nationals

Werth gets night off, Taylor makes first start in left (with lineups)

May 05, 2015, 12:08pm

Most of the lineup moves up a spot tonight as outfielder Jayson Werth is given a night off and rookie Michael A. Taylor slides into left field and the eighth spot in the order. Taylor is in his second stint with the Nationals this season after starting the first 12 games in center field before taking a trip back to Triple- A Syracuse. Taylor is batting .271 with two homers, four doubles and nine RBIs. This will be Taylor's first action in left field this season. The Nationals acquired minor...

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Ian Desmond, Yunel Escobar will Nats to comeback win

May 05, 2015, 4:50am

Nationals

Ian Desmond, Yunel Escobar will Nats to comeback win

No player has typified the first month for the Nationals better than shortstop Ian Desmond. From inexplicable fielding blunders to show-stopping defense, and from down-in-the-dumps batting slumps to curtain calls, Desmond has seen it all. The fielding demons came quick. Desmond's two errors in the season's first game bungled the script on opening day, costing the Nats a win. He had a staggering eight errors all together in the first 12 games, and they were expensive. In the seven games...

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Matt of Matt's Bats: May will be a good test for the Nationals

May 05, 2015, 5:55am

Nationals

Thankfully, April is over. Now that it's May, the Nationals are winning. Winning is what Nats fans expected; it just has not been how we planned it. After a full month, the Nats sit just below .500 at 13-14. The Nats looked like they were going to end April on a losing streak. On April 27, they were on a six-game skid. However, to end the month, they turned up the gas and won three in a row against the Braves and Mets. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the bats heated up to produce 34 runs in...

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Tough luck continues as Anthony Rendon is diagnosed with oblique strain

May 04, 2015, 8:06pm

Nationals

Tough luck continues as Anthony Rendon is diagnosed with oblique strain

Infielder Anthony Rendon's visit this afternoon with Nationals team doctor Wiemi Douoguih revealed a left oblique strain. "We're gonna have to slow his progress down a little bit," Nationals manager Matt Williams said after his team's 6-4 win over the Marlins. "He's felt it for the fast couple days, so we're going to have to sit him a little bit longer and make sure it's OK before he resumes activity. It's just not getting loose for him. So there's a little strain in there and we've...

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Escobar's "best game" leads Nats to third straight win

May 04, 2015, 7:32pm

Nationals

Escobar's "best game" leads Nats to third straight win

With a desire to add more offense to his team that had failed in the postseason, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo pulled the trigger on a controversial trade to acquire infielder Yunel Escobar for reliever Tyler Clippard in mid-January. Wow, has it paid off. Escobar turned in a 5-for-5 night at the plate that included a clutch two-out two-RBI single in the eighth to break a tie and propel the Nats to a 6-4 win over the Marlins. Escobar, who is batting a team-high .311, never had five hits...

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Zimmermann and Roark find a way to deliver another Nationals win

May 04, 2015, 7:18pm

Nationals

The Nationals once again got seven innings from their starter, but needed to rally in the eighth inning to come back and beat the Marlins 6-4. Jordan Zimmermann allowed a couple of hits in the first. Marcell Ozuna's RBI single game Miami the early 1-0 lead. But then Zimmermann did not give up another run until the seventh inning. Zimmermann knew after the first frame he would have to rely on other pitches to get guys out. "The first inning, I was right over the middle with the fastball and I...

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One-run wins are good, but can offense help out some more?

May 04, 2015, 1:34pm

Nationals

One-run wins are good, but can offense help out some more?

The Nationals hung on for a pair of thrilling 1-0 wins over the Mets over the weekend to win the four-game series in New York. The pitching was incredible, allowing the Mets only 11 hits over the last two games. But the Nationals left 21 men on base and scored only two runs in those final two wins at Citi Field. In Sunday's series finale, the Nationals had several chances to score more than one run. They left the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Two men were left on in the first, fourth,...

