Doug Fister spent rehab time focusing on mental side of pitching

Doug Fister spent rehab time focusing on mental side of pitching
Right-hander Doug Fister returns to the starting rotation tonight as the Nationals wrap up their home-and-home interleague series with the Tampa Bay Rays. Fister, who will be activated from the disabled list after missing time with a strained right flexor forearm muscle, was impressive in his rehab assignment with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators last Friday night. He struck out four and allowed only two hits over six shutout innings in the 4-2 win over Trenton. In seven major league starts...

No restrictions on Fister; Williams sets rotation, plus Strasburg update

No restrictions on Fister; Williams sets rotation, plus Strasburg update
Veteran right-hander Doug Fister returns to the mound tonight after spending 34 days on the disabled list with a flexor muscle strain in his throwing arm. Nationals manager Matt Williams indicated that there are no restrictions on Fister's start. "He's not on a pitch count, per se," Williams said. "We'll just see how the game goes. But he feels good about it. He feels healthy. He's itching to get back and get going again, and so are we." Fister was 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA in his first six...

Little League travel team, featuring Mo'Ne Davis, pays visit to Nationals

Little League travel team, featuring Mo'Ne Davis, pays visit to Nationals
The Little League Anderson Monarchs, featuring 13-year-old Little League World Series pitcher Mo'Ne Davis, paid a visit to Nationals Park on Thursday for the Nationals game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Monarchs are a travel team, based out of Philadelphia, on a barnstorming tour across America as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, the Negro Leagues and the Civil Rights Movement. Anderson manager Steve Bandura said that his team was so excited to visit the Nationals and the Nationals Youth...

Doug Fister returns to the mound, Hill optioned (with lineups)

Doug Fister returns to the mound, Hill optioned (with lineups)
In Doug Fister's last start, the right-hander lasted only two innings after surrendering seven runs, including two on homers, in a loss in San Diego on May 14. The next day, Fister landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right forearm. Fister will make his first start tonight after being activated off the DL this afternoon by the Nationals. In his previous six outings before the injury, Fister was 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 37 2/3 innings. To make room for Fister,...

Nationals reinstate Fister from DL, option Hill to Triple-A Syracuse

Nationals reinstate Fister from DL, option Hill to Triple-A Syracuse
The Washington Nationals returned from rehab and reinstated right-handed pitcher Doug Fister on Thursday, and optioned right-handed pitcher Taylor Hill to Triple-A Syracuse. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Fister, who will start Thursday night vs. Tampa Bay at Nationals Park, rejoins the Nationals after missing 29 games with right forearm tightness. The 31-year-old was 0-1 with a 0.93 ERA (1 ER/9.2 IP), no walks and 10 strikeouts in two...

Offense disappears for Nats in 5-0 shutout

Offense disappears for Nats in 5-0 shutout
The Nationals team charter may have misplaced the team's bats somewhere on the 924-mile trip back to D.C. from St. Petersburg, Fla. A day after banging out a team-record 23 hits and pouring in a season-high 16 runs, the Nationals managed to squeeze out just two singles while being shut out 5-0. "It happens," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "If I had the formula ... if anybody had that formula, we'd certainly do something about it. We'd love to get 23 hits every day and score a whole...

Trea Turner impresses at Harrisburg

Trea Turner impresses at Harrisburg
The Nationals had quite a show at Double-A Harrisburg yesterday as Stephen Strasburg took the mound with widely hyped prospect Trea Turner behind him at shortstop. Turner was playing in just his second game with the Senators after finally arriving following a six-month wait after he was dealt to the Nationals as a player to be named. San Diego selected Turner 12th overall out of N.C. State in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. He immediately began producing and was quickly elevated to Single-A...

David Huzzard: Examining the Nationals offense

David Huzzard: Examining the Nationals offense
Coming into Wednesday night's game, the Nationals sat second in the National League in runs scored per game and eighth in runs allowed. Ask most people before the season started and they'd likely have told you that those rankings would be reversed. Turn on the radio or browse social media today after the Nationals got shut out and all the talk will be about how putrid their offense is. In past seasons, when I'd inform people the Nationals offense was better than they think, it was right...

Souza returns to Nats Park and lifts Rays past his former team, 5-0

Souza returns to Nats Park and lifts Rays past his former team, 5-0
It is the trade that is talked about a lot, mostly because the Nationals received right-hander Joe Ross and shortstop Trea Turner in the three-team deal that involved the Padres and the Rays. The Nationals traded for Ross, who is currently in the starting rotation, and now finally Turner, who had three hits for Double-A Harrisburg Wednesday, in their part of the 11-player deal. Tampa Bay got power hitting outfielder Steven Souza Jr. in the deal that sent Wil Myers to San Diego. Nationals fans...

A confident Stephen Strasburg emerges after rehab start

A confident Stephen Strasburg emerges after rehab start
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Without a goatee and wearing a different uniform and number, Stephen Strasburg took the mound at Metro Bank Park looking like a different person. In his first, and most likely his last, rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg, Strasburg allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in five innings. But Strasburg's line doesn't come close to telling the full story as three of the four hits were bouncing ball singles. The tall righty looked confident...

