nationals

Johnson on the blown call, Nats' sixth straight loss

July 24, 2013, 7:55pm

The manner in which tonight's game ended left Davey Johnson and the Nationals' players a bit steamed following their 4-2 loss, as second base umpire Laz Diaz clearly missed a call that ended the Nats' comeback hopes in the bottom of the ninth inning. The call certainly didn't decide the game, as the Nats had nine innings to try and get things going offensively only to put up just two hits entering the ninth. But it did stifle their chance at a late comeback and gave them their sixth...

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No hits through five (Nats lose 4-2)

July 24, 2013, 4:31pm

Nationals

The offensive woes continue. How many straight days can I write an entry with a lede similar to that? The Nationals don't have a hit through five innings tonight. Pirates starter Francisco Liriano has allowed two walks - to Scott Hairston leading off the bottom of the first and to Jayson Werth in the fourth - but has yet to surrender a base hit. The Nats haven't really been all that close to recording their first hit, either. A Stephen Strasburg groundball up the middle nearly got through...

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Johnson believes Taylor Jordan a good fit for 2014

July 24, 2013, 2:08pm

Nationals

Johnson believes Taylor Jordan a good fit for 2014

Right-hander Taylor Jordan continues to be consistent on the mound, and although his record doesn't show it, he has made progress fine-tuning a pair of his best pitches. Jordan is 0-3 with a 3.68 ERA in five starts for the Nationals. He was 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA in 15 minor league games. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Jordan will only have a handful of starts remaining before he will need to be shut down if general manager Mike Rizzo follows the same restriction of 160 innings he placed on...

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Harper resting knee, Desmond dealing with torn blister

July 24, 2013, 2:00pm

Nationals

Harper resting knee, Desmond dealing with torn blister

With Bryce Harper needing to get treatment on his left knee recently and Ian Desmond dealing with a torn blister on his left hand, Davey Johnson has given both guys a game off tonight against Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano. Harper has started all 19 games since he returned from a month-long DL stint due to left knee bursitis, but he's gone just .214 with one homer and six RBIs in those games. The lone homer, in fact, came in Harper's first at-bat off the DL. The Nationals'...

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Harper, Desmond out of Nats lineup

July 24, 2013, 11:31am

Nationals

Bryce Harper and Ian Desmond have both been held out of tonight's Nationals lineup against the Pirates. Anthony Rendon will get the start at shortstop, and Steve Lombardozzi will be at second. This is the first time Harper is out of the starting lineup since his return from the disabled list in June. He's hitting just .190 with 15 strikeouts in his last 11 games. Prior to tonight, Desmond had played in 99 of the 100 games the Nats had played this season. This will be Rendon's first...

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Comparing each hitter's 2013 and 2012 campaigns

July 24, 2013, 6:51am

Nationals

Comparing each hitter's 2013 and 2012 campaigns

One hundred games into last season, the Nationals owned a 60-40 record, tied for the best mark in the majors. They were 20 games over .500 and had a four-game lead in the National League East. This year's Nats are 12 games off that pace, at 48-52. They're four games under .500, eight games out of first in the NL East and 8 1/2 games back of the final Wild Card spot. I could drop a line about what a difference a year makes, but I think that's pretty clear at this point, don't you? The...

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Werth on unlucky Nats: "I think at some point, the tide's got to turn"

July 23, 2013, 7:30pm

Nationals

Werth on unlucky Nats: "I think at some point, the tide's got to turn"

Following losses both Sunday afternoon and Monday night, reporters approached Jayson Werth to discuss his two-homer performance (something that happened both days) and another tough defeat. Both of those interviews were brief, with a frustrated Werth not wanting to answer what he called "gloom and doom" questions. Tonight, things were different. Werth called reporters over to his locker and opened up about the Nationals' play of late. He only took three questions before ending the...

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David Huzzard: For Rizzo, deadline is no time to panic

July 24, 2013, 5:03am

Nationals

David Huzzard: For Rizzo, deadline is no time to panic

With the Nats having not won a game after the All-Star break and in the midst of a 2-10 stretch, there are many looking at the Nationals as sellers. The only problem is the Nats don't have a lot to sell, and that isn't because they don't have talent. Any contending team would love to have Jordan Zimmermann, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez or Ian Desmond. The only issue is that they are integral to the Nats' success going forward. The core pieces of the roster...

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Johnson on Jordan's outing and another Nats loss

July 23, 2013, 6:58pm

Nationals

Johnson on Jordan's outing and another Nats loss

Again, while the line score might not indicate it, Taylor Jordan pitched well enough to win tonight. Instead, the Nationals' rookie right-hander dropped to 0-3 on the season with tonight's 5-1 loss. Jordan allowed five runs (four earned) over 7 2/3 innings, but he got minimal help from his defense and the Nationals' bats. Two Pirates runs followed Anthony Rendon's second-inning error, an miscue that came on a potential inning-ending double play, and another run charged to Jordan came...

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Despite tough loss to Pirates, Jordan believes he is making progress

July 23, 2013, 6:59pm

Nationals

Despite tough loss to Pirates, Jordan believes he is making progress

He is getting closer. Right-hander Taylor Jordan had allowed only two earned runs through seven innings Tuesday. But again the Nationals could not score runs, and he trailed, 3-1. Manager Davey Johnson liked what he was seeing from Jordan and with a low pitch count, and wanted to give the youngster a shot in the eighth inning to earn his first major league victory. "He pitched so good in the seventh, I was going to take him out for the left-hander, but I thought he deserved the chance to...

