nationals

Rachel Levitin: If you still can't find a reason to watch the Nats, here's some

September 19, 2012, 5:47am

The novelty of postseason fever seems to be all the rage these days. As great and historic as this whole postseason thing is and sounds, it's not the sole reason for watching the Nationals in 2012. It's a great selling point, but it's not the only one. Perhaps this can be deemed a wake-up call of sorts, not unlike the time I went on to discuss why everyone should stop talking about Stephen Strasburg as if he were the messiah. Or maybe this is more reminiscent of the time I preached about...

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Nats-Dodgers postponed, straight doubleheader tomorrow

September 18, 2012, 1:35pm

Nationals

Nats-Dodgers postponed, straight doubleheader tomorrow

Tonight's Nationals-Dodgers game has been postponed due to weather, and a straight doubleheader between the two teams has been scheduled for tomorrow. The first game will begin at 4:05 p.m., with tomorrow's regularly scheduled contest to follow. It'll be a single-admission doubleheader. Manager Davey Johnson said that Jordan Zimmermann and John Lannan will likely be his two starters tomorrow, in that order, although he had yet to confirm that with pitching coach Steve McCatty. Aaron...

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Tuesday's Nationals-Dodgers game at Nationals Park postponed

September 18, 2012, 2:05pm

Nationals

Tonight's Nationals-Dodgers game scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., has been postponed due to inclement weather. The team will play a traditional, single-admission doubleheader tomorrow, Wednesday, September 19, beginning at 4:05 p.m. The second game will follow approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the first game or at 7:05 p.m., whichever is later. All tickets for tonight's game must be exchanged at the Nationals Park Box Office for seats...

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Daubach: Nationals' Karns was the "best pitcher in our league"

September 17, 2012, 6:10pm

Nationals

Only two months into this minor league season, I heard rave reviews from a couple of well placed sources about the progress of right-hander Nathan Karns. Finally healthy, after recovering from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the 2010 season, Karns rolled through the 2012 season and earned Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors. He made a quick jump from low Single-A Hagerstown to high Single-A Potomac early in the season. And the Nationals didn't just pick Karns because he had a...

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With rainout Tuesday, Johnson could turn to bullpen for spot start Sunday

September 18, 2012, 1:51pm

Nationals

With rainout Tuesday, Johnson could turn to bullpen for spot start Sunday

With Tuesday's opener against the Dodgers postponed until Wednesday, manager Davey Johnson will have to make an adjustment in his starting rotation later on in the week. According to Johnson, Wednesday's starters will be Jordan Zimmermann for the 4:05 p.m. start and John Lannan for the second game. With no days off the rest of the regular season, that leaves an opening down the line for Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Zach Duke, Craig Stammen, Tom Gorzelanny and Chien-Ming...

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Morse in Nats lineup, good news on Espinosa

September 18, 2012, 12:30pm

Nationals

Morse in Nats lineup, good news on Espinosa

Michael Morse will take batting practice and is listed in tonight's lineup. If all goes well in the cage, Morse will be playing left field and batting fifth. There was some good news on Danny Espinosa this afternoon. After leaving Sunday night's game early, Espinosa underwent a MRI on his left shoulder. The scan revealed he had a bone bruise in the capsule of his shoulder. He received a cortisone shot yesterday and could possibly play tomorrow. Espinosa had feared a torn labrum and said the...

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Nationals playoff tickets go on sale Friday (plus weather update)

September 18, 2012, 11:33am

Nationals

The Nationals have announced that tickets for potential Wild Card and NL Division Series games at Nats Park will go on sale to the general public this Friday, September 21 at 10 a.m. A maximum of four tickets can be purchased online by going to www.nationals.com/postseason or by calling 888-632-NATS (6287). The tickets will, as you might expect, be sold on a first come, first served basis. The Nats Park box office will also sell a limited number of standing room only tickets the day of each...

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Ryan Zimmerman named Nationals' nominee for the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet

September 18, 2012, 1:22pm

Nationals

Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, announced today that Ryan Zimmerman was named the Washington Nationals' 2012 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Today marks the eleventh annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially recognize local Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Zimmerman is one of 30 Club...

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Tickets for potential 2012 Wild Card & NL Division series games to go on sale Friday, September 21

September 18, 2012, 12:01pm

Nationals

Tickets for potential 2012 Wild Card & NL Division series games to go on sale Friday, September 21

The Washington Nationals announced today that tickets for potential Wild Card and National League Division Series games at Nationals Park will go on sale to the general public Friday, September 21 at 10:00 a.m. ET. A maximum of four tickets for each game may be purchased online at nationals.com/postseason or by calling 888.632.NATS(6287) on a first come, first served basis. In addition, the Nationals Park Box Office will sell a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets the day of each...

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Waiting for word on Espinosa

September 17, 2012, 10:21pm

Nationals

Another half-game has been chipped off the Nationals' lead in the National League East. Atlanta won again last night, beating the Marlins to move within five games of the Nats in the division. They're making a charge now. The Nats will get a chance to respond against a reeling Dodgers team which has lost eight of its last 11 games and is currently a game back of the second NL Wild Card spot. It'll be Jordan Zimmermann going against Aaron Harang tonight in the opener of a three-game set....

