nationals

A few pregame notes plus Wednesday's split-squad update

March 11, 2013, 8:59am

VIERA, Fla. - In case you missed it over the weekend, former Nationals manager Manny Acta has joined ESPN as a bilingual analyst. Acta had the reins in D.C. from 2007-09 and spent the last three seasons as the manager of the Indians, compiling a record of 214-266. He has said that he hopes to get back into a big league dugout in the near future. The Nationals have an off-day tomorrow and then split-squad games on Wednesday. Jordan Zimmermann will get the start against the Mets here in...

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Gonzalez gets his shot, Haren gets in-depth about his stuff

March 11, 2013, 4:33am

Nationals

Gonzalez gets his shot, Haren gets in-depth about his stuff

VIERA, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez will actually get a chance to put on a Team USA jersey. For a while there, Team USA looked like it might get bounced from the World Baseball Classic early, failing to make it out of pool play and leaving Gonzalez without an opportunity to pitch in the tournament. Instead, the Americans made a late comeback against Team Canada yesterday, securing a spot in the second round and giving Gonzalez a chance to take the hill for his country. The Nationals left-hander will...

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Detwiler's Team USA performance forecasts well for Nationals' rotation

March 10, 2013, 6:47pm

Nationals

With left-hander Ross Detwiler throwing not one, but four scoreless innings this week for Team USA, you have to admire how far the 26-year-old has come in a year and a half, and how crucial his pitching is to the Nationals' rotation. Detwiler allowed just one hit in those four innings. Manager Joe Torre had enough confidence in the southpaw to go out and let him finish the ninth frame for the save. Detwiler has shown with international experience in the Taiwan series last year and now the...

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Johnson pleased with Haren, Storen and Skole in 2-1 loss

March 10, 2013, 12:21pm

Nationals

Johnson pleased with Haren, Storen and Skole in 2-1 loss

LAKELAND, Fla. - It was a fairly uneventful afternoon from an offensive perspective here at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Nationals and Tigers combined for three runs on 11 hits in a 2-1 Detroit win, and all four of the hits in the Nats' column were singles. From a pitching perspective, however, Davey Johnson saw a bunch of positives. Dan Haren went four strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts. The veteran right-hander threw 61 pitches (43 for strikes), and if not...

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Haren adding to his repertoire against right-handed hitters

March 10, 2013, 12:52pm

Nationals

Haren adding to his repertoire against right-handed hitters

LAKELAND, Fla. - Even pitchers entering their 11th major league season come into spring training looking to add to their repertoire. Dan Haren is by far the most accomplished pitcher in the Nationals' rotation, with 119 career wins and three All-Star Games on his resume. He holds the fifth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in major league history. But that doesn't mean that he isn't trying to add a new wrinkle or give hitters a different look. That's why he's made working the inside part of...

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Haren looks good in third start of spring (Nats lose 2-1)

March 10, 2013, 10:26am

Nationals

Haren looks good in third start of spring (Nats lose 2-1)

LAKELAND, Fla. - If not for a couple defensive miscues in the second inning, Dan Haren might have had a pretty darn impressive outing. Instead, it was just pretty impressive. We'll leave out the "darn." Haren allowed two runs on five hits with two strikeouts over four innings, and he gives way to Drew Storen to start the fifth. Making his third start of spring, Haren threw 61 pitches, 43 for strikes. Haren pitched a clean, 1-2-3 first inning, but he got a couple bad breaks in the second....