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Detwiler seeing back specialist, Mattheus to be activated Friday

July 23, 2013, 1:42pm

Nationals

Detwiler seeing back specialist, Mattheus to be activated Friday

I saw Ross Detwiler in the player parking lot as I was driving up to Nationals Park this afternoon. Detwiler won't be around the park too long before hopping on a plane for the West Coast. Manager Davey Johnson said Detwiler is heading out to Los Angeles today to meet with Dr. Robert Watkins to get another opinion on the lower back strain that landed Detwiler on the DL back on July 7 (retroactive to July 4) and has bothered him since. Detwiler threw a bullpen session Saturday, but was...

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Schu on becoming hitting coach: "Glad I got an opportunity"

July 23, 2013, 2:02pm

Nationals

Schu on becoming hitting coach: "Glad I got an opportunity"

The Nationals welcomed Rick Schu as their new hitting coach Tuesday, looking to turn around a team that has struggled with inconsistent hitting all season. The Nationals are 13th in the National League in batting average (.240) and 14th in runs scored (367). Schu spent the last four seasons as the Nationals' minor league hitting coordinator. He has watched and coached six teams in the organization before arriving in D.C. to replace the fired Rick Eckstein Schu has been a hitting coach for...

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Jordan again in line for a tough-luck loss (Nats lose fifth straight)

July 23, 2013, 5:29pm

Nationals

Jordan again in line for a tough-luck loss (Nats lose fifth straight)

The Nationals are being outscored by the Pirates 5-1 midway through the eighth. They're being outhit 10-2. At least they hold lead in one category - errors, where they have a 2-0 edge tonight. They've got that going for them, so that's nice. The box score says that Taylor Jordan allowed five runs tonight, four of which were earned. And that's true, of course. But making his fifth career major league start, Jordan pitched a heck of a lot better than the box score indicates. The rookie...

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More sloppy baseball (updated)

July 23, 2013, 3:50pm

Nationals

Taylor Jordan allowed three runs in the second inning, but in reality, he should've been out of the frame with the Nationals trailing 1-0. Sure, Jordan loaded the bases with none out and fell behind in counts too many times, putting pressure on himself and his defense. But with one out and runners on the corners, Jordan got a tailor-made double play ball hit to Ryan Zimmerman at third base. The ball was struck well by Jordy Mercer, for sure, but Zimmerman picked it clean and delivered an...

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Nats sticking with same lineup (with Pirates lineup)

July 23, 2013, 11:32am

Nationals

Nats sticking with same lineup (with Pirates lineup)

The Nationals will stick with their same lineup (minus the pitcher) for game two of this four-game series with the Pirates. Bryce Harper will lead off and Denard Span will hit seventh. Wilson Ramos is again behind the plate for the Nats. Taylor Jordan will get his fifth big league start tonight, still in search of his first win despite positing an impressive 3.32 ERA thus far. Jordan is coming off the best outing of his major league career thus far, when he allowed just two runs on eight...

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Storen's costly wild pitch allows eventual winning run in loss to Pirates

July 22, 2013, 7:46pm

Nationals

Storen's costly wild pitch allows eventual winning run in loss to Pirates

The Nationals' rally fell short in the ninth because they needed to score three runs instead of just two. Jayson Werth's second two-run shot of the game pulled the Nationals within one at 6-5. The reason they needed three to tie was a costly run scored by the Pirates because of a wild pitch. Looking back at the eighth inning, a wild pitch by Drew Storen allowed the Pirates Pedro Alvarez to break for home. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos retrieved the ball and threw back to the plate, but...

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Little things adding up to big problems

July 23, 2013, 6:23am

Nationals

For much of the last two months or so, Davey Johnson has been peppered with questions about why the Nationals have been struggling so mightily. Early on in that period, Johnson didn't really have much of an answer, other than that the offense largely wasn't doing its job. That part is obvious, of course, but there are other factors at play. Overall, the Nats just aren't performing quite to the level that they did last season, mostly across the board. The starting pitching largely has...

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Hearing from Haren and LaRoche after Nats' 6-5 loss

July 22, 2013, 8:08pm

Nationals

Hearing from Haren and LaRoche after Nats' 6-5 loss

Dan Haren was asked after tonight's 6-5 Nationals loss, a loss that dropped them to 48-51 on the season and eight games back of the Braves in the National League East, whether he thinks the Nats have reached their low-point, or "rock bottom," as one reporter phrased it. "That I don't know," Haren said. "Obviously the mood in the clubhouse right now isn't really good. I haven't really talked to the guys about how they're feeling about today with Eck being gone, but yeah, it was a...

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All Nationals need to do to get back in NL East race is put together a winning streak

July 22, 2013, 5:27am

Nationals Orioles

All Nationals need to do to get back in NL East race is put together a winning streak

The Nationals are battling to stay in the National League East race. Their All-Star pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, was done after two innings Sunday. They continue to struggle hitting with runners in scoring position and will try to rebound after getting swept at home by the Dodgers. But even though four months of the season are nearly complete, there's still time. And, they can learn from the Dodgers and Rays about what a winning streak can do to change a season. The Dodgers and Rays were...

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Ted Leavengood: Nats need to find a straw to stir the drink

July 23, 2013, 4:32am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: Nats need to find a straw to stir the drink

Reggie Jackson famously described his presence on the Yankees and other teams as "the straw that stirs the drink." In his 1984 autobiography, he said, "if the other ingredients were there ... if the mix was just about right, I could make the difference." The Washington Nationals desperately need that kind of presence in their lineup. It has been showing all along, but Davey Johnson kept saying that when everyone was healthy, everything would be OK. Everyone is healthy, the mix is about...