nationals

Nats recall Ryan Mattheus, option Xavier Cedeno

August 27, 2013, 2:40pm

The Nationals made a roster move before today's game, recalling right-hander Ryan Mattheus from Triple-A Syracuse and optioning left-hander Xavier Cedeno to Syracuse. Mattheus was sent down on August 15 after posting a 14.09 ERA in his last 10 games with the Nats, but he allowed just one earned run in his five appearances (spanning 5 1/3 innings) at Syracuse, striking out three and walking none in that time. Mattheus has a 6.26 ERA in 23 big league appearances this season. The roster move...

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Nationals recall right-hander Ryan Mattheus, option left-hander Xavier Cedeno

August 27, 2013, 2:35pm

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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Full Nats lineup in place for series opener vs. Marlins

August 27, 2013, 11:33am

Nationals

Full Nats lineup in place for series opener vs. Marlins

The Nationals open a three-game set with the Marlins tonight, as Ross Ohlendorf squares off against Miami right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. All eight starting Nats position players will be in there today despite bumps and bruises to Jayson Werth (infected right foot), Bryce Harper (left foot), Ian Desmond (back, hamstring) and Ryan Zimmerman (shin). This time of year, everyone's battling something. Ohlendorf is 2-0 with a 2.58 ERA this season, while the 23-year-old Eovaldi is 2-4 with a 3.82...

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The road ahead gets a little smoother

August 27, 2013, 5:22am

Nationals

Believe it or not, the Nationals' second-to-last homestand of the 2013 season begins today. In some ways, it feels like we just left Viera, Fla., a week ago. In others, it feels like the season has been going on for 2 1/2 years. The Nats open a three-game set with the Marlins tonight, followed by three against the Mets. Then it's off on a 10-game road trip to Philadelphia, Miami and New York, followed by a 10-game homestand with the Phillies, Braves and Marlins all coming to town. Add it...

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Seeing changes in the second half

August 26, 2013, 5:22am

Nationals

What a weekend it was for Roger Bernadina. The former Nationals outfielder, now with the Phillies, went 2-for-8 with a home run and a double in the Phillies' 18-inning marathon win on Saturday, and then had another double, two RBIs and two really impressive defensive plays yesterday. If you didn't happen to see Bernadina's glovework from yesterday afternoon, here you go. I wonder if they do the Shark Chomp in Philadelphia? Sorry, still too soon to ask that question? Over the last two...

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Gonzalez, Span and Zimmerman on-deck for Wednesday's tripleheader live chat

August 24, 2013, 9:58am

Nationals

Gonzalez, Span and Zimmerman on-deck for Wednesday's tripleheader live chat

This Wednesday at Nationals Park, we will be hosting our first live video chat of the season, which will stream live on the homepage of MASNsports.com. The chat will be a tripleheader as Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez will be participating and answering your questions live. In order for this to be successful, we need your help. Submit your questions on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #NatsChats or leave a comment in the section below. We also want to reward our "Touch...

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Dave Nichols: A defeat emblematic of the season's struggles

August 26, 2013, 7:10am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: A defeat emblematic of the season's struggles

The Nationals took two out of three over the weekend from the Kansas City Royals to keep their dwindling playoff hopes just barely alive. Starting play Monday, the Nats sit 8 1/2 games behind Cincinnati, with just 32 games remaining, for the last invitation to the playoff party in the National League. The loss on Sunday halted a five-game winning streak, matching the longest the Nats have had all season long. If they're to get back in this thing, they are going to have to take advantage now...

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Royal heartbreak for Nats on two critical plays in eighth inning

August 25, 2013, 4:14pm

Nationals

Royal heartbreak for Nats on two critical plays in eighth inning

It is difficult to have a mental mistake keep an inning alive with two outs in a tie ballgame. It hurts more when your team has scored four unanswered runs to tie a game at 4-4 against a team that was reeling in a seven-game losing streak. But to see another mental mistake later in the inning that scored the go-ahead run and opened the door to another run-scoring single? It is too much to handle. The Nationals fell Sunday in Kansas City to the Royals, 6-4. The game was tied heading to the...

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Another comeback in Kansas City (Nats lose 6-4)

August 25, 2013, 12:16pm

Nationals

Another comeback in Kansas City (Nats lose 6-4)

The Nationals came back from a 6-0 deficit to the Royals on Friday. They've now come back after trailing 4-0 this afternoon and battled to tie this game 4-4 in the seventh. A three-run seventh inning has knotted things up, with Denard Span getting it started with a solo homer to right-center and Bryce Harper then following with a two-run shot to left-center. The three runs all came with two outs, and they came in the span of three pitches. Span smoked a first-pitch Ervin Santana changeup...

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Nats win 7-2, have a five-game streak going

August 24, 2013, 5:52pm

Nationals

Nats win 7-2, have a five-game streak going

As rocky as things have been at times lately, the Nationals have now tied their longest winning streak of the season. Tonight's 7-2 win over the Royals gives the Nats their fifth straight win, matching streaks put together from May 4-10 and Aug. 9-14. Jordan Zimmermann went 7 2/3 strong innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He gets back on track after a rough outing in Chicago. Ian Desmond had his 18th homer of the season and drove in two, Chad Tracy...

