nationals

Ted Leavengood: Not ready for prime time

June 18, 2012, 5:20am

Win six in a row, lose three in a row. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. Such smug acceptance offers little consolation for Washington baseball fans. The six wins leading into the Yankees series only served to raise expectations. The idea was rampant going into the three-game weekend series that even the vaunted Yankees were fair game for the first-place Nationals. Only it did not turn out that way. The enthusiastic crowds that witnessed the Yankees series had playoff...

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Storen confirms he's on track for All-Star break return

June 17, 2012, 9:35am

Nationals

Storen confirms he's on track for All-Star break return

Right-hander Drew Storen is still on track to return by the All-Star break. Storen has been recovering from elbow surgery to remove a bone chip. He said he would actually like to get back into a few games while the team is at home, right before the break in mid-July, maybe against the Giants or Rockies from July 3-8. Storen said he is still in the building process to get back to being game-ready. He said the adrenaline level for a bullpen session is different from a game in spring training...

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Another quality start, another deficit

June 17, 2012, 11:51am

Nationals

In this series, the Nationals have thrice gotten six strong innings from their starter. Gio Gonzalez allowed three runs over six-plus frames on Friday, Jordan Zimmermann also allowed three runs in six innings yesterday, and today, Edwin Jackson gave up just two runs in six. All three times, the starter has left the game in line for the loss. Today, Jackson gives way to Tom Gorzelanny in the seventh with the Nats trailing 2-1. Washington has managed six hits off Yankees starter Ivan Nova,...

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Nationals Adam LaRoche tells Bryce Harper to "shake it off" after five-strikeout outing

June 16, 2012, 3:01pm

Nationals

It was a particularly rough afternoon at the plate for Bryce Harper. The talented rookie struck out five times against the Yankees in a 5-3, 14-inning loss before a sellout crowd of 41,287 at Nationals Park. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte used his slider to subdue Harper with three consecutive strikeouts. In his final pair of strikeouts, the frustration started to show as Harper had plenty to say to home plate umpire Tim Timmons. In the field, Harper did not miss a beat. He played masterful...

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Roster move coming (with Nats lineup)

June 17, 2012, 8:04am

Nationals

The Nationals will be making a roster move before today's series finale against the Yankees. Reliever Ryan Mattheus is listed on the lineup card among the available relievers for today's game. Mattheus will need to be activated off the disabled list, which he's been on due to plantar fasciitis since late May. Brad Lidge, who has allowed five runs over the last two days, is not listed among the available relievers for today. He was seen meeting with general manager Mike Rizzo this...

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Lidge designated for assignment, Mattheus activated

June 17, 2012, 8:31am

Nationals

Lidge designated for assignment, Mattheus activated

Coming off a lengthy game yesterday and with Brad Lidge's ERA at 9.64, the Nationals have decided to make a move. The 35-year-old Lidge has been designated for assignment, while reliever Ryan Mattheus has been reinstated from the 15-day DL. "The 14-inning game last night forced us to make a bullpen roster move," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "Brad wasn't performing very well. He was very disappointed, and Mattheus is ready to come off the rehab assignment. We thought this was the...

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A quick turnaround

June 17, 2012, 6:43am

Nationals

I'd like to start by wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially my dad, who currently gets his baseball fix by working as an usher at Nats Park. When it was clear my career as a baseball player wasn't going to take off, (strangely enough, there isn't much of a need for scrawny infielders with an average glove and no power), he made sure to tell me not to give up on my dream of working in sports. Thanks, Pops. It's not easy playing a 1:30 p.m. game the day after a...

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RHP Ryan Mattheus reinstated from DL, RHP Brad Lidge designated for assignment

June 17, 2012, 8:06am

Nationals

RHP Ryan Mattheus reinstated from DL, RHP Brad Lidge designated for assignment

The Washington Nationals today returned from rehab and reinstated right-handed pitcher Ryan Mattheus from the 15-Day Disabled List and designated right-handed pitcher Brad Lidge for assignment. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Mattheus missed the last 24 games with a plantar fascia strain (left foot). The 28-year-old went 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA (3 ER/3.0 IP) in three rehab appearances with Double-A Harrisburg and...

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Nats discuss apparent blown call in eighth inning

June 16, 2012, 3:12pm

Nationals

Nats discuss apparent blown call in eighth inning

In the eighth inning of today's 14-inning marathon, the Nationals nearly took the lead. In fact, it sure looked like they did take the lead. Two batters after Ian Desmond's two-out home run tied the game in the eighth, Tyler Moore came burning around third base, heading for home on Adam LaRoche's pinch-hit single to right. Just as Yankees catcher Russell Martin received a throw from right fielder Dewayne Wise, Moore dove (or should I say bellyflopped) head-first towards the plate. Moore...

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Another rough outing for Lidge

June 16, 2012, 3:46pm

Nationals

Bryce Harper declined to talk to reporters after his 0-for-7, five-strikeout performance. It was a rough day for the rookie, almost certainly the roughest of his brief major league career. It was also a rough day for reliever Brad Lidge, who has been stuck with two really poor stat lines so far in this series. Last night, Lidge allowed three runs over one-third of an inning after giving up one hit and two walks (one of which was intentional). He was on the mound when the game got away from...

