nationals

Back-to-back pitches, back-to-back homers off Haren (updated)

May 25, 2013, 3:50pm

It's been a strange first two innings for Dan Haren tonight. With the exception of two pitches, Haren has been absolutely dominant thus far. He's struck out five through two innings, using all his pitches effectively. He struck out four Phillies in a row at one point, using a different pitch to put away each hitter. Haren got Freddy Galvis with a curveball, Michael Young with a cutter, Ryan Howard with a splitter and Michael Young with a four-seam fastball. But, those two...

Comments

Tags:

dan haren dan kolko nationals phillies frontstory_nationals2

Johnson going the superstitious route, searching for bullpen consistency

May 25, 2013, 2:42pm

Nationals

Johnson going the superstitious route, searching for bullpen consistency

Hoping to change the Nationals' offensive mojo, Davey Johnson opted to stop shaving recently, leaving the Nats' skipper with a short gray beard. The Nats responded by putting up five runs in a win over the Phillies last night. Johnson had planned to shave after the hits and runs started coming, but his players convinced him to leave the whiskers for the time being. Johnson obliged. "My wife said I could keep it one more day," Johnson said with a smile. "I was ready for a breakout again...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko davey johnson nationals craig stammen henry rodriguez frontstory_nationals2

Kobernus excited to use his speed and bat to impact Nats

May 25, 2013, 1:54pm

Nationals

Kobernus excited to use his speed and bat to impact Nats

With an injury to Danny Espinosa and the bench depleted, the Nationals selected the contract of second baseman Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse Saturday, and he arrived in D.C. to see his locker adorned with home white jersey No. 26. It had been a pretty exciting 24 hours already for Kobernus, especially the moment where he got to share the news with his parents, Jeff and Margie. "Yeah, I called my dad first and then my mom," Kobernus said. "My dad, he was crying, which was kind of one...

Comments

Tags:

byron kerr danny espinosa davey johnson jeff kobernus nationals frontstory_nationals3

Nats' roster moves official, plus lineups

May 25, 2013, 11:47am

Nationals

Nats' roster moves official, plus lineups

The Nationals have made it official, selecting the contract of infielder/outfielder Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse and designating right-hander Yunesky Maya for assignment. Yes, Kobernus' position was listed on the official team press release as "infielder/outfielder". The 2009 second-round pick is a career-long infielder, but he's seen action in the outfield in 28 games for Syracuse this season. In parts of five minor-league seasons (2009-2013), Kobernus batted .286 with 77...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko jeff kobernus lineups nationals phillies yunesky may frontstory_nationals3

Hearing from Johnson, Moore and Lombardozzi after Nats' 5-2 win

May 24, 2013, 7:37pm

Nationals

Hearing from Johnson, Moore and Lombardozzi after Nats' 5-2 win

When reporters pointed out to Davey Johnson before today's game that it looked like he was sporting a few days' worth of facial hair growth, the Nationals manager joked that he wasn't going to shave until the Nats started hitting. After the Nats put up five runs in a 5-2 win over the Phillies, Johnson told a couple of his players that he thought it was now OK for the beard to go. "They said, 'It's not coming off yet,' " Johnson said with a smile. "I might leave it on. See if this is...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko davey johnson nationals steve lombardozzi tyler moore

Maya heads out, bench boys hoping to heat up

May 24, 2013, 11:10pm

Nationals

Maya heads out, bench boys hoping to heat up

Was it seriously 53 degrees at first pitch last night on the Friday before Memorial Day? Just want to make sure I'm remembering things correctly and I didn't just wake up from some kind of sick dream. In case you missed it last night, the Nationals will be making a roster move today, selecting the contract of infielder Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse and designating right-hander Yunesky Maya for assignment. Maya came to the Nats with a decent amount of fanfare in July of 2010. He was...

Comments

Tags:

adam laroche dan kolko nationals steve lombardozzi tyler moore yunesky maya featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Zimmermann stuck his neck out for another Nats win

May 24, 2013, 7:13pm

Nationals

Zimmermann stuck his neck out for another Nats win

Jordan Zimmermann wanted to keep it quiet. On the day he was supposed to pitch, the right-hander woke up in some pain. His neck wasn't feeling so good, but he didn't want to make a big deal about it with a big game against the Phillies just hours away. Manager Davey Johnson knew something was up when he saw Zimmermann in the clubhouse. "Zimm woke up with a stiff neck today," Johnson said. "He kind of hid it from me. I knew he had it. Nothing is ever hidden from the manager. "After...