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Desmond, Escobar spark late rally, Nats beat Marlins 6-4

May 04, 2015, 3:38pm

Nationals

Desmond, Escobar spark late rally, Nats beat Marlins 6-4

The error-prone Nationals made it four straight games without a miscue until the first inning tonight. With one out and one on, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton ripped a line drive right at left fielder Jayson Werth. Werth stepped up and crouched down, but the diving screamer caromed off his glove. The next batter, center fielder Marcell Ozuna, hit a soft flare up the middle to score third baseman Martin Prado. The run was unearned for Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann. The Nationals are the...

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Anthony Rendon having side checked out, Casey Janssen is improving

May 04, 2015, 2:16pm

Nationals

Anthony Rendon having side checked out, Casey Janssen is improving

Infielder Anthony Rendon is in D.C. today undergoing an examination on his troublesome left side with Nationals team doctor Wiemi Douoguih. "Don't know why it's been a problem," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "It's just crept up on him. We're being cautious with it to make sure that it doesn't turn into something we don't want it to turn into. The last couple of days, he's taken it easy. He went through the full workout a couple days ago and it was tight. So yesterday we shut...

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Jordan Zimmermann to deal with Dee Gordon, Marlins (with lineups)

May 04, 2015, 11:55am

Nationals

Jordan Zimmermann to deal with Dee Gordon, Marlins (with lineups)

The last time right-hander Jordan Zimmermann faced the Marlins at Nationals Park, he tossed the Nationals' first no-hitter on the final day of last year's regular season. He didn't achieve the same lofty results 11 days ago in Miami, but he was still solid, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts in six innings. The Nationals went on to lose Zimmermann's start 3-2 and ended up falling in the final two games of the series as the Marlins completed the sweep. Marlins...

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Magnificent pitching helps Nats survive cliffhangers

May 04, 2015, 4:41am

Nationals

Magnificent pitching helps Nats survive cliffhangers

The Nationals clubhouse was quiet last Sunday night as the players packed up having just been easily swept by the Marlins. It wasn't the start anyone expected from a Nats team that was focused on the 10-day excursion against three National League East opponents as a way to fix the surprising mistakes of the early season. Seven days later, after displaying tremendous fortitude in Atlanta, the Nationals finished the road trip, celebrating with blaring beats among a smoke-filled locker room after...

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Opposite dugout: Surging Marlins hope to pick up where they left off against Nationals

May 02, 2015, 1:14pm

Nationals

Manager: Mike Redmond (3rd season) Record: 12-13 Last 10 games: 8-2 Who to watch: 2B Dee Gordon (.440/.463/.510 with 11 RBIs, 11 SB), RF Giancarlo Stanton (.272, 6 HR, 24 RBIs), SS Adeiny Hechavarria (.312/.337/.462 with 16 RBIs), RHP David Phelps (1-0, 3.38 ERA, no HR allowed in 18 2/3 IP). Season series vs. Nationals: 3-0 Pitching probables: May 4: RHP David Phelps vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 5: RHP Mat Latos vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 6: RHP Tom Koehler...

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Bullpen success never more important than in one-run wins

May 03, 2015, 12:46pm

Nationals

Bullpen success never more important than in one-run wins

The bullpen has started to set itself recently. After Saturday's contest, the Nationals' relievers had put together 8 2/3 innings over their last four games, allowing only four hits, three earned runs and one walk, and registering 10 strikeouts. Then Sunday, Tanner Roark notched two huge outs, including a strikeout of Ruben Tejada in the seventh. Matt Thornton battled past two walks to get two outs himself. Aaron Barrett struck out Michael Cuddyer to end the threat. As we noted on "Nats...