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Stephen Walker: For Nationals, storm clouds obscure rainbows

September 17, 2012, 6:51pm

Nationals

Earlier, in this space, I encouraged Nationals fans to enjoy the first season of rainbows in Washington since 1969. Well, after this past weekend's gruesome three-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, storm clouds have appeared on the horizon. The Nationals still hold baseball's best record, and their lead in the National League East over the Braves is at five games after Atlanta's 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins. As Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche recently said, "Any day you...

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A radical - and interesting - postseason idea

September 17, 2012, 12:21pm

Nationals

A radical - and interesting - postseason idea

Today is the final off-day the Nationals will have during the regular season. They'll finish by playing 16 games in 16 days. How am I celebrating this rare time that I get to spend away from my laptop? Sitting in front of my laptop reading and writing about baseball. Welcome to the life of Dan Kolko. Actually, I'm going to go out to dinner a little later to celebrate my final hours before another birthday. So, there's that. As I was in the cab back from the airport this afternoon, I...

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Keeping it in perspective

September 16, 2012, 9:31pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Over 24 defensive innings the last three days, the Nationals surrendered 13 walks, hit two Braves batters and allowed three more to reach on errors. That's 18 guys who reached base without truly earning it. "You can't do that," manager Davey Johnson said. Offensively, the Nats plated just six runs in three games, struck out 35 times and had only 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Braves played well enough to win all three games in this series, but the Nationals...

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Daubach: Instructional league focused on fundamentals during first workouts

September 16, 2012, 8:56pm

Nationals

Daubach: Instructional league focused on fundamentals during first workouts

Instructional league workouts have begun for close to four dozen prospects in the Nationals organization. Low Single-A Hagerstown manager Brian Daubach is one of the 20 or so coaches that are working to get the players ready for their first game September 22. Daubach said instructional league workouts in Viera, Fla., are organized very similar to the way spring training is set up, with a lot of hands-on specialized teaching going on in each area. "We are working on a lot of the fundamental...

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Nats discuss another close one that got away

September 16, 2012, 9:07pm

Nationals

Nats discuss another close one that got away

ATLANTA - Despite a slow start offensively and a sloppy first few innings from starter Gio Gonzalez, the Nationals still trailed by just a run after six innings. Things then got away from the Nats in the bottom of the seventh. Two tough defensive plays allowed the Braves to turn a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 advantage, effectively wrapping up a three-game sweep in a 15-minute span. With one out in the seventh and the speedy Michael Bourn on first, Reed Johnson hit a high chopper to third base. Ryan...

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Ted Leavengood: Hope, dreams and fairness in the postseason

September 17, 2012, 5:31am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: Hope, dreams and fairness in the postseason

Atlanta swept three games from the Nationals over the weekend in a disheartening affair that Bruce Springsteen, who appeared at Nationals Park on Friday night, might well have called a "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out." Averaging almost 40,000 for the first two games, the Braves gave the Nationals a look at playoff atmosphere and pressure. The Braves were playing with their backs to the wall, 8 1/2 games behind Washington. But they showed how it's done, battling back Saturday and winning three...

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Espinosa going for MRI on injured left shoulder

September 16, 2012, 8:20pm

Nationals

Espinosa going for MRI on injured left shoulder

ATLANTA - Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa will spend part of his off-day tomorrow going for an MRI on his left shoulder, according to manager Davey Johnson. Espinosa has apparently been dealing with left shoulder discomfort of some kind for about a week. Johnson, who used a pinch hitter for Espinosa in the ninth inning tonight, said the injury will likely keep Espinosa out of the Nationals' three-game series against the Dodgers, which begins Tuesday. "I'm a little worried about...

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A whole lot of pitches from G. Gonzalez (Nats swept in Atlanta)

September 16, 2012, 5:30pm

Nationals

A whole lot of pitches from G. Gonzalez (Nats swept in Atlanta)

ATLANTA - For a guy who'd allowed just one earned run over his last 22 innings coming into tonight, Gio Gonzalez sure is having a tough time getting outs. Gonzalez has thrown 83 pitches through three innings so far tonight, as Braves hitters have battled him deep into counts, fouling off pitches and laying off the stuff just off the black. The Nationals' lefty has gotten to a three-ball count to eight of the 15 hitters he's faced, and has had at-bats last 10, nine, eight, eight and seven...

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Morse targeting Tuesday return to Nats lineup

September 16, 2012, 2:52pm

Nationals

Morse targeting Tuesday return to Nats lineup

ATLANTA - After being out of the Nationals lineup for the last four games, including tonight's contest, Michael Morse said today he hopes to return for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers. Morse, who is dealing with a lingering left wrist injury, still has not taken batting practice since being shut down following last Tuesday's game in New York. Depending on how he's feeling, Morse could either take BP tomorrow on the Nationals' off-day or wait until Tuesday. Manager Davey Johnson said...

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Second wild card team makes rush for playoffs intriguing for Nationals

September 16, 2012, 4:37am

Nationals

Based on last year's playoff format, the Atlanta Braves would be the only wild card team and the Nationals would know what to expect once October rolls around. Of course, the Nationals still need to maintain first place for that scenario to play out. The Nats will have 10 of their remaining 16 games at home after Sunday. Sunday is a big game, even if it doesn't mean the Nationals' lead will be relinquished, and they could use a win after two hard fought, one-run losses at Turner...