nationals

Strasburg leaves after two innings (with injury update)

May 31, 2013, 4:30pm

ATLANTA - This can't be good. Stephen Strasburg has been pulled from tonight's game after just two innings with an apparent injury. Craig Stammen is now on to work the third inning for the Nationals, who will now have to deal with another injury issue, this one to their ace. Strasburg faced the minimum in the first inning tonight, getting a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Justin Upton to end the inning. He then surrendered a long solo home run to Freddie Freeman leading off the second,...

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Harper likely out through the weekend, could land on DL (with Werth update)

May 31, 2013, 2:53pm

Nationals

Harper likely out through the weekend, could land on DL (with Werth update)

ATLANTA - The Nationals have played 11 games without Bryce Harper in the starting lineup this season and have gone 2-9 in those contests. They could now be without Harper for a more extended period. Harper is out of the Nats' lineup for the fifth straight game with bursitis in his left knee, and because the condition hasn't improved much over that five-day span, manager Davey Johnson said Harper might need to land on the disabled list. "It's bothering him," Johnson said. "We've got to...

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Harper still out, Lombardozzi in left

May 31, 2013, 12:05pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals lineup for the fifth straight game because of bursitis in his left knee, leaving manager Davey Johnson to again try and piece together an outfield alignment featuring multiple bench players and a batting order that includes multiple guys with batting averages below the Mendoza Line. Johnson has opted to sit Tyler Moore for tonight's series opener against the Braves, instead going with Steve Lombardozzi in left field and Roger Bernadina in...

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Searching for change

May 30, 2013, 9:40pm

Nationals

The only time that the Nationals were at or below the .500 mark all of last year was four games into the season, when they were the owners of a 2-2 record. That's not to suggest that the Nats' ride in 2012 didn't have some bumps along the way, because it definitely did. But one thing is certain - the first third of this year's ride has been a heck of a lot more turbulent than what we saw during the 2012 regular season. The Nationals are 27-27 after their first 54 games of the 2013...

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Nats seeking to end Space Coast Stadium lease in 2014 (shared site in Kissimmee?)

May 31, 2013, 6:49am

Nationals

Nats seeking to end Space Coast Stadium lease in 2014 (shared site in Kissimmee?)

Another sign that the Nationals will surely move out of Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla., in the near future comes today courtesy of Florida Toady, the daily newspaper serving Brevard County (with a tip of the ol' ballcap to Federal Baseball). According to the paper, the Nationals have informed Brevard County commissioners of their intention to exit the facility as early as November 2014. The team's lease on Space Coast Stadium runs through 2017, but the Nationals can break the agreement...

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Matthew Taylor: Tracing the battle to before there were Beltways

May 31, 2013, 5:48am

Nationals Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Tracing the battle to before there were Beltways

The Orioles and Nationals wrapped up the 2013 edition of the Battle of the Beltways on Thursday night with the O's winning their third game of the four-game, split-stadium series. The series got me to thinking about the early days of this match-up and how much I'd forgotten since these two teams starting playing each other again. And then there's the stuff I never knew from the original days of Baltimore-Washington baseball. I took a look back at the first games between the two franchises in...

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Nats fall back to .500, know "it's time to turn it on"

May 30, 2013, 6:50pm

Nationals

Nats fall back to .500, know "it's time to turn it on"

BALTIMORE - After a 2-0 loss to the Orioles,= in which his team managed just three hits and played some shaky defense, Nationals manager Davey Johnson didn't have a whole lot to say. Johnson wasn't by any means curt with reporters after tonight's game, but he was brief when discussing the latest frustrating loss shouldered by his team, which now owns a .500 record. How brief? Johnson's postgame press conference lasted just 84 seconds. "We got a bunt and a broken-bat hit and one hard...

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Werth plays into sixth with Single-A Potomac as rehab for sore hamstring continues

May 30, 2013, 8:15pm

Nationals

Werth plays into sixth with Single-A Potomac as rehab for sore hamstring continues

Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth got a bigger test on his sore hamstring and appears to have passed. Playing for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals for the second straight night, Werth went 2-for-3 with two singles, one RBI and one run scored in a 7-3 win over the Salem Red Sox. Werth had to make a pair of catches on flyballs in right field and ran the bases two times on his base hits. His final at-bat came in the sixth inning. Manager Davey Johnson had said Thursday in Baltimore that...

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Haren optimistic Nationals can still get going after hard-luck loss

May 30, 2013, 6:32pm

Nationals Orioles

Haren optimistic Nationals can still get going after hard-luck loss

BALTIMORE - Freddy Garcia outdueled Dan Haren on Thursday night, but not by much. Garcia used his split-finger fastball "60 percent of the time," shortstop Ian Desmond estimated, and the pitcher was on target in beating the Nationals 2-0. But Haren (4-6) hung in there against one of the hottest-hitting offenses in the majors, allowing just two runs and taking the hard-luck loss. "(Baltimore has) an exhausting lineup, one through nine, anybody can get you," Haren said. "I am glad I threw...

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Harper could return tomorrow, Werth likely to miss Atlanta series

May 30, 2013, 3:00pm

Nationals

Harper could return tomorrow, Werth likely to miss Atlanta series

BALTIMORE - Tonight will mark the fourth straight game that the Nationals have been without Bryce Harper and the 24th straight game they've been without Jayson Werth. The Nats don't expect to be down two of their starting outfielders much longer, but there's still some uncertainty surrounding when both Harper and Werth will be able to return to action. Manager Davey Johnson said today that Harper has made a little progress as he rehabs the bursitis in his left knee, and Harper did some...