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Pregame notes and lineups from Lakeland

March 10, 2013, 8:42am

Nationals

LAKELAND, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Johnson saw yesterday's brawl between Canada and Mexico in the World Baseball Classic and like most of us, was a bit shocked that things got to that point. "We've come close when I was managing the U.S. against Mexico, but we never got that far," Johnson said. "That was a little over the top." If you haven't seen the video of the brawl yet,

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Detwiler dominates, Zimmerman pleased with spring progress

March 10, 2013, 5:53am

Nationals

Detwiler dominates, Zimmerman pleased with spring progress

VIERA, Fla. - How about Ross Detwiler? Making his World Baseball Classic debut last night, Detwiler worked four crucial innings, allowing just one hit and a walk with three strikeouts as Team USA beat Italy 6-2. Detwiler came on in the sixth and went the final four innings, locking things down for the Americans. The left-hander threw 51 pitches, 36 for strikes, and not only did he close out yesterday's game, but he saved the Team USA bullpen, allowing manager Joe Torre's late-inning...

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Johnson on Zimmerman, Young, Walters and Stammen after 8-7 win

March 09, 2013, 12:12pm

Nationals

Johnson on Zimmerman, Young, Walters and Stammen after 8-7 win

VIERA, Fla. - It hasn't taken long for Ryan Zimmerman to get his swing back after offseason shoulder surgery. With his 3-for-3 performance today against the Marlins, Zimmerman is now 6-for-12 on the spring with two extra-base hits. One of the two is a home run, which Zimmerman crushed off Marlins lefty Brad Hand in the fifth inning this afternoon to tie the game 6-6. "I haven't been worrying about him," manager Davey Johnson said. "He's just a good hitter. He's got plenty of power....

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Young discusses his first spring start (Nats win)

March 09, 2013, 10:56am

Nationals

Young discusses his first spring start (Nats win)

VIERA, Fla. - Zach Walters just crushed his second homer in as many games, a deep shot out to right-center that gave the Nationals the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Rivero added an RBI single later in the inning, giving the Nats an 8-6 lead going to the ninth. Given Chris Young's line today in his spring debut (3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BBs, 2 Ks), his description of his outing seems pretty apt. "Erratic," Young said. "I'd say that it was just a little out of sync, but physically I...

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Young done after three so-so innings (Harper, Zimmerman go back-to-back)

March 09, 2013, 9:28am

Nationals

Young done after three so-so innings (Harper, Zimmerman go back-to-back)

VIERA, Fla. - Chris Young wasn't awful in his first Grapefruit League start this spring. He wasn't great, either. Great analysis, I know. Young worked three innings this afternoon, allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Threes were wild. At times, the 35-year-old right-hander lost complete command of the strike zone. He issued a four-pitch walk to open the game and then another one to begin the third inning. Other times, Young looked pretty darn sharp. He...

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A new nickname for McCatty, plus Karns confident leg issues are minor

March 09, 2013, 7:59am

Nationals

A new nickname for McCatty, plus Karns confident leg issues are minor

VIERA, Fla. - Davey Johnson debuted a new nickname for Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty today: "Mother Hen McCatty." "He likes to have (his pitchers) close and at hand," Johnson said, breaking out into a giant smile. Johnson joked that "Mother Hen" didn't handle yesterday's beatdown by the Cardinals too well. "After giving up 16 runs yesterday, he had a hard day yesterday and a hard night last night," Johnson said. McCatty will be pleased to hear that right-hander Nathan...

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Ohman granted his release, plus Werth and Garcia updates

March 09, 2013, 6:37am

Nationals

Ohman granted his release, plus Werth and Garcia updates

VIERA, Fla. - Bill Bray has reported to the Nationals' minor league camp after being reassigned on Sunday, but Will Ohman has not. Ohman, who also was reassigned to minor league camp, requested and was granted his unconditional release. The 35-year-old, who made just one spring appearance with the Nats, allowing two hits and two walks in an inning of work, is now a free agent. Bray will continue to work on his mechanics over at minor league camp. The veteran lefty has had trouble finding his...

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Gonzalez's WBC outing not a certainty

March 09, 2013, 2:44am

Nationals

VIERA, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez might not get a chance to represent his country after all. In a bit of a shocker, a stacked Team USA lost to Mexico in the first round of play in the World Baseball Classic last night. Adrian Gonzalez (who was born in the United States, mind you) hit a two-run homer off R.A. Dickey and the Mexican team scored a big 5-2 win. This sets up a crucial game for the Americans today against Italy. There are multitudes of different scenarios here, but from what I understand,...

