nationals

Holding pattern: Scherzer on the art of frustrating runners

April 16, 2016, 5:18am

PHILADELPHIA - Max Scherzer is a student of the game. And that means more than just throwing the ball over the plate. When you think of Scherzer, many gravitate to the pair of no-hitters he threw last season or the Cy Young Award he won in 2013. But one of the big assets that some may fail to realize is his ability to derail an opponent's running game. Against the Atlanta Braves during Monday's start, Scherzer was able to catch speedster Mallex Smith attempting to steal second base with the...

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Offense explodes early and Joe Ross takes advantage in 9-1 win

April 15, 2016, 7:28pm

Nationals

Offense explodes early and Joe Ross takes advantage in 9-1 win

PHILADELPHIA - So much for the pitching carrying the offense. The Nationals scored five runs in the first inning and Joe Ross pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings in a 9-1 throttling of the Phillies on Friday night. Michael A. Taylor and Bryce Harper homered, and Jayson Werth collected two doubles and three RBIs, as the Nationals pounded out 16 hits and nine runs, both season highs. The Nationals also had a season-high seven extra-base hits. The 8-1 start is the best in franchise history. "This is...

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Dusty Baker's thoughts on the legacy of Jackie Robinson

April 15, 2016, 3:03pm

Nationals

Dusty Baker's thoughts on the legacy of Jackie Robinson

PHILADELPHIA -- Major League Baseball is honoring the legacy of Jackie Robinson today as it has on every April 15 since 2004. Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15, 1947, becoming the first African-American player to play in the major leagues in the modern era. To honor the pioneer, every player, coach and manager in the game is wearing his jersey No. 42 at all of today's scheduled games. Those teams - like the Nationals - who are playing on the road will have a future home day where...

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Nats score five runs in first (Nats win 9-1)

April 15, 2016, 3:36pm

Nationals

Nats score five runs in first (Nats win 9-1)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Nationals greeted Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson rudely in the first inning. Apparently, Michael A. Taylor took full advantage of his day off. Taylor crushed a solo shot well over the left field wall off a 1-0 pitch and the Nationals jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Anthony Rendon lined out to third baseman Makiel Franco, who was protecting himself by making the waist-high catch. Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit sharp singles and Daniel Murphy walked to load the...

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Revere makes trip, no timetable set for his return

April 15, 2016, 2:23pm

Nationals

Revere makes trip, no timetable set for his return

PHILADELPHIA - Injured outfielder Ben Revere made the trip here with his teammates. Revere is on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 5, due to a stained right oblique suffered in the first game of the season at Atlanta. But Nationals manager Dusty Baker does not know when Revere will be healthy enough to return to the lineup. "I just looked at the reports," Baker said. "They say he's doing better. But I haven't talked to him and I haven't talked to director of athletic...

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MLB partners with D.C. Grays to bring RBI program to town

April 15, 2016, 11:50am

Nationals

MLB partners with D.C. Grays to bring RBI program to town

It's Jackie Robinson Day, which means every player and every coach in the major leagues today is wearing a nameless No. 42 jersey. All sorts of other honors are planned to commemorate the 69th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier, and all of them will deservedly receive plenty of attention. This annual occasion, though, also serves as a reminder that for all the progress baseball (and society as a whole) has made since April 15, 1947, there still is so much more progress...

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Game 9 lineups: Nationals at Phillies

April 15, 2016, 11:42am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals venture on the road for the second time this season, heading up Interstate 95 to face the National League East rival Phillies. It is their first matchup this season. The Nats are off to a great start at 7-1, but the Phillies are doing fairly well, riding good pitching to a 5-5 record. Manager Dusty Baker will start right-hander Joe Ross, who is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. Tonight marks his first appearance against the Phillies. Ross notched his first win of the season with...

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Opposite dugout: Young talent showing signs of Phillies' improvement

April 13, 2016, 8:49pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Young talent showing signs of Phillies' improvement

Manager: Pete Mackanin (2nd season) Record: 5-5 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 1B Ryan Howard (3 HR, 6 RBIs), 3B Maikel Franco (.333/.405/.576 with 2 HR, 5 RBIs), 2B Cesar Hernandez (.294/.314/.382), RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 11 K, 1.54 ERA), RHP Jeanmar Gomez (4 saves, 1.80 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (7-12 in 2015) Pitching probables: April 15: RHP Joe Ross vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson, 7:05 p.m., MASN April 16: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Aaron Nola, 7:05 p.m., MASN April...

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Ramos can see clearly now, is off to hot start at plate

April 14, 2016, 4:16pm

Nationals

Ramos can see clearly now, is off to hot start at plate

The Nationals have had some good offense from guys like Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon to race out to a 7-1 record to begin 2016. But catcher Wilson Ramos has really started to generate hits from the sixth spot in the lineup. This is a good early sign for the Venezuelan backstop. Prior to last year's .229 average, Ramos had hit .272 and .267 in back-to-back seasons. In Thursday's 6-2 win over the Braves, Ramos connected for his first homer of the season and later added a RBI...

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Seizing the moment once again, Harper joins the century club

April 14, 2016, 4:43pm

Nationals

Seizing the moment once again, Harper joins the century club

Bryce Harper had all week to hit the 100th home run of his career. He could've done it Sunday against the Marlins against a pitcher he has owned (Tom Koehler). He could've done it Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday nights against the Braves, perhaps lofting a solo shot into the bleachers. He could've done it in any number of mundane ways. But that, of course, isn't the way Harper does these things. He picks just the right moment and adds just enough extra drama to the situation to make you take a...