Comments

Tags:

adam laroche byron kerr davey johnson jordan zimmermann nationals featured_sidebar frontfeatured_nationals frontstory_nationals2

Mr. Consistency strikes again (Nats win 5-2)

May 24, 2013, 5:33pm

Nationals

Mr. Consistency strikes again (Nats win 5-2)

Ten times this season, Jordan Zimmermann has toed the rubber for the Nationals. In nine of those 10 starts, Zimmermann has allowed two or fewer runs. In the one outlier, he allowed a whopping three runs, and that was in a complete-game victory over the Marlins. Eight of the 10 times Zimmermann has gotten a start this season, he's worked at least seven innings. He's failed to get through the sixth just once. The more you look at Zimmermann's numbers this season, the more impressive those...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko jordan zimmermann nationals

Roster move coming tomorrow, plus more Espinosa talk

May 24, 2013, 2:58pm

Nationals

Roster move coming tomorrow, plus more Espinosa talk

We now know that Danny Espinosa has been playing for the last five-plus weeks with a broken right wrist. Espinosa says that he won't use the injury as an excuse for his poor hitting this season - he has a .163/.196/.291 slash line over 39 games played - but he did say that the wrist felt "stiff" when he was hitting left-handed and it affecting him trying to get his top hand to the ball when hitting right-handed. With Espinosa taking at least 2-3 days to rest the wrist, the Nationals will...

Comments

Tags:

anthony rendon dan kolko danny espinosa jeff kobernus nationals steve lombardozzi will rhymes

Maya to be DFA, Kobernus coming up

May 24, 2013, 7:01pm

Nationals

With the Nationals already working with a short bench and Danny Espinosa needing to sit at least two to three days (and possibly much more than that) with a broken bone in his right wrist, the Nats decided to add another position player to their 25-man roster. Infielder Jeff Kobernus will have his contract selected from Triple-A before tomorrow's game, manager Davey Johnson announced after tonight's 5-2 win over the Phillies, and right-hander Yunesky Maya will be designated for assignment to...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko davey johnson jeff kobernus nationals yunesky maya frontstory_nationals1

Plenty of missed opportunities for the home squad tonight (Nats jump on top)

May 24, 2013, 4:37pm

Nationals

Plenty of missed opportunities for the home squad tonight (Nats jump on top)

The Nationals have had no trouble getting runners on base against Phillies right-hander Kyle Kendrick, who has issued three hits and four walks through the first four innings. The problem has been converting those baserunners into runs. It's a 2-1 Phillies lead here at Nats Park heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, despite the fact that Jordan Zimmermann has outpitched Kendrick, for the most part. The Nats put two runners in scoring position in the second inning, but both Kurt Suzuki...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko jordan zimmermann nationals phillies trent jewett tyler moore frontfeatured_nationals

Lombardozzi playing second, Suzuki hitting sixth

May 24, 2013, 11:41am

Nationals

Lombardozzi playing second, Suzuki hitting sixth

Steve Lombardozzi is playing second and hitting eighth for the Nationals today in their series opener against the Phillies, as Danny Espinosa gets a day off. Kurt Suzuki, who normally hits eighth for the Nats, has been bumped up to the No. 6 spot in the order, with the struggling Tyler Moore hitting seventh. The Nats will face right-hander Kyle Kendrick today, he of the 4-2 record and 2.82 ERA. Jordan Zimmermann gets the start for the Nats, looking to improve upon his 7-2 mark and 1.62 ERA...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko lineups nationals phillies steve lombardozzi frontstory_nationals2

Nats welcome Phillies to town after a (successful) Night At The Park

May 24, 2013, 5:34am

Nationals

Nats welcome Phillies to town after a (successful) Night At The Park

A little over 12 hours after touching down in D.C. following a lengthy 10-day road trip out west, the bulk of the Nationals' players and coaches made their way to Nationals Park last night, not for a game but to support their teammate and a great cause. Ryan Zimmerman's fourth annual "A Night At The Park" was held at Nats Park last night, with nearly 2,000 fans joining a number of D.C. sports celebrities to enjoy some music, food and a good time, all benefiting Zimmerman's ziMS...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko nationals phillies ryan zimmerman featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

