nationals

Desmond gets a day off, Lombardozzi to hit leadoff

April 19, 2012, 11:43am

Ian Desmond has gotten off to a nice start this season, hitting .300 with a homer, four RBIs and a .333 on-base percentage. Tonight, the Nationals' starting shortstop will get his first day off of the 2012 campaign. Steve Lombardozzi will play shortstop and hit leadoff for Davey Johnson's Nats tonight as they look for the sweep against Bud Norris and the Astros. If they can pick up another win tonight, the Nats would earn their first four-game home sweep since arriving in D.C. in 2005....

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Dave Nichols: Nats getting on base, but sluggers are struggling

April 19, 2012, 7:05am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Nats getting on base, but sluggers are struggling

The Nationals are far and away off to their best start since arriving in D.C. in 2005. It's fun going to the ballpark with a reasonable expectation that the Nats' starting pitcher is going to keep the team in the game, if not downright dominate the competition. In fact, with the five starters all on a roll right now, you get the feeling that each game in an internal competition between the five of them to see who can outdo the previous performance. Obviously, that's a good thing...

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Wrapping up the Nats' 3-2 win over Houston

April 18, 2012, 8:20pm

Nationals

Wrapping up the Nats' 3-2 win over Houston

Jordan Zimmermann was asked after tonight's game whether all this winning has given the Nationals a new attitude in their clubhouse. "Yeah, it's Natitude," he responded, cracking a smile. Here we go with the Natitude stuff. The Nationals needed to make two separate comebacks in tonight's game. They trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh before Roger Bernadina's RBI double tied the game, and then were down 2-1 in the eighth only two score two small-ball runs on a Jayson Werth...

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Bernadina gets back in lineup, delivers clutch hit

April 18, 2012, 7:43pm

Nationals

Bernadina gets back in lineup, delivers clutch hit

Left fielder Roger Bernadina returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Friday. He had been struggling at the plate to start the season, hitting a paltry .143 with just one RBI. But Bernadina hasn't sulked or moped around the clubhouse during the past few games. He continued to take extra swings to get his rhythm back. "I have been hitting a lot in the cage," Bernadina said. "I didn't feel rushed or anything. I was seeing the ball good. That was an important part to see the...

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No win for Zimmermann, but another "W" for Washington

April 18, 2012, 7:36pm

Nationals

No win for Zimmermann, but another "W" for Washington

I feel like I could copy and paste any recent blog about Jordan Zimmermann not getting run support into this space and pass it off as my latest entry. But I wouldn't dare do that to you. Well, maybe I would if I was a little more tired and wanted to get out of the press box quicker. The story keeps repeating itself: Zimmermann turns in a quality start, gets minimal offensive help and gets stuck with a loss he didn't deserve or a no-decision he shouldn't have been stuck with. Tonight,...

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A brand new ballgame (Nats win 3-2)

April 18, 2012, 5:10pm

Nationals

We're all knotted up 1-1 as we head to the top of the eighth, after Roger Bernadina smacked an opposite-field, two-out double in the bottom of the eighth, plating Rick Ankiel. Finally, some offense. It was just the Nationals' fourth hit of the ballgame, but it did the trick. Jordan Zimmermann is now off the hook, and while he still won't leave Nats Park with his first win of the season, he also won't get another tough-luck loss. The Nats had a chance to take the lead after Bernadina's...

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Still no support for Zimmermann; Lannan bounces back

April 18, 2012, 4:36pm

Nationals

Still no support for Zimmermann; Lannan bounces back

Jordan Zimmermann has allowed one run through six innings. Is it possible for the offense to put two runs on the board and get this guy a win? Zimmermann has been sharp tonight in cool conditions, giving up just four hits and needing only 78 pitches to get through his six frames. But yet again, he's getting no offensive support, and trails 1-0 as we head to the bottom of the sixth. In the 20 innings that Zimmermann has been on the mound this season, the Nats have scored one run. That's...

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McCatty talks about Lannan's struggles at Triple-A

April 18, 2012, 3:09pm

Nationals

McCatty talks about Lannan's struggles at Triple-A

The tarp has been pulled off the field, the drizzle here at Nationals Park has stopped, and we're set to start tonight's game on time. As for what will happen later on, well, we'll have to hope for the best. Since being optioned to the minors and subsequently requesting a trade, John Lannan has really struggled. In two starts for Triple-A Syracuse since his surprising demotion two days prior to the start of the regular season, Lannan has allowed a combined 13 runs (nine earned) over just...

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Holliday to be inducted in DC Basketball Hall of Fame

April 18, 2012, 2:48pm

Nationals

Holliday to be inducted in DC Basketball Hall of Fame

Only weeks after receiving the Golden Pioneer Award, an annual award given out by his high school alma mater for alumni who have made a huge impact, the accolades keep coming for Nationals and Hall of Fame broadcaster Johnny Holliday. Holliday, along with six other famous icons in the D.C. sports region, will be honored as the newest members of the Washington DC Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame. The ceremony for the seven new inductees will take place Saturday, May 5 at the Capital Hilton...

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An unlikely duo: Ryan Mattheus and Katy Perry

April 18, 2012, 9:58am

Nationals

An unlikely duo: Ryan Mattheus and Katy Perry

When it comes to picking a walk-out song, most major league relievers select something intense, something that will get their adrenaline flowing and pump them up as they jog out to the mound. Longtime Padres closer Trevor Hoffman used AC/DC's "Enter Sandman". Ryan Mattheus goes a different route. A very different route. You might have noticed that when the Nationals call on Mattheus, their 28-year-old reliever, in the late innings of a game, the music that blares through the speakers at...