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Nats shut out Mets 1-0 for second straight day

May 03, 2015, 9:42am

Nationals

Nats shut out Mets 1-0 for second straight day

FLUSHING, N.Y. - A sharp single from right fielder Bryce Harper moved left fielder Jayson Werth into scoring position with two outs in the first. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman then picked up his team-leading 16th RBI by flicking an offering from Mets starter Dillon Gee safely into right field to plate Werth. For Harper, the single extends his career-best on-base streak to 19 games. Right-hander Doug Fister surrendered singles to Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson and center fielder Juan...

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Nats living on the edge in back-to-back shutouts

May 03, 2015, 2:27pm

Nationals

Nats living on the edge in back-to-back shutouts

FLUSHING, N.Y. - For the second straight day, the Nationals received an incredible pitching performance, this time from right-hander Doug Fister, as they held on to shut out the Mets 1-0 and take the four-game series. "Well, the last two have been kind of the same," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. Good starting pitching. Good bullpen and then turning it over to Drew (Storen). It's good. 1-0 is never fun but we'll take it any way we can get it." It's the second time the Nationals...

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Marty Niland: Pitchers take over as Nats find footing

May 04, 2015, 5:05am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Pitchers take over as Nats find footing

This is the Nationals pitching staff we've been waiting to see. Since coming back from 9-1 and 10-2 deficits to beat the Braves 13-12 last Tuesday in a game that may well be remembered as the defining moment of the 2015 season, the Nats have won four of five games behind starting pitching that has been just about lights out. In this latest turn through the rotation, Jordan Zimmermann, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister have gone 4-1 with a cumulative 1.65 ERA. They...

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Nats, Gio Gonzalez searching for consistency (with lineups)

May 02, 2015, 12:06pm

Nationals

Nats, Gio Gonzalez searching for consistency (with lineups)

FLUSHING, N.Y. - It's been all or nothing this week for the Nationals. Last night, Mets right-hander Matt Harvey put the brakes on the Nats offense, which had scored 34 runs in the previous three games. It was the second time in less than a week the Nats have been shut out. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (1-2, 5.01 ERA) looks to get back on track after a rough homecoming in Miami last Sunday. The Marlins smacked around Gonzalez for six runs on 10 hits in five innings. Gonzalez is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA...

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Nats ride Gio Gonzalez to 1-0 win over Mets

May 02, 2015, 4:07pm

Nationals

Nats ride Gio Gonzalez to 1-0 win over Mets

FLUSHING, N.Y. - After threatening in the first, the Nationals put together three singles to get on the scoreboard in the second. It started with shorstop Ian Desmond breaking out of an 0-for-29 slump with his first base hit since April 24. Second baseman Danny Espinosa followed with a single. After a sacrifice bunt from starter Gio Gonzalez moved both runners up, center fielder Michael A. Taylor hit a blistering ground ball that Mets third baseman Daniel Murphy couldn't handle, allowing...

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Gio Gonzalez's "masterpiece" helps Nats shut out Mets

May 02, 2015, 7:42pm

Nationals

Gio Gonzalez's "masterpiece" helps Nats shut out Mets

FLUSHING, N.Y. - An RBI infield single from rookie center fielder Michael A. Taylor in the second inning and some exceptional early defense was all left-hander Gio Gonzalez needed as the Nationals handed the Mets a 1-0 defeat tonight, their first shutout loss of the season. Gonzalez's stellar outing got off to a shaky start when Mets center fielder Juan Lagares, the game's second batter, singled up the middle. First baseman Lucas Duda followed with a double into the left field corner. Lagares...

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Road trip winds down with huge opportunity

May 03, 2015, 5:43am

Nationals

Road trip winds down with huge opportunity

FLUSHING, N.Y. - The Nationals are nearing the end of their long 10-day journey through three National League East cities. After being swept by Miami and starting the trip 0-3 last weekend, the Nats have battled back to give themselves a chance to return to Washington with a respectable 5-5 split on the road. "To bounce back from a tough series in Miami, this is a resilient group," Ian Desmond said. "We're gonna keep our heads up and keep pushing forward." This afternoon's game also...