A hodgepodge of random notes and numbers

May 23, 2013, 9:53am

Nationals

A hodgepodge of random notes and numbers

Tonight is Ryan Zimmerman's fourth annual "A Night At The Park" event, held at Nationals Park and hosted by Zimmerman's ziMS Foundation, which is dedicated to the treatment and ultimate cure of multiple sclerosis. Zimmerman's mother, Cheryl, was diagnosed with MS in 1995, and Zimmerman founded ziMS shortly after reaching the majors in 2005. Third Eye Blind will be performing at the tonight's event, and those in attendance can bid on baseball memorabilia and other good stuff during a...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko danny espinosa drew storen nationals tyler clippard ryan zimmerman

Mattheus won't need surgery, expected to miss around six weeks

May 24, 2013, 8:36am

Nationals

Mattheus won't need surgery, expected to miss around six weeks

Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus won't need surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand, but he will likely miss around six weeks as he recovers from the injury, according to a team source. Mattheus broke his right (pitching) hand after a rough appearance against the Padres on Sunday when he punched a locker in frustration. He told reporters he wasn't aware the hand was broken until the next day, when the hand started swelling after Mattheus played catch. The 29-year-old reliever then...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko nationals ryan mattheus frontstory_nationals1

Heaping some praise on Harper

May 23, 2013, 4:10am

Nationals

Bryce Harper felt he lost the Nationals the game two nights ago when he let Gregor Blanco's fly ball get over his head, allowing the game-tying run to score with two outs in the ninth inning. You can certainly argue that Harper's play on that fly ball was merely one of many factors that led to the Nats blowing Tuesday night's game, but there's no arguing that Harper carried the Nats to a massive victory yesterday with his play on both sides of the ball. Harper is lauded by scouts,...

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper dan kolko nationals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Rachel Levitin: It's tough to predict whether Nats will rebound from struggles

May 23, 2013, 9:58am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: It's tough to predict whether Nats will rebound from struggles

At the end of each month of play last season, I remember sitting down along side some of my fellow Nats bloggers and chatting up a storm about how we just couldn't believe how well this team was doing week in and week out. No one wanted to get ahead of themselves by predicting a possible extraordinary outcome in fear of jinxing the team. Now the team that proved itself worthy of the postseason (despite an early exit in the first round), is struggling to find its footing. The Nationals are...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin

Gonzalez hands a lead over to the 'pen (Nats pick up a monster win in extras)

May 22, 2013, 2:27pm

Nationals

Gonzalez hands a lead over to the 'pen (Nats pick up a monster win in extras)

The last two times the Nationals have handed their bullpen a lead in the late innings, that lead has disappeared and extra innings have been needed. Gio Gonzalez has given everything he had today, throwing 116 pitches over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and now he'll hope the Nats bullpen can lock down a win. It's 1-0 Nats, with Bryce Harper's solo homer in the sixth still the only run on the board. The Nats had a golden chance to tack on an insurance run or two in the top of the eighth, but...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko gio gonzalez nationals frontstory_nationals2

Desmond hitting cleanup in West Coast finale

May 22, 2013, 9:46am

Nationals

Desmond hitting cleanup in West Coast finale

The Nationals will happily put a cap on their rocky 10-game West Coast road trip today when they face the Giants in the finale of this three-game set. Manager Davey Johnson has tweaked his lineup again, moving Ian Desmond into the cleanup spot and bumping Adam LaRoche down to the No. 5 hole in the order against Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner. Tyler Moore will play left field and hit sixth today. Bumgarner is coming off the worst start of his career; he allowed nine runs his last...

Comments

Tags:

dan kolko lineups nationals frontstory_nationals2

When Nationals' opponents #whiff, you can help D.C. youth win

May 21, 2013, 5:34pm

Nationals

With a staff led by pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, who thrive on strikeouts, the Nats often force their opponents to whiff when they come to the plate. But did you know that when the Nationals record a strikeout, you have the power to support the D.C. chapter of the RBI League? Each time the Nats record a K, you can tweet with the @Nationals' Twitter handle and the hashtag #whiff. By doing so, you'll record another vote for the D.C. RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities)...