Nationals right-hander Tyler Clippard got his chance to pitch in his second All-Star Game in the fifth inning tonight at Target Field in Minneapolis. He was able to put out a fire started by Cardinals right-hander Pat Neshek.
With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Neshek allowed a run-scoring double by Mike Trout that scored former Nationals prospect and current Athletics catcher Derek Norris and gave the American League a one-run lead.
Clippard relieved Neshek and recorded two outs...
Now that the American League has won the All-Star Game 5-3 and claimed home-field advantage in the World Series, is it too much to speculate that the Orioles will be hosting the Nationals in Game 1 at Camden Yards come October?
It is a possibility, given both teams are in an excellent position to win division titles.
The AL East has been falling apart daily, and that leaves the Orioles as the best team in the division. They have the deepest pitching, the potential for the biggest improvement...
If the Nationals are going to win the World Series, they'll have to take at least one game on the road.
Getting a little ahead of ourselves here? Yup. But hey, there's nothing else going on in the sports world today.
The American League representative in the World Series will hold home field advantage this year, after the AL All-Star squad earned a 5-3 win in last night's Midsummer Classic.
The last five World Series champions have all held home field advantage. Only one of those times was a...
Is the Home Run Derby still going on?
I half-expected to wake up this morning and still see some sort of swing-off or bonus round going on at Target Field in Minnesota.
The hour-long rain delay before the Derby didn't help matters last night, but my goodness, does that event seem to go on forever. They might have cut down the number of outs in each round from 10 to seven, but that still didn't seem to help much.
There are just too many participants, in my opinion, and too many players advance...
93 games have been played. 69 remain.
You can call the All-Star break the end of the first half of the season if you'd like, but frankly, we're nearly 60 percent of the way through the 2014 campaign. And given all that's happened prior to the break, the Nationals are in pretty good shape as we enter this four-day breather.
The Nats are the owners of a 51-42 record. They hold a share of first place in the National League East, percentage points above the Braves, who have played two more...
Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann avoided the 15-day disabled list after a MRI revealed only a right biceps strain. It was very good news for a Nationals starting rotation which has weathered a couple of storms early this season to be one of the most dominant staffs in the major leagues.
Right-hander Doug Fister (lat strain) missed a great deal of the beginning of the season and recovered to post an 8-2 record with a 2.90 ERA in 12 starts. There is really no way to understate Fister's...
PHILADELPHIA - Tyler Clippard had planned to spend his All-Star break relaxing at his home in Florida, playing lots of golf and maybe spending a day at the beach.
Now Clippard is heading to Minneapolis.
The golf will have to wait. The temperature might max out in the 70s, as compared to the 90s. But Clippard will get to be a part of his second All-Star Game, after being selected as a late addition to the National League roster. He replaces Braves starter Julio Teheran, who started today and...
PHILADELPHIA - A handful of topics were discussed in Matt Williams' press conference following today's 10-3 win over the Phillies.
You can find all of those topics here.
Here's Williams after the win, which leaves the Nats 51-42 and with a share of first place in the National League East going into the All-Star break.
On the offensive explosion today: "Momentum early for us with Jayson (Werth) hitting the homer. It set the tone real well for Tanner (Roark). He pitched well again for us....
Looks like Tyler Clippard will need to book an airplane ticket to Minneapolis.
The Nationals reliever has been added to the All-Star Game roster for the National League, according to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal.
Source: #Nationals' Clippard being added to NL All-Star team.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 13, 2014
Clippard has a 2.03 ERA in 40 innings this season with the Nationals. This is the second All-Star invite for Clippard, who pitched in the 2011 Midsummer Classic and...
The Nationals have no plans to place Jordan Zimmermann on the disabled list at the moment, manager Matt Williams told the media after tonight's win.
The right-hander's MRI results came back positive, revealing only a slight biceps strain in his pitching arm.
That's good news for a pitcher who had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and is a relief for the club.
Zimmermann had to leave his start Friday after just 49 pitches and 3 1/3 innings. He didn't seem overly concerned at the time.
"The...