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Wang throws successful simulated game; Lidge battling vertigo

April 18, 2012, 1:25pm

Nationals

Wang throws successful simulated game; Lidge battling vertigo

Chien-Ming Wang faced hitters today for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury during a spring training outing on March 15, and the reports on Wang out of the Nationals' complex in Viera, Fl. were positive. Wang threw 35 pitches today, and manager Davey Johnson said the veteran right-hander threw well and came out feeling healthy. "Really good, hard sink," Johnson said. "Had a great curveball, which, we saw that in the Yankee (game) his last outing before he hurt his hammy. But...

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Can they keep this up?

April 17, 2012, 11:07pm

Nationals

Teams aren't supposed to win games when they score three runs or fewer. Teams aren't supposed to be cruising along when they have a collective slugging percentage of .348 or be in first place when their five top outfielders have combined to drive in nine runs in 12 games. Yet, here the Nationals are. Two weeks into the season, Washington owns a 9-3 record and sits atop the National League East by a game and a half. The question now going forward is whether this pattern can continue. Can...

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Could Nationals prospect Tyler Moore be called up before September?

April 18, 2012, 8:00am

Nationals

Much has been made of when Bryce Harper will be called up to the majors. But what about Tyler Moore? Just this week, the career first baseman got his first taste of playing left field. He made one catch with no problems. Triple-A Syracuse manager Tony Beasley said they will get Moore more playing time in the outfield. Tuesday he was back at first base. He has played 425 games at first base and now one in left field. But Moore has been scorching the ball. The last 10 games, Moore is batting...

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Rachel Levitin: Arms race redefines game's growth from traditional to modern

April 18, 2012, 5:13am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Arms race redefines game's growth from traditional to modern

There was a time, back in the first year of the National League, when the same pitcher threw nearly every game of the season. That was 1876. Jim Devlin started and completed 68 of 69 games played by Louisville. Back then, the ball was thrown underhand and pitching careers were shorter. It wasn't until 1884 that pitchers were allowed to toss overhand - closer to the formation of the game we now watch daily from April to October - allowing more speed, but more stress, to envelop the arm. That...

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Another gem from Gio

April 17, 2012, 7:06pm

Nationals

Gio Gonzalez was representing the D.C. sports scene after tonight's dominant outing, sporting a Caps throwback t-shirt. The guy must love the nation's capital, huh? After tonight's outing, Gonzalez has now thrown 14 scoreless frames in his two starts at Nats Park this season, and he earned his first win as a National by holding the Astros to just two hits and two walks on a brisk night. It was another overpowering outing which saw Gonzalez outmatch Astros hitters, striking out eight,...

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Jackson's surprise gift brightens up the clubhouse

April 17, 2012, 2:11pm

Nationals

Jackson's surprise gift brightens up the clubhouse

Edwin Jackson's usually a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of guy. But today especially, his smile lit up the Nationals' clubhouse. Jackson got a surprise today when manager Davey Johnson called for Jackson to come into his office. The Nats skipper didn't want to talk about the hurler's latest outing or anything on-field related, but instead, he had a gift waiting for Jackson. Johnson picked up a small box and passed it across the desk. Inside the black case was Jackson's 2012 St. Louis...

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Nationals' DeRosa and Nady will continue to work their way around the outfield

April 17, 2012, 2:09pm

Nationals

With last year's starting left fielder Michael Morse nursing his way back from a left lat injury, the Nationals have used several different lineups in the outfield. Manager Davey Johnson has employed an outfield by committee early on, with injuries and rough starts contributing to the alterations, even from game to game. For instance on Monday, Xavier Nady played left field, Rick Ankiel played center and Jayson Werth was in right. On Tuesday, by contrast, Johnson called for Nady in left,...

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Experience helps Lidge survive rocky ninth to send Nationals to another victory

April 17, 2012, 6:45pm

Nationals

The scenario has played out many times for Brad Lidge. The starter hands off the lead and the bullpen pushes the game to the deciding ninth frame. This time, the margin of error was extremely small, a 1-0 advantage over a hungry Houston Astros squad that had only three hits all night. Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie led off the inning with a double just inside the right field line. Left fielder J.D. Martinez followed with a walk. Houston had men on first and second with nobody out. The Nationals'...

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Final notes from the clubhouse after the Nats' 1-0 win

April 17, 2012, 7:32pm

Nationals

Final notes from the clubhouse after the Nats' 1-0 win

Things got a little tight in the ninth inning of tonight's game when Brad Lidge, in trying to protect a 1-0 lead, allowed a leadoff double to Jed Lowrie, then walked J.D. Martinez on four pitches. For a time there, it looked like tonight might be the second time in five days that Lidge was going to blow a game for Gio Gonzalez after the Nationals starter had thrown seven scoreless innings. But Lidge regrouped, retiring the next three hitters in succession to close it out. Jayson Werth has...

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Another tight one, another Nationals win

April 17, 2012, 5:20pm

Nationals

It's a good thing the Nationals' starters keep turning in gems, because they're not getting a ton of offensive support. Tonight, Gio Gonzalez got just enough help, and the Nationals rode their left-handed starter and bullpen to a tight 1-0 win over the Astros. Gonzalez has his second straight fantastic outing, going seven innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits and two walks. He struck out eight Astros hitters and, at one point, retired 13 straight hitters without allowing a ball...