nationals

Strasburg "thankful for the chance" to start Game 1 against Giants

October 02, 2014, 9:58am

Nationals manager Matt Williams named right-hander Stephen Strasburg his Game 1 starter for Friday's National League Division Series opener against the San Francisco Giants. Strasburg was proud to get the call because he knew the Nats have several outstanding starters to chose from for such an crucial game. "I was excited. I think it wasn't an easy decision by any means," Strasburg said. "I think that's a testament to the guys we have in the rotation. I think every single one of them is...

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What you need to know about the Giants, Nats' foe in NLDS

October 02, 2014, 6:48am

Nationals

What you need to know about the Giants, Nats' foe in NLDS

Looking for ways to impress your friends with tidbits about the San Francisco Giants? You've come to the right place. Here are 10 things to know about the Giants, who play the Nationals in the National League Division Series starting Friday. * Lefty Madison Bumgarner, who pitched an 8-0 shutout to beat Pittsburgh in the wild card game Wednesday night, is their best pitcher. He's to the Giants what Stephen Strasburg is to the Nationals. Bumgarner is 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA. He's got a 2.22 ERA...

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Rotation riding high

September 30, 2014, 6:09am

Nationals

Teams can win games any number of ways during the regular season. You can have a high-powered offense, one that lives by the home run. You can be aggressive on the basepaths, putting pressure on the opposing defense by taking extra bases. You can have a strong defensive club, one that makes all the routine plays and has a way of stealing a few outs, as well. The Nationals have shown that they have the ability to win games in any of those ways. But in the postseason, pitching is paramount. You...

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Giants advance to face Nats in NLDS

October 01, 2014, 7:05pm

Nationals

The Nationals' opponent in the National League Division Series is finally set. It'll be the Giants coming to D.C. to face Matt Williams' ballclub. San Francisco advanced with an 8-0 win over the Piratesin the NL wild card game. Half of those runs came from one Brandon Crawford swing of the bat, as the Giants shortstop crushed a fourth-inning grand slam to put his team on top and give the dominant Madison Bumgarner more than enough run support. Bumgarner was terrific, and the good news for...

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David Huzzard: However you measure it, the Nationals dominated in 2014

October 02, 2014, 4:30am

Nationals

Just as it is unfair to judge a painting until the artist makes the final stroke, it is unfair to judge a baseball team until it's played its final game. On Sunday, the Nationals finished off the regular season with a masterful pitching performance by Jordan Zimmermann, as he threw the first no-hitter in Nationals history. It was truly the perfect ending to what had become a dominant season. Step behind a tapestry and the artist's plan will be lost in the mess of threads, but step around to...

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Nationals catchers stingy on stolen bases (LaRoche award finalist)

October 01, 2014, 5:18am

Nationals

While watching the miraculous Royals comeback Tuesday and thrilling(!) 9-8 12-inning dispatch of the A's, I marveled at the speed and running ability of the home team. Kansas City stole seven bases in the game. During each comeback attempt, the Royals took an extra base on steals and wild pitches. Instead of relying on base hit after base hit, the Royals needed just a couple per inning to score runs. The Nationals were sixth in the National League in stolen bases with 101. The Dodgers (138)...

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Who do you want - Pirates or Giants?

October 01, 2014, 6:00am

Nationals

The postseason is officially under way, and we've now reached October. And if what we're about to see over the next month in any way resembles the drama and excitement we witnessed last night during the American League wild card game, we'll be in good shape. The Royals pulled out a thriller over the A's last night, coming back from a four-run deficit in the late innings to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, and then again coming from behind with two runs in the bottom of the 12th to...

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Will Ryan Zimmerman start postseason coming off the bench? (Rendon named Hank Aaron award finalist)

September 29, 2014, 10:08am

Nationals

Will Ryan Zimmerman start postseason coming off the bench? (Rendon named Hank Aaron award finalist)

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, appeared with The Junkies on Sports Radio 106.7 The Fan Monday morning, said he will not be 100 percent until spring training, and is still 80-to-85 percent healthy as he recovers from a hamstring strain suffered July 22 and his team heads into the postseason. Zimmerman had said during his rehabilitation process that he never thought of being just a pinch-hitter, but there is a very good chance that is how he will be used in Game 1 of the National League...

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Start times announced (kind of) for NLDS

September 29, 2014, 2:07pm

Nationals

Start times announced (kind of) for NLDS

Major League Baseball has announced start times for the early Division Series games, and while we don't know exactly when the Nationals will play their first postseason game, we now have a better idea. If the Pirates win the National League wild card Game on Wednesday, Game 1 of the NLDS at Nationals Park will start at 12:07 p.m. on Friday. If the Giants win the wild card game, then they will take on the Nats in Game 1 starting at 3:07 p.m. Saturday's Game 2 between the Nats and the wild card...

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Rachel Levitin: Ready for another round of October baseball in D.C.

October 01, 2014, 5:18am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Ready for another round of October baseball in D.C.

When I first moved to D.C. in 2005 to start my freshman year at American University, my dad used to joke and say, "Good thing they've got a baseball team just in time for you to start. They must've known you were coming." This was funny unto himself, to me, and my family since I grew up and went to grade school within walking distance of Wrigley Field. It's because of that particular upbringing that I developed a love for the game of baseball. The sport's storied history was and still...

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Rachel Levitin: Younger Nats fans lucky to experience winning baseball in D.C.

September 24, 2014, 5:19am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Younger Nats fans lucky to experience winning baseball in D.C.