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A hairy first inning for Haren (Desmond goes yard again)

August 25, 2013, 10:41am

Nationals

A hairy first inning for Haren (Desmond goes yard again)

Once the major league leader in home runs allowed, Dan Haren had allowed just four homers in 50 innings since coming off the DL. Haren hadn't allowed more than two runs in an outing since July 22. In the first inning of this afternoon's game alone, Haren allowed two homers and four runs, and the Nationals trail 4-0 early. Alex Gordon got things started for the Royals with a solo shot to right leading off the bottom of the first. Emilio Bonifacio then came around to score from first on a...

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Werth in Nats lineup as designated hitter

August 25, 2013, 8:28am

Nationals

Werth in Nats lineup as designated hitter

Jayson Werth missed yesterday's game with an infection in his right foot, but the Nationals' hottest hitter is back in the lineup today, serving as the designated hitter. Werth is batting a ridiculous .384/.481/.661 since the All-Star break, so the Nationals will be plenty happy to have him back in the cleanup spot today. Tyler Moore will get his third straight start in left field, and Anthony Rendon is back playing second base today. Dan Haren (4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last six games)...

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Trending upward

August 25, 2013, 7:17am

Nationals

The chances of the Nationals making the playoffs are still very, very low. I'm talking incredibly low. According to Baseball Prospectus' playoffs odds report, the Nats have just a 1.9 percent chance of earning a postseason berth. This is after the Nats' five-game winning streak, making them 11-4 in their last 15 games. It's after they got back over .500 for the first time in nearly six weeks. The postseason odds are so low because despite this recent hot streak, the Nats still trail the...

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The little things add up (the runs keep on coming)

August 24, 2013, 4:25pm

Nationals

The little things add up (the runs keep on coming)

In the Nationals' four-run fourth inning, they did a lot of little things right, things that they haven't done much of this season. They had examples of nice situational hitting, like Wilson Ramos staying on a 1-2 cutter from Wade Davis and lifting a fly ball to right that went as a sacrifice fly to plate Ryan Zimmerman. Driving in runners from third with less than two outs has not been the Nats' forte this season. They had some smart, aggressive baserunning, like Bryce Harper tagging up...

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Taking the bad with the good

August 23, 2013, 10:50pm

Nationals

Following Thursday night's game, in which the Nationals blew a four-run lead and saw the Cubs tie things up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before finally prevailing in 13 innings, I asked Anthony Rendon a question that Nats fans have probably been wondering for weeks now. Why can't the Nats just have a nice, quiet, 5-0 win one of these days? Why does it always have to be so dramatic? "That's what I'm saying!" a smiling Rendon said. "Where those games at? But that's baseball....

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Werth, Rendon out of Nats lineup

August 24, 2013, 12:37pm

Nationals

Ian Desmond is in the Nationals lineup despite a stiff back and what manager Davey Johnson said after yesterday's game was a tight hamstring. Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon, however, are not in the lineup for tonight's game against the Royals. Werth served as the designated hitter yesterday, but Ryan Zimmerman will fill that role tonight. Bryce Harper will play right field for a second straight day, Tyler Moore will again play left and Steve Lombardozzi will play second with Rendon...

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Span, Zimmerman and Gonzalez will answer your questions

August 24, 2013, 9:58am

Nationals

Span, Zimmerman and Gonzalez will answer your questions

This Wednesday, we will be hosting our first video chat of the season, live on MASNsports.com. We will be have a tripleheader as Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez will all be participating and answering your questions. In order for this to be successful, we need your help. Submit your questions on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #NatsChats or leave a comment in the section below. We also want to reward our "Touch 'Em All" participants with 15 bonus points for those taking...

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Not the best start (Nats win 11-10)

August 23, 2013, 5:00pm

Nationals

This sure isn't how the Nationals wanted to start their three-game set with the Royals after winning the last three against the Cubs. Gio Gonzalez has looked totally out of sorts through the first two innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. Five of those hits have been for extra-bases, including two homers, one by Eric Hosmer and one by former National Justin Maxwell. Gonzalez allowed three extra-base hits to the first five hitters he faced tonight, giving up three runs in the first. But...

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Desmond returns, Werth DHing

August 23, 2013, 1:30pm

Nationals

After getting double-switched out of Wednesday's game in the fifth inning and missing yesterday's game due to back stiffness, Ian Desmond is back in the Nationals' lineup for tonight's game against the Royals. Yesterday marked just the third game that Desmond has missed all season. His back originally tightened up on him during batting practice Wednesday. Jayson Werth will serve as the designated hitter for the Nats tonight in their interleague matchup against Kansas City. Bryce Harper...

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Nats send Kurt Suzuki back to Athletics (Nats get pitching prospect)

August 22, 2013, 10:06pm

Nationals

Nats send Kurt Suzuki back to Athletics (Nats get pitching prospect)

A little over a year ago, the Nationals acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki in a trade with the Athletics. Now, Suzuki is heading back to Oakland. The Nats have traded Suzuki to the A's, a team source confirmed late tonight, a deal that sends the 29-year-old catcher back to the team that drafted him and the only other team he's known. It's unknown at this time what the Nationals will be acquiring in return. The Washington Times first reported the Suzuki deal. Since the July 31 non-waiver trade...