nationals

Soto's two homers can't overcome SÃ¡nchez's third rough start

August 12, 2020, 7:49pm

Manager Davey Martinez said this week that for AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez to get back to being the pitcher who nearly threw a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2019 National League Championship Series, the right-hander would have to get the ball down. But in his first two starts this season, SÃ¡nchez has not been able to do that, to the tune of nine runs allowed and an 0-2 record. Unfortunately, SÃ¡nchez is still looking for that command. Despite a mammoth three-run homer from Juan Soto, SÃ¡nchez...

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Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL

August 13, 2020, 8:11am

Nationals

Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL

Nationals manager Davey Martinez delivered news this morning from a rainy Citi Field, where the Nats hope to wrap up their four-game set with the Mets before they board the train for Baltimore tonight. The club announced that left-hander Sam Freeman has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left flexor mass strain. He had a 0.00 ERA in five innings so far this season. The team activated right-hander Will Harris from the injured list following his recovery from a right groin...

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Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"

August 13, 2020, 2:15pm

Nationals

Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"

Rookie Seth Romero made his major league debut Thursday against the Mets, coming in for starter Austin Voth to begin the fifth inning, in a game the Nats lost 8-2. It turned out to be an up-and-down outing for the 24-year-old, who had not pitched in a game in almost two years. But a big league promotion is a huge deal for a kid who missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. With the Nats down 3-1, the Nats' 2017 first-rounder took on the Mets' speedy outfielder Billy...

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Martinez keeping close eye on Doolittle, bullpen as season continues

August 14, 2020, 3:28am

Nationals

Martinez keeping close eye on Doolittle, bullpen as season continues

The Nationals placed veteran reliever Sean Doolittle on the 10-day injured list Thursday and promoted rookie left-hander Seth Romero to the active roster. Doolittle is suffering from right knee fatigue. Manager Davey Martinez is devising a plan of how to get his left-handed closer back 100 percent healthy over the next week or so. The hope is that with his knee returning to full strength, the velocity in his fastball will return to normal too. "He's going to go back with us," Martinez said...

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Game 17 lineups: Nats at Orioles

August 14, 2020, 11:47am

Nationals

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg starts tonight's regularly scheduled game at Camden Yards against the Orioles left-hander Tommy Milone. Manager Davey Martinez is still concerned about the nerve issue in Strasburg's hand, so the will monitor him closely throughout tonight's game. "He says he is ready to go," Martinez said during a pregame Zoom video call. "We are going to send him out there, we will keep an eye on him. I think it's more of the ups for him as opposed to the pitch count. As...

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GarcÃa on first start in the bigs: "A moment that I always dreamt of"

August 14, 2020, 9:42pm

Nationals

GarcÃa on first start in the bigs: "A moment that I always dreamt of"

The Nationals lost their starting second baseman and most consistent hitter just two innings into the completion of their suspended game with the Orioles Friday night. Starlin Castro went down with a fractured right wrist. He was hitting .283 for the Nats so far this season. The injury was a major blow for the club that has seen pitchers go down to begin this shortened season, but this was their first position player to be lost for an extended time. Castro's veteran leadership was extremely...

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Game 18 lineups: Nats at Orioles (updated)

August 15, 2020, 6:55am

Nationals Orioles

Game 18 lineups: Nats at Orioles (updated)

BALTIMORE - The Nationals get back to work tonight seeking a series win for the first time since the July 30 "road" series at Nats Park against the Blue Jays. The Orioles won 6-2 to complete a three-game sweep of the Nats when the two teams finished in Baltimore the series finale that was suspended Sunday at Nationals Park when a tangled tarp kept the grounds crew from keeping the field playable. But the Nats roared back to take the regularly scheduled game at Camden Yards 15-3. After losing...

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Strasburg to injured list with right hand injury, Harper returns

August 15, 2020, 9:30am

Nationals

Strasburg to injured list with right hand injury, Harper returns

BALTIMORE - The Nationals announced that right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been placed on the 10-day injured list with carpal tunnel neuritis of the right hand. The team has recalled right-handed pitcher Ryne Harper from the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, Va. Carpal tunnel syndrome, also called median nerve compression, is a condition that causes numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hand. According to webmd.com, the syndrome "happens because of pressure on your median nerve,...

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Strasburg set for tests on hand on Monday; Kendrick gets day off

August 15, 2020, 1:04pm

Nationals Orioles

Strasburg set for tests on hand on Monday; Kendrick gets day off

BALTIMORE - Manager Davey Martinez said injured starter Stephen Strasburg will have a medical evaluation done by a hand specialist in a couple of days. The right-hander was placed on the injured list Saturday with carpal tunnel neuritis in his right hand. Unfortunately, Martinez believes the issue won't be solved anytime soon. "We want to have a follow-up on Monday, going to do some nerve tests on his hand," Martinez said during the pregame Zoom video call. "I don't think this is going to...

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Bacus on major league debut: "I really made it"

August 15, 2020, 2:36pm

Nationals Orioles

Bacus on major league debut: "I really made it"

BALTIMORE - In the suspended game that was completed Friday here at Camden Yards, 29-year-old Dakota Bacus made his major league debut for the Nationals. The right-handed reliever from Moline, Ill., fired two shutout innings, allowing no runs and no hits with one strikeout, finishing off a 6-2 loss to the Orioles. Bacus did his job. He struck out Austin Hays on a swinging strike three with an 87 mph slider. The Orioles were unable to hit the ball out of the infield in his two frames. Bacus...

