nationals

Hearing from Blevins, Rendon, Strasburg and LaRoche

June 20, 2014, 8:45pm

Third baseman Anthony Rendon smacked a dramatic two-run homer in the ninth Friday that erased Atlanta's lead and tied the game at 4-4. The Braves ended up winning the game 6-4 in 13 innings. Rendon's blast came against the Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, who arrived with 21 saves. "I was just looking for a ball to barrel up and that one just happened to go out, and we just couldn't get it done in extra innings," Rendon said. "I just try to see the ball. Try not to do too much. He is...

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Even vs. Strasburg, Braves start with upper hand (Atlanta wins 6-4 in 13th)

June 20, 2014, 3:19pm

Nationals

Even vs. Strasburg, Braves start with upper hand (Atlanta wins 6-4 in 13th)

The Nationals need their stopper to come through. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg is attempting to slow the Braves roll against his team. The Nationals have lost four straight against the Braves, and six of their last seven overall. I won't mention 2013. You're welcome. Strasburg has made 13 starts against Atlanta. His last win against the Braves was August 21, 2012. The Braves got the first run of the game again. In the first inning with two outs, Freddie Freeman launched a long fly ball...

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Williams won't let recent difficulty against Braves cloud preparation

June 20, 2014, 1:55pm

Nationals

Williams won't let recent difficulty against Braves cloud preparation

The Braves have now won six of the first seven games against the Nationals this season following Thursday's 3-0 series-opening win. The Nationals have lost four straight against Atlanta, with their only victory a 2-1 decision April 6. Nationals manager Matt Williams said he takes the series with the Braves one game at a time and will not let the recent downslide against Atlanta cloud his team's preparations for tonight. Williams said Gavin Floyd's curveball last night was as one reason why...

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Nats lineup for Game 2 vs. Braves

June 20, 2014, 11:48am

Nationals

The Nationals are looking to get back in the win column tonight after dropping last night's series opener to the Braves. Tonight's starter, Stephen Strasburg, has recorded 11 consecutive quality starts. For the Nats: CF Denard Span 3B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche LF Ryan Zimmerman SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Jose Lobaton RHP Stephen Strasburg

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Trying to find a reason for the troubles against Atlanta

June 19, 2014, 9:08pm

Nationals

Trying to find a reason for the troubles against Atlanta

The Nationals came into this four-game series against the Braves having won 12 of their last 16 games. They sent Jordan Zimmermann, a guy who had allowed just one run in his last 26 innings, to the mound last night. The Braves entered the series losers of 13 of their previous 21. They had just gotten swept by the Phillies in Atlanta, and were playing last night's game without left fielder Justin Upton, who didn't start because of dizziness. Even though a number of factors seemed to be in...

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Nats agree to terms with 24 player selected in First-Year Player Draft

June 20, 2014, 9:06am

Nationals

Nats agree to terms with 24 player selected in First-Year Player Draft

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with 24 players selected in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft: catcher Jakson Reetz (third round), right-handed pitcher Robbie Dickey (fourth round), right-handed pitcher Drew Van Orden (fifth round), right-handed pitcher Austen Williams (sixth round), center fielder Dale Carey (seventh round), right fielder Matthew Page (10th round), right-handed pitcher Weston Davis (11th round), right-handed pitcher Domenick Mancini (12th round), third baseman...

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Harper crushes homers in batting practice, Williams details rehab progression

June 19, 2014, 2:42pm

Nationals

Harper crushes homers in batting practice, Williams details rehab progression

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper completed batting practice Thursday prior to the team's game against the Braves. Harper came out of it with a positive update on his thumb. He has been on the disabled list since April 26 with a left thumb sprain. "I feel good," Harper said. "But still trying to see where my swing's at and trying to get in shape in the outfield. And just trying to feel how I go about everything every single day and try to get a strong as I can." Manager Matt Williams said...

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LaRoche and Zimmermann on if the Braves have psyched them out

June 19, 2014, 7:09pm

Nationals

LaRoche and Zimmermann on if the Braves have psyched them out

The Nationals lost their sixth game in seven attempts against the Braves on Thursday, a 3-0 shutout at Nationals Park. First baseman Adam LaRoche does not know the answer as to why Atlanta has had the Nationals' number recently, besides the obvious of playing a little better baseball at the right time. "I don't know what it is," LaRoche said. "You got to think losing that many games it's not all coincidence. They play us tough, you know, plain and simple. They come up with some big...

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Williams speaks after Nats' 3-0 loss to Braves

June 19, 2014, 6:57pm

Nationals

Williams speaks after Nats' 3-0 loss to Braves

After putting up six runs in each of their last two games against the Astros, the Nationals managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss to the Braves tonight, pushing Atlanta back to within 1/2 a game of Washington in the National League East and adding to the Nats' issues against their top division rival. Two of the Nats' three hits today were of the extra-base variety. Denard Span doubled with two outs in the sixth and Jayson Werth doubled leading off the seventh. Neither guy went any further...

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Nationals and Braves under way in NL East battle (Braves won 3-0)

June 19, 2014, 3:27pm

Nationals

The much anticipated Nationals versus Braves series is upon us. Atlanta has won five of the first six meetings between the two clubs this year and had held the top spot in the division until a recent downward turn. The Nationals bounced back from a four-game skid to post a pair of 6-5 wins against Houston to begin the homestand. But this is the Braves, and the Nationals have a combined record of 3-10 record against Atlanta and St. Louis this season. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann allowed a...

