nationals

Young catching tandem learning on the fly

August 20, 2021, 9:49pm

For 2 1/2 seasons, the Nationals had nothing but veteran catchers on their roster. Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki joined forces to win a championship in 2019, then returned to work together in 2020. And after Suzuki departed as a free agent last winter, the Nats brought in Alex Avila to back up Gomes this season, again ensuring they'd have two seasoned guys behind the plate. These days? Well, the Nats' catching position couldn't look any more dramatically different. With Gomes traded to the...

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Young and old lead Nationals to third straight win (updated)

August 20, 2021, 7:20pm

Nationals

The Nationals' rebuild will be a success if they can get more than a few of the young players who now make up the majority of their roster to develop into legitimate contributors. It'll be an even bigger and faster success if they can also get their few remaining veterans to return to the form they displayed while winning the World Series two years ago. So consider tonight's 4-1 victory over the Brewers a best-case-scenario kind of night. They not only got contributions from a host of...

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Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement

August 20, 2021, 2:36pm

Nationals

Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement

The Nationals didn't need to utilize a fifth starter until next weekend, but they've decided to go ahead and plug Sean Nolin into their rotation now. Nolin, the 31-year-old left-hander who has been available out of the bullpen for the last week since making one spot start against the Mets, will start Sunday's series finale against the Brewers, manager Davey Martinez said. Nolin takes over the rotation spot that opened up with Joe Ross had to be shut down for the rest of the season with a...

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Gray learning and embracing new role with Nats

August 18, 2021, 6:48pm

Nationals

Gray learning and embracing new role with Nats

Every start for Josiah Gray is another stepping stone toward being the reliable frontline starter the Nationals envision. While he's learning along the way, the 23-year-old is also embracing a new role and a new set of expectations with his new club. There are certain things the Nationals are looking for from Gray when he takes the mound every fifth day. He's going to get the chance to make his starts for the remainder of the season and every time out there is a learning opportunity. "What...

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Soto content for now to take walks, keep raising OBP

August 19, 2021, 8:13pm

Nationals

Soto content for now to take walks, keep raising OBP

From the moment he arrived in the big leagues in 2018, Juan Soto's ability to reach base has outshone every other baseball skill of his. And he's got plenty of elite skills. For all his prowess hitting for power, hitting to the opposite field, just hitting in general, Soto has always made a name for himself first and foremost because of his batting eye. That, more than anything, has led to his .422 career on-base percentage, a mark that during that four-season span has been bested by only one...

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Game 121 lineups: Nats at Brewers

August 20, 2021, 12:12pm

Nationals

Fresh off a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays, the Nationals now embark on a nine-game road trip that kicks off with a tough challenge: a weekend series in Milwaukee. The Brewers have won eight of 10 and now hold a commanding 8 1/2-game lead in the National League Central. They're doing it with elite pitching, especially from an imposing threesome atop their rotation (Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta) that should give them a chance to beat anybody come October. (Sound...

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After blown lead, late homers help Nats sweep Blue Jays (updated)

August 18, 2021, 3:27pm

Nationals

After blown lead, late homers help Nats sweep Blue Jays (updated)

A lot of games are going to be wild rides for the Nationals as they close out this season. Some will end on a high note. And others, as we've seen a lot recently, won't. Wednesday's game was another up-and-down affair that actually went the Nats' way in the form of an 8-5 win to sweep the Blue Jays in front of 18,336 at Nationals Park. The highs: Josiah Gray's fourth start with the Nats and late homers by Josh Bell and Carter Kieboom to deliver the victory. The lows: more home runs allowed...

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Rainey shut down for now, Suero gets a few days off

August 18, 2021, 11:19am

Nationals

Rainey shut down for now, Suero gets a few days off

A two-game interleague series doesn't usually bring for a lot of news and notes at this point in the season. But the Nationals did have some updates on two bullpen arms that are currently down on the farm. Most significantly, Tanner Rainey has been shut down at Triple-A Rochester for the time being with an injury to his side. It's another bad break for the promising young reliever, who is struggling through this season. "Rainey had a pain in his side," Nationals manager Davey Martinez said...

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Nats announce 2022 spring training schedule

August 18, 2021, 10:26am

Nationals

Nats announce 2022 spring training schedule

The 2021 season isn't over yet, but if you are already looking forward to next year, Major League Baseball earlier today announced they 2022 spring training schedules for all 30 clubs. All teams across the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues will open exhibition play on Saturday, Feb. 26. For the Nationals, that opening contest will require a three-hour trip to Lakeland to face the Tigers. The home opener at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches won't come until Sunday, Feb. 27, in a split-squad matchup...

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Hand thankful for brief time with Nats, new chance with Jays

August 17, 2021, 8:40pm

Nationals

Hand thankful for brief time with Nats, new chance with Jays

Amid the chaos of his move from the Nationals to the Blue Jays just prior to last month's trade deadline, Brad Hand couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed where one of his new team's first road trips would take him. "Right when I got traded, I looked at the Toronto schedule and knew that we were coming here in two weeks," Hand said Tuesday near the visitors' dugout at Nationals Park. "I left my golf clubs here, so I'll have to pick those up." It was a convenient - or perhaps in some...

