nationals

Burriss back in hometown with new team and outlook

April 28, 2016, 12:38pm

Emmanuel Burriss arrived early Thursday afternoon in the Phillies clubhouse at Nationals Park. He had spent the morning with his dad, Allen, in his U Street neighborhood in D.C. "We were just driving around, talking, looking at the neighborhood,'' Burriss said. "Things have changed.'' Burriss is happy to see turf fields replacing the diamonds that he played on. "Our fields had weeds, broken glass and rocks,'' Burriss says. "Kids aren't stupid. They don't want to play on those...

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Game 21 lineups: Phillies at Nationals

April 28, 2016, 10:05am

Nationals

The Nationals are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against Philadelphia today as they wrap up their series with the Phillies with an afternoon matchup at Nationals Park. This is also the first time the Nationals have lost two in a row at home this season. Right-hander Tanner Roark (2-2, 2.63 ERA) takes on right-hander Aaron Nola (1-2, 4.50). Roark is 2-5 with a 6.91 ERA in seven games (five starts) in his career against the Phillies. In his career, Roark loves to pitch at home, going...

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Gonzalez building confidence, thanks to his manager

April 27, 2016, 7:25pm

Nationals

Gonzalez building confidence, thanks to his manager

The Phillies shut out the Nationals 3-0, but left-hander Gio Gonzalez continues to pitch well. Gonzalez allowed just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed a sacrifice fly in the sixth, a throwing error scored a run in the seventh and the lefty left with the bases loaded after a walk later in the inning. "Tough situation, I made some pitches that I wish I could take back a little bit," Gonzalez said. "They did a great job. I also got to give them credit. They were swinging at...

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Thursday morning Q&A from D.C.

April 27, 2016, 8:00pm

Nationals

Since I'll be in the air on the way to St. Louis tomorrow morning, and since I won't be at today's game at Nationals Park (Byron Kerr is your man on the scene for the series finale against the Phillies), I figure we'd bump up this week's Q&A by a day. The week started off with one of the craziest victories in Nationals history: their dramatic, 16-inning win over the Twins to sweep that series. Since then, they've dropped two straight to Philadelphia and now have to win this afternoon...

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David Huzzard: Trea Turner's time has come

April 28, 2016, 5:27am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Trea Turner's time has come

It's time to have a talk with Mike Rizzo and Ted Lerner. This isn't about Rizzo's option. With how last season played out, I don't blame them for waiting until as late as possible to pick up the option of a general manager that is, deservingly, on the hot seat. This is about the Nationals offense, Kris Bryant and Maikel Franco. Your first thought might be, "Yes, the Nationals offense would be better if they had either of those two playing third," but this isn't about that either. This is...

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Despite struggles, Baker insists lineup "is gonna hit"

April 27, 2016, 7:50pm

Nationals

Despite struggles, Baker insists lineup "is gonna hit"

It's easy to start worrying about a lineup's overall deficiencies on a night like this, when a journeyman pitcher holds it to two hits (one of them a bunt single) and doesn't let a man so much as reach scoring position after the second inning. But the Nationals' 3-0 loss to the Phillies wasn't entirely an aberration. There have been issues with this lineup almost since opening day, some of them becoming more pronounced in recent days. Aside from Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos...

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Nationals suffer first series loss of season, fall 3-0 to Phillies

April 27, 2016, 6:05pm

Nationals

The Nationals offense has struggled in the first two games of the series against the Phillies. On Wednesday, Jeremy Hellickson allowed only two hits over seven innings as Philadelphia won 3-0, handing the Nationals their first shutout loss of the season. The Nationals were unable to produce any runs on the night, settling for a double by Daniel Murphy and a single from Danny Espinosa, the 500th hit in his career. Over the last three games, the Nationals are 3-for-28 with runners in scoring...

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Revere headed to Triple-A Syracuse to begin rehab assignment

April 27, 2016, 1:41pm

Nationals

Revere headed to Triple-A Syracuse to begin rehab assignment

Center fielder Ben Revere continues to make solid progress in his recovery from an oblique injury and will begin rehab games tomorrow night at Triple-A Syracuse. Manager Dusty Baker said Revere made progress during yesterday's batting practice session. Revere has been on the disabled list since April 5 with a strained right oblique. He has missed 18 games. "He looked good. I mean, he looked real good," Baker said. "He ran well. He ran the bases. He did everything baseball. And he went out...

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Gonzalez, Hellickson locked in pitchers' duel (Nats lose 3-0)

April 27, 2016, 4:20pm

Nationals

Gonzalez, Hellickson locked in pitchers' duel (Nats lose 3-0)

The good news: Gio Gonzalez continues to pitch like a new man. The bad news: His Nationals teammates are making Jeremy Hellickson look just as good so far tonight. Both Gonzalez and Hellickson have posted dueling zeroes for four innings, turning a chilly Wednesday night at Nationals Park into a bit of a surprising pitchers' duel between the Nats and Phillies. Gonzalez set the tone right from the outset, getting through a scoreless top of the first on 14 pitches. He then retired nine...

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Why Solis made most sense for Nats bullpen right now

April 27, 2016, 2:06pm

Nationals

Why Solis made most sense for Nats bullpen right now

When Matt Belisle strained his right calf in the eighth inning last night, the Nationals knew they needed to summon a reinforcement for their bullpen, and they immediately placed a call to Triple-A Syracuse to give that new pitcher as much opportunity as possible to get on a plane to Washington in time for tonight's game against the Phillies. The name of that reinforcement, though, may have surprised some. Rather than call up another right-hander to fill Belisle's role, the Nationals instead...

