nationals

Soto's stats, Thomas' power and a chat about walks

September 12, 2021, 7:30pm

Juan Soto had little impact on the Nationals' 6-2 victory Sunday in Pittsburgh. He didn't drive in any runs. He scored only once. He took only one at-bat with a runner on base. He made no notable plays in right field. And yet the young star still had one of the best individual performances of the day, which it turns out was just like so many other performances he's delivered this season. With two walks, a triple and a double over five plate appearances, Soto reached base four times. It's...

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Pitching staff finally takes advantage of run support (updated)

September 12, 2021, 12:13pm

Nationals

Pitching staff finally takes advantage of run support (updated)

The Nationals got their customary production today from a lineup that has quietly turned into a legitimate strength but too often has been wasted by ineffective pitching performances, especially from those charged with taking the mound late in games. Eight times since Aug. 25, this team had scored five or more runs. And proceeded to lose all eight games, the longest such streak in major league history. So when they looked up at the scoreboard in Pittsburgh this afternoon and saw five runs on...

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Game 144 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

September 13, 2021, 11:48am

Nationals

Would you believe we're down to the final three weeks of the season? Yep, tonight the Nationals begin a six-game homestand with the Marlins and Rockies. After that, they're on a three-city road trip to Miami, Cincinnati and Colorado. And then they come home for the final series against the Red Sox. And that's it. Time flies when you're having fun. Or something like that. The Nats will be hoping to actually win this series from the Marlins, a task that proved too difficult the last time they...

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Game 143 lineups: Nats at Pirates

September 12, 2021, 7:21am

Nationals

If you thought a lighter schedule was going to help the Nationals finish out a disappointing season strong, well, that hasn't exactly played out as hoped so far this weekend. With back-to-back losses to the Pirates, the Nats are now in danger of being swept by one of the worst teams in baseball. (The Pirates, for what it's worth, haven't swept anyone in a three-game series this season.) So if they're going to avoid this latest ignominy, the Nationals will need a much better performance...

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Ruiz cleared, but not in lineup after getting hit in face

September 12, 2021, 8:36am

Nationals

Ruiz cleared, but not in lineup after getting hit in face

Keibert Ruiz passed concussion tests and has been cleared to play, but the rookie Nationals catcher is not in the lineup for today's series finale in Pittsburgh. Ruiz, who was struck near his right ear by a pitch from Pirates reliever Kyle Keller during Saturday night's game, remains sore, but is allowed to play if needed. "He's clear," manager Davey Martinez said in his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "I talked to him this morning. He's a bit sore. He's going to go through his...

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Nats' fighting effort is worth watching

September 11, 2021, 7:20pm

Nationals

I had someone ask me the other day, "How do you keep watching the Nationals when they're losing so many games?" Aside from it being my job, my answer was easy: They're always in it. You've heard manager Davey Martinez say it time and time again: "The boys are battling." Well, what does that mean exactly, aside from the obvious definition of playing hard? "Yeah, I mean, it's something that I preach every day with these guys that they're never really out of it," Martinez said during...

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Nats pitching collapses in loss to Pirates (updated)

September 11, 2021, 6:31pm

Nationals

Nats pitching collapses in loss to Pirates (updated)

It's no secret: The Nationals pitching staff is the team's biggest liability at this point in the season. It seems like no lead is safe and every deficit could continue to grow. That was certainly the case during tonight's 10-7 loss to the Pirates, the Nats' third straight defeat, second in Pittsburgh. Optimists would say entering the bottom of the fifth inning with a 5-2 lead would have been a good path toward victory. Realists would say that a three-run lead wouldn't be enough. The...

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Game 142 lineups: Nats at Pirates

September 11, 2021, 12:24pm

Nationals

This weekend series between the Nationals and Pirates continues to be filled with reunions and signs of the changing times between these two franchises. Josh Bell homered in his return to Pittsburgh last night. Today, he'll get the chance to face Wil Crowe, the pitcher the Nats sent to the Pirates in order to acquire the first baseman last winter. A second-round pick by the Nationals in 2017, Crowe is 3-7 with a 5.94 ERA in 22 appearances (21 starts) this year for the Bucs. The former top...

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Martinez remembers baseball's return after Sept. 11 attacks

September 11, 2021, 1:55pm

Nationals

Martinez remembers baseball's return after Sept. 11 attacks

It's a tough day for all Americans today. The 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., brings a lot of emotions to all who remember that tragic day for our nation. Like many of us, Nationals manager Davey Martinez remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing on that fateful morning. "Yeah, you know, it was a day no one will ever forget, obviously," Martinez said while getting visibly emotional...

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Bell has long since overcome awful start to season

September 10, 2021, 8:52pm

Nationals

Bell has long since overcome awful start to season

Try as he might to ignore it at the time, Josh Bell couldn't avoid knowing his stat line on May 13, the low point of a 2021 season that was shaping up to be a disaster. The big slugger, in his first season with the Nationals, was batting .133 with three homers, 10 RBIs, a .198 on-base percentage, .289 slugging percentage and .487 OPS that ranked among the lowest in the majors. And this was with the season nearly one-quarter complete. So imagine what Bell thinks these days when he sees his...

