nationals

Combo of stopper Gonzalez, closer Rodriguez helps Nats to 7-4 victory over Bucs

May 16, 2012, 7:08pm

There is a method to Davey's madness: leave him in. The strategy worked in two ways as starter Gio Gonzalez and closer Henry Rodriguez fought through varying threats to hold off the Pirates 7-4 on Wednesday. Gonzalez's line was impressive again, taking over the major league lead in strikeouts, momentarily, with 60 punch-outs courtesy of 10 strikeouts against Pittsburgh. Leading 4-1, Gonzalez gave up a two-run shot to Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison. And the seemingly comfortable...

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LaRoche and Nady smack back-to-back jacks (Nats win 7-4)

May 16, 2012, 4:54pm

Nationals

LaRoche and Nady smack back-to-back jacks (Nats win 7-4)

The Nationals now have three solo home runs so far tonight, and if Bryce Harper's blast in the first inning had traveled just a few more feet, that total would be four. After Ian Desmond went yard in the third, Adam LaRoche and Xavier Nady blasted back-to-back homers in the sixth, opening up a 4-1 Nats lead on Erik Bedard and the Pirates. Bedard had set down 11 hitters in a row following Desmond's homer, seven of which came via the strikeout. But LaRoche crushed a 1-2 fastball into the...

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Harper accomplishes another first

May 16, 2012, 4:31pm

Nationals

He might have missed out on notching his third home run in as many games by only a few feet, but Bryce Harper accomplished another first in the first inning tonight when he ripped a triple high off the wall in right-center. Harper seems to scratch something else off his major league to-do list pretty much every single night. Tonight it was the triple, which also registered as his ninth extra-base hit in 17 games. The rookie then came around to score one batter later on Ryan Zimmerman's RBI...

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Storen right on schedule in recovery from elbow surgery

May 16, 2012, 2:24pm

Nationals

Storen right on schedule in recovery from elbow surgery

Right-hander Drew Storen remains with the team in D.C. as he continues his rehab from elbow surgery to remove a bone chip. Storen soft-tossed 100 throws Wednesday, the same number he threw Monday. He did two sets of 50 throws, 25 at 45 feet and 25 from 60 feet. Storen will have another day off tomorrow. "It feels all right," Storen said. "It is right where I expected it to be. It is just different, playing catch, soft tossing. It's right on track, a day-by-day thing." Storen is not...

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Wang ready to return, open to coming out of the 'pen

May 16, 2012, 1:53pm

Nationals

Wang ready to return, open to coming out of the 'pen

Chien-Ming Wang was back with the Nationals today, throwing a bullpen session under the watchful eye of pitching coach Steve McCatty and talking with some teammates in the Nats' clubhouse. The veteran right-hander showed on Monday that he is nearing a return to the major leagues, working into the ninth inning in a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse. Wang will now make at least one more start with Syracuse before getting called up to the big league club. The widespread speculation is that...

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Ramos done for the season, Morse feels "like a monkey riding a bike"

May 16, 2012, 3:02pm

Nationals

Ramos done for the season, Morse feels "like a monkey riding a bike"

These days, the Nationals' clubhouse isn't the most pleasant of places. That has nothing to do with the team's win-loss record, recent performance or the overall clubhouse atmosphere, which has been pretty cheery this season. It's just that everywhere you turn, there are injured guys slowly trudging around. Today, Wilson Ramos awkwardly maneuvered through a hallway on crutches, just days after tearing his ACL. Fellow catcher Sandy Leon limped up to his locker with his right ankle still...

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Harper in center, Nady in right

May 16, 2012, 12:42pm

Nationals

As the Nationals welcome the Pirates to town tonight, Bryce Harper is in center field for the third time of his young career while also batting second. Outfielder Xavier Nady also starts for the first time since May 11 and Tyler Moore is in the starting lineup for the first time since May 9, batting seventh and patrolling left field. For the Nationals: SS Ian Desmond CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche RF Xavier Nady 2B Danny Espinosa LF Tyler Moore C Jesus Flores LHP Gio...

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Tyler Moore ready for start against Pirates, not rusty from wait

May 16, 2012, 1:27pm

Nationals

Tyler Moore ready for start against Pirates, not rusty from wait

Nationals Tyler Moore gets the start in left field Wednesday in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Finally. Moore started in his first game in a Nationals uniform against the Dodgers back on April 29. In only his ninth game - so far he has only gone 2-for-11 (.182) without an extra base hit - Moore gets a chance to start at Nationals Park against the Pirates. He says it has not been tough waiting for his opportunity. "No, not really," Moore said. "We got great coaches and...

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Some of this, some of that

May 16, 2012, 5:06am

Nationals

Is anyone else blown away by the fact that yesterday was just the second time in 25 career starts that Stephen Strasburg allowed more than three earned runs in a game? I still had trouble believing that was accurate, even after I had looked over all of Strasburg's outings and then double-checked the numbers later on yesterday afternoon. That's remarkable consistency out of the 23-year-old. While Strasburg has been grooving through much of this season, Ryan Zimmerman has not yet been able...

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An uncomfortable outing for Strasburg, in multiple ways

May 15, 2012, 1:55pm

Nationals

An uncomfortable outing for Strasburg, in multiple ways

As unusual as Stephen Strasburg's start was today, with an eight-minute rain delay disrupting the first inning and the Nationals righty allowing the second-most runs of any start in his career, a bit of information revealed postgame might have been even more bizarre. According to manager Davey Johnson, Strasburg had some "hot stuff" get "misplaced" during his start, which contributed to his struggles on the mound. "It was on his shoulder and evidently ... I don't know how it got to...

