to know about April's developing stories. * The Trevor-ending story: Sorry to start with a bad pun, but who could resist? And who would have thought that Colorado shortstop Trevor Story's home runs would be all the rage after the first month? He has 10 going into the week, including five in Arizona and four at the Rockies' Coors Field. In an unusual scheduling twist, the...

Comments

Tags:

frontstory_nationals4 frontstory_orioles4 mel antonen nationals orioles

Harper named NL Player of the Month

May 02, 2016, 11:27am

Nationals

Beginning the encore to his MVP season with a superb opening month of 2016, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was named the National League Player of the Month for April on Monday. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network. Harper, 23, hit .286 with a .406 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage (best in MLB) in 23 April games. In that period, he drove in an MLB-best 24 runs, clubbed nine home runs (3rd in MLB), stole five bases, clobbered 15 extra-base...

Comments

Tags:

Nationals News Release nationals

Ramos remembers his grandfather, ready to return to baseball

May 01, 2016, 7:07pm

Nationals

Ramos remembers his grandfather, ready to return to baseball

ST. LOUIS - Wilson Ramos ambled onto the field at Busch Stadium yesterday morning, his Nationals teammates having already been out there for a little while taking batting practice, and began the process of returning to his professional life after a five-day break to take care of his personal life. Ramos, who had gone home to Venezuela following the death of his grandfather, admittedly was still grieving but found solace in putting on his uniform again and preparing for yesterday's game against...

Comments

Tags:

dusty baker mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pedro severino wilson ramos featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals1

Nationals rediscover their swagger during St. Louis sweep

May 01, 2016, 3:18pm

Nationals

ST. LOUIS - That the Nationals just swept the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the first time ever was notable enough. That they did it despite Bryce Harper going hitless in all three games this weekend was downright scary. Scary for future competition. "That tells me that somebody's in trouble," manager Dusty Baker said. "Somebody's in trouble because Bryce ain't going hitless for too long a period of time. Whenever you can do that without your star having a good series ... we picked him...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper clint robinson danny espinosa dusty baker mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime st. louis cardinals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals1

Marty Niland: Nationals pitchers showing no need for DH role

May 02, 2016, 4:08am

Nationals

When the Nationals visit the Kansas City Royals tonight, manager Dusty Baker will pencil a designated hitter into his lineup for the first time this season. But even playing in an American League park, Baker might actually think twice before he doing so. Most Nationals fans could sense that Joe Ross was done for the day as he walked off the field after tossing six stellar innings in Saturday's 6-1 victory in St. Louis. With a 4-1 lead at the time, he had rebounded nicely from a finger blister...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger marty niland nationals nationals buzz

Opposite dugout: Royals enter interleague series after rough road trip

May 01, 2016, 1:18pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Royals enter interleague series after rough road trip

Manager: Ned Yost (7th year) Record: 13-11 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 1B Eric Hosmer (.333/.374/.538 with 4 HR, 9 RBIs), 3B Mike Moustakas (7 HR,11 RBIs), C Salvador Perez (14 RBIs), RHP Edinson Volquez (3-1, 3.34 ERA), RHP Wade Davis (8 saves, 0.00 ERA), RHP Kelvin Herrera (0.00 ERA, 17 Ks in 12 1/3 IP) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (1-2 in 2013) Pitching probables: May 2: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Edinson Volquez, 8:15 p.m., MASN May 3: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Chris Young,...