nationals

Nationals again left to solve rotation without Strasburg

April 18, 2021, 8:41am

Anytime during his 11-year career Stephen Strasburg has looked as bad as he did Tuesday night in St. Louis, when he was rocked for eight runs in five innings with diminished velocity, erratic command and poor body language, the right-hander has proven either to be injured or tipping his pitches. Turns out he was injured after all. The Nationals placed Strasburg on the 10-day injured list this morning with right shoulder inflammation, a transaction loaded with ramifications, the most immediate...

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez injured list jon lester mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime paolo espino patrick corbin stephen strasburg wander suero featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Fedde fans nine over five frames, Nats win second in row (updated)

April 17, 2021, 12:02pm

Nationals

Fedde fans nine over five frames, Nats win second in row (updated)

Erick Fedde has struggled through outings where he couldn't seem to harness any confidence. He'd get behind hitters, have to throw a hittable fastball and pay the price. But in the early going of Saturday's start against the Diamondbacks, he got the feel for his changeup and used it masterfully. He also mixed his pitches to keep Arizona hitters off-balance and got on a roll. Fedde matched a career high with nine strikeouts in a five-inning stint and the Nationals beat the Diamondbacks 6-2 on...

Comments

Tags:

andrew stevenson erick fedde juan soto kyle schwarber nationals nationals pastime pete kerzel trea turner yan gomes featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Nationals select the contract of Paolo Espino and recall Ryne Harper

April 18, 2021, 7:40am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino and recalled right-handed pitcher Ryne Harper from the Alternate Training Site (Fredericksburg) on Sunday. Additionally, the Nationals placed right-handed pitchers Stephen Strasburg (right shoulder inflammation; retroactive to 4/15) and Wander Suero (left oblique strain) on the 10-day Injured List. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Espino, 34, will...

Comments

Tags:

Nationals News Release nationals

Game 12 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

April 16, 2021, 12:11pm

Nationals

Today's matchup pits two pitchers coming off their best performances of the young season, and both Erick Fedde of the Nationals and Luke Weaver of the Diamondbacks will be hoping to continue their success. At stake for the Nationals: A win today will give them consecutive victories for the first time this season. On the heels of another dominant effort by Max Scherzer on Friday night, the Nats need another strong outing by a starting pitcher. Fedde didn't get ouf of the second inning in his...

Comments

Tags:

erick fedde josh bell kyle schwarber lineups nationals starlin castro

Another look at the Schwarbomb, by the numbers

April 16, 2021, 10:33pm

Nationals

Another look at the Schwarbomb, by the numbers

If you walk around the Navy Yard this morning, you might still feel the reverberations from Kyle Schwarber's walk-off homer Friday night. That bottom-of-the-ninth blast, which landed on the concourse beyond the second deck in right field, made for as exciting a finish as Nationals Park has witnessed in a while. Before the Nationals and Diamondbacks get back at it this afternoon, let's take one more look at the first Schwarbomb in Nats history, by the numbers ... 463 - Distance, in feet, of...

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamondbacks kyle schwarber mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Harrison dealing with stiff back, AvilÃ¡n has torn elbow ligament

April 17, 2021, 7:44am

Nationals

Harrison dealing with stiff back, AvilÃ¡n has torn elbow ligament

Josh Harrison, arguably the hottest Nationals hitter, is out of the starting lineup for this afternoon's game against the Diamondbacks because he's dealing with some back stiffness. Manager Davey Martinez said Harrison, who is slashing .556/.600/.778 with a homer and five RBIs in five games since being activated off the COVID-19-related injured list earlier this week, reported a stiff back after Friday night's game, leading to the day off. "I've been trying to give him a day off, but when...

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez josh harrison kyle schwarber luis avilan nationals nationals pastime pete kerzel victor robles will harris featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Schwarber's walk-off bomb sends Nats to victory (updated)

April 16, 2021, 6:04pm

Nationals

Schwarber's walk-off bomb sends Nats to victory (updated)

Max Scherzer gave the Nationals exactly what they needed, reminding everyone this team still is built on the broad shoulders of a rotation that may be showing cracks in some spots but remains rock-solid at the very top. Great starting pitching, however, can't win a ballgame all by itself. Somebody's got to score a run at some point. Which the Nats finally did in the bottom of the ninth. On the first official Schwarbomb in club history. Kyle Schwarber launched a 463-foot moonshot onto the...

