We're through three innings of scoreless baseball at Marlins Park.
Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has looked strong, even though he's battled an inconsistent strike zone by home plate umpire Paul Schrieber. Strasburg has allowed one hit, walked two, struck out three and benefited from a pair of double plays.
The Nats have three singles off right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who has walked none and fanned three.
Update: Finally, a run ... make that a pair.
Jose Lobaton led off the fifth with a...
MIAMI - What do Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span, Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos have in common?
They're all on the bench for this afternoon's finale of a four-game series against the Marlins. Manager Matt Williams is taking advantage of his team's early clinching of the National League East to rest a significant portion of his starting nine.
The Nationals are going for their second four-game sweep of the season (they took four straight from Arizona from Aug. 18-21) and the eighth in...
MIAMI - Ryan Zimmerman returned from a nearly two-month absence and delivered two hits, including a triple. Jordan Zimmermann got drilled by a comebacker in his pitching shoulder but still delivered six strong innings. Denard Span faced a tough lefty with two outs and a runner in scoring position in a big spot, and delivered the game-winning hit.
The Nationals keep on rolling.
Zimmerman went 2-for-3 with a triple in his first game back from a strained hamstring, Zimmermann came out with just a...
Nationals manager Matt Williams says Ryan Zimmerman will start in left field, then move on to first base and third base sometime next week as he resumes meaningful games for the first time since July 22, when a right hamstring injury sent him to the disabled list for 55 games.
The goal: to get Zimmerman back up to speed over the regular season's final nine games, especially at the plate, so that he will be able to contribute during the postseason.
Williams chose left field as Zimmerman's...
The Marlins came out hitting against Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann in the first inning. Christian Yelic and Casey McGehee had early singles and first baseman Justin Bour then slapped a single to right field and for a 1-0 Marlins lead.
The Nationals earned a pair of base hits in the first inning from Denard Span and Jayson Werth, but a double play grounder from Adam LaRoche ended the threat.
Heading to the second, Marlins lead 1-0.
In the second inning, in his first at-bat since July...
MIAMI - The Nationals have officially reinstated third baseman Ryan Zimmerman from the 15-day disabled list this afternoon.
Zimmerman missed 55 games with a severe right hamstring strain he suffered on July 22 at Colorado. That and a fractured right thumb have limited him to 53 games this season.
Zimmerman has hit .282 with a .345 on-base percentage, a .456 slugging percentage, 24 extra-base hits (five homers) and 36 RBIs this season while spending time at third base, first base and in left...
Ryan Zimmerman is back from the disabled list after missing 55 games with a right hamstring strain. He's ready to do whatever he can to contribute to the Nationals over the last nine days of the regular season.
What, exactly, that will be remains to be seen.
"I won't be 100 percent until next year, but I'm good enough, I think, to contribute," he told reporters at Marlins Stadium on Saturday afternoon. "It's nice of them to clinch the division so early. Obviously, winning games is so...
MIAMI - Not every team is this lucky. Most aren't.
The Nationals have been through loads of injuries this season. They've twice lost Ryan Zimmerman for long stretches. Bryce Harper was out two months. Wilson Ramos had two stints on the DL. Doug Fister missed the first five weeks of the season. Gio Gonzalez lost a month due to a shoulder issue. Adam LaRoche missed 15 days.
But now, with just nine games left in the regular season, the Nats are whole again. Zimmerman will be activated from...
MIAMI - The strong stretch of starting pitching continued tonight, and another victory came largely as a result.
Doug Fister allowed just two runs over 6 2/3 innings, turning in yet another quality start, and Adam LaRoche helped provide most of the offense with a towering two-run homer in the first inning to lead the Nationals to a 3-2 win over the Marlins.
Fister didn't have his best stuff tonight, but still managed to turn things over to the bullpen with a lead in a low-scoring affair. Matt...
The Washington Nationals today reinstated third baseman Ryan Zimmerman from the 15-day Disabled List (hamstring). Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Zimmerman, 29, returns to the Nationals' active roster after missing 55 games with a right hamstring strain, suffered July 22 at Colorado.
In 53 games this season, Zimmerman has hit .282 with a .345 on-base percentage and a .456 slugging percentage. While spending time at third base,...
Adam LaRoche has his 25th home run of the season and the Nationals have a 2-0 first-inning lead over the Marlins.
