nationals

A reliever trying to get back on track

September 06, 2013, 12:44am

The Cardinals didn't help the Nationals out any last night, falling to the Reds to push the Nats a full seven games back of Cincinnati in the wild card chase. Twenty-three games to go with a seven-game deficit to overcome. Have at it, Nats. See what you can do. Over the last couple months, the Nats have seen their relief corps - a group that for the most part was pretty solid in the first half of the season - start to falter. Rafael Soriano went through a stretch where he was incredibly...

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Nats claim Mauro Gomez off waivers

September 05, 2013, 11:44am

Nationals

The Nationals have claimed corner infielder Mauro Gomez off waivers from the Blue Jays, giving them another bench option for next season. The 28-year-old Gomez hit .249 with 29 home runs, 21 doubles, 73 RBI and a .843 OPS in 110 games for Triple-A Buffalo this season. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Gomez's 29 homers tied current Nationals shortstop Zach Walters for the most home runs at the Triple-A level this year. Gomez will not be reporting to the Nationals...

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After a rocky start in D.C., Span feeling like himself again

September 05, 2013, 7:28am

Nationals

After a rocky start in D.C., Span feeling like himself again

We're getting to that time of year where scoreboard watching becomes a pretty big part of the nightly routine for major league teams still in playoff contention. Teams like the Nationals can talk all they want about how they're just focused on taking care of their own business. They can say that their concern is just on each game that they play, and that they aren't worried about what's going on around them. Part of that certainly might be true. The Nats can't get caught up looking in...

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Nationals claim 1B/3B Mauro Gomez off waivers from Blue Jays

September 05, 2013, 11:35am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today claimed first baseman/third baseman Mauro Gomez off waivers (not to report) from the Toronto Blue Jays. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The 28 year-old Gomez joins the Nationals organization after hitting .249 with 21 doubles, 29 home runs, 43 walks, 73 RBI and a .843 OPS in 110 games this season for Buffalo of the Triple-A International League. The right-handed hitting Gomez, who is listed...

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Hearing from the crucial parties in the two defensive gems

September 04, 2013, 8:05pm

Nationals

Hearing from the crucial parties in the two defensive gems

PHILADELPHIA - There were jokes all around in the Nationals' clubhouse tonight as players packed up their things for a flight to Miami and monitored the Reds-Cardinals extra-inning game on multiple clubhouse TVs. The bulk of the chatter was about two defensive gems - the Steve Lombardozzi/Jordan Zimmermann spin-and-scoop at first base to end the seventh inning and keep the game tied, and the Jhonatan Solano sprint-and-tag at the plate in the eighth that kept the Nats on top 3-2. The play by...

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Taking a look at the contenders in divisional races

September 05, 2013, 8:30am

Nationals Orioles

Taking a look at the contenders in divisional races

Let's take a look at what's going on in the divisional races: * If the season ended today, the Red Sox would be considered the favorite to represent the American League in the World Series, but watch out for Texas. The Rangers might be having trouble beating Oakland in the AL West, but it is hard to argue with the Rangers' deep bullpen and a rotation led by Yu Darvish, Matt Garza and Derek Holland. And prospect Martin Perez has come out of nowhere to be a consistent winner. Biggest surprise...

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Rachel Levitin: Considering an early arrival

September 05, 2013, 5:20am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Considering an early arrival

It had been longer than I could remember since I last sat in the stands at Nationals Park, so on Sunday I changed that. Maybe it was the fact that it was "Sunday Night Baseball" on the eve of Labor Day or maybe it was the fact that I was feeling slightly burned out. But either way, I went to that game. The unfortunate part is that I missed the eighth-inning comeback due to having to catch the Metro in the bottom of the seventh. The superstitious voice in my head said, "You know, the second...

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More sloppy ball here in Philly (Nats win 3-2)

September 04, 2013, 4:14pm

Nationals

More sloppy ball here in Philly (Nats win 3-2)

PHILADELPHIA - The hope, after last night's slopfest, was that the Nationals and Phillies had gotten all the ugly baseball out of their systems and would put together a clean, smooth ballgame tonight. That hasn't been the case through the first two innings of play. The Phillies lead 2-1 going to the third, in a game in which Roy Halladay has already walked four and hit a batter and Jordan Zimmermann has surrendered four hits and a walk of his own. Halladay has been all over the place,...

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Johnson discusses Nats' 3-2 win

September 04, 2013, 7:26pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base in tonight's 3-2 win over the Phillies. Their offense didn't win them this game. Their defense did. The Nats made a couple huge defensive plays in the late innings tonight, keeping the Phillies off the scoreboard and ensuring their three runs put up on Philadelphia pitching would be enough. The first defensive gem came in the bottom of the seventh after the Nats had just tied the score at...

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Harper's hip "barking," Roark to move into Nats' rotation

September 04, 2013, 2:14pm

Nationals

Harper's hip "barking," Roark to move into Nats' rotation

PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper has played through some hip soreness in each of the first two games of this three-game set with the Phillies, but Harper isn't in the Nationals' lineup tonight for the finale. Manager Davey Johnson has opted to give Harper the day off to rest his ailing hip, this after Harper admitted to his skipper today that the hip is still "barking." "I talked to him the last two, three days about how he was feeling, and he gave me the thumbs up," Johnson said. "But he...

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GCL All-Star team lists five Nationals

September 04, 2013, 5:57pm

Nationals

The Gulf Coast League announced its All-Star team Wednesday, and five Nationals were honored on the squad. The GCL Nats manager Patrick Anderson, Manager of the Year, led his team to a league-record 49 wins and the championship banner. The GCL Nats' .845 winning percentage is the best domestic winning percentage by a team in minor league history. The 1992 Dominican Summer League Blue Jays East team went 68-2 (.971) but lost in the playoffs. Third baseman Drew Ward hit .292 and was in the...