Washington Nationals right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard today was named to the National League All-Star team by Cardinals field manager Mike Matheny and Major League Baseball. Clippard will replace Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran, who started Sunday's contest at Chicago. The 85th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be held at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN on Tuesday, July 15.
Clippard, 29, is 6-2 with one save and a 2.03 ERA (9 ER/40.0 IP) in 43 appearances for...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are optimistic that Jordan Zimmermann's injury is nothing serious.
Zimmermann has been through a serious elbow injury before, and he seems confident that this isn't a similar type of situation.
Still, until the MRI on Zimmermann's right arm comes back today, Nats fans have a right to be nervous.
The Nats hoped for the best with Wilson Ramos on opening day, when initial X-rays didn't show the broken hamate bone. It wasn't announced that Bryce Harper had torn a...
Ian Desmond is back in the Nationals lineup after sitting out Friday with a bruised hand suffered when he was plunked Thursday against the Orioles.
Desmond will be batting sixth while left-handed-hitting outfielder Bryce Harper starts the night on the bench against Phillies southpaw Cole Hamels.
Harper has struggled since his return from the disabled list, going 5-for-35 (.143) with a double, a homer, two RBIs and 13 strikeouts. However, he has had success against Hamels, who he has faced...
PHILADELPHIA - Tonight's 6-2 loss to the Phillies stings because the Nationals missed an opportunity to move back to a game ahead of the Braves in the National League East.
But the bigger issue at this point is the injury to Jordan Zimmermann.
Zimmermann and Matt Williams indicated after the game that they're fairly confident that the biceps cramp that Zimmermann felt tonight isn't an indication that there is any structural issue with the right-hander's elbow or shoulder, but an MRI...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have dealt with a slew of injuries this season. Now they have to hope Jordan Zimmermann's injury won't knock him out of action for a long period of time.
Zimmermann left tonight's game in the fourth inning with what the Nationals are calling a right biceps cramp. An MRI is scheduled for tomorrow to get a better idea of what the issue is.
"Doc checked him out," manager Matt Williams said after the Nats' 6-2 loss to the Phillies. "Doesn't seem to be an issue...
After sailing through the first inning, Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann ran into a bit of trouble in the second.
After striking out Ryan Howard for the first out, Zimmermann allowed back-to-back singles to Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche. Domonic Brown then hit a two-run double to center to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
Zimmermann ended the inning by striking out the last two batters.
Through two innings, Zimmermann has thrown 25 pitches.
The Nationals have two hits off of A.J....
BALTIMORE - It appears the Nationals dodged a bullet in regard to Ian Desmond's health.
Desmond needed to leave tonight's game in the eighth inning shortly after taking a Darren O'Day fastball off the right hand, but Nats manager Matt Williams said after the game that X-rays on Desmond's hand came back negative.
That's the good news.
The bad is that the Nats dropped tonight's ballgame to the Orioles 4-3, and had two players dealing with various bumps and bruises suffered in the loss.
In...
It was exciting to be able to watch the Nationals and Orioles do battle this week in three intriguing games.
The first game was tied into the 11th inning. Following a rain out on Tuesday, the Nationals took advantage of Bud Norris' inability to hit his spots (he was sent to Double-A after the game for extra work), to win 6-2.
The third game had the Orioles race out to a 4-0 lead, only to see the Nationals fight back to within one run.
And the Nats had their chances to tie or take the lead...
PHILADELPHIA - Ian Desmond is out of the Nationals' lineup today, a day after getting hit by a pitch on the right hand.
Desmond left yesterday's game against the Orioles in the eighth inning after a Darren O'Day fastball drilled him near the thumb on his right hand, on the palm side. Desmond initially stayed in the game and tried to play through the discomfort, but after airmailing a warmup throw prior to the bottom of the eighth, he trotted off.
X-rays after the game came back negative,...
The first half of the Nationals' season will end in Philadelphia, with three games against the Phillies serving as the only separation between the Nats and the All-Star break.
As of now, Jordan Zimmermann is still the only Nats player heading to Minneapolis nearly next week for the Midsummer Classic. Anthony Rendon came in fourth place in the National League Final Vote competition, the league announced yesterday, with Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs taking the final spot on the NL roster.
It's...