nationals

Decision to pull Strasburg after long rain delay may shake up starting rotation

August 28, 2013, 8:22pm

Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg only tossed 22 pitches Wednesday thanks to a 72-minute rain delay. Strasburg pitched only two innings in the Nationals' eventual 4-3 win over the Marlins. Manager Davey Johnson said the one hour, 12 minute rain delay played a big part in why he decided to shut down Strasburg for the night and move on to Craig Stammen. But he also was concerned about Strasburg's back. "Actually, after about I guess it was 45 minutes, we asked him how he was,...

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Hearing from Storen and Desmond after Nats' win

August 28, 2013, 8:44pm

Nationals

Hearing from Storen and Desmond after Nats' win

Steve McCatty is a jokester, a guy never afraid to make one of his pitchers smile to lighten the mood in a big spot. He's also a bit of a disciplinarian at times, scolding pitchers who he feels aren't working to their strengths. So what type of speech did McCatty give Drew Storen tonight, when the Nationals' pitching coach came out of the dugout in the top of the seventh with two on, none out, Giancarlo Stanton at the plate and Storen having a 2-0 count on the Nationals-killer? "He just...

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Johnson discusses Nats' 4-3 win

August 28, 2013, 8:28pm

Nationals

Tonight's ballgame ended more than four hours and 10 minutes after it began, with a 72-minute rain delay in there, 11 total pitchers making an appearance and the Nationals and Marlins combining to go 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Not the prettiest of games, that's for sure. But don't tell Davey Johnson that. "It was a nice ballgame, since we won it," Johnson said. The Nats held on for a tight 4-3 win in a game in which both starting pitchers were done before they'd seen...

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Stanton does it again, but so does Werth (Nats win 4-3)

August 28, 2013, 6:26pm

Nationals

Stanton does it again, but so does Werth (Nats win 4-3)

Giancarlo Stanton kills the Nationals. Just kills them. He might not kill them like Andrew McCutchen kills them. But Stanton still kills them. You get the idea. The Marlins' right fielder absolutely obliterated a 2-2 slider from Ryan Mattheus to dead center leading off the sixth, tying the game 2-2. It was Stanton's 17th homer in 47 career games against the Nats. The ball was just crushed, on a line, and if not for a wall about 30 feet beyond the center field fence, that one still might...

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Nats take lead into early rain delay (Harper stays hot)

August 28, 2013, 3:45pm

Nationals

Nats take lead into early rain delay (Harper stays hot)

Stephen Strasburg is starting for the Nationals tonight, which meant that rain would play a factor at some point. It sure seems like every time Strasburg takes the mound, rain makes an appearance. It started pouring here at Nats Park in the bottom of the second inning, and within minutes, the tarp was on the field and we were in a rain delay. Looking at the radar online, it doesn't appear we're in danger of this being a long delay. But then again, I'm definitely no meteorologist. The...

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Johnson closer to giving Roark chance to start and sending Ohlendorf back to bullpen

August 28, 2013, 2:02pm

Nationals

Johnson closer to giving Roark chance to start and sending Ohlendorf back to bullpen

Manager Davey Johnson is not yet ready to hand over the fifth starter role to Tanner Roark, following hints that he might send Ross Ohlendorf back to the bullpen following Tuesday's win over the Marlins. However, he is leaning that way because he would like to give Roark a shot. "It is still premature because I need to see if there (are) any problems coming out of the 'pen today or tomorrow," Johnson said. "But I did have a conversation with both of them. We will see how things go. That...

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Johnson on his eating habits, Mattheus' return, Garcia's lost season

August 28, 2013, 2:38pm

Nationals

Johnson on his eating habits, Mattheus' return, Garcia's lost season

A reporter for a national outlet is at Nationals Park today doing a story on how some major league teams are putting more of an emphasis on eating healthy these days and hiring specialty chefs for their clubhouses. The reporter tried to get Nationals manager Davey Johnson to compare the food that players ate in his days to what players are eating in the Nats' clubhouse now. Johnson chose to take the conversation down a different path. "Well, I'm a meat and potatoes man, and I like iceberg...

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Nats lineup vs. Marlins

August 28, 2013, 11:34am

Nationals

Steve Lombardozzi gets the start at second base tonight for game two of this three-game set against the Marlins, with Anthony Rendon getting a day off. Stephen Strasburg (6-9, 3.00 ERA) will get the start for the Nationals tonight, opposing Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.86 ERA) The 23-year-old Alvarez came to the Marlins in the monster trade with the Blue Jays this winter, and while he's been pretty impressive this season, he has allowed at least four earned runs in each of...

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Johnson not taking a fancy to Ohlendorf's strategy, but he will take the win

August 27, 2013, 7:13pm

Nationals

Johnson not taking a fancy to Ohlendorf's strategy, but he will take the win

Not too many times does a starting pitcher allow only three hits and one run and is pulled with the lead. That is what happened to right-hander Ross Ohlendorf on Tuesday night. Ohlendorf allowed a leadoff solo homer to the Marlins' Christian Yelich in the sixth inning. It was the only run he surrendered. It held up, thanks to the two runs the Nationals scored in the first inning, and solid relief pitching for the final four frames in a 2-1 victory over Miami. Manager Davey Johnson decided...

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A hodgepodge of morning notes and quotes (with promotional note)

August 28, 2013, 6:10am

Nationals

A hodgepodge of morning notes and quotes (with promotional note)

The deficit is down to seven. It's at six in the loss column. The Nationals' hottest stretch of the season has gotten them back on the fringe of the playoff conversation. They've won 12 of their last 17, and coupled with the Reds now having lost five of their last eight, the Nats are finding a way to close ground in the race for the final wild card spot. All the TVs in the Nationals clubhouse were tuned to the Reds-Cardinals game last night after the Nats' 2-1 win over the Marlins. By no...

