nationals

After best April in club history, what does May have in store for Nats?

April 30, 2016, 8:32pm

ST. LOUIS - The calendar has shifted at last, the baseball season has entered its second month and the Nationals (unlike a year ago) are thrilled to have no reason to be shouting "Mayday!" right now. April could not have gone much better for the Nats, who at 16-7 are off to the best start in club history and the best start by any Washington ballclub since 1932. Sure, much of their success came against the likes of the Braves, Marlins and Twins. But they've kicked off one of the most daunting...

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Nationals activate catcher Wilson Ramos

May 01, 2016, 9:06am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals activated catcher Wilson Ramos from the bereavement list on Sunday and optioned catcher Pedro Severino to Triple-A Syracuse. President of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Ramos hit .316 (18-for-57) with four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored in 15 games prior to being placed on the bereavement list. He returns to the team after missing five games following the death of his grandfather, Jesus Campos. Severino,...

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Ross shows no rust after layoff, carves up Cardinals

April 30, 2016, 3:07pm

Nationals

Ross shows no rust after layoff, carves up Cardinals

ST. LOUIS - He had thrown a grand total of two innings in the last 15 days. He hadn't pitched at all in 10 days. And he was facing one of the toughest lineups in baseball. Potential recipe for disaster? Not for Joe Ross, who hadn't been fazed by any situation he'd faced so far in the major leagues and wasn't about to start now. "Hey, man, there's nothing finer than a young pitcher that gets confidence and knows that he belongs here," Dusty Baker said. "And he certainly has confidence....

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Revere plays second straight game, goes five innings for Syracuse (updated)

April 30, 2016, 4:54am

Nationals

Revere plays second straight game, goes five innings for Syracuse (updated)

Ben Revere completed his second rehab game with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs Friday night. The center fielder, rehabbing a right strained oblique, went 0-for-2 with a walk. Syracuse stunned Pawtucket with a 3-2 walk-off victory. The Chiefs have won five of their last six games. Caleb Ramsey replaced Revere on defense to begin the top of the sixth. Revere has now played a pair of games in a row, playing five innings in each. Manager Dusty Baker had pointed to the Chicago Cubs series as the games...

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Nats clinch series with 6-1 win in St. Louis

April 30, 2016, 1:18pm

Nationals

Nats clinch series with 6-1 win in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals have been coming to this version of Busch Stadium for a decade now, and there may be no ballpark in America that has been less welcoming to the club from Washington than this one. That storyline may finally be changing. With a 6-1 win over the Cardinals this afternoon, the Nationals have now won two in a row and clinched their first series victory in St. Louis since 2007. And they've made it look relatively easy so far this weekend. Their 5-4 win Friday night was a...

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Lineup busts out early vs. Garcia (Nats win 6-1)

April 30, 2016, 11:14am

Nationals

Lineup busts out early vs. Garcia (Nats win 6-1)

ST. LOUIS - Dusty Baker faced Jaime Garcia countless times while managing the Reds, offering him plenty of opportunity to figure out how best to beat the Cardinals left-hander. "This guy knows how to pitch," Baker said this morning before his Nationals faced Garcia at Busch Stadium. "You've got to get to him early." Is a four-run top of the first early enough for you, Dusty? The Nationals pounced on Garcia this afternoon, scoring four times before the Cardinals ever had a chance to bat....

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Baker on Ross, the bullpen and Murphy's defense

April 30, 2016, 10:07am

Nationals

Baker on Ross, the bullpen and Murphy's defense

ST. LOUIS - The skies have cleared, the field has been prepped and the starting pitchers have made their way to the bullpens to begin warming up. So it looks like we'll have baseball on time this afternoon. They'll just have to hope they get the full game in before the next wave of rain strikes sometime later. Could be a close call. It's not an ideal scenario for Joe Ross to return to the mound after a 10-day layoff, but the Nationals don't have much choice in the matter. Ross, who was...

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Game 23 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

April 30, 2016, 7:06am

Nationals

ST. LOUIS - It's been raining steadily here since late last night, and more is expected later today. But there does appear to be a potential window of opportunity for the Nationals and Cardinals to play the second game of their weekend series, in between the two cycles of precipitation. We'll see. If and when they do play, Joe Ross will be on the mound for the first time in 10 days, his last start having been cut short after only two innings due to a blister on his right middle finger. Rather...

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Strasburg dominates late to improve to 4-0 for first time

April 29, 2016, 10:08pm

Nationals

Strasburg dominates late to improve to 4-0 for first time

ST. LOUIS - Take a snapshot of Stephen Strasburg's first trip through the Cardinals lineup last night and you find a whole lot of hard-hit balls, four of them landing for hits, leading to a pair of runs. Take a snapshot of Strasburg's second trip through that lineup and you find better results, though still a couple of hits including his third double surrendered in only three innings. Now take a snapshot of Strasburg's third trip through the very same lineup and you find utter domination:...

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Taylor, Espinosa lead Nationals out of scoring funk

April 29, 2016, 8:42pm

Nationals

ST. LOUIS - Michael A. Taylor insisted he had no idea how many innings the Nationals had gone without scoring, but he - like everyone else on the roster - knew it had been awhile. So when he was presented with an opportunity to do something about it, Taylor put an end to that streak and set the Nationals on their way to a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals in the opener of a 10-game trip through the Midwest that should serve as a test of this team's true talent level. "It's definitely nice,"...