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Nationals lineup for series opener against Braves

June 19, 2014, 11:04am

Nationals

The Nationals will trot a hot pitcher out to the mound for the opener of their four-game series against the Braves. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who will oppose Braves righty and Annapolis native Gavin Floyd, has allowed only one run in his past 26 innings. On the year, Zimmermann is 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA. Here's the Nationals lineup: CF Denard Span 3B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche LF Ryan Zimmerman SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Jose Lobaton RHP Jordan Zimmermann

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In come the Braves

June 18, 2014, 8:27pm

Nationals

If you happened to miss last night's Nationals win over the Astros, and didn't see right fielder Jayson Werth's tag-avoiding, pop-up-short-of-the-bag slide into second base, I highly suggest you check this out: Your browser does not support iframes. Werth said he knew he was going to be out as he went into his slide, so he switched into self-preservation mode. Somehow, it worked. "I think I've tried that a few different times, and I've never been successful at that," Werth said with a...

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David Huzzard: The hot stretch and an important weekend

June 19, 2014, 5:08am

Nationals

David Huzzard: The hot stretch and an important weekend

Having scored 289 runs on the season, the Nationals offense ranks eighth in the National League in runs scored. But over their last 20 games, the Nationals offense has kicked it into a different gear. For those games, they've scored 93 runs, or 4.65 runs a game, and have produced a 12-8 record. This scoring outburst also happens to include the series against the Cardinals in which they managed to score a grand total of three runs. The main complaint about the Nationals lately has been their...

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Gonzalez and Span speak after sweep of Astros

June 18, 2014, 7:40pm

Nationals

Gonzalez and Span speak after sweep of Astros

The Nationals' advance scouting saw that Astros starter Scott Feldman was slow to the plate. They felt they could run on Astros catcher Jason Castro. The strategy worked, playing a key part in the Nationals scoring two early runs. They lost that lead, but eventually ended up beating the Astros 6-5, going 5-for-5 in stolen bases, all off Feldman. But Denard Span said after the game that stealing five bases was not the crux of the overall game plan. "I don't think collectively as a team we...

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Aggressive Nats grab 1-0 lead in first (Nats rally for 6-5 win)

June 18, 2014, 3:32pm

Nationals

Aggressive Nats grab 1-0 lead in first (Nats rally for 6-5 win)

We're off and running at Nationals Park, and the Nationals have a 1-0 lead after the opening inning. And when I say running, I mean running - to the tune of three stolen bases in the first inning. Denard Span got the first, although it took a video replay challenge by manager Matt Williams to make it official, and Anthony Rendon swiped a pair. Span led off by drawing a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on Rendon's single. Rendon swiped second when Jayson Werth struck out, and...

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Williams meets with the media after Nats' 6-5 win over Astros

June 18, 2014, 7:51pm

Nationals

Williams meets with the media after Nats' 6-5 win over Astros

Coming into this two-game series with the Astros, the Nationals were 9-1 against Houston since the start of the 2012 season. We can make now that 11-1. The Nats swept this two-game set, tonight earning a 6-5 win in a bit of a back-and-forth ballgame. In Gio Gonzalez's first start back off the disabled list, the Nats took a 2-0 lead after three, but the Astros came back with four runs in the fourth off Gonzalez. The left-hander allowed those four runs over five innings, walking three, striking...

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Williams on Gonzalez's return and Harper's progress

June 18, 2014, 12:56pm

Nationals

Williams on Gonzalez's return and Harper's progress

Before Wednesday's game, Nationals manager Matt Williams provided the reasoning behind having Sandy Leon catch left-hander Gio Gonzalez's return from the disabled list against the Houston Astros. "Just getting (Leon) in there. He's got some experience with Gio, has caught Gio. Nothing in particular," Williams said. "Just get him in against the righty." Gonzalez got to 79 pitches in his last minor league rehab start. But he has not pitched in a major league game since May 17 against the...

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Yet again, Desmond rebounds from slow defensive start

June 17, 2014, 10:48pm

Nationals

Yet again, Desmond rebounds from slow defensive start

Over Ian Desmond's first 20 games played this season, he made a whopping eight errors in just 66 chances. His fielding percentage three weeks into the season was .879, and Desmond admitted at the time that he was getting frustrated by all the miscues, even saying that stretch was comparable to other "dark places defensively" that he'd been in earlier in his career. "The errors in the past have made me who I am today," Desmond said at the time. "These are going to make me a better man,...

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Gonzalez returns, Lobaton sits in Astros finale

June 18, 2014, 12:17pm

Nationals

Gonzalez returns, Lobaton sits in Astros finale

The Nationals end a two-game series against the Astros tonight, sending left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound in hopes of finishing off a sweep. Gonzalez was activated off the 15-day disabled list today after spending time on the shelf with left shoulder inflammation. He'll have most of the Nats' regular lineup behind him, the lone exception being his batterymate. Sandy Leon will catch Gonzalez. For the Astros CF Dexter Fowler 2B Jose Altuve RF George Springer 1B Jonathan Singleton 3B Matt...

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Nationals reinstate Gonzalez from DL, option Cedeno to Triple-A

June 18, 2014, 12:30pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today returned from rehab and reinstated left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez from the 15-Day Disabled List, and optioned left-handed reliever Xavier Cedeno to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Gonzalez, 28, returns to the Nationals after missing 29 games with left shoulder inflammation. He rejoins the Nationals' active roster after making two rehab starts with...