nationals

Nats sign Chris Young to minor league deal

April 04, 2013, 9:51am

Chris Young is back with the Nationals. After opting out of his initial minor league deal with the Nats on March 25, Young has returned to the organization, agreeing to terms on a new minor league deal this afternoon. Young, 33, will throw a couple bullpen sessions down at the Nationals' minor league complex in Viera, Fla., and then will report to Triple-A Syracuse to join the rotation there. His new deal does not contain an opt-out clause, according to a source. Young posted a 2.25 ERA in...

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Bryce Harper's older brother, Bryan, begins season tonight for Hagerstown

April 03, 2013, 8:40pm

Nationals

Bryce Harper's older brother, Bryan, begins season tonight for Hagerstown

He has got one of the most famous brothers in all of baseball. He is a southpaw looking to make it to the majors. He has played for a national champion. But all the questions come back to his talented younger brother, Bryce. Left-hander Bryan Harper of the Hagerstown Suns says that is all good, because his dream is to someday join his brother with the Nationals. "I will at least have the opportunity to play with him at some point," Bryan said. "That is one driving factor. Obviously,...

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Marlins-Nationals lineups for series finale

April 04, 2013, 8:39am

Nationals

The Nationals will look for a sweep of the Marlins this afternoon at Nationals Park, with Jordan Zimmermann attempting to match the stellar efforts of Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez over the Nats' first two games. Zimmermann is 1-3 with a 4.43 ERA in eight career starts against the Marlins and is without a win against them at home. Left-hander Wade LeBlanc will take the mound for Miami. LeBlanc went 2-5 with a 3.67 ERA last season in 25 games (nine starts) with the Marlins. Over four...

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Nationals agree to terms with right-hander Chris Young on minor league contract

April 04, 2013, 9:17am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Chris Young on a minor-league contract. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Young rejoins the Nationals organization, the club he signed a minor-league contract with on February 21, 2013. On March 26, after going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four Grapefruit League starts for Washington, the Nationals unconditionally released Young at his...

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Rachel Levitin: My first opening day was well worth the wait

April 04, 2013, 5:17am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: My first opening day was well worth the wait

For the first 25 years of my life, Major League Baseball's opening day was a romanticized fantasy played out in my head. It was an all-elusive game that one day I'd attend, though I didn't know when, where, why, or how. Growing up mere minutes from Wrigley Field was always such a tease, but I knew dad would never take us kids out of school for the game no matter how hard I begged. I'll also venture to guess that tickets to a Wrigley Field opening day game weren't exactly cheap even back in...

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Joining a pretty exclusive club

April 03, 2013, 9:53pm

Nationals

Michael Morse smacked another home run last night for the Mariners, giving him three in the last two days. The former Nationals slugger has four hits on the season. Three have left the yard. That man sure can hit. Morse better keep going deep, though. He's got Gio Gonzalez right on his tail in the home run department. For those who haven't gotten a chance to make it out to Nats Park yet, it appears the team is going to be using the song "Take on Me" as part of its seventh-inning stretch...

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Washington Nationals, Bloomberg Sports announce new analytic technology solution partnership

April 04, 2013, 8:48am

Nationals

The 2012 National League Eastern Division Champion Washington Nationals and Bloomberg Sports, the world's leaders in sports analytic technology, today announced a new partnership to design a state of the art player evaluation system for the Nationals Baseball Operations Department. This new partnership is the latest step in analytic technology for Bloomberg Sports, which has been a leader in creating solutions for MLB teams, players and fans for the past four years. The Nationals new system...

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Storen returns with scoreless frame, helps close book on last October

April 03, 2013, 7:03pm

Nationals

Storen returns with scoreless frame, helps close book on last October

It was just one inning, but symbolically, it was crucial for Drew Storen. You could see the determination, focus and drive on the face of Storen these first few days during pregame warmups and you knew whenever his first game arrived it would be important for many reasons. Erasing the memory but learning from the experience of Oct. 12 in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals drives Storen, even though it's not something that is talked about every day. But Ryan Zimmerman...

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Hearing from Gonzalez, Zimmerman and Span

April 03, 2013, 7:23pm

Nationals

Hearing from Gonzalez, Zimmerman and Span

You might not know it by looking at his pitching line - or his batting line, for that matter - but Gio Gonzalez was battling a pretty bad headache during his 2013 regular season debut tonight. Gonzalez started feeling the headache prior to first pitch and relied on consistent massages on his temple from trainer John Hsu and some Advil in order to get through his six shutout innings in the Nationals' 3-0 win. "Every inning, all the way to the fifth, where it was constantly getting massaged...

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Johnson speaks after another Nats shutout

April 03, 2013, 6:59pm

Nationals

Johnson speaks after another Nats shutout

The Nationals are red-hot to start the 2013 season. So is their hitting coach. The heater in the Nationals' tunnel serves an important purpose on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 45 degrees and dropped quickly. But for Rick Eckstein, the propane heater nearly did more harm than good. "He went down there and started talking to one of the hitters that was sitting close to the fire, and he was standing close to the fire," manager Davey Johnson said, a smile on his face after...