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Game 120 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays

August 18, 2021, 9:32am

Nationals

Unfortunately for the Nationals, Joe Ross' season-ending injury is another blow to an already depleted rotation, one that bears no resemblance to what the club expected to have at the beginning of the season. Fortunately, the two off-days this week surrounding this two-game set with the Blue Jays allow those who are available to pitch to do so on normal rest, not requiring manager Davey Martinez to do much shuffling. This afternoon we'll get another look at Josiah Gray, who has become a...

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Adams delivers against Jays, Nats snap losing streak (updated)

August 17, 2021, 6:31pm

Nationals

Adams delivers against Jays, Nats snap losing streak (updated)

The opportunity was too good for Davey Martinez to pass up. Though it was probably Tres Barrera's turn to catch tonight's series opener against the Blue Jays, the Nationals manager wanted to give Riley Adams a chance to face the team that traded him three weeks ago. Adams, Martinez would reveal in the dugout before the game, was notably excited when his manager told him he'd be starting tonight. And then the 25-year-old took his latest step in making his case to be part of this rebuilding...

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No surgery for now, but Ross will miss rest of season

August 17, 2021, 1:46pm

Nationals

No surgery for now, but Ross will miss rest of season

Joe Ross won't need Tommy John surgery for now, but the Nationals right-hander will miss the rest of the season after getting examined by the Dallas-area orthopedist who performed his first elbow ligament replacement four years ago. The diagnosis from Keith Meister was a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, which is consistent with the team's initial MRI results last weekend that showed a partial tear. A full tear would've guaranteed Tommy John surgery. The partial tear leaves some leeway for...

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Nats will win again when rotation is ready to lead the way again

August 16, 2021, 7:52pm

Nationals

Nats will win again when rotation is ready to lead the way again

It had been the one constant around these parts for the better part of the decade. When you thought of the Nationals, you thought first and foremost of one thing: a dominant rotation. Max Scherzer. Stephen Strasburg. Patrick Corbin. Jordan Zimmermann. Doug Fister. Gio GonzÃ¡lez. AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez. Those are the starters who defined the Nats' consistent pitching success over a prolonged stretch of winning baseball. And the correlation was legitimate. Take the Nationals rotation's six best...

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How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

August 15, 2021, 7:59pm

Nationals

How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

On Sunday afternoon, Lane Thomas became the 54th player to appear in a game for the Nationals this season. That's an exceptionally high number, only three shy of the club record set way back in 2006. And with 44 games still to go, and more players likely to join the roster before this is over, it's quite possible this year's team will establish a new record. The pertinent question right now, though, isn't how many guys will play for the Nationals in 2021. It's how many of the guys...

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Game 119 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays

August 17, 2021, 11:25am

Nationals

After a string of games against the National League East's remaining contenders, the Nationals now take a break for a quick interleague series. They'll host the Blue Jays tonight and Wednesday afternoon (weather permitting), which means a little bit of a reunion. It was just a few weeks ago that Brad Hand was dealt to Toronto in exchange for Riley Adams. We don't know if we'll see Hand out of the Blue Jays bullpen tonight or not, but we will see Adams in the Nats lineup. The rookie catcher...

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Nats keep it close, but can't avoid sweep (updated)

August 15, 2021, 12:25pm

Nationals

Nats keep it close, but can't avoid sweep (updated)

As miserable as things have been lately for a Nationals team that has turned winning baseball games into an increasingly difficult task, one not insignificant truth has emerged: They've given themselves an opportunity to win just about every one of these games. Sure, there have been a few duds along the way, and Saturday night's blowout loss to the Braves was probably the worst of them all. But most of the time, the rebuilding Nats step to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to turn a...

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Ross placed on IL with partial tear of elbow ligament

August 15, 2021, 9:29am

Nationals

Ross placed on IL with partial tear of elbow ligament

A summer of misery for the Nationals took another turn for the worse in the last 24 hours when Joe Ross reported forearm tightness following a bullpen throwing session and a subsequent MRI revealed a partial tear of his elbow ligament. The club hasn't finalized a plan yet for Ross, but he will be examined by Keith Meister, the Dallas-area orthopedist who performed Tommy John surgery on him four years ago, and a second major elbow procedure is possible. If that does prove to be the course of...

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How the eight players Nats traded are faring with new clubs

August 14, 2021, 9:44pm

Nationals

How the eight players Nats traded are faring with new clubs

More than two weeks have now passed since the craziest trade deadline in Nationals history. And that means all of the players involved in the club's sell-off have had ample time to start making a name for themselves with their new teams. Some have risen to the occasion and become instant fan favorites. Some are still trying to figure things out. Here's a look at the eight players the Nats traded away at the deadline, and how they're performing so far ... MAX SCHERZER The biggest name of them...

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Corbin, Nats reach new depths in blowout loss (updated)

August 14, 2021, 5:21pm

Nationals

Corbin, Nats reach new depths in blowout loss (updated)

It's been 15 years since the Nationals last saw a pitcher do this. That is, pitch this poorly while remaining a member of the rotation for the bulk of a season. Way back in 2006, when Alfonso Soriano was chasing a 40-40 season, Frank Robinson was nearing the end of his managerial career and Ryan Zimmerman was trying to win National League Rookie of the Year, a journeyman right-hander named RamÃ³n Ortiz slogged his way through the worst pitching season in Nats history. Ortiz led the National...