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Nationals' fill-in closers can't close out Pirates (updated)

September 10, 2021, 5:33pm

Nationals

They got another quality start from Josh Rogers. They got a big blast from Josh Bell in his return to Pittsburgh. The Nationals just needed their bullpen to finish off the Pirates. A bullpen that featured two unfamiliar people pitching the bottom of the ninth, which ultimately undid the Nats. Patrick Murphy, given a chance to close with Kyle Finnegan unavailable due to his recent workload, got into a jam and had to give way to Alberto Baldonado, who inherited a second-and-third jam and let the...

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MLB suspends Nolin five games, Martinez one game (updated)

September 10, 2021, 1:54pm

Nationals

MLB suspends Nolin five games, Martinez one game (updated)

Major League Baseball has suspended Nationals pitcher Sean Nolin five games and manager Davey Martinez one game after determining Nolin intentionally hit Braves slugger Freddie Freeman with a pitch Wednesday night in Atlanta. Nolin, who was also fined an undisclosed amount, initially appealed his suspension and was to remain on the active roster until his case was heard, but the Nationals later announced the lefty dropped his appeal and began serving the suspension tonight. Martinez is serving...

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Friday morning Nats Q&A

September 09, 2021, 9:12pm

Nationals

We are inching toward the finish line of this most unusual season. The Nationals have 22 games left to play, none of them against the National League East's three remaining contenders. It's going to be the Pirates, Marlins (home and home), Rockies (home and home), Reds and Red Sox to close out the 2021 campaign, so there appear to be both winnable games and some interesting matchups with playoff contenders still on tap over the final three weeks. Before the Nats get a weekend series going in...

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Nats battle Braves one final time before falling in 10th (updated)

September 09, 2021, 7:09pm

Nationals

Nats battle Braves one final time before falling in 10th (updated)

If the final month of this lost season is about giving young players a chance to grow and establish their place within the Nationals' plans in 2022 and beyond, tonight's 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves provided no shortage of evidence for several potential building blocks on the roster. In both positive and negative ways. The positives: Carter Kieboom and Lane Thomas delivered clutch hits in the late innings. Luis GarcÃa produced a highlight-reel sequence at the plate and in the field in...

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Game 141 lineups: Nats at Pirates

September 10, 2021, 11:34am

Nationals

If you're interested in silver linings, here's one for you: The Nationals are done playing the National League's division title contenders for the season. Yep, they're wrapped things up against the Braves, Phillies, Mets, Brewers, Giants and Dodgers, and though there are still series remaining with the wild card contending Reds and Red Sox, the worst of the schedule is now behind them. And that could be significant, because of this fact: The Nats finished a dismal 22-55 against those six NL...

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Martinez surprised by Thomas' baserunning blunders

September 09, 2021, 2:18pm

Nationals

Martinez surprised by Thomas' baserunning blunders

For all the good he has done since joining the Nationals last month - and he's done a lot of good - Lane Thomas has one curious blemish on his otherwise sparkling resume: baserunning blunders. The 26-year-old outfielder has twice been thrown out on the bases not because of anything the opposing defense did, but because of his own lack of awareness of the rules. It happened Tuesday night during the ninth inning of the Nats' 4-2 win over the Braves. Leading off from first base with nobody out,...

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The domino effect of Wednesday's incident

September 08, 2021, 9:51pm

Nationals

The domino effect of Wednesday's incident

Sean Nolin's ejection eight pitches in Wednesday night added some drama to what might otherwise have been an insignificant ballgame in Atlanta. But it also set in motion a link of falling dominoes that would impact not only that game but tonight's series finale and perhaps some portion of this weekend's series in Pittsburgh. For those who missed it: Nolin was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barksdale after twice throwing fastballs at Freddie Freeman - the first one sailed behind his head, the...

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Game 140 lineups: Nats at Braves

September 09, 2021, 1:10pm

Nationals

The Nationals gutted out a 4-2 victory Wednesday night in Atlanta, thanks to 8 2/3 innings from six relievers who were thrust into overtime duties after Sean Nolin was ejected eight pitches in for throwing at Freddie Freeman. Where does that leave them for tonight's series finale at Truist Park? Well, first and foremost, they need innings from Erick Fedde. That's a big ask for a guy who needed 80 pitches just to get through three innings against the Mets last weekend. Not to mention a big ask...

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Nats send message, then topple Braves (updated)

September 08, 2021, 6:58pm

Nationals

Nats send message, then topple Braves (updated)

For Sean Nolin and the Nationals, the message (standing up for a star teammate against an opponent that appeared to hit him on purpose the previous night) superseded all else. If it meant the rest of the pitching staff would face an extreme uphill battle from that point on, so be it. The message, even if nobody would publicly admit it after the fact, was more important. And when Nolin intentionally threw at Freddie Freeman on successive pitches in the bottom of the first tonight in Atlanta,...

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Game 139 lineups: Nats at Braves

September 08, 2021, 1:41pm

Nationals

What's the best thing the Nationals could do to give themselves a better chance of winning tonight against the Braves? How about a quality performance from their starter, allowing them to avoid falling into an early hole yet again and asking their lineup to battle back just to make it interesting late? As impressive as the offense has been with all these rallies of late - they've come back to at least tie the game six straight times - the task would be so much simpler if they weren't giving...