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Rachel Levitin: What if the Nats lost a starting pitcher to injury?

May 16, 2012, 5:01am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: What if the Nats lost a starting pitcher to injury?

What would happen if a member of the Nationals' starting rotation were to suffer an injury? What would happen if there's more than one man down over the course of the season? I'm not saying such a tragedy is inevitable nor am I saying it will happen, but it's a definite "what if" that should be thrown into the season-long equation as a safety measure. The starting staff remains the sole portion of the Nats' lineup that hasn't seen a harsh blow thrown its way in the form of a trip to...

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Not much to rave about in 6-1 loss

May 15, 2012, 12:01pm

Nationals

Bryce Harper hit his second home run in as many days. Yeah, that's about all the positive stuff to report coming out of the Nationals' 6-1 loss to the Padres this afternoon. The Nationals couldn't get much of anything done against Padres starter Anthony Bass, who went eight strong innings in his best outing of the season, allowing just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. Outside of Harper's home run, the Nats only had three runners in scoring position all afternoon (that counts...

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Fly ball misplay was swing Padres needed against Strasburg

May 15, 2012, 1:43pm

Nationals

Fly ball misplay was swing Padres needed against Strasburg

It looked like an innocent pop up between left field and right field midway towards the warning track from the first hitter of the game, Padres right fielder Will Venable. Nationals left fielder Roger Bernadina and center fielder Rick Ankiel, as well as right fielder Bryce Harper converged on the fly ball. Bernadina and Ankiel appeared to look down at each other as they tracked the ball and suddenly it fell in front of Bernadina's feet. Venable scampered to second on a double and San Diego...

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Johnson's familiar lineup card starting to pay dividends for Nationals

May 15, 2012, 8:19am

Nationals

The lineup is starting to show a familiar refrain. Ian Desmond and Roger Bernadina. Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper. Danny Espinosa and Rick Ankiel. The catching spot. The starting pitcher. Johnson said the genesis of this particular starting nine was given boost into motion when he had a conversation with outfielder Roger Bernadina, who was off to a slow start due in part to a lack of consistent at-bats. With the unfortunate injury to Jayson Werth, Johnson was looking to mix...

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An abbreviated day for Strasburg (Harper homers again)

May 15, 2012, 10:47am

Nationals

An abbreviated day for Strasburg (Harper homers again)

This didn't look like the Stephen Strasburg we've seen much of this season. Strasburg, who entered today with a 1.64 ERA on the year, was clearly battling himself this afternoon against the Padres, stepping off the mound and taking deep breath after deep breath. He didn't have his good stuff, allowing seven hits and four runs before seeing the bullpen door open to begin the fifth inning. It's just the third time in his 25 career starts that Strasburg had failed to pitch into the fifth,...

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Strasburg in an early hole after brief rain delay (updated)

May 15, 2012, 9:41am

Nationals

Strasburg in an early hole after brief rain delay (updated)

For about three minutes, Stephen Strasburg was forced to pitch in a downpour with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning. Finally, home plate umpire and crew chief Brian Gorman called for a rain delay and brought the grounds crew onto the field. Nearly as soon as he did so, the rain all but stopped. The tarp never got rolled out, and the players were quickly called back onto the field. We were all set to resume play, only the three base umpires were still in the tunnel. Tony...

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Catching up on things

May 15, 2012, 8:18am

Nationals

Despite the initial forecast for today, it's turned into a beautiful day at Nationals Park. The sun is beaming down right now, and the grounds crew is tending to the infield and taking squeegees to the outfield turf to spread out the water that accumulated overnight and into the morning. We might get some light rain later in the afternoon, but it appears the heavy stuff will miss us. And weatherman Dan is done for the day. Davey Johnson was asked what his plans are for catcher Jhonatan...

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Some bullpen bullet points

May 14, 2012, 11:51pm

Nationals

If you were wondering whether last night's performance by Henry Rodriguez - in which the righty walked the bases loaded while leading by three runs in the ninth - changed Davey Johnson's view on how Rodriguez will be used, the answer is a simple one. Nope. Within a five-minute press conference after last night's game, Johnson referred to either himself or the Nationals as a team having "confidence" in Rodriguez four separate times. "I went up to him after the game, I said, 'Henry,...

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Maldonado activated, Ramos placed on 60-day DL (plus Nats lineup)

May 15, 2012, 6:52am

Nationals

Maldonado activated, Ramos placed on 60-day DL (plus Nats lineup)

The Nationals have officially placed catcher Sandy Leon on the 15-day DL with a high right ankle sprain and selected catcher Carlos Maldonado from Triple-A Syracuse. Maldonado made it here in time for today's game, although he might be a little bit worn out after making the late-night trip from Columbus, Ohio. To make room for Maldonado on the 40-man roster, the Nats have moved catcher Wilson Ramos from the 15-day to the 60-day DL. Lot of catcher maneuverings today. Here is the Nats'...

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Nats select Maldonado from Triple-A, DL Leon, move Ramos to 60-day disabled list

May 15, 2012, 6:48am

Nationals

Nats select Maldonado from Triple-A, DL Leon, move Ramos to 60-day disabled list

The Washington Nationals today selected catcher Carlos Maldonado from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and placed catcher Sandy Leon on the 15-Day Disabled List with a high ankle sprain (right ankle). The Nationals also transferred catcher Wilson Ramos from the 15- to the 60-Day Disabled List. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The 33 year-old Maldonado, who will wear No. 49 when he joins the Nationals...