nationals

Back-to-back homers on back-to-back nights (instant update)

May 29, 2013, 4:10pm

BALTIMORE - If you were looking for some consistency out of the Nationals' offense, you've gotten it over the last two days. Small sample size, sure. But it's a step in the right direction. The Nats have smacked back-to-back homers for the second straight game, and their three solo home runs through the first four innings tonight have given them a 3-1 lead. Ryan Zimmerman got the party started in the top of the first with an absolute laser beam that flew out over top of the Orioles'...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko nationals roger bernadina ryan zimmerman frontfeatured_nationals jordan zimmermann frontstory_nationals1

Harper's status uncertain for Atlanta

May 29, 2013, 2:33pm

Nationals

BALTIMORE - Bryce Harper has missed the Nationals' last two games with bursitis in his left knee and will sit out at least these next two games against the Orioles, as well. But Harper's time out of the Nats' lineup might not end there. Manager Davey Johnson said today that Harper isn't progressing as quickly as the Nats might have hoped, leaving his status for this weekend's series in Atlanta in question. "It's kind of a tough thing - inflammation, bursa sac, whatever you want to...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper dan kolko davey johnson nationals frontfeatured_nationals

Karns wouldn't let rain delay deter his focus in debut

May 28, 2013, 8:24pm

Nationals

Karns wouldn't let rain delay deter his focus in debut

The best news of Nathan Karns' young career got even better following his major league debut. After tossing 4 1/3 innings in which he scattered five hits and allowed the hot-hitting Orioles attack only three runs, Karns found out he will get another start for the Nationals on Sunday in Atlanta. "I got the first one out of the way," Karns said. "I am just going to go back to work tomorrow. And do what I do to get back to my next start and go from there." His first major league start was...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr kurt suzuki nathan karns nationals frontstory_nationals3

Espinosa returns to lineup

May 29, 2013, 11:59am

Nationals

BALTIMORE - After sitting for a week with a broken bone in his right wrist, Danny Espinosa will return to the Nats lineup tonight, facing right-hander Chris Tillman. He'll bat ninth, with Chad Tracy picking up DH duties. Once again, Bryce Harper will be on the bench, battling bursitis in his left knee. For the Nats CF Denard Span RF Roger Bernadina 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond LF Tyler Moore DH Chad Tracy C Kurt Suzuki 2B Danny Espinosa RHP Jordan...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko danny espinosa lineups nationals frontstory_nationals2

Bringing the bats back

May 28, 2013, 11:53pm

Nationals

In his major league debut, Nathan Karns faced an Orioles squad that has smacked the most homers in the majors. In his second big league outing, Karns will get the Braves, the team with the second-most homers in the bigs. The 25-year-old right-hander isn't exactly getting eased into action at this level, is he? Karns pitched pretty well last night in his first major league start, allowing three runs over 4 1/3 innings against a potent Orioles lineup. He didn't go the five innings needed to...

Comments

Tags:

adam laroche dan kolko davey johnson nationals roger bernadina tyler moore featured_sidebar

David Huzzard: The end of the 100-inning reliever

May 29, 2013, 5:19am

Nationals

David Huzzard: The end of the 100-inning reliever

Baseball is always looking to innovate. Most baseball fans' bookshelves include books like Moneyball and The Extra 2 Percent - books about how the A's and Rays innovated in order to win at baseball despite not having the money to win the way everyone else did. This desire to find advantages is nothing new to baseball and wasn't always about statistical analysis. Candy Cummings was a major league pitcher from 1872-77 and is in the Hall of Fame as the pitcher credited with inventing the...

Comments

Tags:

david huzzard guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Karns will get another start with Nats after solid debut (with Werth rehab note)

May 28, 2013, 8:25pm

Nationals

Karns will get another start with Nats after solid debut (with Werth rehab note)

The thinking coming into tonight was that regardless of how Nathan Karns pitched in his major league debut today, he would most likely be heading back to Double-A Harrisburg after the outing was over. But with Ross Detwiler still feeling some tightness in his right oblique/back and Karns putting up a solid performance in his first big league start, the Nationals have opted to keep Karns around and let him get another start Sunday in Atlanta. "He's gonna stay here and have a start Sunday,"...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko jayson werth nathan karns nationals ross detwiler frontstory_nationals2

Nationals react to death of Dr. Lewis Yocum

May 28, 2013, 2:05pm

Nationals

News that noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum died Saturday of cancer was greeted by sadness in the Nationals clubhouse before Tuesday night's game against the Orioles. Dr. Yocum had performed Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on Nats pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman, consulted last winter on second baseman Danny Espinosa's shoulder injury and was a presence in the Los Angeles Angels clubhouse when right-hander Dan Haren pitched in Anaheim. "He's been unbelievable...