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamondbacks brad hand daniel hudson kyle schwarber mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime trea turner featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Corbin still searching, Lester still building, AvilÃ¡n lands on IL

April 16, 2021, 12:28pm

Nationals

Corbin still searching, Lester still building, AvilÃ¡n lands on IL

Davey Martinez stayed up late Thursday night, stayed at Nationals Park til 12:30 a.m., went home and then stayed up until 2 a.m. pondering the state of his team, specifically his pitching staff. The Nationals manager was simultaneously trying to figure out what's going on with Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg and how to get both veteran starters back into a recognizable form while also making sure the rest of his staff was prepared and available for tonight's game against the...

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez featured_sidebar jon lester kyle mcgowin luis avilan mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin frontstory_nationals3

Friday morning Nats Q&A

April 15, 2021, 9:47pm

Nationals

It's been far too long since we've done one of these. But now that we're 10 games into the season, with no shortage of topics to discuss, it seems like a good time open up the phone lines and hear what you have to say about the Nationals and their not-so-ideal start to the 2021 campaign. What's happened so far? Well, there was the COVID-19 outbreak, which postponed the first four games and sidelined five players for the opening series and four more for the next series as well. There have...

Comments

Tags:

mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime q&a featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Nationals announce roster moves

April 16, 2021, 1:38pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin from the Alternate Training Site (Fredericksburg) and placed left-handed pitcher Luis AvilÃ¡n on the 10-Day Injured List with left elbow inflammation on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. McGowin, 29, appeared in two games out of the Nationals' bullpen before being optioned to the Alternate Training Site on April 10. He tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with...

Comments

Tags:

Nationals News Release nationals

Another ragged start by Corbin leaves Nats in a lurch (updated)

April 15, 2021, 6:31pm

Nationals

Another ragged start by Corbin leaves Nats in a lurch (updated)

Once was perhaps cause for concern but potentially forgivable. Twice is cause for alarm and potentially disastrous for a Nationals club that is built to win behind a dominant rotation but has now seen two of its top three starters get rocked in the last week, one of them twice. Stephen Strasburg, for the moment, isn't the Nats' greatest concern. Patrick Corbin is after another cringe-inducing start tonight in which the left-hander was battered for 10 runs in only two innings during a 11-6...

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamondbacks josh bell josh harrison juan soto mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin starlin castro featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 11 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

April 16, 2021, 12:09pm

Nationals

The Nationals have slogged their way through a few clunkers in the last week. The good news: They've bounced back in each case to play well the following day and win. So perhaps that portends better things tonight when they face the Diamondbacks and try to erase all memory of Thursday night's fiasco. It starts, of course, with Max Scherzer, who is desperately needed tonight not only to pitch well but to pitch as deep into the game as possible after Patrick Corbin was knocked out two innings...

Comments

Tags:

alex avila arizona diamondbacks josh bell juan soto lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime victor robles frontstory_nationals1

Cabrera excited to "come back home" to D.C. with D-backs

April 15, 2021, 12:47pm

Nationals

Cabrera excited to "come back home" to D.C. with D-backs

When AsdrÃºbal Cabrera was picked up by the Nationals in early August 2019, he figured he'd finish out the season in D.C. and then probably call it a career. "I told my family: Probably this is going to be my last three months," the veteran infielder said today during a Zoom session with reporters. "I'm just going to try to have fun here and see what happens. And we made it to the World Series, and we won the World Series. "I'm never going to forget that year." Neither will Nationals...

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamondbacks asdrubal cabrera davey martinez jon lester jonathan lucroy mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime will harris featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Nats survived roller coaster to begin season, now can settle in

April 14, 2021, 8:30pm

Nationals

Nats survived roller coaster to begin season, now can settle in

The Nationals flew home from St. Louis on Wednesday night, owners of a 3-6 record. It's not a record anyone is going to brag about, nor should it be, but neither is it a record anyone should be afraid to acknowledge. Given all they've been through already during a roller coaster couple of weeks to begin the season, 3-6 hardly feels like a disaster. The Nats were missing nine major league players during their opening three-game series against the Braves. And perhaps the three most important...

