nationals

Another big night from Soto ensures Gray's first win (updated)

September 22, 2021, 5:57pm

Juan Soto, unquestionably, is having a remarkable season. The Nationals, unquestionably, are not. And those two facts might just be on a collision course in a week and a half, when members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America have to decide if the latter disqualifies the former from earning their National League MVP vote. Yes, Soto has very much thrust himself into that age-old debate with his late-season surge at the plate for a team that tonight won its 63rd game, 7-5 over the...

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Game 153 lineups: Nats at Reds

September 23, 2021, 11:28am

Nationals

The Nationals have finally completed the National League East portion of their 2021 schedule. They played all 76 required games against the Braves, Mets, Phillies and Marlins, going a combined 30-46 along the way. (Not great, obviously.) So what's left on the slate? Three series against non-division opponents: the Reds, Rockies and Red Sox. It begins in Cincinnati with a four-game series that opens tonight. The Reds are trying to hang on the race for the final NL wild card berth, a wild race...

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Nationals select contract of Jhon Romero

September 23, 2021, 11:45am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jhon Romero from Triple-A Rochester and placed outfielder Yadiel Hernandez on the Paternity List on Thursday. Additionally, the Nationals designated catcher Jakson Reetz for assignment. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Romero, 26, went 2-4 with two saves and a 2.62 ERA in 38 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester in 2021. He struck out 69...

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Avila gets start in hometown, chance to help Gray

September 22, 2021, 1:51pm

Nationals

Avila gets start in hometown, chance to help Gray

Alex Avila's three starts behind the plate this month all came with Patrick Corbin on the mound, a calculated move by Nationals manager Davey Martinez in hopes the veteran catcher could get the left-hander out of a long funk. Tonight, Avila will be behind the plate again, this time tasked with helping rookie Josiah Gray turn things around after a ragged stretch. "I'm just curious to see how it all plays out," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters, adding: "The...

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Nationals' problem stopping running game has resurfaced

September 21, 2021, 8:31pm

Nationals

There was a time, before July 30, when the Nationals were among the toughest teams in baseball to run on. With Yan Gomes and Alex Avila behind the plate, the Nats excelled at controlling the running game, fixing what had been a major problem area for the team the previous two seasons. Alas, Gomes is now catching in Oakland. Avila only recently returned to the active roster after a long stint on the injured list. And the club's new, young catchers haven't enjoyed anywhere close to the success...

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Rogers dazzles during a 7 2/3-inning gem in Miami (updated)

September 21, 2021, 5:44pm

Nationals

Rogers dazzles during a 7 2/3-inning gem in Miami (updated)

For only the sixth time this season, a Nationals starter took the mound for the eighth inning, the first such instance in more than three months. The guys who had previously done it? Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Joe Ross. The guy who did it tonight in Miami? Josh Rogers. Yes, that Josh Rogers. The 27-year-old dumped from the Orioles' Triple-A roster earlier this summer. The one who signed a minor league deal with the Nats and got a chance to return to the majors earlier this month to start...

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Game 152 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 22, 2021, 12:04pm

Nationals

It's been a while since the Nationals last won a series. How long? How about Aug. 17-18, when they swept the Blue Jays in a two-game series in D.C. They haven't won a three-game series since July 30-Aug. 1 against the Cubs. That's a long time. Tonight, though, the Nats have a chance to end that streak if they can beat the Marlins in their series finale and follow up Tuesday night's 7-1 victory with another. It's also an opportunity for Josiah Gray to turn his season back around. The rookie...

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Kieboom sitting tonight after jamming left thumb

September 21, 2021, 2:02pm

Nationals

Kieboom sitting tonight after jamming left thumb

Carter Kieboom is not in the Nationals lineup tonight after jamming his left thumb sliding into second base in the ninth inning of Monday night's loss in Miami. "Yesterday he got beat up a little bit, hurt his thumb a little bit," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "So we're just going to give him a day. And if we need him later on, we could use him." Kieboom had a pair of tough slides during the game. He barreled into Marlins pitcher Zach Thompson...

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Why do the Nats keep getting burned by Rule 5.09a(11)?

September 20, 2021, 9:54pm

Nationals

Why do the Nats keep getting burned by Rule 5.09a(11)?

You would think by now the Nationals wouldn't find themselves in the middle of yet another argument over the interpretation of Rule 5.09a(11). Not after it was used against Trea Turner twice, including most famously in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series. Yet there was Josh Bell, pleading his case after being struck in the back by a throw just as he reached first base in the top of the 10th Monday night in Miami, and there was Davey Martinez, giving an umpire an earful in the Nats dugout before...

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Late mistakes cost Nationals in 10-inning loss (updated)

September 20, 2021, 6:45pm

Nationals

There is little sense at this point judging a Nationals-Marlins game on the performance of the two clubs after five or six innings. As much as they've faced each other in the last month, everyone should understand by now every game is going to be decided late, either by the bullpens or by some other manner of back-and-forth chaos. So it was again tonight in Miami, where the two teams at the bottom of the National League East standings engaged in another high-scoring affair that went right down...