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Two games, two curtain calls (Nats win 3-0)

April 03, 2013, 4:33pm

Nationals

Two games, two curtain calls (Nats win 3-0)

Bryce Harper got called out of the dugout by the Nationals Park crowd on opening day, getting a curtain call following his second homer of the ballgame. Tonight, Gio Gonzalez was the one to get the curtain call, and not for something he did while on the mound. The Nationals left-hander took a first-pitch Kevin Slowey curveball into the bleachers in left field for his second career home run. The blast came with one out in the fifth and gave the Nats a 1-0 lead. He circled the bases with a...

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Johnson on where Gonzalez can improve, plus plans for bench guys

April 03, 2013, 2:43pm

Nationals

Johnson on where Gonzalez can improve, plus plans for bench guys

Gio Gonzalez finished third in the National League Cy Young voting last season. The Nationals left-hander led the majors with 21 wins, posted a sub-3.00 ERA, worked nearly 200 innings and struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings, best in the NL among starting pitchers. It was a heck of a season, and quite a statement in Gonzalez' first season in D.C. after coming to the Nats in a trade with the Athletics. But as Gonzalez prepares to take the mound tonight for his first start of 2013, where...

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Suzuki, Ramos to alternate starts for now

April 03, 2013, 2:15pm

Nationals

Suzuki, Ramos to alternate starts for now

Davey Johnson has said for months now that he feels he has two No. 1 catchers. From his perspective, how better to use those two guys than to alternate them on a daily basis, giving them equal playing time? After going with Wilson Ramos behind the plate on opening day, Johnson wrote Kurt Suzuki's name into today's lineup as his starting catcher. Those two will continue to trade off days for the foreseeable future. "That's a tribute because I like them both," Johnson said. "They're both...

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Suzuki behind the plate for Gonzalez's first start (with Marlins lineup)

April 03, 2013, 10:40am

Nationals

Suzuki behind the plate for Gonzalez's first start (with Marlins lineup)

The Nationals will trot pretty much the same lineup out for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Marlins at Nationals Park. The only changes are the battery, with Kurt Suzuki catching left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Here's the Nationals lineup: CF Denard Span RF Jayson Werth LF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Kurt Suzuki LHP Gio Gonzalez For the Marlins: LF Juan Pierre 2B Donovan Solano RF Giancarlo Stanton 3B Placido Polanco CF Justin...

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With talented bullpen, deciding who gets to pitch is "good problem to have"

April 03, 2013, 1:54pm

Nationals

With talented bullpen, deciding who gets to pitch is "good problem to have"

With high expectations, and a Nationals bullpen filled with so many good pitchers, will there be enough work to go around? On opening day, Stephen Strasburg went seven innings and then Tyler Clippard took care of the eighth. Rafael Soriano arrived in the ninth and got three straight outs for his first save as a National. Manager Davey Johnson still has his left-handed long man Zach Duke and righties Drew Storen, Craig Stammen, Ryan Mattheus and Henry Rodriguez available to go in game two....

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Nationals announce NatsLive Postgame Concerts

April 03, 2013, 11:34am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals announced today that Blues Traveler (June 8), Thompson Square (July 6), Gavin DeGraw (August 31) and Montgomery Gentry (September 21) will comprise the lineup for the 2013 NatsLive Free Postgame Concert Series following select Nationals home games throughout the summer. "We are thrilled to be opening the NatsLive Concert Series for the Washington Nationals this year!" said John Popper, lead singer for Blues Traveler. "My visit to Nationals Park last season to...

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Rizzo takes a look back and ahead

April 03, 2013, 5:07am

Nationals

With a long offseason behind him and opening day now in the rear view mirror, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo took a few minutes yesterday to catch up with MASNsports.com to discuss his team's postseason run in 2012, the changes to the roster made over the winter and his expectations for this upcoming season. Rizzo touched on how he's seen Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg evolve as players, whether his team is better set up for postseason success this year and what it would mean to...

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New-look Hagerstown Suns ready for challenge of 140 games

April 02, 2013, 11:52am

Nationals

New-look Hagerstown Suns ready for challenge of 140 games

HAGERSTOWN - The older brother of the Nationals' famous young hitter, a new-look uniform and a brand new manager highlight the 2013 version of Single-A Hagerstown Suns. Tripp Keister was promoted from the GCL Nats and takes over for Brian Daubach, who moved on to Single-A Potomac. The Suns feature several talented draft picks and eight Dominican players this season. They also will wear red- and blue-trimmed uniforms, more in tune with their top team, the Washington Nationals. "I think we...

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Some opening day leftovers

April 02, 2013, 2:45pm

Nationals

Under normal circumstances, Rafael Soriano picking up his first save as a National on opening day with a dominant ninth inning would be something we'd be discussing immediately following the game. With what Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg did yesterday, however, Soriano's performance took a bit of a backseat. Now that we've broken down Harper and Strasburg's efforts backwards and forwards and backwards again, however, we can talk a bit about Soriano's 1-2-3 ninth, which included two...

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David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation

April 03, 2013, 4:40am

Nationals

David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation

The starting staff that general manager Mike Rizzo assembled for the 2013 Nationals is nothing short of remarkable. Up and down the rotation, there are pitchers who are, have been, or could be aces. The talent of Stephen Strasburg is obvious. If he hadn't been stopped because of an innings limit last season, Gio Gonzalez wouldn't have been the only Nat getting Cy Young votes. Strasburg's 11.13 strikeouts per nine innings would have been the 17th-highest in major league history - and this is...