Souza opens scoring against buddy Zimmermann (Rays win 5-0)

Souza opens scoring against buddy Zimmermann (Rays win 5-0)
The Nationals and Rays play game three against each other tonight, but this time in D.C. It is the first time that right-hander Jordan Zimmermann and now Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. have been on the same field playing in the same game since Zimmermann's first career no-hitter September 28, 2014. Souza arrived in that game in the ninth inning and played left field. His diving catch robbed Christian Yelich of extra bases with two outs in the ninth inning. The incredible catch also earned...

Stephen Strasburg sharp in Harrisburg rehab start

Stephen Strasburg sharp in Harrisburg rehab start
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Stephen Strasburg appears sharp and comfortable in his first minor league rehab start at Double-A Harrisburg. Strasburg retired the first seven batters he faced, featuring his blazing fastball topping out at 97 mph. Strasburg used eight pitches (seven fastballs) to record two groundball outs and one weak fly ball to right in the first. In the second, Strasburg coaxed a broken bat infield pop to start the inning before ending it with two strikeouts. Richmond first baseman Ricky...

Denard Span gets night off as Nats return home to face Rays (with lineups)

Denard Span gets night off as Nats return home to face Rays (with lineups)
The Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays play their third game in a row tonight, but this time at Nationals Park. The Nationals hope to build off of their 16-4 pasting of the Rays on Tuesday at Tropicana Field to finish the road trip 4-4. Tonight is the first of eight-straight games at home for the Nats. The Nationals have granted Triple-A RHP Mitch Lively his unconditional release. He will join the Hokkaido Nippon-ham Fighters in Japan. Denard Span gets the night off and Clint Robinson, fresh off a...

Fister to start Thursday; updates on Strasburg, Zimmerman, Ramos, Barrett and Span

Fister to start Thursday; updates on Strasburg, Zimmerman, Ramos, Barrett and Span
Manager Matt Williams confirmed that Doug Fister (right forearm tightness) will be activated off the disabled list tomorrow to make the start against the Rays in the series finale. Fister last pitched in the 8-3 loss at San Diego on May 14. Stephen Strasburg (neck tightness) had a positive rehab start earlier today in Harrisburg at the Double-A level. With 80 pitches, the last nine in the bullpen, Williams said if Strasburg feels good this week, he could make his next start back in the majors....

Nats can build off of 16 runs; Turner debuts in Double-A Harrisburg

Nats can build off of 16 runs; Turner debuts in Double-A Harrisburg
The Nationals can use a game like Tuesday's 16-4 drubbing of the Rays. The 23 hits were the most ever by the Nats and the most since the Expos tallied 26 in a game against the Giants in 1997. Catcher Wilson Ramos told reporters afterwards he will use the video from his last two at-bats, both homers off position players, to help him because he got his hands so relaxed. Shortstop Ian Desmond went 2-for-4 with a walk and only one strikeout. The Rays also had to use five relievers, although two of...

Notes on Turner, Hague, Keyes, Desmond, Jordan and Wooten

Notes on Turner, Hague, Keyes, Desmond, Jordan and Wooten
Ricky Hague had a smashing debut for Triple-A Syracuse with a three-run homer in the Chiefs' 8-1 dispatch of Toledo. It was Hague's first homer since June 27, 2014 while with Double-A Harrisburg. He finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs in his Triple-A debut. Kevin Keyes also debuted with an RBI double in his first at-bat. He also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Taylor Jordan had a nice bounce back performance extending to seven innings, allowing five hits, no runs, no...

Top to bottom, Nationals pound Rays 16-4

Top to bottom, Nationals pound Rays 16-4
The Nationals finished up their six-game road trip with a relentless barrage of offense in tonight's 16-4 drubbing of the Rays. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash used two position players to pitch the final two innings while the Nats racked up a single-game team record 23 hits. The onslaught began with a monumental clout off the bat of Clint Robinson that literally never came down. The towering solo shot rattled around in the catwalk above the covered field and was never seen again. The Nats...

Nats pound Rays 16-4 with record offensive night

Nats pound Rays 16-4 with record offensive night
The Nationals came out swinging against Rays starter Alex Colome tonight. Denard Span led off the game with a single and then Bryce Harper ripped a two-out double to the gap in right-center. Former Nat Steven Souza Jr. did an excellent job of cutting off the ball and holding Span at third, where he stayed as Ramos grounded out to end the inning. Colome wasn't so lucky in the second. Clint Robinson started the frame with a towering solo homer that disappeared in the rafters beyond the right...

Notes on Roark, Fister, Strasburg and Desmond

Notes on Roark, Fister, Strasburg and Desmond
With the approaching return of Doug Fister and Stephen Strasburg from the 15-day disabled list, it appears Tanner Roark's stint in the starting rotation is coming to an end. Depending on how Nationals manager Matt Williams chooses to slot out his starters for the remainder of the week, tonight could be Roark's last or at least second to last start for a while before heading back to the bullpen. Since Fister landed on the DL, Roark has started four games, posting a 4.63 ERA while walking four...

Rendon quickly improving at the plate (with lineups)

Rendon quickly improving at the plate (with lineups)
Bryce Harper returns to right field a night after going 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts as the designated hitter. Harper has calmed his strikeouts down considerably since the first month of the season. He has just six in 55 plate appearances in June and yesterday was his first game with multiple whiffs since May 27. With Yunel Escobar serving as the DH tonight, Anthony Rendon moves over to third base with Danny Espinosa at second. Rendon's timing seems to be improving 49 plate...