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Garcia rehabbing in Potomac during "frustrating" season

September 04, 2013, 5:42pm

Nationals

Garcia rehabbing in Potomac during "frustrating" season

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Right-hander Christian Garcia will continue his rehab assignment this week with the high Single-A Potomac Nationals during their Carolina League Northern Division playoff series against the Lynchburg Hillcats. Garcia has missed the entire season with a partial tear of a ligament in the wrist and forearm, and later, a pulled hamstring. He said he will pitch one inning Friday for the P-Nats. If the best-of-three series is completed prior to Friday and the P-Nats advance,...

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Harper out of Nats lineup, Brown in left field (with Phillies lineup)

September 04, 2013, 12:33pm

Nationals

Harper out of Nats lineup, Brown in left field (with Phillies lineup)

Bryce Harper is getting a day off, likely to rest his ailing left hip. Corey Brown, who homered last night, will bat seventh and get the start in left field. Steve Lombardozzi will bat eighth and play second base, giving Anthony Rendon the night off. For the Nationals: CF Denard Span 3B Ryan Zimmerman RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond C Wilson Ramos LF Corey Brown 2B Steve Lombardozzi RHP Jordan Zimmermann For the Phillies: CF Cesar Hernandez SS Jimmy Rollins 2B Chase Utley C...

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More on Ramos, more on Brown

September 04, 2013, 6:33am

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - Wilson Ramos told reporters after last night's 9-6 win over the Phillies that he was taken out of the game in the seventh inning for a pinch-runner shortly after manager Davey Johnson saw him stretching out a cramp behind his right knee. After leaving the game, Ramos went in to get treatment on the area around his surgically repaired knee, leading to a question about whether he'd need a day off today in the Nationals' series finale in Philadelphia. "Nah," Ramos said with a...

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Hearing from Gonzalez, Ramos, Brown after 9-6 win

September 03, 2013, 8:15pm

Nationals

Hearing from Gonzalez, Ramos, Brown after 9-6 win

PHILADELPHIA - Like his manager, left-hander Gio Gonzalez realizes that tonight's 9-6 Nationals win wasn't too pretty. But that doesn't bother him too much. "A win doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be a win," Gonzalez said. "At the end of the day, it's just one of the things. We turn the page, move forward and hopefully tomorrow will be a different game. It'll be something a little more smoother." Gonzalez might have picked up his ninth win of the season, and the box score...

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David Huzzard: Where it all went wrong

September 04, 2013, 5:52am

Nationals

This is normally the time of year where I start to realize that I won't be able to watch baseball again for five or six months, depending on how you count the postseason and spring training. This season, the Nationals have failed to live up to expectations to a degree that has me glad the season is going to end. It isn't a feeling I am proud of, want to embrace or hope others feel. There was a clinical study recently that said sports can have a profound impact on our moods. It makes sense,...

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Walters on his first big league call-up: "This is an amazing opportunity I have"

September 03, 2013, 3:18pm

Nationals

Walters on his first big league call-up: "This is an amazing opportunity I have"

PHILADELPHIA - Of the five guys the Nationals called up from Triple-A Syracuse today, four have been here before. Outfielders Jeff Kobernus, Corey Brown and Eury Perez, and left-hander Xavier Cedeno have seen a major league clubhouse in the past, donned a Nationals jersey and stepped foot on a big league field. Up until today, Zach Walters had not. After getting his first big league call-up, Walters strolled into the visiting clubhouse this afternoon with bags slung over each shoulder, sweat...

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Davey Johnson: "That's not the way you win pennants, I'll tell you that"

September 03, 2013, 8:01pm

Nationals

Davey Johnson: "That's not the way you win pennants, I'll tell you that"

PHILADELPHIA - A win is a win is a win. This win was just not one you'll see replayed on MASN's "Nationals Classics" or used as part of a defensive drills tutorial anytime soon. The Nationals beat the Phillies 9-6 tonight at Citizens Bank Park in a game that saw the two teams combine to throw 347 pitches, just 54 percent of which were strikes. Six Phillies pitchers combined to walk nine batters. The Nats made three errors, the Phillies one. The Nats had two runs score on bases-loaded...

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Ramos delivers a longball, Span extends a streak (more Phillies miscues)

September 03, 2013, 4:12pm

Nationals

Ramos delivers a longball, Span extends a streak (more Phillies miscues)

PHILADELPHIA - If Wilson Ramos is worn out from having started 12 straight games, he sure isn't showing it. Ramos smoked a three-run homer to deep right-center field in the second inning, giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead over the Phillies. It was a bomb from Ramos, who took a 1-0 fastball from Phillies righty Ethan Martin and drove it over the scoreboard in right-center, one of the deepest parts of the park. It's the 10th homer of the season for Ramos, who is now up to 37 RBIs on the...

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A complete slopfest (Nats win 9-6)

September 03, 2013, 5:57pm

Nationals

PHILADELPHIA - We're now in game 138 on the Nationals schedule this season. This could qualify as the sloppiest game we've seen all year. Through six innings, we saw four errors, four wild pitches, a balk, a hit-batter and 11 walks surrendered. The Nats held a 7-2 lead. Then they led 7-5. Gio Gonzalez allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings, only one of which was earned. Errors by Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper in the bottom of the sixth helped three Phillies runs score, and Ryan Mattheus needed...