nationals

Rocky start for Roark (Nats take 3-2 lead)

April 03, 2014, 10:10am

Perhaps it was the lack of mental preparation that came with last-second notice that he'd be starting today, but Tanner Roark's first inning was one he'd rather forget. The Nationals right-hander allowed two runs on three hits, a walk and a sac fly in the first inning to put the team in an early 2-0 hole. Daniel Murphy started the rally with a one-out single before David Wright singled on a lazy pop fly that center fielder Denard Span lost in the sun. Curtis Granderson followed with an...

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Zimmermann scratched with flu-like symptoms

April 03, 2014, 6:06am

Nationals

Zimmermann scratched with flu-like symptoms

NEW YORK - The Nationals announced this morning that right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has been scratched from his scheduled start today with flu-like symptoms. Tanner Roark, who had been set to start the Nats' home opener tomorrow, will now start today's series finale against the Mets. A chest cold has been working through the Nats clubhouse all spring, and Zimmermann is apparently the latest to catch a bit of it. Roark was scheduled to start the Nats' exhibition game against the Tigers...

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Espinosa, Leon get first starts of season

April 03, 2014, 6:30am

Nationals

Espinosa, Leon get first starts of season

NEW YORK - The Nationals will field a slightly different lineup again as they look to sweep the Mets to start the season. For today's day game after a night game, catcher Sandy Leon and second baseman Danny Espinosa get their first starts of the season with Jose Lobaton and Anthony Rendon starting the contest on the bench. Also, as was previously written here, Tanner Roark will be starting in Jordan Zimmermann's place for the series finale. For the Nationals CF Denard Span LF Bryce...

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Storen starts 2014 where he left off in 2013

April 03, 2014, 4:35am

Nationals

Storen starts 2014 where he left off in 2013

NEW YORK - You know how all spring, I kept noting that spring training statistics don't mean anything? I'm sure you got tired of reading it. Heck, I got tired of writing it. But while it's certainly nice to see your team's players dominate during spring training and post impressive numbers, there is no guarantee whatsoever that those stats will carry into the games that actually matter. Take Drew Storen, for example. Storen made seven Grapefruit League appearances this spring, working 6...

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Williams discusses Nats' 5-1 win

April 02, 2014, 7:18pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - After a wild, dramatic, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat win in the regular season opener, the Nationals had a smooth 5-1 victory today that featured seven extra-base hits, six strong innings from Gio Gonzalez and three near-perfect relief frames in which Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Craig Stammen combined to strike out seven of the 10 batters they faced. Opening day had a little bit of everything. Today's win was a bit less chaotic for Nats manager Matt Williams. "A little...

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Hearing from Desmond and Gonzalez

April 02, 2014, 7:33pm

Nationals

NEW YORK - Two Nationals hit home runs in tonight's 5-1 win. Ian Desmond was the first, which you would expect, because he's crushed 45 homers over the last two seasons. Gio Gonzalez was the second. And you would not expect that. Let's hear from tonight's two homer guys, shall we? Desmond On Bryce Harper's throw to the plate that cut down Ruben Tejada: "When the ball caromed off the tarp, it was kinda rolling towards him a little bit and he was running straight at it. I was just yelling,...

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Desmond, Gonzalez homer off Colon (Nats win 5-1)

April 02, 2014, 4:11pm

Nationals

Desmond, Gonzalez homer off Colon (Nats win 5-1)

For three innings, ageless Bartolo Colon tamed the Nationals on one hit. But in the fourth inning, the visitors' bats have awakened. With one out, Jayson Werth doubled and scored on Adam LaRoche's double into the left field corner. That wiped out New York's 1-0 lead, courtesy of David Wright's first-inning sac fly, which scored Juan Lagares, who tripled off lefty Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who came into the game 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his last five games at Citi Field, has yielded three hits...

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Williams: Hitting Harper sixth lets five-tool player potentially show his wheels

April 02, 2014, 2:07pm

Nationals

Williams: Hitting Harper sixth lets five-tool player potentially show his wheels

Because he's a first-year major league manager, every move Matt Williams makes will be carefully scrutinized. Williams' decision to change his opening day lineup - in part because of the injury to catcher Wilson Ramos, but not entirely - for Wednesday's game against right-hander Bartolo Colon and the Mets drew some curious stares when it was announced. But Williams said hitting Bryce Harper sixth - the lowest the young slugger has hit since batting seventh in the first four games of his...

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Surgery a success, Williams hoping Ramos will return in four to six weeks (Tommy John for Davis)

April 02, 2014, 2:30pm

Nationals

Surgery a success, Williams hoping Ramos will return in four to six weeks (Tommy John for Davis)

Catcher Wilson Ramos had successful surgery in Baltimore on Wednesday to remove the hamate bone in his left wrist. "We've spoken with the doctor," manager Matt Williams said before Wednesday's game against the Mets at Citi Field. "He's post-surgery now (and) everything went well. He's heading back to Washington and he'll be there when we get back tomorrow." The Nationals are moving on quickly from Ramos' injury, and Williams said he was happy that it wasn't worse. In fact, the...

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Harper batting sixth in reworked Nats lineup

April 02, 2014, 11:36am

Nationals

Harper batting sixth in reworked Nats lineup

NEW YORK - The injury to Wilson Ramos has at least partly led to a handful of changes to the Nationals lineup. Anthony Rendon, who hit eighth on opening day, will bat second today. Adam LaRoche, who hit seventh in the opener, will hit cleanup today. Ian Desmond will bat seventh. And most surprising of all, Bryce Harper will bat sixth for the Nationals today against Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon. Harper has battled lower than the No. 5 spot in the order just four times - the first four games...