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Nats open tough road trip with 5-4 victory in St. Louis

April 29, 2016, 7:02pm

Nationals

Nats open tough road trip with 5-4 victory in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals picked a good time to start hitting again. And Stephen Strasburg picked a good time to mow down one of baseball's tougher lineups. Behind a four-run explosion in the top of the fourth and seven strong innings from Strasburg, the Nats opened their toughest road trip of the season on a positive note. They pulled off a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals, though it included some tense moments late once they turned to their bullpen to finish what Strasburg started. Riding a...

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Game 22 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

April 29, 2016, 12:28pm

Nationals

ST. LOUIS - Hello from the Gateway City, where the biggest event in town this weekend isn't the Nationals-Cardinals series but the FIRST Championship, a national robotics competition that has left the downtown area overrun with thousands of teenagers who are infinitely smarter than you or I will ever be. While these kids are creating artificially intelligent robots, we're sitting in a ballpark obsessing over the Nats' inability to score a run. Talk about a blow to the ego... But anyway,...

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Harper disappointed in Gordon but doesn't want batting title

April 29, 2016, 3:15pm

Nationals

Harper disappointed in Gordon but doesn't want batting title

ST. LOUIS - Bryce Harper said Dee Gordon's 80-game suspension after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs is "definitely a disappointment," but the Nationals star insisted he shouldn't now be considered the reining NL batting champ because of Gordon's actions. Harper lost the batting title to Gordon on the final day of the 2015 season, ultimately falling short by three percentage points. He blames his own struggles down the stretch - he hit .162 over his final 11 games, causing...

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Nats "get to see what we're really made of" on trek, Zimmerman says

April 29, 2016, 3:54am

Nationals

Nats "get to see what we're really made of" on trek, Zimmerman says

Regardless of the last three games, the next 10 games on the schedule have been pointed to as a huge test in this young season. Whether the Nationals arrived 14-7 or 17-4, games at St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago were marked as difficult because of the caliber of teams and the venues they will have to play in. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman is the longest-tenured Nationals player and he describes this trip as the most daunting of his career. "It's one of the tougher trips I think I've...

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Taylor homers, Cards strike back vs. Strasburg (Nats win 5-4)

April 29, 2016, 5:05pm

Nationals

Taylor homers, Cards strike back vs. Strasburg (Nats win 5-4)

ST. LOUIS - What better way for a Nationals lineup struggling to score runs to open a 10-game road trip than with a home run from the very first batter to step to the plate on this daunting swing through the Midwest? If only the rest of the lineup was able to follow Michael A. Taylor's lead with some more production. Taylor's opposite-field homer on the third pitch of tonight's game set a positive tone for a Nationals club that sorely needed one. His solo shot into the right field bullpen...

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Opposite dugout: Cardinals keeping pace in NL Central with NL-leading offense

April 27, 2016, 3:29pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Cardinals keeping pace in NL Central with NL-leading offense

Manager: Mike Matheny (5th season) Record: 12-10 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: LF Jeremy Hazelbaker (.310/.344/.690 with 5 HR, 13 RBIs), C Yadier Molina (.333/.422/.436 with 10 RBIs), RF Stephen Piscotty (4 HR, 15 RBIs), RHP Carlos Martinez (4-0, 1.93 ERA), RHP Seung Hwan Oh (1.50 ERA in 12 IP) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-2 in 2015) Pitching probables: April 29: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP Mike Leake, 8:15 p.m., MASN2 April 30: RHP Joe Ross vs. LHP Jaime Garcia, 2:15...

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Nats struggle for answers after back-to-back 3-0 losses

April 28, 2016, 5:12pm

Nationals

Nats struggle for answers after back-to-back 3-0 losses

The Phillies handed the Nationals another 3-0 shutout loss on Thursday, sweeping the three-game series. Despite a lineup that was switched around a bit to try to jumpstart the offense, the Nationals combined for only four hits. The Nationals have not scored in 22 innings and have just five runs in the past 34 innings dating to Sunday's 16-inning marathon win over the Twins. It's not like the Nationals had that many chances against Phillies starter Aaron Nola, with only base hits in the first...

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Harper on major league debut: "I did everything I could to enjoy it"

April 28, 2016, 10:51am

Nationals

Harper on major league debut: "I did everything I could to enjoy it"

April 28, 2012 is date every Nationals fan will remember forever: Bryce Harper's major league debut. Today, when Harper takes the field against the Phillies, it marks the fifth anniversary of his debut, a 4-3 10-inning loss for the Nationals at Chavez Ravine against the Dodgers. Batting seventh and playing left field, he went 1-for-3 with a double, sacrifice fly and an RBI. The Nationals ended up going 81-58 in games he played during the 2012 campaign. Harper did well that day, but when asked,...

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Roark blanks Phillies through seven innings (Phillies win 3-0)

April 28, 2016, 1:38pm

Nationals

Roark blanks Phillies through seven innings (Phillies win 3-0)

On a rainy and then misty Thursday getaway day, after waiting 36 minutes to get started, both starting pitchers have been very smooth in retiring batters as the Nationals and Phillies wrap up their three-game set. Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark, coming off a career-high 15 strikeout performance last Saturday in 2-0 shutout of the Twins, retired 10 straight batters after issuing a leadoff walk to Odubel Herrera to start the game. Herrera was thrown out trying to steal. But in the fourth...

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Game underway after 36-minute delay

April 28, 2016, 12:00pm

Nationals

The start of today's Phillies-Nationals game has been delayed due to rain. The original scheduled first pitch at Nationals Park was 4:05 p.m. The Nationals have announced they are hoping to begin the game at 4:40 p.m. The Nats are heading on a 10-game road trip after the game and are hoping to get this game in before they depart for St. Louis. The Nationals next face the Phillies at home June 10-12 with no off-day before or after that series. After that, the final series at home against the...