nationals

Day off for Desmond in finale vs. Diamondbacks

August 21, 2014, 9:38am

The Nationals try to complete a four-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks this afternoon, and are seeking their 10th straight victory. But they'll have to accomplish those feats without shortstop Ian Desmond in the starting lineup. Desmond, who has played in 123 of the team's 125 games this season, is getting a day off. He'll be replaced at shorstop by Danny Espinosa. Washington's Gio Gonzalez will face Arizona's Wade Miley in a battle of left-handers. For the DiamondbacksCF Ender...

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Roark throws seven impressive innings (Rendon walk-off single, Nats win 3-2)

August 20, 2014, 3:48pm

Nationals

Roark throws seven impressive innings (Rendon walk-off single, Nats win 3-2)

Wednesday's game was delayed a grand total of 12 minutes thanks to a late afternoon rain shower. The Nationals and Diamondbacks got under way with right-hander Tanner Roark facing fellow righty Trevor Cahill. The Nationals are seeking their ninth straight win which would be the first nine-game winning streak for the team since 2005. The Nationals got some work done in the second inning against Cahill. After a one out walk to Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper singled. Desmond moved to second base...

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Williams on yet another Nationals walk-off win

August 20, 2014, 7:27pm

Nationals

This is starting to get ridiculous. The Nationals have won nine games in a row. They've had four walk-off wins in their last five games. They've had three blown saves in a four-game span, and it hasn't seemed to matter. They continue to come back, they continue to scratch out runs late in games, and they continue to roll off victories. If you're a Nats fan, it doesn't get much better than this. Tonight, the Nats took a 2-0 lead into the eighth, until Tyler Clippard surrendered a...

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David Huzzard: Remembering the Nationals' 10-game winning streak in 2005

August 21, 2014, 5:56am

Nationals

With their 3-2 defeat of the Arizona Diamondbacks last evening, the Nationals became the second Nationals team to win nine games in a row. The 2009, 2011 and 2012 Nationals all won eight in a row, but only the 2005 team won as many as nine in a row when they won 10 in a row from June 2 to June 12. That Nationals team sat 2 1/2 games out of first place on June 2 and by the end of the streak had a 1 1/2-game lead in the division. The 2005 Nationals would hold onto first place all the way until...

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Williams on Rendon day off, Zimmerman return date and Soriano status

August 20, 2014, 1:54pm

Nationals

Williams on Rendon day off, Zimmerman return date and Soriano status

Nationals manager Matt Williams had an update on third baseman/outfielder Ryan Zimmerman as he recovers from a severe hamstring injury. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since July 23 with a right hamstring strain. "I know that he's strengthening, I know he's been on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill). Certainly no baseball activity as of yet," Williams confirmed. "It's a question of him feeling good and then taking a little extra time, because the natural tendency is 'oh, I feel...

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Rendon gets rare day off vs. D-backs

August 20, 2014, 11:34am

Nationals

Anthony Rendon gets a rare night off as the Nationals look to extend their season-best winning streak to nine in a row. Rendon has played every inning of every game since sitting out June 7-9 with a sore right hand. Instead, he'll be a valuable bat off the bench as the Nats hope to secure a series victory over the Diamondbacks. Kevin Frandsen is playing third in Rendon's place. He'll bat eighth. Tanner Roark is on the mound against Arizona right-hander Trevor Cahill, who is 2-0 with a...

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Two wins away from an entertaining trip around the bases

August 20, 2014, 5:27am

Nationals

Two wins away from an entertaining trip around the bases

As I did a couple of days ago, I will issue a warning to the superstitious readers out there. If you feel that me discussing a winning streak will in any way impact the Nationals' performance on the field tonight, or if such conversation will upset you, it might be best to click off this page and return to MASNsports.com later this afternoon. Glad that we've gotten that out of the way. Back in the early stages of this season, Nats manager Matt Williams sat down with my colleague F.P....

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Strasburg, Desmond and Cabrera on 8-1 defeat of D-backs

August 19, 2014, 7:27pm

Nationals

Strasburg, Desmond and Cabrera on 8-1 defeat of D-backs

The Nationals steamrolled the Diamondbacks 8-1 Tuesday thanks to big offense from their double-play combination of shortstop Ian Desmond and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera. Desmond went 3-for-4 with three singles and four RBIs while Cabrera had a game-changing three-run double in a six-run third inning that broke open the game. With the bases loaded and no one out in that explosive frame, Cabrera was just trying to get the run home from third, but instead got so much more with a good...

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Williams on McLouth being done for the year and Harper's baserunning blunder

August 19, 2014, 1:05pm

Nationals

Williams on McLouth being done for the year and Harper's baserunning blunder

Nationals manager Matt Williams confirmed that outfielder Nate McLouth has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is done for the season. McLouth had been on the disabled list since Aug. 4 (retroactive to Aug. 2) with right shoulder inflammation. An MRI athrogram and doctors' consultation confirmed the seriousness of the injury. Williams said McLouth will have surgery on Thursday. "It's something he's been dealing with all year," Williams said. "For me, the symptoms got bad after that...

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Williams discusses Nats' eighth straight win

August 19, 2014, 6:53pm

Nationals

Williams discusses Nats' eighth straight win

Eight in a row. The winning streak has now reached eight games, the second-longest stretch in Nationals team history. The Nats are 18 games above .500 and are clicking on all cylinders. And tonight, they didn't even need a walk-off to claim the victory. Stephen Strasburg allowed just one run on three hits in eight innings of work, notching his 10th win of the season. Ian Desmond drove in four and Asdrubal Cabrera delivered a bases-clearing double that was part of a six-run third in an 8-1...

