nationals

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

May 24, 2013, 4:37pm

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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)...

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The beat goes on (Harper goes yard)

May 22, 2013, 12:51pm

Nationals

The first ball the Nationals hit out of the infield today came off the bat of their pitcher, Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez's line shot up the middle in the third inning also got the Nats in the hit column for the first time today. That's where this offense is at right now. The Nationals' 1-8 hitters are 0-for-9 with a walk and five strikeouts in the first three innings this afternoon. Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner has looked really sharp - especially in the first inning when he struck out...

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Sifting through another game the Nats would like to forget

May 21, 2013, 11:11pm

Nationals

Sifting through another game the Nats would like to forget

I was thinking about writing another "Taking the good with the bad" blog post this morning, but I realized there wasn't enough good to match up with all the bad we saw last night in the Nationals' 4-2 loss to the Giants. On the same night that the Braves tied their game in the bottom of the ninth inning and then won it with a walk-off in the 10th, the Nats saw their 2-1 lead disappear in the ninth and then were sent home in the 10th when Pablo Sandoval demolished a Yunesky Maya changeup...

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David Huzzard: Inside the Nats' offensive struggles

May 22, 2013, 4:53am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Inside the Nats' offensive struggles

There is no possible way to make it sound good that the Nationals' offense has scored only 3.41 runs a game and OPS'd a measly .654. In most offensive categories, they are better than only the Marlins. The Nats have faced a lot of good pitchers and good teams early in the season, and that has something to do with the poor offense, but that doesn't make it this dreadful. In April, the issue was that the Nationals got no offense from the third and first base positions as they put up an OPS...

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We go to extras as Nats blow another save (Nats lose 4-2 in 10 innings)

May 21, 2013, 9:09pm

Nationals

We go to extras as Nats blow another save (Nats lose 4-2 in 10 innings)

The Nationals were a strike away from putting an end to their two-game funk and giving Stephen Strasburg his third win of the season. Instead, we keep playing. Rafael Soriano blew his third save of the season, and second in as many chances, with Gregor Blanco's RBI triple with two outs in the bottom of the ninth plating Andres Torres and knotting this game, 2-2. Soriano left a two-strike pitch a little up and over the middle of the plate, and Blanco - the former Syracuse Chief - struck it...

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Coming out swinging (here comes the bullpen)

May 21, 2013, 6:39pm

Nationals

Coming out swinging (here comes the bullpen)

After notching just three hits all of last night, the Nationals have three hits and two runs through their first inning tonight. The Nats have handed Stephen Strasburg an early 2-0 lead over the Giants, with Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond both tallying RBI doubles off Giants right-hander Matt Cain. Denard Span got it all started with a hot-shot single up the middle and, after moving into scoring position on a Bryce Harper sacrifice bunt, he came around on Zimmerman's double to the...

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Harper bumped up to No. 2 spot in lineup, Espinosa returns

May 21, 2013, 3:22pm

Nationals

Harper bumped up to No. 2 spot in lineup, Espinosa returns

Davey Johnson has been searching for a serviceable No. 2 hitter ever since Jayson Werth needed to be moved out of that spot and then landed on the disabled list. Instead of continuing to rotate guys with paltry on-base percentages and minimal power production into the two-hole, Johnson has decided to just bump everyone up a spot. Bryce Harper will hit second tonight, marking the first time that Harper's name has been written into the No. 2 spot all season. Harper hit second in 117 of his...

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What to expect from the two new relievers (roster moves official)

May 21, 2013, 1:28pm

Nationals

What to expect from the two new relievers (roster moves official)

The Nationals will have two new faces in their bullpen tonight when they take on the Giants in game two of this three-game set in San Francisco. Well, one of the faces will be new. To those who have followed the Nats for a few years now, the other should be familiar. Right-hander Yunesky Maya and left-hander Fernando Abad will be activated by the Nats prior to tonight's game out west. Maya, who signed a four-year, $6 million deal with the Nats in 2010, has appeared in 15 games (10 starts)...

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Nationals place right-hander Ryan Mattheus on 15-day DL, option outfielder Eury Perez to Syracuse and add to pitchers

May 21, 2013, 2:58pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today placed right-handed pitcher Ryan Mattheus on the 15-Day DL, retroactive to May 20, with a fractured right hand, optioned outfielder Eury Perez to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League, recalled right-handed pitcher Yunesky Maya from Syracuse and selected left-handed pitcher Fernando Abad from Syracuse. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Abad, 27, joins the Nationals after...

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Another hit, and not in a good way

May 20, 2013, 10:33pm

Nationals

The frustration is building. And it's not being put to a productive use. As if yesterday's 8-0 loss wasn't enough, a loss that dropped the Nationals to a 23-22 on the season, manager Davey Johnson told reporters after the beatdown at the hands of the Giants that reliever Ryan Mattheus, one of the Nats' key setup guys, broke his right hand Sunday evening when he punched a locker. Mattheus had allowed five runs in an inning of work Sunday, more than doubling his ERA, sending it to 4.96. He...

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Ted Leavengood: Is it time to fish or cut bait?

May 21, 2013, 5:20am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: Is it time to fish or cut bait?

The end of a tough road trip may not be the right moment, but the time is coming for the 2013 Nationals to fish or cut bait. The basic facts were laid out in a USA Today article Monday that cited the Nationals' offense as 29th in batting average and OBP, and 27th in runs scored among major league teams. It did not get better last night as another struggling pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong, found his A-game against the Nationals, crafting a three-hit shutout over five innings before leaving with a...