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A closer look at Lobaton and Leon (Ramos' surgery "successful")

April 02, 2014, 9:46am

Nationals

A closer look at Lobaton and Leon (Ramos' surgery "successful")

NEW YORK - We know now that Wilson Ramos will be out for around four to five weeks after having surgery on his left hand, news that manager Matt Williams confirmed this morning in a weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan. So where does this leave the Nationals as they wait for their starting catcher to again get back to full health? Backup catcher Jose Lobaton will obviously get bumped up into the starting role, and all indications are that Sandy Leon will get called up from Double-A Harrisburg...

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Nationals place Ramos on 15-day DL, recall Leon

April 02, 2014, 11:14am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to April 1, with a left hamate fracture and recalled catcher Sandy Leon from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Ramos, 26, sustained the injury in Monday's season opener at Citi Field. The 25-year-old Leon is a switch-hitting catcher from Maracaibo, Venezuela. He has played in 14 games...

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LaRoche's health carries significant weight in Nats' chances this season

April 02, 2014, 6:31am

Nationals

LaRoche's health carries significant weight in Nats' chances this season

First baseman Adam LaRoche battled through 152 games in 2013 for the Nationals, but would be the first to admit he wasn't 100 percent healthy the entire season. Whether it was his elbow or attempting to maintain his weight, LaRoche struggled with his consistency at the plate. His .237 batting average was the lowest in his career in a season where he played at least 150 games. His previous low was .259 in 141 games for the Braves in 2005. LaRoche went through surgery to remove loose bodies...

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Ramos to have surgery, miss at least a month (update)

April 02, 2014, 4:12am

Nationals

Ramos to have surgery, miss at least a month (update)

NEW YORK - It appears the Nationals will be without Wilson Ramos for a matter of weeks, as the injury bug has indeed bit the 26-year-old catcher yet again. According to a Washington Post report, Ramos will undergo hamate bone surgery on his left hand, a procedure that will knock Ramos from the Nats' lineup for 4-8 weeks. Update: In his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan, the Nats' flagship radio station, manager Matt Williams confirmed that Ramos will need surgery, and said the team expects...

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#masnFirstPitch winner: Where there's a Will, there's a way

April 02, 2014, 5:23am

Nationals

#masnFirstPitch winner: Where there's a Will, there's a way

To start the season off right, we wanted to give away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to a lucky Nationals fan. We asked MASN Nationals followers to tweet out why they should throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Nats Park on April 5. We saw hundreds of creative tweets tagged with #masnFirstPitch. By the time the contest wrapped up, we selected early frontrunner Will as our winner. The 13-year-old Nats fan will take the mound during the home opener, having the same honor as many famous...

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Rachel Levitin: Baseball, rebirth and the natural rhythms of life

April 02, 2014, 5:29am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Baseball, rebirth and the natural rhythms of life

And so the marathon begins. The 162-game grind that die-hard baseball fans know all too well. Spring is here, too (for the most part), and the Nationals are back at it again. While it's easy to get bogged down in statistics and numbers from seasons past, I prefer looking at the game through a different lens. It's like Paul Dickson once wrote, "beyond the statistics, there are countless fascinating anthropological aspects of baseball." Those are the stories that spark my interest most and...

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Nationals Chatter: Recovery comparisons, Williams and Desmond profiles

April 01, 2014, 11:07am

Nationals

Happy new year, baseball fans! I know 2014 technically started in January, so I guess I should be more specific. Happy baseball new year! The Nationals kicked off the 2014 season in dramatic, extra-inning fashion on Monday. With the excitement of opening day, you may have missed some stories about the team from other media outlets. * Back in 2012 the Nats were in the midst of a division race with the Atlanta Braves. In early September, the team decided to shutdown ace Stephen Strasburg because...

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Ramos' bad injury luck continues, plus what may lie ahead

April 01, 2014, 8:01am

Nationals

Ramos' bad injury luck continues, plus what may lie ahead

NEW YORK - Back in the early stages of 2012, the Nationals were excited about what Wilson Ramos might be able to do in his second full big league season. Ramos played in just 25 games that year before suffering a devastating knee injury that left him with a torn ACL and meniscus. Entering 2013, after months and months of tireless rehab, Ramos felt the knee was stable and strong, and said he was excited to get back on a big league diamond again. The promising young catcher played in just six...

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Stuart Wallace: For Strasburg and Clippard, still work to be done

April 01, 2014, 9:52am

Nationals

Stuart Wallace: For Strasburg and Clippard, still work to be done

For a pair of Nationals pitching veterans, it was a season opener that would probably be better forgotten. Despite populating the win column, the performances of both Stephen Strasburg and Tyler Clippard, the anchors of the rotation and bullpen, respectively, left a lot to be desired. For Strasburg, the start of his 2014 regular season was a laborious one, highlighted by a 26-pitch first frame and a three-run homer by Mets outfielder Andrew Brown. Despite settling down as the game progressed,...

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Recapping a wild opening day in New York

April 01, 2014, 4:08am

Nationals

Recapping a wild opening day in New York

NEW YORK - Let's run through everything that happened yesterday at Citi Field, shall we? In Matt Williams' first game as a big league manager, he had his star left fielder, Bryce Harper, take a shin to the head in the second inning, leaving him lying flat on his back for a couple minutes as trainers tended to him. Williams had his cleanup hitter and catcher, Wilson Ramos, leave the game with a hand injury, the severity of which is not yet known. He saw his ace, Stephen Strasburg, give up...