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A much more tame start tonight (Nats lose 2-0)

May 30, 2013, 4:31pm

Nationals Orioles

A much more tame start tonight (Nats lose 2-0)

BALTIMORE - Through the first five innings of last night's ballgame, the Nationals had put up six runs and smacked eight hits. They'd slugged four home runs - three of which came off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman - and had a nice 6-2 lead. Through the first five innings tonight, the Nats have yet to score and they've managed just two hits off Orioles starter Freddy Garcia. Garcia has struck out five Nats hitters - including Zimmerman once - and the Orioles have a 1-0 lead. Over their last...

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Tracy at first, LaRoche DHing

May 30, 2013, 11:43am

Nationals Orioles

BALTIMORE - Davey Johnson will go with the same batting order as last night and make just one position change on the diamond, with the exception of the starting pitcher. Chad Tracy will play first base for the Nationals today, with Adam LaRoche getting a bit of a breather, serving as the designated hitter. The Nats will take their hacks against veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia, who has gone 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in five starts since getting called up by the Orioles. Garcia hasn't allowed...

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Zimmerman was just trying to "hit the ball hard" in three-homer game

May 29, 2013, 7:03pm

Nationals

Zimmerman was just trying to "hit the ball hard" in three-homer game

BALTIMORE - On most nights, three homers in one game by a single player would be something to talk about, especially if you have never accomplished such a feat in your career. But Wednesday, the Orioles scored seven unanswered runs, capped off by a two-run homer from Chris Davis in a 9-6 comeback win over the Nationals. Earlier, it was Ryan Zimmerman who had staked the Nationals to a 6-2 lead through five frames, highlighted by three well-hit home runs to left, center and right field of...

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Some of this, some of that

May 30, 2013, 5:35am

Nationals

If you were surprised to see the Nationals blow a three-run lead in the late innings last night with Jordan Zimmermann on the mound and Tyler Clippard coming in behind him, well, you weren't the only one. "It's surprising in the sense that those games, traditionally, we're going to win," Clippard said. "We got a lead early and felt good about things. Jordan was throwing the ball well. But again, (the Orioles) have a good lineup. This is an offensive park and they took advantage of some...

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Zimmermann, Clippard on the seventh-inning blow-up

May 29, 2013, 7:30pm

Nationals

Zimmermann, Clippard on the seventh-inning blow-up

BALTIMORE - Facing the Orioles, pitching in Camden Yards, things can get ugly in a hurry. Case in point: The seventh inning of tonight's ballgame. A 6-3 Nationals' lead became a 9-6 deficit seemingly in the blink of an eye. Jordan Zimmermann looked to be in good shape when the bottom of the seventh inning began, having thrown just 75 pitches to that point. You give the ball to Zimmermann with a three-run lead in that situation 100 times, and he probably gets the job done 95 of them. Not...

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Notes on Espinosa's return to the lineup and Werth's rehab assignment

May 29, 2013, 3:09pm

Nationals

Notes on Espinosa's return to the lineup and Werth's rehab assignment

BALTIMORE - The Nationals' starting second baseman tonight will be playing with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder and a broken bone in his right wrist. Danny Espinosa came into spring training determined to play through the rotator cuff injury, insisting that after a winter of strength training focusing on the muscles around the rotator cuff, he could still be effective even with the injury. Espinosa now is determined to play through the broken wrist, even if there's still a chip...

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Big O's seventh, late offensive shutdown leads to Nats' 9-6 loss

May 29, 2013, 5:55pm

Nationals Orioles

Big O's seventh, late offensive shutdown leads to Nats' 9-6 loss

BALTIMORE - Through the first five innings tonight, the Nationals crushed four homers and put up six runs. Then the Orioles' bats woke up and the Nats' shut down. The Nats' 6-2 lead, procured on the back of Ryan Zimmerman, disappeared in a hurry tonight. Despite having Jordan Zimmermann on the mound to start the game, the Nats allowed seven unanswered Orioles runs, six of which came in the seventh inning, and dropped the first game of this two-game set in Baltimore 9-6. After giving up a...

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Johnson always has fond memories in his visits to Baltimore

May 29, 2013, 2:15pm

Nationals Orioles

Johnson always has fond memories in his visits to Baltimore

BALTIMORE - With manager Davey Johnson making his final run through major league ballparks in his final season at the helm of the Nationals, Baltimore is certainly a place that holds a special place in his heart. Johnson broke into the majors with the Orioles and was also their manager, with a great deal of success at each stop. Johnson played for the Orioles from 1965-72. He was their manager from 1996-97. In 1997, he was named American League Manager of the Year and guided the Orioles to a...

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Johnson: "That one hurt"

May 29, 2013, 6:54pm

Nationals Orioles

BALTIMORE - With Ryan Zimmerman having smacked three home runs and Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals' ace through the first two months of the season, on the mound, this ballgame looked well in control after five innings. The Nats held a 6-2 lead after five and had gotten into the Orioles' bullpen, while Zimmermann - he of the 1.71 ERA entering tonight - still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Things then took a major turn for the worse. Zimmermann failed to retire a batter in the seventh...

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Zimmerman putting on a show in Charm City (Nats suddenly trail)

May 29, 2013, 4:39pm

Nationals

Zimmerman putting on a show in Charm City (Nats suddenly trail)

BALTIMORE - Have a night, Ryan Zimmerman. Have a night. Zimmerman has stepped into the batter's box here at Camden Yards three times tonight. He's launched three home runs. The first went out to left-center, a frozen rope in the first inning that got out of here in a hurry. The second was a high flyball to dead center in the fourth that flew well over the wall. The third was a shot to right-center in the fifth, one that landed a couple rows deep. Zimmerman now has six homers on the season...