nationals

Interleague play might favor Nationals at home against White Sox

April 09, 2013, 2:08pm

Interleague play may be exciting for the fans, but it causes some alterations and uneasiness for players, especially this early in the season. However, some players embrace National League versus American League match-ups in small doses because it mixes the schedule up a bit and adds a little flavor. This season, with the Astros moving to the American League and the formation of three five-team divisions in each league, there's an interleague game every day. The Nationals would appear to have...

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Updates on LaRoche, Soriano and more

April 09, 2013, 2:42pm

Nationals

Davey Johnson and Bryce Harper took a little field trip this afternoon, heading down to City Hall to be honored by the D.C. Council with ceremonial resolutions. Johnson, the 2012 National League Manager of the Year, and Harper, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, received their resolutions, presented by council member Vincent Orange. "It was good. I'm glad to see they're doing some work down there," quipped Johnson, when asked about his afternoon. Johnson's resolution listed him as five...

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LaRoche returns, Dunn absent from White Sox lineup in return to D.C.

April 09, 2013, 11:28am

Nationals

LaRoche returns, Dunn absent from White Sox lineup in return to D.C.

After missing the last two games with tightness in his back, Adam LaRoche is back in the lineup tonight for the Nationals' series opener against the White Sox. Including yesterday's off-day, LaRoche had three days to rest his ailing back, which initially tightened up on him late in the Nationals' series against the Marlins last week. The cold weather at Nats Park likely contributed to the discomfort. He told reporters Sunday that he was feeling better and apparently has been cleared to give...

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Getting defensive

April 08, 2013, 5:14am

Nationals

Today's day off for the Nationals comes at a pretty good time. Not only does it allow Adam LaRoche, who sat out the last two games, a chance to rest his sore back a bit more prior to tomorrow's series opener with the White Sox, but it also gives the Nats a chance to enjoy some down time and put their three-game series in Cincinnati behind them. Even though they took one of the three games against the Reds in the weekend set, this was a series the Nationals will be hoping to forget. The...

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Nats starting to catch on

April 09, 2013, 5:00am

Nationals

I've decided that I would like a montage of moments from my life set to "One Shining Moment" and played at my funeral. I'm not sure whether I'm kidding or not. Is that weird? I don't care. Now I just have to get to work on creating some actual shining moments. I'm not sure me sitting on my sofa eating nachos will cut it. If you haven't yet seen how the Rangers-Rays game ended last night, take a look. Yikes. Just a bit outside. Nationals manager Davey Johnson knew going into the...

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Ted Leavengood: A long season's early lesson

April 08, 2013, 1:20pm

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: A long season's early lesson

The Nationals' home opener in 2012 was against the Cincinnati Reds. They won three of the first four at Nationals Park to set up a truly successful first month and got the season rolling toward 98 wins. The Reds didn't like that movie and let Washington know they will be playing a very different role this year. The Reds had the second best record in the National League last year, winning 97 games. With Shin-Soo Choo at the top of their order, they are going to be even better. Choo's...

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HBO "Veep" Selina Meyer to race Nationals' Racing Presidents

April 08, 2013, 10:20am

Nationals

On Tuesday, April 9 the Washington Nationals Racing Presidents will welcome the mascot of Vice President Selina Meyer, star of HBO's hit comedy series "Veep" as a guest competitor in the GEICO Presidents Race. Meyer will make her appearance at Nationals Park to promote season two of VEEP, which premieres on HBO on Sunday, April 14. Earlier today, Vice President Meyer accepted an invitation to partner with Teddy to challenge George, Tom, Abe and Bill in the first presidential relay of 2013....

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Rubber game goes to the Reds

April 07, 2013, 12:25pm

Nationals

Stephen Strasburg wasn't at his sharpest, the Nationals' infielders made a couple of more defensive miscues and the bats went silent after the second inning. Put it all together and it's a 6-3 loss to the Reds, giving Cincinnati the series win. After a big second inning, highlighted by Kurt Suzuki's three-run homer to left, the Nats had just three hits and four baserunners the rest of the way. Suzuki doubled with one out in the ninth, his third extra-base hit of the day, but the...

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Patrick Reddington: An Expos fan at home in D.C. on opening day

April 05, 2013, 10:30am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: An Expos fan at home in D.C. on opening day

The closest I ever came to a sense of community as a fan of the Montreal Expos was when I would travel from my home in Johnson, Vt., where I lived after attending college in town, across the border in Richford, Vt., through Canadian farmland and small farming communities to Autoroute des Cantons de L'Est across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to Rue Notre Dame East, down the Boulevard Pie IX to the Stade Olympique on Rue Pierre de Coubertin. There with the 10,000-15,000 fans who still showed up for...

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Marty Niland: How will Nats respond to getting roughed up?

April 08, 2013, 6:16am

Nationals

Marty Niland: How will Nats respond to getting roughed up?

It was a tough weekend for the Nationals. After a glorious opening series against Miami that included back-to-back shutouts, the Nats found the going much tougher on the season's first weekend in Cincinnati. They lost two of three to the Reds, including a 15-0 thumping on Friday night - the most lopsided loss since the team moved to Washington in 2005. Their first series loss in the magical 2012 season did not come until a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the final series of April. If...