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Chicago another region outside mid-Atlantic with optimistic starts in 2016

April 25, 2016, 7:20am

Nationals Orioles

Chicago another region outside mid-Atlantic with optimistic starts in 2016

The Nationals and Orioles are giving mid-Atlantic baseball fans reasons to believe this season is going to be special. But this isn't the only region that's excited about how the first three weeks have gone. Check out Chicago. The Cubs, picked by many to win their first World Series since 1908, are leading the National League Central, and the White Sox - the team from the Chicago's South Side - are off to their best start since 2006, winning 13 of their first 19. The White Sox hope that a...

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Game 20 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

April 27, 2016, 11:03am

Nationals

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the early season has been Gio Gonzalez, who has been absolutely dominant through his first three starts. There's the obvious (1.42 ERA) but more impressive is his 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk rate. Is this a sign of what we can expect all year, or has the left-hander simply taken advantage of some weak lineups? It's still too early to say for sure, but you can't not be impressed with the results so far. At the plate, the Nationals are still trying to get...

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Baker, Nats players and coaches visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

April 27, 2016, 1:16pm

Nationals

Baker, Nats players and coaches visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Nationals manager Dusty Baker, coaches and players visited service members and their families at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center this morning. Players in attendance included Tanner Roark, Michael A. Taylor, Joe Ross, Danny Epinosa, Blake Treinen, Oliver Perez and Matt den Dekker. Baker said it meant a great deal for his team to be able to share some time with service members and their families. "It was gratifying, but sad at the same time," Baker said. "It was a situation...

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Scherzer again trying to figure out how to fix what ails him

April 26, 2016, 8:14pm

Nationals

Scherzer again trying to figure out how to fix what ails him

Max Scherzer is annoyed, but he's not upset. He's not pitching the way he has and knows he can, but he doesn't believe he needs to completely overhaul everything to get himself back in form. "Everything is not broke," the Nationals right-hander said following tonight's 4-3 loss to the Phillies. "This isn't a time where you just beat everything around and throw your glove around. The pitches are there. It's just a little fine-tuning. That's the difference between dominance and being...

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Belisle believes he reaggravated offseason calf injury in Tuesday's loss

April 26, 2016, 7:52pm

Nationals

Belisle believes he reaggravated offseason calf injury in Tuesday's loss

Right-hander Matt Belisle believes he has reaggravated a right calf strain he had originally suffered in the offseason in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies. Belisle was summoned to begin the top of the eighth Tuesday against the Phillies. David Lough hit a grounder that Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman easily grabbed and stepped on first for the out. Belisle tried to make a move towards first on the play and quickly realized he had hurt his calf again. "The reaction to break to the...

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Harper stays patient as teams intentionally walk him

April 26, 2016, 10:01pm

Nationals

Harper stays patient as teams intentionally walk him

Every time Bryce Harper does something that seems straight out of a video game, we wonder the same question: Will there ever come a point where opposing teams simply don't give the young slugger any opportunity to swing the bat in any situation of consequence? We got a bit of a taste last night what that would be like, when the Phillies walked Harper three times (twice intentionally). Even then, though, manager Pete Mackanin couldn't follow through all the way with his game plan and wound up...

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Belisle lands on DL with strained calf, Solis recalled

April 27, 2016, 11:08am

Nationals

Belisle lands on DL with strained calf, Solis recalled

Unable to wait and see how severe Matt Belisle's calf injury is, with more fresh arms needed for their bullpen tonight, the Nationals have placed the veteran right-hander on the 15-day disabled list and recalled lefty Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse. Solis will be in uniform and available out of the Nationals bullpen for tonight's game against the Phillies, giving manager Dusty Baker a much-needed arm that can throw multiple innings in case something happens to starter Gio Gonzalez early...

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Nationals recall Solis, place Belisle on disabled list

April 27, 2016, 10:16am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday and placed right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Solis, 27, joins the Nationals for his first Major League assignment of the season. The highest-rated left-hander in Washington's system (No. 17, per Baseball America), Solis has allowed just one earned run in...

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Charlie Fliegel: Stephen Strasburg's supposed slider

April 26, 2016, 9:31pm

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Stephen Strasburg's supposed slider

Stephen Strasburg has allegedly thrown 58 sliders this season. After four games, that number seems neither noteworthy or indicative of anything. That is unless you compare it to the last few seasons. First, the number. In the last 56 starts he made prior to the beginning of 2016, he threw 18 sliders in total. This year, he's averaging 14 per start. On Sunday, he threw 20. That's a big difference. So did Strasburg learn a new pitch? Well, it's actually not first time he's thrown a bunch of...

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Phillies get Harper out late, ride Franco's hit, defeat Nats 4-3

April 26, 2016, 6:17pm

Nationals

Phillies get Harper out late, ride Franco's hit, defeat Nats 4-3

The Phillies' Andres Blanco and Cesar Hernandez had three hits apiece, while Makiel Franco's run-scoring double proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win over the Nationals in D.C. It marked the Phillies' second straight win over the Nationals, dating back to April 17. Early on, the Nationals' ace right-hander Max Scherzer had trouble again. Scherzer allowed two runs in the first inning. Opponents scoring early has been an unfortunate recurrence in his April starts. In the top of the first,...