nationals

Going streaking

August 14, 2013, 6:45am

Coming into the season, the Nationals felt like they had a team that was capable of running off numerous lengthy winning streaks. Players and front office staffers believed that with the starting rotation being structured the way it was, with four very talented, young starters and one proven veteran, and with a seemingly improved back of the bullpen, wins would come in bunches. Fast forward to the middle of August and the Nationals have put together just three four-game winning streaks all...

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Harper returns, Ramos out

August 14, 2013, 11:35am

Nationals

After being out of yesterday's starting lineup due to the flu, Bryce Harper is back in the Nationals lineup tonight, hitting third and playing left field. Harper pinch-hit in the eighth inning last night and was intentionally walked. He'll try and go a full nine innings tonight. As expected, catcher Wilson Ramos is out of the lineup after aggravating a left hamstring injury last night. This is the third time this season that Ramos has injured his left hamstring, and while the Nationals...

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Ramos re-injures hamstring, Gonzalez dealing with tight back

August 13, 2013, 8:33pm

Nationals

Ramos re-injures hamstring, Gonzalez dealing with tight back

The Nationals picked up their fourth straight win with tonight's 4-2 victory over the Giants, but they suffered a loss, as well. Catcher Wilson Ramos re-injured his left hamstring, which has already twice landed him on the disabled list this season, during tonight's game. The good news is that this time, the hamstring doesn't appear to be severely strained, but manager Davey Johnson said that Ramos will be sidelined for the time being. "He re-injured, not too bad, but it's the same time...

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Postgame reactions to the win and the Gonzalez/Werth dugout spat

August 13, 2013, 8:51pm

Nationals

Postgame reactions to the win and the Gonzalez/Werth dugout spat

Before we get into the 4-2 Nationals victory, let's hear from the guys involved in, and close to, the first-inning dugout confrontation between Jayson Werth and Gio Gonzalez that was seen on the MASN broadcast. Well, we'll hear from some of the guys involved in the incident. Werth declined to comment after the game, and Gonzalez was only willing to say that what happened "stays between me and Werth." Manager Davey Johnson, however, was close by when Werth spoke a few choice words to...

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David Huzzard: A few thoughts on hope

August 14, 2013, 5:32am

Nationals

The Nationals' four-game winning streak is a small glimmer of hope, faint light from a far off place. In "The Dark Knight Rises," Bane shows Batman the means to escape his prison. It is a one-in-a-million shot. One person out of all the prisoners had done it and it was a mystery as to if that were fact or fiction. It is the nature of hope. Hope cannot exist without despair. The 2013 Nationals have been full of despair and this small glimmer of hope shouldn't excite anyone. The Nationals...

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LaRoche LaRocks one (Nats win 4-2)

August 13, 2013, 6:39pm

Nationals

That headline was terrible. I'm truly sorry. It's 10:30 p.m. and we're only in the sixth inning and I've had three cups of coffee. The rest of the night could be interesting. Adam LaRoche has given the Nationals a 3-1 lead after six innings thanks to his two-run homer that was demolished way out to right. The ball was hit with such force that it caromed off the facade above the Nats bullpen and nearly ricocheted back onto the field. That's the LaRoche that we saw pretty often last...

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Gonzalez, Werth involved in dugout dispute (Giants tie it up)

August 13, 2013, 3:48pm

Nationals

Gonzalez, Werth involved in dugout dispute (Giants tie it up)

Gio Gonzalez and Jayson Werth were involved in a bit of a confrontation in the Nationals dugout after the top of the first inning tonight, presumably because of Gonzalez's failure to cover first base on a ground ball to the right side. The play in question came on a Buster Posey ground ball to first base with runners at first and second with one out. Gonzalez hesitated making a move off the mound toward first base, and didn't get to the bag in nearly enough time for Ian Desmond to deliver a...

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Nats and Giants share frustrations on disappointing 2013 campaigns

August 13, 2013, 2:32pm

Nationals

Nats and Giants share frustrations on disappointing 2013 campaigns

Earlier this afternoon, before sitting down with reporters for his daily pregame press conference, Nationals manager Davey Johnson met up with Giants manager Bruce Bochy and some of the San Francisco coaches. Johnson has struggled to come up with answers for why his offense has struggled this season, but he's not alone. While the Nats rank fourth-worst in the majors in runs scored this season, the Giants are actually one spot lower, having scored four fewer runs than the Nats. The Giants are...

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Harper battling the flu, plus Ohlendorf, Detwiler updates

August 13, 2013, 1:43pm

Nationals

Harper battling the flu, plus Ohlendorf, Detwiler updates

Davey Johnson is feeling much more spry today than he did Sunday, when he spent the final two innings of the Nationals' win over the Phillies on a training table with back pain. Johnson got a couple of shots in his back yesterday to numb the affected area and then an injection of cortisone, and that seems to have done the trick. The 70-year-old skipper was all smiles and even said he might be closing in on throwing batting practice sometime soon, a goal of his from earlier in the...

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A Drew Storen update

August 13, 2013, 4:24am

Nationals

The Nationals welcome the San Francisco Giants to town today for the first of three games at Nats Park. Let's just call it the Battle of the Underachievers. These two teams rival the Angels and maybe the Blue Jays in the most disappointing department this season, with the Giants in last place in the National League West, sitting 13 games under .500, and the Nats still three games under .500 even after their sweep of the Phillies this weekend. Two tough lefties will take the mound tonight in...