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Game 151 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 21, 2021, 12:06pm

Nationals

It's Rematch No. 2 tonight in Miami, and this time the dueling starters have the same name. Yes, for the second time in a week, it's Josh Rogers versus Trevor Rogers, and who doesn't get excited for that? The first showdown between these two left-handers occurred last Wednesday in D.C., with the Nationals' Rogers tossing five scoreless innings and the Marlins' Rogers allowing only one run over four innings. Things completely fell apart after that, though, especially on the Nats' side of...

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Bell's work in outfield creates more playing time for Zimmerman

September 20, 2021, 2:08pm

Nationals

Bell's work in outfield creates more playing time for Zimmerman

Josh Bell starts in left field for the Nationals tonight, and while this is not a new development, it is notable that manager Davey Martinez felt comfortable enough in his slugging first baseman's ability to handle himself out there that he was willing to do this for a game inside spacious loanDepot Park. The Marlins' home stadium features one of the largest outfields in baseball, so this is perhaps not as easy an assignment for Bell as it was the three previous times he started in left field...

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Dramatic NL batting race has all kinds of D.C. connections

September 19, 2021, 7:12pm

Nationals

Dramatic NL batting race has all kinds of D.C. connections

As much as he wishes he could, Juan Soto can't help but notice his batting average when he steps to the plate. And even if he manages to avoid it, he can't help but hear about it from others. "You try to keep your mind away from it," the Nationals right fielder said in a Zoom session with reporters Sunday. "You decide to come out and play, have fun. But there's always comments. The comments are always going to come to you. Everybody, all my teammates, are just pushing me and wishing me...

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Espino shines again, bullpen closes out 3-0 win (updated)

September 19, 2021, 12:08pm

Nationals

Espino shines again, bullpen closes out 3-0 win (updated)

If their collective motivations at this point have dwindled to trying to avoid a 100-loss season, several Nationals nonetheless have ample motivation over the season's final two weeks on a personal level. For Juan Soto, there's a potential second straight batting title to chase, not to mention a 1.000 OPS that would've sounded unthinkable three months ago. For Tanner Rainey, there's a chance to re-establish some credibility as a big league reliever at the end of a lost season. And for Paolo...

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Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins

September 20, 2021, 12:47pm

Nationals

If you feel like you've seen the Nationals and Marlins play each other enough already this season, well, join the club. Alas, there are three games remaining on the head-to-head schedule between these two division foes and those will be taking place over the next three nights. When they wrap things up Wednesday night, the Nats will have faced the Marlins 19 times for the season, but nine times over the previous month. That's a lot. And the result of this series in Miami could go a long way...

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Avila will retire at season's end, plans to work in baseball

September 19, 2021, 8:35am

Nationals

Avila will retire at season's end, plans to work in baseball

Alex Avila came to his decision several months ago, before those double calf strains that threw a complete wrench into what he already knew would be the final season of his career. So the 34-year-old catcher has had plenty of time to contemplate what life will be like in retirement, a decision he chose to publicly announce today. "I went through that back-and-forth in my head, as far as if I wanted to play for another year," he said in a group interview in the Nationals dugout prior to...

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September workload is mental challenge for Finnegan, relievers

September 18, 2021, 7:40pm

Nationals

September workload is mental challenge for Finnegan, relievers

Kyle Finnegan is in his ninth professional season, his sixth as a full-time reliever, and he's been fairly durable the entire time. He has not, however, found himself taking on the kind of workload required of him this season in Washington. The next time Finnegan takes the mound, whether this afternoon at Nationals Park or in the coming days during the final road trip of the season, he'll do so for the 63rd time this season. He's currently tied for the 18th-most appearances by a National...

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Nats can't overcome another dud from Corbin (updated)

September 18, 2021, 3:12pm

Nationals

Nats can't overcome another dud from Corbin (updated)

The opportunity for Patrick Corbin to salvage his season has long since passed. There is no September surge that's going to change the perception of the left-hander's 2021 campaign, no strong finish that's going to leave a good taste in the Nationals' mouths as they head home for the winter. Corbin may yet deliver one or two positive moments before the season wraps up in two weeks, but that would stick out as a supreme outlier in an otherwise dreadful six months for the second-highest-paid...

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Game 149 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

September 19, 2021, 6:38am

Nationals

The Nationals are not a good baseball team. Sorry to put it so harshly, but it's impossible to ignore that fact at this point. And they haven't just been bad since the trade deadline; they already were headed well in that direction a month prior to it. They've now played 70 games since July 1, and their record across that span is a dismal 20-50, worst in the majors. It also matches the worst 70-game stretch in club history, previously achieved only by the 2008 and 2009 teams. Those two...

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Game 148 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

September 18, 2021, 10:19am

Nationals

At this stage of the season, you know the drill. The Nationals will be asking one of their starting pitchers to get them deep into the game with an effective performance, then hoping their bullpen can hang on the rest of the way. It's been the formula for months, and more often than not it hasn't worked. Not that manager Davey Martinez has any realistic alternatives at this point. So Martinez will send Patrick Corbin to the mound this afternoon against the Rockies and hope the veteran lefty...