Comments

Tags:

dan haren danny espinosa davey johnson dr. lewis yokum jordan zimmermann nationals nationals buzz pete kerzel frontstory_nationals3

Bench guys provide a boost (Nats win 9-3)

May 28, 2013, 5:54pm

Nationals

Bench guys provide a boost (Nats win 9-3)

The Nationals have been waiting for Tyler Moore and Roger Bernadina to come around and provide some of the offensive firepower that they showed last season, when the two reserve outfielders combined for 15 homers and hit a collective .279. Coming into today, Moore and Bernadina had just one home run on the season between them and were batting a collective .138. That all changed in the fourth inning. Moore and Bernadina hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth, turning a tie game into a Nats...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko nathan karns nationals roger bernadina tyler moore frontstory_nationals2

Karns is off and running (Karns through four)

May 28, 2013, 4:43pm

Nationals

Karns is off and running (Karns through four)

After a rain delay of 1 hour, 21 minutes, Nathan Karns stepped on the mound at Nationals Park for the first time. It couldn't have been easy for the 25-year-old to have waited for his major league debut to begin while rain poured down here in D.C. He had to be jacked up as all get-out, but the wait is now over. If Karns was too juiced up in the first inning of his debut, it didn't show. Wearing No. 57 and facing Nate McLouth to open things up, Karns toed the rubber, turned into his smooth,...

Comments

Tags:

adam laroche dan kolko nathan karns nationals frontfeatured_nationals

Johnson on Karns: "He needs to go right after them"

May 28, 2013, 1:14pm

Nationals

Johnson on Karns: "He needs to go right after them"

Right-hander Nathan Karns will make his major league debut tonight with the Nationals, starting against the Baltimore Orioles. Karns has a 4-2 record in nine starts this season for Double-A Harrisburg, with an ERA of 4.60. Karns had a couple of games where he was hit pretty hard. His troubles stemmed from a mechanical issue that has since been worked out. My sources in Harrisburg tell me Karns is a "competitor" and won't be "bothered by the situation." He throws a mid-90s fastball, a...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr nathan karns nationals frontstory_nationals2

Espinosa hoping to return Wednesday from broken wrist (8:25 p.m. start expected)

May 28, 2013, 1:21pm

Nationals

Espinosa hoping to return Wednesday from broken wrist (8:25 p.m. start expected)

Second baseman Danny Espinosa, who has not played since May 22 while rehabilitating what was discovered to be a broken right wrist, took batting practice and participated in fielding drills before Tuesday's game against the Orioles. If all goes well, and he experiences no setbacks, Espinosa expects to be cleared to play Wednesday when the interleague series moves to Baltimore for two games. "It's calmed down, it feels good," he said before taking BP. "I think the doctor will be here in a...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper danny espinosa davey johnson nationals nationals buzz pete kerzel ross detwiler frontstory_nationals3

Orioles-Nationals lineups for Tuesday

May 28, 2013, 11:27am

Nationals

Right-hander Nathan Karns takes the hill for his first major league start tonight. Here is the Nationals lineup for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Orioles, who send rookie right-hander Kevin Gausman to the mound for his second major league start. For the Orioles LF Nate McLouth 3B Manny Machado RF Nick Markakis CF Adam Jones 1B Chris Davis C Matt Wieters SS J.J. Hardy 2B Yamaico Navarro P Kevin Gausman For the Nationals CF Denard Span 2B Steve Lombardozzi 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B...