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Corbin struggles early on, Nats cannot recover in 7-3 loss (updated)

August 15, 2020, 6:49pm

Nationals Orioles

Corbin struggles early on, Nats cannot recover in 7-3 loss (updated)

BALTIMORE - Left-hander Patrick Corbin struggled from the start, unable to get his bread-and-butter slider over for the usual swings and misses. The Orioles scored two runs in each of the first two frames to race out to an early lead and coast from there, 7-3 over the Nationals, tying the series up at a game apiece. The Nats fall to 7-11. The Orioles pounded out 13 hits on the night, tallying at least one base hit in every inning. Corbin gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings. He...

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Turner on youngsters GarcÃa and Kieboom: "It's fun playing with them"

August 17, 2020, 9:15am

Nationals

Turner on youngsters GarcÃa and Kieboom: "It's fun playing with them"

Nationals shortstop Trea Turner made his major league debut about this time in 2015. Turner was 22 and went 0-for-2 against the Brewers. His double play counterpart five seasons later, 20-year-old second baseman Luis GarcÃa, made his major league debut four days ago. Third baseman Carter Kieboom made his debut last April at 21. Juan Soto, who plays behind Turner in left field, made his debut in May 2018 at 19. In center field, Victor Robles made his debut in September 2017 at 20. All around...

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Martinez being careful with Kendrick; updates on Strasburg, Castro

August 17, 2020, 1:17pm

Nationals

Martinez being careful with Kendrick; updates on Strasburg, Castro

He owns two of the most meaningful home runs in Nationals history. So when Howie Kendrick is not available, it certainly changes the makeup of the lineup and the quick strike ability for this club. A grand slam to beat the Dodgers and a go-ahead foul pole-clanging two-run homer against in World Series Game 7 against the Astros will forever go down in Nats lore. Those big hits might have made some forget that Kendrick fought through a left hamstring strain that kept him out of the lineup for 11...

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Hudson on allowing walk-off homer: "It stinks"

August 17, 2020, 8:05pm

Nationals

Hudson on allowing walk-off homer: "It stinks"

The Nationals bullpen walked the tightrope all night long as it attempted to hold the lead and managed to find a way to get within one out of pulling it off. Until all that walking on a tightrope turned into a walk-off. Dansby Swanson delivered a dramatic two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Nats closer Daniel Hudson, part of a four-run Braves rally that resulted in a stunning 7-6 loss. "They're really tough, man," Hudson said during a postgame Zoom video call. "They don't hurt...

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Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday

August 18, 2020, 1:11pm

Nationals

Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday

Nationals second baseman Starlin Catro will have surgery on Friday to repair his broken right wrist. If everything goes well in rehab, Castro expects to be back around the beginning of October. "Castro will have surgery on Friday," manager Davey Martinez said on today's pregame Zoom call. "They are putting a pin in his wrist. I talked to him this morning. He sounded upbeat. He said by doing it this way, he can recover a lot quicker. He said, 'Just get to the playoffs and I'll be back...

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Martinez on Robles' acrobatic catch in center field: "Game saver"

August 18, 2020, 8:31pm

Nationals

Martinez on Robles' acrobatic catch in center field: "Game saver"

Fresh off a four-run scoring outburst that erased a 5-2 Braves lead, the Nationals were desperate to hold the slim advantage for reliever Wander Suero in the bottom of the fifth. Leading 6-5, Suero allowed an Adam Duvall single. With two outs, the go-ahead run was at the plate in Austin Riley. The Braves third baseman got a hold of a 92 mph Suero cutter and lined it deep to center field. Victor Robles tracked the ball, which had an exit velocity of 103 mph and would have traveled 409 feet, the...

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Thames more relaxed further down the order

August 18, 2020, 9:23pm

Nationals

Thames more relaxed further down the order

First baseman Eric Thames went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the Nationals' 8-5 comeback win over the division rival Braves on Tuesday night, all from the No. 8 spot in the order. Along with Trea Turner and Adam Eaton, Thames was credited with a team-high three hard-hit balls on the night, according to Statcast. Thames contributed an RBI single in the second inning that got the Nats on the board. In the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, his hotshot grounder dropped out of the glove of...

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Young guys fit right in with a Nats team looking for repeat

August 19, 2020, 1:40pm

Nationals

Young guys fit right in with a Nats team looking for repeat

One trend that has been noticeable early this season is how the young guys, most of them making their major league debuts, have fit in from the beginning with the Nationals, and have looked like they belong in the big leagues. Luis GarcÃa, 20, has hit the ground running. Carter Kieboom, 22, had only 11 games of experience coming into 2020, but he also fits in nicely this season. Young pitchers, or pitchers making their major league debuts, have held their own. "They are all doing well, and...

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Game postponed, rescheduled for Sept. 4 doubleheader

August 19, 2020, 3:38pm

Nationals

Game postponed, rescheduled for Sept. 4 doubleheader

Tonight's game between the Nationals and the Braves at Truist Park has been postponed due to inclement weather in Atlanta. The game will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 4, starting at 4:10 p.m. The Nats will be flying in from Philadelphia for that series on Thursday night, Sept. 3. The Nats do not have a game until Friday night, when they open a rare five-game set against the Marlins at Nats Park. So this helps a tired bullpen get back on a normal schedule,...

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Suzuki's pregame throwing drill helps his pitcher's in-game success

August 20, 2020, 9:32am

Nationals

Suzuki's pregame throwing drill helps his pitcher's in-game success

During early pregame at Nationals Park, Kurt Suzuki and bullpen coach Henry Blanco perform a catching drill in the outfield. Suzuki stands in uniform with his catcher's glove and a baseball in center field, about 50 to 60 yards away from Blanco, who takes his spot on the right field foul line close to Nationals bullpen. Suzuki begins the program by throwing the baseball as hard as he can to Blanco, who catches it and throws it back. After Suzuki throws the first ball, he walks toward Blanco...