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Rachel Levitin: Nats handling Zimmerman's absence well

August 20, 2014, 4:38am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Nats handling Zimmerman's absence well

The Nationals are riding an eight-game winning streak with last night's 8-1 victory over the Diamondbacks in D.C. And while I wasn't going to bring it up until closer to the end of the season, I find it interesting to take a look at what's happened due to Ryan Zimmerman being sidelined for most of 2014. After breaking his thumb early in the season, Zimmerman missed 44 games. This allowed Anthony Rendon to move from starting at second base to his native third base, creating opportunities for...

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McLouth to have shoulder surgery, out for season

August 19, 2014, 11:48am

Nationals

McLouth to have shoulder surgery, out for season

Outfielder Nate McLouth's first season with the Nationals has come to an early end. This afternoon, the team announced that the 32-year-old will undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder on Thursday. He has been on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation since Aug. 4. McLouth signed a two-year, $10.75 million contract with Washington in the offseason, and the first year didn't go according to plan. While the Nats' fourth outfielder provided the club with a good...

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Strasburg goes eight innings for 10th victory (Nats win 8-1)

August 19, 2014, 3:26pm

Nationals

Strasburg goes eight innings for 10th victory (Nats win 8-1)

Stephen Strasburg's inability to get off to fast starts haunted him again to begin his second outing against the Diamondbacks this season. In his first start against Arizona on May 13, Strasburg allowed only three runs that came later in the game, and took the hard-luck 3-1 loss. With two outs Tuesday night in the first inning, David Peralta got a hold of a 1-2 pitch and crushed it over the right field wall to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. It was Peralta's second home run in as many at-bats as...

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Dave Nichols: Walk-off wins spur talks of destiny, but Nats are plain old good

August 19, 2014, 5:06am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Walk-off wins spur talks of destiny, but Nats are plain old good

The Nationals have been involved in some crazy games the past few days. Like, nuts. Three walk-off wins in a row, back-to-back sweeps and a seven-game winning streak in total. It's enough for some to start believing in destiny. But don't let the gauzy, misty-eyed baseball romantics sucker you in though. This team is good. How good? Well for starters, let's look at the won-loss record. It doesn't get much simpler than that. The Nats currently have the highest winning percentage in the...

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Ramos gets a night off as Nats try to extend winning streak

August 19, 2014, 11:39am

Nationals

Ramos gets a night off as Nats try to extend winning streak

The Nationals are attempting to win their eighth straight game tonight. They will have to do that without Wilson Ramos, who is getting the night off. Jose Lobaton will get the start behind the plate. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg will try to build on his previous outing in which he went seven innings, allowed just three hits, one unearned run and struck out eight. In his career, Strasburg is 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA with 27 strikeouts in five starts against the Diamondbacks. For the...

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Stammen, LaRoche and Zimmermann after another walk-off Nats win

August 18, 2014, 7:45pm

Nationals

Stammen, LaRoche and Zimmermann after another walk-off Nats win

Momentum and motivation are terms thrown around a lot in sports and many times in the game of baseball. That feeling a player gets when the tide turns, the momentum switch that happens can be from a big hit or a great defensive play. Or even getting out of a bases loaded jam with no outs in a tie ball game. Extra innings, especially. Nationals reliever Craig Stammen (3-4) got into just such a quandary in the 11th inning Monday night in a tie game against the Diamondbacks. With the bases...

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Williams meets with the media after Nats' third straight walk-off win

August 18, 2014, 7:26pm

Nationals

Williams meets with the media after Nats' third straight walk-off win

Three games, three walk-offs. They're going to run out of Gatorade at Nationals Park. Too much of it is getting dumped on the walk-off heroes. Adam LaRoche played the role of the hero tonight, crushing a 3-1 curveball from Will Harris deep to right for his first career walk-off homer, sending the Nats players and coaches spilling onto the field for the third straight night to celebrate another wild victory, this one by a 5-4 score. The Nats scored two runs in the seventh on Wilson Ramos'...

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Starting to get a little bit of a 2012 vibe

August 19, 2014, 7:20am

Nationals

Starting to get a little bit of a 2012 vibe

Back in 2012, the Nationals had a knack for the dramatic. They excelled in the late innings that season, posting 37 comeback wins. 10 times that year did they get to celebrate a walk-off win on the field at Nationals Park, games that seemed to build momentum and bring the clubhouse even closer together. It's still just mid-August, but it seems like the 2014 Nationals are following that same script, to an extent. So far this season, just a little over three-quarters of the way through the...

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Nationals, Arizona in thrilling seesaw affair (Nats win 5-4 in 11)

August 18, 2014, 4:00pm

Nationals

Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has tossed four scoreless innings to begin the four-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only hit from Didi Gregorius, a single, came in the third inning. The hit was wiped out by a rare 5-6-4-3 double play. Left-hander Vidal Nuno counters for the Diamondbacks. He surrendered an Asdrubal Cabrera single also in the third inning. In the fourth with one out, Jayson Werth, making his first start since August 7, laced a single to left. But Adam LaRoche was...

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Updates on Zimmerman, Werth, Schierholtz and McLouth

August 18, 2014, 1:50pm

Nationals

Updates on Zimmerman, Werth, Schierholtz and McLouth

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman told Craig Heist of 106.7 The Fan that he has been able to do light walking on an underwater treadmill has he recovers from a Grade 3 right hamstring strain. Zimmerman has been on the disabled list since July 23. "It's one of those where if you try to rush it too much, your chance of re-injury are through the roof," Zimmerman told Heist. "I don't think it's a 'see you in spring training kind of thing', but that's me." The Nationals hope they...