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Weekly Wrap: Interesting first meeting between Nats, Phillies

March 07, 2013, 7:54pm

Nationals

Weekly Wrap: Interesting first meeting between Nats, Phillies

While the Nationals won three of their last five games, one of the most interesting parts of last week came in a loss. The loss came to the Phillies by a final score of 6-3 on Wednesday. After Stephen Strasburg plunked Chase Utley's ankle, Roy Halladay threw behind Tyler Moore. As Wednesday's game was the sole spring training meeting between the two teams, only the regular season will tell if there will be any carryover between the NL East teams. On both Tuesday and Thursday, the Nats...

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Zimmermann battling dead arm, Karns to get examined for leg injury

March 08, 2013, 12:15pm

Nationals

Zimmermann battling dead arm, Karns to get examined for leg injury

VIERA, Fla. - Jordan Zimmermann didn't really look like himself this afternoon in the Nationals' 16-10 loss to the Cardinals. Neither did Nathan Karns. There might be a reason for that. Zimmermann gave up eight runs on nine hits over three innings, while Karns surrendered seven runs (one earned) in just 2/3 of an inning. According to manager Davey Johnson, both guys were battling medical issues. For Zimmermann, it's merely a case of dead arm, according to Johnson, who said that the...

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In his spring debut, Henry Rodriguez feels "like the old Henry"

March 08, 2013, 12:27pm

Nationals

In his spring debut, Henry Rodriguez feels "like the old Henry"

VIERA, Fla. - It was just eight pitches, but for Henry Rodriguez and the Nationals, it was a big step in the right direction. Rodriguez worked one inning in this afternoon's 16-10 loss, setting the Cardinals down in order in the sixth. The hard-throwing righty threw eight pitches, seven of which were strikes, in retiring J.R. Towles, Ryan Jackson and Greg Garcia. This was Rodriguez's first game appearance since last July 31, after which he underwent surgery to clean up a bone spur in his...

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Rodriguez delivers a scoreless debut, Zimmermann discusses his rocky outing (Nats lose)

March 08, 2013, 10:34am

Nationals

Rodriguez delivers a scoreless debut, Zimmermann discusses his rocky outing (Nats lose)

VIERA, Fla. - While Jordan Zimmermann and Nathan Karns took a beating today for the Nationals, Rafael Soriano and Henry Rodriguez delivered scoreless innings in relief. Rodriguez, making his spring debut after working back from elbow surgery and some biceps tightness, pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning this afternoon, and needed just eight pitches to do so. Manager Davey Johnson had originally planned to give the flame-throwing righty just one batter this afternoon, but he ended up being...

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Zimmermann rocked in his third spring outing (so is Karns)

March 08, 2013, 9:16am

Nationals

Zimmermann rocked in his third spring outing (so is Karns)

VIERA, Fla. - As Dan Haren noted the other day, when pitchers look good in spring training outings, they'll talk about how great they felt. When they get smacked around in spring training outings, they'll talk about how they were just working on stuff. Jordan Zimmermann was just working on stuff today. Zimmermann got smacked around in his three innings of work this afternoon, allowing eight runs on nine hits. He also walked two batters and struck out one. The third inning was especially...

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Karns feeling confident and healthy, won't go for 100 mph just yet

March 08, 2013, 6:37am

Nationals

Karns feeling confident and healthy, won't go for 100 mph just yet

Right-hander Nathan Karns is getting himself acclimated quickly at spring training. In his first two games, Karns did not allow a run in three innings, scattering two hits, walking two and striking out three. One of those hits was a seeing-eye single given up to Mets All-Star David Wright after quite a battle. "I feel like I started off on the right foot and keep going in that direction for the rest of spring training," the 25-year-old Karns said. "I want to build off of this and have a...