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Harper out of Nats' lineup against Bumgarner

August 13, 2013, 11:37am

Nationals

Harper out of Nats' lineup against Bumgarner

The Nationals' lineup against Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner does not feature Bryce Harper. Scott Hairston will play left field and hit eighth tonight, with Harper getting the day off. We can assume that the reason for Harper's absence is his struggles against left-handed pitching this season. Harper has hit just .172/.270/.276 against southpaws in 2013, while Hairston has a career .268 batting average and .817 OPS against lefties. Bumgarner is holding lefties to a .150 average and...

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Skole tweets he is close to being cleared to resume baseball-related activities

August 12, 2013, 1:12pm

Nationals

Skole tweets he is close to being cleared to resume baseball-related activities

Third baseman/first baseman Matt Skole has been out the entire season because of an injury early he suffered in April. Skole had to undergo Tommy John surgery and recently I was told Nationals officials are hoping the former Georgia Tech star will be able to play fall or winter ball. He had been going through one arm swings in light practice, and had continued to rehab the elbow this summer. But this tweet reveals that he is ready to take the next step and get baseball activities...

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Ted Leavengood: Playing for pride

August 13, 2013, 4:53am

Nationals

Stephen Strasburg's complete-game shutout on Sunday was an exclamation point at the end of a weekend statement that the Nationals have found their sense of pride. It was the best game of Strasburg's young career. He has said many times that he wants to go deeper into seasons, deeper into games and it doesn't get much deeper than a complete-game shutout. Coming at the end of the weekend sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, it emphasized Davey Johnson's assertion that the team needed to play...

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Offensively, Nats showing signs of life

August 12, 2013, 5:48am

Nationals

Individually, you can decide how much you choose to make out of the Nationals' offensive explosion this weekend. Yes, it came against the Phillies, who own the fifth-worst team ERA in the majors. Yes, it was just three games, which in no way means that the Nats have snapped out of their season-long offensive funk and gotten on track. Some of you might choose to view this as the start of something positive, a sign that the bats are waking up down the stretch. Others might brush off the...

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Ramos and McCatty on Strasburg's first complete game, shutout

August 11, 2013, 5:07pm

Nationals

Ramos and McCatty on Strasburg's first complete game, shutout

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg said earlier in the season that going just six innings wasn't cool anymore. On Sunday, it must have felt really cool as Strasburg tossed 99 pitches in his first complete game shutout of his career, beating the Phillies 6-0. Catcher Wilson Ramos said he was impressed because Strasburg battled through a tweak of his groin on his second pitch to Dominic Brown in the second inning, which could have unraveled the start before he even got going. However,...

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Strasburg on first career shutout: "My stuff was just on today"

August 11, 2013, 5:07pm

Nationals

Strasburg on first career shutout: "My stuff was just on today"

When discussing his individual goals for this season back in spring training, Stephen Strasburg would often come back to one word that he hoped would eventually be used to describe him. Workhorse. After a 2012 season in which he never worked longer than seven innings and was shut down during a pennant race after 159 1/3 innings, Strasburg was determined to become the guy that would consistently work deep into games, giving his team a chance to win and eating innings for his pitching...

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Werth on his knee, Desmond and Strasburg

August 12, 2013, 10:20am

Nationals

Werth on his knee, Desmond and Strasburg

Right fielder Jayson Werth got his knee caught up under him during the play at the plate Sunday. He was removed from the game as a precaution. Werth said the knee stiffened up a bit, but feels it will be OK. He said it depends on how he feels today. "I don't think it is a big deal", Werth said. On the play at home, Werth and shortstop Ian Desmond scored back-to-back runs after the fielder's choice in the infield off the bat of Wilson Ramos. Werth said it was fun to be a part...

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Johnson discusses Strasburg's gem and Werth's injury after 6-0 win

August 11, 2013, 5:29pm

Nationals

Johnson discusses Strasburg's gem and Werth's injury after 6-0 win

Davey Johnson couldn't bear to watch Stephen Strasburg finish off his shutout in tonight's 6-0 Nationals win. That had nothing to do with Strasburg or anything Johnson was seeing on the field. Turns out, Johnson's back was acting up so much that the Nats' 70-year-old skipper had to head back to the trainer's room to apply some heat packs and watch the final two innings of the game while lying down. Johnson will spend part of tomorrow's off-day getting a procedure done on his back that...

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David Nichols: Werth's resurgence provides some fun down the stretch

August 12, 2013, 5:51am

Nationals

David Nichols: Werth's resurgence provides some fun down the stretch

The Nationals swept the Phillies over the weekend. That always feels good. But the Nats are still eight games out of a wild card spot with just 45 games to play. It's not an impossibility, but the odds of making the postseason sure aren't great. What is great, though, is the way Jayson Werth has been playing this summer. The veteran outfielder is in the midst of what could possibly be his finest season at the plate as a big leaguer. Due to the hamstring injury that caused him to miss a...

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Jordan and Roark proving worthwhile pitching commodities as season rolls on

August 10, 2013, 7:21pm

Nationals

Jordan and Roark proving worthwhile pitching commodities as season rolls on

Right-hander Tanner Roark achieved another milestone Saturday by earning his first major league victory. And it took only 12 pitches. Roark retired six consecutive Phillies in the sixth and seventh innings. The Nationals' offense scored six runs in those two innings to come back and win 8-5. "It felt great, the come-from-behind win," Roark said. "Great team effort, bats came alive and it was awesome to watch." Roark had watched starter Taylor Jordan allow four runs in the second inning...