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Nats' catchers continue to crush Reds pitching (Nats trail as Strasburg leaves)

April 07, 2013, 9:50am

Nationals

Nats' catchers continue to crush Reds pitching (Nats trail as Strasburg leaves)

In their last four at-bats against Reds pitching, the Nationals' catchers are 3-for-4 with three home runs and six RBIs. Wilson Ramos did some damage yesterday, crushing two homers in the Nats' 11-inning win. In his first at-bat today, Kurt Suzuki got the Nats on the board in the second inning, taking a 1-1 slider from Johnny Cueto and smoking it out to left for a three-run shot. Suzuki has his first hit of the 2013 season, and the Nats have a tie ballgame. It's 3-3 midway through the...

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LaRoche sits for a second straight day

April 07, 2013, 7:37am

Nationals

Adam LaRoche is out of the Nationals' lineup for the second straight day. LaRoche, who has been dealing with some tightness in his back since late in the Nationals' series against the Marlins earlier this week, will not play in this afternoon's series finale against the Reds. Chad Tracy will play first base and hit in the No. 5 hole in LaRoche's stead again today. With the Nats having a day off tomorrow, manager Davey Johnson likely wants to give LaRoche three full days to rest his back...

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Much to digest from yesterday's dramatic extra-inning win

April 07, 2013, 5:33am

Nationals

Much to digest from yesterday's dramatic extra-inning win

The first two games of this Nationals-Reds series sure have been plenty interesting. First, the Reds put up two touchdowns and a two-point conversion on the Nats on Friday night in a 15-0 drubbing. Sorry, I feel bad even bringing that one up again. Yesterday's game was far more competitive and far more dramatic. The Nationals jumped out to a 5-1 lead, only to see Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano each allow two runs to leave the game tied after nine. In the top of the 11th, two home runs in a...

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Desmond redeems himself with clutch homer (Nats win a thriller)

April 06, 2013, 12:34pm

Nationals

Desmond redeems himself with clutch homer (Nats win a thriller)

It had been a pretty rough afternoon for Ian Desmond. The Nationals shortstop committed two errors in today's game against the Reds, both of which led to unearned runs. Desmond had gone 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his first four trips to the plate. He and the rest of the Nats watched as a 5-1 lead became a 5-5 tie. But Desmond redeemed himself for his early-season struggles with a clutch solo home run that was crushed into the upper deck in left, breaking an 11th-inning tie and giving the...

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Ramos making his mark in return to Cincinnati (Soriano blows the save)

April 06, 2013, 11:10am

Nationals

Ramos making his mark in return to Cincinnati (Soriano blows the save)

Prior to today, the last time Wilson Ramos was on the field at the Great American Ballpark, he wasn't able to walk off under his own power. Ramos tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee last May 12 in a game against the Reds, a devastating injury that knocked the Nationals' young catcher out of action for the remainder of the season and led to months of grueling rehab. Now fully healthy, Ramos has replaced that nasty memory with a much more positive one. Ramos crushed a two-run homer...

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Harper homers again (Detwiler dancing out of trouble)

April 06, 2013, 10:00am

Nationals

Harper homers again (Detwiler dancing out of trouble)

The Nationals left the bases loaded in the second. No matter. Bryce Harper got them on the board an inning later. Harper crushed the first pitch from Reds right-hander Mike Leake, an 87 mph cutter on the inner half, out to right for a two-run homer. The ball got out of the Great American Ballpark in the blink of an eye. It's Harper's third home run of the season. He's accounted for 60 percent of the Nationals' longballs so far this season. The Nats now have a 2-0 lead midway through...

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Tracy replaces LaRoche in Nats lineup

April 06, 2013, 6:48am

Nationals

The good thing about the Nationals having a 1:10 p.m. first pitch today is that last night's 15-0 drubbing at the hands of the Reds is quickly pushed into the background. No need to stew on that one through the afternoon. The Nats will get back out there in just a few hours and will start fresh. There's one change to manager Davey Johnson's lineup outside of the normal catcher swap and Ross Detwiler being inserted into the pitcher's spot for the first time this season. Adam LaRoche will...

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Could signing of Chris Young come into play sooner than later?

April 06, 2013, 6:52am

Nationals

Could signing of Chris Young come into play sooner than later?

It is just one game, but it did happen. Dan Haren got rocked and Zach Duke did not fare much better. Depth is critical for each major league team, especially pitching depth, if you expect to make a deep run into October. Last season, the Nationals allowed double-digit runs only two times in their first 156 games. The 15 runs allowed Friday night at Great American Ballpark were the most given up by Washington in a shutout since 2000. The most runs the Nationals allowed in any one game all of...

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A night to forget in Cincinnati

April 05, 2013, 6:25pm

Nationals

Dan Haren got smacked around, allowing four longballs and six runs overall in just four innings in his Nationals debut. Zach Duke, Henry Rodriguez and Ryan Mattheus combined to give up nine runs in relief. The Nats put up just five hits and were shut out by a trio of Reds pitchers. Kurt Suzuki and Ian Desmond both committed fielding errors. Pretty much nothing went right for Davey Johnson's boys in tonight's 15-0 loss to the Reds. In fact, this is the most lopsided loss in the Nationals'...

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What's happening with Haren?

April 06, 2013, 5:20am

Nationals

It's probably safe to assume that Dan Haren's Nationals debut didn't go quite as he'd planned. Yeah, I'd say that's a fair assumption. Haren got hit all over the Great American Ballpark last night, allowing nine hits and six runs in just four innings of work. He surrendered four home runs, this from a guy who had allowed just 1.1 homers per nine innings over the course of his previous 10 years in the majors. This performance comes after a spring in which Haren pitched to a 6.39 ERA in...