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Friday morning Q&A from D.C.

April 14, 2016, 4:53pm

Nationals

This has been quite a way for the Nationals to open the season. Not only are they 7-1, matching both the franchise and D.C. records for the first eight games of a baseball season, but they've done it in impressive fashion. Bryce Harper has three homers already, including his 100th career blast yesterday (on a grand slam, to boot). Daniel Murphy is hitting .480 and slugging .880. The starting rotation has collectively given up just 13 earned runs in eight games. The bullpen sports a collective...

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Harper and Strasburg help Nats complete sweep of Braves

April 14, 2016, 2:38pm

Nationals

Harper and Strasburg help Nats complete sweep of Braves

A pair of former No. 1 overall selections shone in the same game again as the Nationals beat the Braves 6-2 to complete a four-game sweep. Bryce Harper, taken with the first pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, continues to place his name in the baseball history books before he turns 24. Harper slammed his 100th career home run in the bottom of the third, a grand slam off of Julio Teheran, to lift the Nationals to a 4-1 lead. At 23 years and 181 days old, Harper becomes the eighth-youngest...

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Heisey comfortable leading off, ready to start for Nationals

April 14, 2016, 10:14am

Nationals

Chris Heisey makes his first start today for the Nationals, and will lead off and play left field, giving Jayson Werth the day off. Manager Dusty Baker said he focused on Heisey to lead off because of his previous experience atop the batting order and wanting to keep the lineup spaced out well from each side of the plate. "He's batted there before plus he's the best choice that I have right now," Baker explained. "The other choice would've been (Matt) den Dekker but then that gives me too...

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Stephen Strasburg leaves Braves feeling sick

April 14, 2016, 3:57pm

Nationals

Stephen Strasburg leaves Braves feeling sick

Stephen Strasburg was so sick Wednesday he had to postpone his scheduled start. He still was not feeling that great Thursday, but gutted it out, told his skipper he was good to go and went 7 2/3 innings as the Nationals completed a four-game sweep of the Braves with a 6-2 victory. Strasburg said that the temperature change from spring training in Florida to the cold early April days in D.C. has affected him before. "It just seems like every year we get back from Florida and you get into that...

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Harper's first grand slam is 100th career homer (Nats win 6-2)

April 14, 2016, 1:21pm

Nationals

Harper's first grand slam is 100th career homer (Nats win 6-2)

Bryce Harper's 100th career homer was as grand as they come. Harper launched his first major league grand slam this afternoon, blasting a 1-0 fastball from Julio Teheran in the bottom of the third off the faÃ§ade of the second deck in right-center at Nationals Park. That blast gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead over the Braves, a worthy development in its own right. That it also happened to bring Harper to the century mark for his career only sweetened the moment. The crowd saluted Harper with a...

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Baker wants slumping Taylor to relax, show more patience

April 14, 2016, 11:29am

Nationals

Baker wants slumping Taylor to relax, show more patience

He was the hottest hitter on the roster all spring, arguably the hottest hitter in the Grapefruit League. But Michael A. Taylor is finding out now what so many have found out before him: Hitting in April isn't the same as hitting in March. Taylor enters play today sporting a .138 batting average (4-for-29), with a .133 on-base percentage that's actually lower (something possible only when you've got a sacrifice fly but zero walks). It's a far cry from his performance this spring, when he...

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Game 8 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

April 14, 2016, 8:11am

Nationals

Rest easy, everybody: Stephen Strasburg is pitching today. After getting scratched from his scheduled start last night due to an illness that has plagued him for several days, Strasburg is good to go for this afternoon's series finale against the Braves. That saves Dusty Baker from needing to turn to emergency starter Yusmeiro Petit and keeping his bullpen fresh, not only for this game but for the next few days as well. The Nationals will be looking to win, incredibly, their 14th consecutive...

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Papelbon 5-for-5 in saves: "My stuff has felt real good"

April 13, 2016, 7:13pm

Nationals

Papelbon 5-for-5 in saves: "My stuff has felt real good"

It's been a perfect start for closer Jonathan Papelbon, who has converted all five of his save opportunities. Papelbon earned his fifth save with three more outs in the ninth as the Nationals shut out the Braves 3-0 on Wednesday night. Catcher Wilson Ramos said he has noticed how aggressive Papelbon has been to begin this season, one big key to his ninth-inning success. "To me, he's aggressive this year," Ramos said. "More aggressive. He throw two or three balls in a row, then he come back...

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Nationals feasting on early-season competition

April 13, 2016, 7:27pm

Nationals

First, the optimistic view on the Nationals so far this season: They're 6-1, the best start in club history and one more victory shy of matching the best start in both franchise and D.C. baseball history. Now, the skeptical view of that accomplishment: They've gone 6-1 against the Marlins and Braves, who are currently a collective 3-12. OK, so maybe it would be wise not to go overboard with praise for this team quite yet, given the less-than-overwhelming competition it has faced. But all they...

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David Huzzard: The importance of banking wins

April 14, 2016, 5:39am

Nationals

David Huzzard: The importance of banking wins

The Nationals are 6-1. Five of those wins have come against a stripped down and possibly tanking version of the Braves. It can be pointed out that the Braves are projected to lose 100 games and that their lineup is Freddie Freeman surrounded by a bunch of minor league hopefuls and aging or injured castoffs, not too unlike Ryan Zimmerman and the 2007-2010 Nationals. The Braves are bad and they're bad on purpose, but the Nationals have still won those games and as long as every win counts the...