Comments

Tags:

nathan karns nationals nationals buzz pete kerzel frontstory_nationals3

Nationals recall right-hander Nathan Karns from Harrisburg, option left-hander Xavier Cedeno to Syracuse

May 28, 2013, 11:52am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Nathan Karns from Harrisburg of the Double-A Eastern League and optioned left-handed pitcher Xavier Cedeno to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Karns is scheduled to make his Major League debut tonight when Washington hosts Baltimore at Nationals Park. The 25-year-old went 4-2 with a 4.60 ERA in nine starts this...

Comments

Tags:

Nationals News Release nationals

Zimmerman and Suzuki on arrival of Nathan Karns

May 27, 2013, 1:28pm

Nationals

Zimmerman and Suzuki on arrival of Nathan Karns

The Nationals were desperate to get something out of the fifth starter slot this week following the news left-hander Ross Detwiler has been placed on the disabled list with a right oblique strain. The franchise has decided to reach into their system and select Baseball America's No. 5 Nationals prospect to get a shot in the bigs. Manager Davey Johnson revealed after Monday's game that the 2012 Nationals minor league Pitcher of the Year, right-hander Nathan Karns, will be called up from...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr kurt suzuki nathan karns nationals ryan zimmerman steve mccatty naqtionals farm report frontstory_nationals3

For Karns, a big test on a big stage

May 28, 2013, 5:36am

Nationals Orioles

If you're a fan of watching talented, young pitchers test themselves against some of the best hitters in baseball - and who isn't, really - you might want to clear your schedule around 7:05 p.m. tonight. Tonight's Orioles-Nationals game will give us a battle of two hard-throwing, fresh-faced right-handers who probably have trouble convincing bartenders that their IDs are legitimate and weren't crafted by some kid in his basement. Nathan Karns, 25, will be making his major league debut...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko nathan karns nationals orioles featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Nats calling up Nathan Karns to start tomorrow, Cedeno sent down

May 27, 2013, 1:24pm

Nationals

Nats calling up Nathan Karns to start tomorrow, Cedeno sent down

Needing a guy to start tomorrow in place of the injured Ross Detwiler and without many attractive options at the Triple-A level, the Nationals have decided to call up right-hander Nathan Karns from Double-A Harrisburg. Karns will make his major league debut at Nationals Park against the Orioles tomorrow night. To make room for him on the active roster, left-hander Xavier Cedeno, who was called up today, will be sent back to Triple-A Syracuse. Karns, who is already on the Nats' 40-man roster,...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko davey johnson nathan karns nationals xavier cedeno frontfeatured_nationals nationals farm report

Ted Leavengood: The malaise of near-.500 baseball

May 28, 2013, 5:05am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: The malaise of near-.500 baseball

The pitching match-up favored Washington at Nationals Park yesterday. Gio Gonzalez had home field advantage and the better record in the majors going for him against the Orioles' Jason Hammel. But he could not beat Hammel because he could not get Yamaico Navarro out. The scrub second-baseman, just up from Triple-A Norfolk, got a key hit for the Orioles in the fourth inning that proved the undoing of the Nationals. When things are going well for a team, their call-ups from Norfolk will...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz ted leavengood

Marty Niland: Looks like Strasburg has learned his lesson

May 27, 2013, 4:26am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Looks like Strasburg has learned his lesson

Two weeks ago, Stephen Strasburg was taken to task in this space for basically acting childish on the mound. He lost his composure after a throwing error in a scoreless game against the Chicago Cubs, allowing four unearned runs to score and letting the game get out of hand. It was a game he - and just about all Nationals fans - would like to forget. It seems that's exactly what happened. In three starts since that tragic outing at Nationals Park, Strasburg has pitched more like the mature...

Comments

Tags:

davey johnson guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz stephen strasburg

Hearing from Johnson, Gonzalez, Suzuki and Zimmerman after Nats loss

May 27, 2013, 1:52pm

Nationals

Hearing from Johnson, Gonzalez, Suzuki and Zimmerman after Nats loss

It's tough to win games when you score two runs and go 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Yet again, the Nationals' offense was unable to get the job done, failing to capitalize on their eight hits (four of which were for extra bases) in today's 6-2 loss to the Orioles. "That's been kinda our M.O.," manager Davey Johnson said. "But we're showing signs of coming out of it, hopefully." Those signs were evident yesterday, when the Nats put up 10 hits on the Phillies, scored six...