Comments

Tags:

brad hand joe ross josh bell juan soto kyle schwarber los angeles dodgers mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime st. louis cardinals stephen strasburg featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Nats ride Ross' zeros, Zimmerman's homer to victory (updated)

April 14, 2021, 12:28pm

Nationals

Nats ride Ross' zeros, Zimmerman's homer to victory (updated)

Nine games into a season that already has featured a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows, the Nationals have plenty of questions that still need answering, particularly within a rotation that was built to carry this team. Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin did not look good during this just-completed road trip. Jon Lester is still trying to build his arm back up after landing on the COVID-19-related injured list. Here, though, is one starter nobody in a Nats uniform needs to be worried...

Comments

Tags:

joe ross juan soto mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman st. louis cardinals featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 10 lineups: Nats vs. Diamondbacks

April 15, 2021, 11:29am

Nationals

After an eventful road trip, the Nationals are back home tonight and will be here each of the next seven days. First up, it's a four-game weekend series with the Diamondbacks. Then it's three more with the Cardinals. And with capacity restrictions eased up for this homestand, there should be roughly 10,000 fans in the park now, which will be much appreciated by everyone. Tonight's opener against the Diamondbacks represents an important start for Patrick Corbin, who labored in his delayed...

Comments

Tags:

arizona diamoncbacks asdrubal cabrera lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime patrick corbin frontstory_nationals1

Nats go with Turner-Soto combo atop lineup for first time in 2021

April 14, 2021, 7:58am

Nationals

Nats go with Turner-Soto combo atop lineup for first time in 2021

Davey Martinez has mentioned more than once his interest in batting Juan Soto second at times, and his interest in batting Victor Robles ninth at times. For today's series finale in St. Louis, the Nationals manager decided to try out both in those spots. With an early-afternoon matchup against Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright, Martinez wanted to get his two best hitters as many at-bats as possible and give them a chance to get on the board early. So it's Trea Turner leading off with Soto...

Comments

Tags:

juan soto mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime ryan zimmerman st. louis cardinals trea turner victor robles featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Harrison glad to be active, glad to be an everyday player

April 13, 2021, 10:03pm

Nationals

Harrison glad to be active, glad to be an everyday player

Josh Harrison had been through this before. Sort of. Upon signing with the Nationals shortly after opening day in 2020, the veteran utility man had to wait several days for his intake screening test - a test he says initially was lost - to be processed before he could actually join his new team. "I had to stay in my room a few extra days 'cause my test got lost," he said during a Zoom session with reporters Tuesday. "So I've been in this situation before, not as long as this one was. But I...

Comments

Tags:

josh harrison mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime st. louis cardinals davey martinez featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Questions about Strasburg abound in blowout loss (updated)

April 13, 2021, 7:11pm

Nationals

Questions about Strasburg abound in blowout loss (updated)

The red flags appeared to be there right from the get-go. Stephen Strasburg's first pitch of the night was a 91 mph fastball. There were more of them throughout a first inning that saw one ball leave the yard, then plenty more in the tortured innings that followed. Strasburg clearly didn't seem to feel right. That seemed obvious based on the numbers - eight runs allowed, five batters walked, three homers surrendered, two or three miles per hour reduced on all of his pitches - but also on what...

Comments

Tags:

davey martinez hernan perez mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime st. louis cardinals stephen strasburg featured_sidebar alex avila frontstory_nationals3

Game 9 lineups: Nats at Cardinals

April 14, 2021, 7:10am

Nationals

As bad as things went Tuesday night in St. Louis, the Nationals still woke up this morning with a chance to win the series and come home with a 3-6 record in spite of everything that's happened to this team. Maybe it's grasping at straws, but it feels like a win today would go a long way toward boosting everybody's mood. To pull it off, the Nats will need another solid start from Joe Ross, who tossed five scoreless innings against the Dodgers in his season debut. Ross should be good to build...