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Johnson admits Nats need left-handed specialist going forward

August 27, 2013, 2:53pm

Nationals

Johnson admits Nats need left-handed specialist going forward

The Nationals were hoping that left-hander Zach Duke and right-handed relievers that could get left-handed hitters out would be the answer to the southpaw specialist role in the 2013 bullpen. Things did not turn out the way the team had hoped, at least with 32 games remaining. It is an issue that manager Davey Johnson believes will need to be addressed. He said it is a top concern going forward. "Not having the left-handed presence that we had last year," Johnson said when asked what...

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Do the Orioles or Nationals have a better chance of returning to playoffs?

August 28, 2013, 6:41am

Nationals Orioles

Do the Orioles or Nationals have a better chance of returning to playoffs?

As the season's final month arrives, the looming question remains: Who has a better chance of returning to the postseason, the Orioles or the Nationals? The Orioles are chasing two pitching-rich teams - the Red Sox and Rays - in their own division and another, Cleveland, that can't hit. The Nationals are at point where they need a winning streak and a collapse from one of the three contenders in the National League Central. We will know more soon about who the Nationals will be chasing....

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Ted Leavengood: Finally making a game of it

August 26, 2013, 12:08pm

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: Finally making a game of it

The Nationals have started to dig out of the hole. The mark of the good ballplayer and the good team is competing consistently, going out and playing to win day-in and day-out. Washington has been consistently competitive in recent weeks. Even when they have been down early in games, they have punched and clawed their way back to key wins against the Royals and Phillies. Had they not lost six of seven games against the Braves during August, the Nationals would be 12 of 16 for the month,...

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David Huzzard: Impressions of Syracuse and the forgotten Danny Espinosa

August 28, 2013, 5:25am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Impressions of Syracuse and the forgotten Danny Espinosa

Last night was the first Nationals game I watched since Thursday, and that isn't because I have been so frustrated by the season I've given up on baseball. It is because I spent the last five days on a whirlwind tour of minor league ballparks. This trip was to include two of the Nationals affiliates, but short-season Single-A Auburn was rained out. Luckily for us, it was called early enough that it gave us time to make it to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in time for the second inning of the second...

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Hearing from Desmond, Roark and Clippard

August 27, 2013, 7:28pm

Nationals

Hearing from Desmond, Roark and Clippard

Entering tonight, the Nationals had won only six of the 65 games this season in which they'd scored two runs or fewer. They got just two runs tonight, and it was just enough. The Nats plated both their runs in the first inning against Marlins starter Nathan Eovaldi and then held on for a 2-1 win, with Tanner Roark, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano combining to throw four scoreless innings of relief behind Ross Ohlendorf. Ian Desmond, who drove in one of the Nats' two runs,...

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Johnson discusses 2-1 win and a potential change to Nats rotation

August 27, 2013, 7:00pm

Nationals

Johnson discusses 2-1 win and a potential change to Nats rotation

Ross Ohlendorf improved to 3-0 on the season with today's 2-1 Nationals win, this after the veteran righty allowed just one run over five-plus innings, lowering his ERA to 2.49. What did it get him? Well, it might have gotten him knocked from the Nats rotation. Tough crowd. Ohlendorf was pulled by manager Davey Johnson just one batter into the sixth inning tonight, having thrown only 78 pitches. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Christian Yelich in the sixth, and then saw Johnson emerge...

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Ohlendorf on cruise control (Nats win 2-1)

August 27, 2013, 4:40pm

Nationals

Ohlendorf on cruise control (Nats win 2-1)

In Ross Ohlendorf's first start off the disabled list, he appeared to run out of gas in the fifth inning, when he allowed three hits and three runs in what eventually turned into an 11-6 Nationals win over the Cubs. Tonight, Ohlendorf is through five - and he's still going strong. The veteran right-hander has delivered five scoreless frames, allowing just two hits thus far. He's thrown just 74 pitches, and while Tanner Roark has started warming in the Nationals bullpen, Ohlendorf hasn't...

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Boras on Espinosa's struggles, contract possibilities for Strasburg and Harper

August 27, 2013, 3:34pm

Nationals

Boras on Espinosa's struggles, contract possibilities for Strasburg and Harper

Mega-agent Scott Boras is at Nationals Park tonight to take in the Marlins-Nats game, and he held court with reporters during batting practice, talking everything from free agent draft pick compensation to long-term contract ideas for a couple of the Nats' young stars to Danny Espinosa's health. Espinosa is batting just .208 with two home runs, 19 RBIs, 96 strikeouts and 18 walks in 69 games since getting sent down to Triple-A Syracuse in June, this after he had struggled mightily in the big...

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Nationals recall Ryan Mattheus, option Xavier Cedeno to Triple-A

August 27, 2013, 3:12pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today recalled right-handed pitcher Ryan Mattheus from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and optioned left-handed pitcher Xavier Cedeno to Syracuse. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Mattheus is 0-1 with five holds and a 6.26 ERA in 23 games with Washington this season. The 29-year-old allowed just one earned run with three strikeouts (no walks) in 5.1 innings during his five-appearance stint...

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Detwiler probably won't return this season, plus Harper and Werth notes

August 27, 2013, 2:11pm

Nationals

Detwiler probably won't return this season, plus Harper and Werth notes

Ross Detwiler hasn't pitched in a game since July 3, and it appears unlikely that he'll be back on a mound in a big league game again the rest of this season. Detwiler has been out more than seven weeks with a herniated disc in his back, and while the left-hander was back out at Nationals Park running with resistance bands around his waist and doing drills this afternoon, manager Davey Johnson said that Detwiler probably won't have enough time to work back up to the majors before the season...