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Things don't break Nats' way in crucial seventh inning

June 15, 2012, 7:50pm

Nationals

Things don't break Nats' way in crucial seventh inning

If you didn't catch tonight's game, you might check the box score and think the Yankees demolished the Nationals in the opener of their much-anticipated three-game series. The Nats don't feel that was the case. "It wasn't like we got crushed tonight," shortstop Ian Desmond said. "The score probably says so, but we were in the game. Just like I said, a couple mistakes." Some of those mistakes came early, when the Nats left two runners on in the first and then only managed one run...

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Desmond wipes the slate clean in the eighth (Nats fall in 14 innings)

June 16, 2012, 11:53am

Nationals

Desmond wipes the slate clean in the eighth (Nats fall in 14 innings)

Andy Pettitte leaves, and things start turning for the Nationals. Old Man Pettitte went seven strong innings, allowing just two runs and striking out six, and he left with a 3-2 lead. Three batters after Pettitte exited, the game was tied. Ian Desmond's 10th home run of the season has knotted this contest at 3-3. He took a 2-2 pitch from Cory Wade and demolished it, sending it at least 10 rows deep into the left field seats. The 10 homers ties a career high for Desmond. He now has a mere...

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Bullpen updates on Mattheus, Storen and Rodriguez

June 16, 2012, 7:57am

Nationals

Bullpen updates on Mattheus, Storen and Rodriguez

Nationals right-handed reliever Ryan Mattheus said everything went well with his foot in his latest rehab game at Double-A Harrisburg. He is feeling no complications as he recovers from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Mattheus threw 26 pitches of scoreless ball over one inning. A club source on hand said Mattheus "looked great." Mattheus told me he will have two more rehab assignments on back-to-back days to see how the foot reacts to a pair of games in a row. If everything goes as...

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Flores flexes his muscles (Zimmermann on the hook for the loss)

June 16, 2012, 10:20am

Nationals

Flores flexes his muscles (Zimmermann on the hook for the loss)

The actor who played Steve Urkel on "Family Matters" - Jaleel White - threw out the first pitch before today's ballgame. He fired a strike in on the outer half. Must've actually been Stefan Urquelle sneaking onto the mound without anyone noticing. The Nats lead 2-1 midway through the fourth inning thanks to a two-RBI double by Jesus Flores. But this wasn't your standard two-RBI double. The ball traveled to the base of the 377-foot marker in left-center field despite the fact that...

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Despite apparent injury, Desmond batting fifth (LaRoche rests)

June 16, 2012, 7:30am

Nationals

Despite apparent injury, Desmond batting fifth (LaRoche rests)

We're under two hours until today's first pitch. Why has the Nationals' lineup still not been posted yet? Another injury, that's why. Trainers are currently looking at shortstop Ian Desmond, who has been battling what manager Davey Johnson referred to as "one of those side injuries." Sounds like yet another oblique issue, something which has also plagued Adam LaRoche and Mark DeRosa this season and is becoming one of the more common injuries around baseball. Johnson was first made...

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Nationals' early chances loom large in late stumble against Yankees

June 15, 2012, 7:39pm

Nationals

The Nationals have been playing good baseball. Tonight, they faced a team playing just as well. When you face a team like the Yankees, it takes more than good starting pitching to win. For six innings, the Nats were in this thing, down 2-1. But a four-run seventh inning decided it, and the Yankees cruised 7-2, with five runs in the final three frames. One way the outcome could have been different would have been if the Nationals had taken advantage of chances they had early against Yankees...

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Bats go quiet in 7-2 loss to Yankees

June 15, 2012, 6:08pm

Nationals

Over the last six innings of tonight's game, the Nationals struck out nine times and had just three runners reach base. Their play in the first three frames wasn't nearly enough to carry that type of offensive shutdown. Eighteen of the last 21 Nats hitters to come to the plate tonight were retired while the Yankees rode a four-run seventh inning to a 7-2 win. Curtis Granderson drove in three of those seven Yankees runs with a two-run double in the seventh and a solo homer, his 20th of the...

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Yankees' Girardi impressed with Nats, Harper and the Park

June 15, 2012, 2:51pm

Nationals

Yankees' Girardi impressed with Nats, Harper and the Park

The Nationals and the Yankees are ready to do battle at Nationals Park for the first time in franchise history. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he has had some experience working games in D.C., and is impressed with the Nationals of today and the new park. The last time he faced the Nationals, they were still playing at RFK Stadium. "I think it is great that baseball is here in Washington," Girardi said. "I had a chance to come here in 2006 when I was with the Marlins. They were building...

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Harper squares off against the pinstripes

June 15, 2012, 2:37pm

Nationals

Harper squares off against the pinstripes

Nationals first-round pick Lucas Giolito is at Nats Park for the second straight day, talking with team officials and watching the Nats take batting practice from behind the cage. The 16th overall pick out of Harvard-Westlake School (Calif.) was at Ryan Zimmerman's charity event at the stadium last night, but today, the 6-foot-6, 230-lb. right-hander is getting an up-close look at the Nats players in action. He spent time talking with general manager Mike Rizzo and owner Mark Lerner (towering...

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Nats trail despite another quality start from Gonzalez (updated)

June 15, 2012, 5:10pm

Nationals

Nats trail despite another quality start from Gonzalez (updated)

It wasn't one of Gio Gonzalez's finest outings, but he leaves here in the seventh with his team trailing the Yankees just 2-1. Gonzalez battled his way through six-plus innings, leaving after throwing 109 pitches but holding the Yankees to just two runs over six. Both of those runs came in the third inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher. Neither ball was struck all that well, but both had enough to get through the infield and plate a run. The Nationals...