Jayson Werth drew a two-out walk off Miami righty Tom Koehler and LaRoche crushed a 3-2 fastball into the upper deck in right field.
Ian Desmond then tripled, but was stranded at third when Bryce Harper skied out to right.
MASN cameras showed Ryan Zimmerman in the Nationals dugout in the first inning, proof that he's arrived from fall instructional league in Viera, Fla., and is...
One of the differences between the Nationals' 2014 postseason appearance versus their 2012 run is the emergence of a pair of sophomores.
Ray Knight and I discussed this on "Nats Xtra" pregame Thursday night and I asked him about the importance of Tanner Roark and Anthony Rendon to this team.
Roark has been on a tear, continues to be consistent and has the ability to go seven innings every outing. On Sept. 16, otherwise known as clinching night, he defeated the Braves 3-0 by twirling seven...
MIAMI - After sitting out the last two games with a sore back, first baseman Adam LaRoche is back in the lineup.
With LaRoche returning, the Nationals will play their first game with all of the starting position players since clinching the National League East title on Tuesday.
Doug Fister is seeking his 15th win of the season. Fister has made just two starts in his career against the Marlins.
For the Nationals
CF Denard Span
3B Anthony Rendon
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian...
Ryan Zimmerman cleared another hurdle today playing in the fall instructional league in Viera, Fla. He played seven innings in left field, got eight at-bats and hit a home run.
The report was so positive that the Nationals will have Zimmerman, who has been on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring since July 23, scrap the planned final day of his rehabilitation in Florida and instead rejoin the major league team in Miami.
He could be activated as soon as tomorrow, manager Matt...
MIAMI - Last night, pitching in his hometown for just the second time in his career, and first time since 2012, Gio Gonzalez kept the ball rolling in the right direction.
The Nationals left-hander twirled seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked none, marking the second time in a three-start span that he hasn't issued a base-on-balls.
Prior to this three-start stretch, he hadn't had a walk-free start all season.
Over his last six starts, Gonzalez...
MIAMI - Can't get much more of a well-rounded win than tonight's victory over the Marlins.
Gio Gonzalez threw seven strong innings, allowing just two runs, seven Nationals had at least one hit, the defense was solid and the baserunning was aggressive and smart in a 6-2 win over Miami.
Gonzalez continued his string of solid outings by pitching well in his hometown in front of lots of family members and friends, Bryce Harper had three hits, and Craig Stammen and Rafael Soriano combined to...
The Marlins greeted Miami native Gio Gonzalez rudely in the second inning.
Jeff Baker singled to lead off the frame. Reed Johnson, who is replacing the injured Giancarlo Stanton, then smacked a double that bounced off the center field wall and the Marlins led 1-0. Gonzalez managed to get the next three outs to end the rally.
Brad Hand has not allowed a hit in the first two innings. He has an 8.03 ERA in six starts versus the Nationals.
Update: Anthony Rendon notched a base hit with one out...
Last night, none of the Nationals' regular starters played in the team's 3-1 loss to the Braves.
Manager Matt Williams indicated most, if not all of the starters would return to the lineup tonight as the Nats begin a four-game series with the Marlins.
First baseman Adam LaRoche is the lone starter that will be on the bench tonight. According to Williams, LaRoche is still battling a sore back which has plagued him for most of the month.
"He's been battling that back issue for a while,"...
MIAMI - The Nationals added some organizational depth at shortstop this afternoon, claiming Pedro Florimon off waivers from the Twins.
The 25-year-old Florimon batted .092 (7-for-76) with one RBI in 33 games for the Twins this season and played 85 games at Triple-A Rochester, where he hit 257 with four homers and 29 RBIs. The switch-hitter came up through the Orioles organization before being claimed off waivers by the Twins in December 2011 and is a career .204 hitter with 10 homers and 57...
MIAMI - Yesterday, Nationals manager Matt Williams hinted that most of the regular starters would return to the lineup.
He didn't lie.
All of the regulars are playing tonight except for first baseman Adam LaRoche, who will sit out his second straight game. LaRoche has been battling a tight back the last couple of weeks. Kevin Frandsen will take LaRoche's spot at first base.
With LaRoche out of the lineup, catcher Wilson Ramos will bat cleanup.
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez will pitch in his...