The last (and first) time the Nationals clinched the National League East championship, it was Oct. 1, 2012. It was the end of the season. Stakes were high. Adrenaline was ever-present. It was all new territory and they were able to secure the victory while also celebrating on their home turf at Nationals Park. The second time around, things were a little different. The Nats clinched their division on Sept. 16 in Atlanta at Turner Field with a couple of weeks still left in the season. Sure, it...

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A storybook ending to the regular season (Zimmermann named NL Player of the Week)

September 29, 2014, 5:31am

Nationals

A storybook ending to the regular season (Zimmermann named NL Player of the Week)

A no-hitter is thrown by the pitcher, so he gets most of the attention for his well-deserved accomplishment. Jordan Zimmermann's name is plastered everywhere across the sports landscape today - newspapers, Web sites, national highlight shows. The right-hander pitched a gem yesterday, recorded the first no-hitter in Nationals history, and did it in grand fashion, on the final day of the regular season. But everyone on the Nationals' roster got to experience the joy of Zimmermann's no-hitter...

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Right-hander Zimmermann named National League Player of the Week

September 29, 2014, 11:37am

Nationals

Right-hander Zimmermann named National League Player of the Week

One day after throwing the first no-hitter in Washington Nationals history, right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was named the National League Player of the Week. Major League Baseball made the announcement this afternoon on MLB Network. Zimmermann allowed one walk and struck out 10 Miami Marlins in a masterful performance to close the regular season with the first no-hitter thrown by a D.C. pitcher since Bobby Burke on Aug. 8, 1931. In earning his second NL Player...

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Zimmermann on Nats' historic no-hitter: "One of those special days"

September 28, 2014, 1:19pm

Nationals

Zimmermann on Nats' historic no-hitter: "One of those special days"

With the postseason five days away, Nationals manager Matt Williams used 17 position players in the final game of the season, as he wanted to rest his starters after a couple of at-bats. His starting pitcher got a couple of base hits. His shortstop hit a home run for the only run the Nationals needed in a 1-0 shutout of the Marlins and the club's 96th win of the season. Oh, wait. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann tossed the first no-hitter in Nationals history, going nine innings, allowing...

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Jordan Zimmermann tosses first no-hitter in Nationals history (Nats win 1-0)

September 28, 2014, 10:05am

Nationals

Shortstop Ian Desmond hit a line-drive home run into the Marlins bullpen to emphatically signal the beginning of the scoring in the regular season finale. The Nationals lead 1-0. The home run was his 24th of the season, this one off of Henderson Alvarez on a 1-2 pitch. It was also his 91st RBI of the season. Jordan Zimmermann set down the Marlins in order the first and second frames, ending each inning with a strikeout. The Nationals lead 1-0 after two innings. Update: Denard Span's...

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Williams, Ramos, Souza react to Zimmermann's no-hitter

September 28, 2014, 1:31pm

Nationals

Williams, Ramos, Souza react to Zimmermann's no-hitter

The regular season finale belonged to Jordan Zimmermann. A day that was supposed to be about getting the Nationals' regulars a couple of at-bats and then making sure they finished the season healthy suddenly turned into a, 'There's no way he could actually do this, right?' afternoon for a starting pitcher who hadn't appeared in a game in eight days and had been drilled on the right shoulder by a line drive in his last start. Zimmermann cut through the Marlins' lineup in a swift 121...

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Marty Niland: Five reasons the Nats will make a deep postseason run

September 29, 2014, 5:15am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Five reasons the Nats will make a deep postseason run

The time we've been waiting for all year is at hand. After closing out the regular season on the highest possible note - Jordan Zimmermann throwing the Nationals' first no-hitter since the team moved to Washington D.C., in 2005 - the team and its fans can now get ready for the postseason. The bitter taste of the 2012 Game 5 meltdown is behind us now, as is the disappointment of missing the postseason in 2013. Instead, the Nationals can focus on winning Washington's first pennant since 1933,...

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Strasburg, Harper and Clippard speak after 5-1 win over Marlins

September 27, 2014, 4:11pm

Nationals

Strasburg, Harper and Clippard speak after 5-1 win over Marlins

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg is in a groove at the right time for the Nationals. He is also pitching at a time of year he wasn't afforded the luxury of enjoying two seasons ago because he was shut down after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now the National League will have to contend with Strasburg in the postseason. Strasburg went six innings Saturday without giving the Marlins a run, allowing just two hits and striking out seven as the Nationals won 5-1. "Oh yeah, 98, 97, 98, 98,...

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Williams on Strasburg and more after Nats' 5-1 win

September 27, 2014, 4:05pm

Nationals

Williams on Strasburg and more after Nats' 5-1 win

Stephen Strasburg will go into the playoffs riding quite a hot streak. He's not unlike his ballclub as a whole, in that regard. Strasburg threw six scoreless innings today, allowing just two hits, walking a batter and striking out seven in picking up his 14th win of the season in the Nationals' 5-1 victory over the Marlins. This gives Strasburg 20 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three starts, and he now has a 1.13 ERA over his last six outings. Is that good? Asdrubal Cabrera...

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Zimmerman in left, Werth on bench in regular season finale

September 28, 2014, 7:33am

Nationals

Zimmerman in left, Werth on bench in regular season finale

We have reached the final game of the regular season. With Ryan Zimmerman getting the start in left field, Bryce Harper will shift to right field and Jayson Werth will get the afternoon off. Jordan Zimmermann is making his first start since Sept. 20 after being struck on the back of his right shoulder in Miami. The Nationals want to make sure Zimmermann is OK as the team prepares for the playoffs. Zimmermann is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts in September and is 7-0 with a 2.06 ERA...