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Nationals left confused by ruling on play at plate

July 26, 2019, 8:56pm

The focus should have been on Adam Eaton, whose 11-pitch at-bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh Friday night might well have been his best of the season. After fouling off five straight pitches from Cy Young Award contender Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Nationals' scrappy No. 2 hitter lined a base hit over the shortstop's head, bringing the tying run home as a crowd of 37,491 roared with approval. But the focus instead wound up on what happened at the end of the dramatic play during...

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Barraclough believes he needs to trust slider more in big situations

July 26, 2019, 8:09pm

Nationals

Barraclough believes he needs to trust slider more in big situations

Of course, Nationals right-hander Kyle Barraclough is not thrilled with allowing Justin Turner to hit the game-changing, three-run homer in the eighth inning of Friday night's 4-2 loss to the Dodgers. Turner hit the homer on Barraclough's 94.7 mph four-seam fastball. Before the game, manager Davey Martinez said Barraclough had been working on his mechanics, specifically his slider, in his time in the minors rehabbing on the injured list. After giving up that homer, Barraclough said he will...

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SÃ¡nchez rolls after shaky first frame, retires 20 in a row

July 26, 2019, 7:37pm

Nationals

SÃ¡nchez rolls after shaky first frame, retires 20 in a row

AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez fought through a tumultuous first inning and then shut down the Dodgers. Despite allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base, SÃ¡nchez bore down and got out of the inning with only one run crossing the plate. He ended up finishing seven innings, retiring the final 20 batters he faced. The Dodgers enjoyed all three of their base hits in the first frame. After Cody Bellinger's RBI single gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, they did not threaten again against...

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Nationals' fatal flaw on display in 4-2 loss to Dodgers (updated)

July 26, 2019, 6:26pm

Nationals

The pennant race tonight returned to South Capitol Street, where a crowd of 37,491 turned the ballpark as electric as it had been in at least a month, the last time the Nationals faced a fellow National League contender. The Nationals and Dodgers put on a show worthy of these kind of high stakes and gave a taste of what a potential five-game series might look and feel like should they meet again come October. Then again, during a 4-2 loss the Nats also offered up a painful look at the fatal...

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Nationals recall AdriÃ¡n Sanchez

July 27, 2019, 8:30am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder AdriÃ¡n Sanchez from Double-A Harrisburg and optioned right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough to Double-A Harrisburg Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Sanchez, 28, joins the Nationals for his fourth Major League assignment of the season. He hit .322 with 14 doubles, one triple, six homers, 26 RBI, 12 walks, nine stolen bases and 34 runs scored in 52 games with the Senators. He...

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Muscle strain leaves Scherzer's status up in the air

July 26, 2019, 2:20pm

Nationals

Muscle strain leaves Scherzer's status up in the air

Though he felt fine in the immediate aftermath of Thursday's start against the Rockies, Max Scherzer cautioned all along he wouldn't know he was in the clear from his lingering back injury until he saw how he felt after he woke up today. So when Scherzer arose this morning and felt tightness in his upper back, he was frustrated but not surprised. And now the Nationals ace again faces uncertain status for his next start. Scherzer had an MRI taken earlier today, and that test revealed what he...

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With bullpen tired, Barraclough is back (Nats fall 4-2)

July 26, 2019, 1:19pm

Nationals

With bullpen tired, Barraclough is back (Nats fall 4-2)

The Nationals have recalled right-hander Kyle Barraclough from the injured list and have sent outfielder Andrew Stevenson back to Triple-A Fresno. Barraclough had been rehabbing at Double-A Harrisburg. "He's had some good outings and at this point, with three games in two days, we feel like we need another bullpen arm so we chose Barraclough," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez. The 29-year-old Barraclough pitched in five games for the Senators, accumulating four scoreless appearances. He...

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Children's National Medical Center visit by umpires was a good call

July 26, 2019, 5:21pm

Nationals

Children's National Medical Center visit by umpires was a good call

The men in blue made a few new friends on Tuesday, before donning their usual garb and taking the field at Nationals Park for a game between the Rockies and Nationals. The four-man crew assigned to the four-game series - Jerry Meals, Ron Kulpa, Gabe Morales and John Libka - took time out of their schedules to visit patients at Children's Nationals Medical Center and their families as part of the UMPS CARE Charities BLUE for Kids program. Instead of balls and strikes, safe or out, fair or foul,...

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Game 103 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

July 26, 2019, 11:19am

Nationals

And now begins the toughest portion of the Nationals' schedule. They've been able to feast on some struggling teams (Marlins, Tigers, Royals, Orioles, Rockies) in recent weeks, but now the Nats have back-to-back series against the National League's top two teams to date this season: the Dodgers and Braves. Next week's series vs. Atlanta means more in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't mean the Nationals can gloss over this weekend set with the 30-games-over-.500 Dodgers, who have...

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Nationals not ready to embrace computer-generated strike zone

July 26, 2019, 2:58pm

Nationals

The Atlantic League, an independent baseball league that has a three-year contract with Major League Baseball to experiment with new ideas, says that the computer-generated strike zone has been so successful, the system will be used the rest of the season. The computerized system, called the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), will be used in the eight-team league, which includes the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in Waldorf. The technology will debut there Aug. 2. The league used it for its...

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Scherzer rusty, but healthy in return from injured list

July 25, 2019, 9:19pm

Nationals

Scherzer rusty, but healthy in return from injured list

Max Scherzer would've liked the outcome to be better. He would've liked to last more than five innings. He would've liked to give up fewer than three runs. He would've liked to not be pulled after only 86 pitches. But all of that from Thursday's start was secondary in Scherzer's mind to the more pressing takeaway: He felt healthy for the first time in three weeks. And as long as he still feels healthy when he gets up today and heads to Nationals Park to play catch, he'll be satisfied...

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After clutch hits, exhausted Nats bullpen takes loss (updated)

July 25, 2019, 3:51pm

Nationals

After clutch hits, exhausted Nats bullpen takes loss (updated)

After getting an abbreviated start from Max Scherzer, yet another clutch hit from Gerardo Parra, a tack-on homer from Matt Adams and six outs from Tanner Rainey, Tony Sipp and Wander Suero, Davey Martinez reached the top of the ninth this evening with the Nationals holding a one-run lead over the Rockies. But now the second-year manager had to answer the most pressing question of the day: Who was going to pitch the ninth? This isn't a difficult question the vast majority of the time. Sean...

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Nationals recall Kyle Barraclough

July 26, 2019, 12:46pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough from Double-A Harrisburg and optioned outfielder Andrew Stevenson to Triple-A Fresno on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Barraclough, 29, returns to the Nationals after posting a 2.70 ERA (2 ER/6.2 IP) with eight strikeouts in five games for the Harrisburg Senators. Barraclough tossed scoreless relief in four of the five outings. Opposing batters went...

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Soccer star Krieger celebrated before series finale (Nats lose 8-7)

July 25, 2019, 12:57pm

Nationals

Soccer star Krieger celebrated before series finale (Nats lose 8-7)

Growing up a baseball fan in Northern Virginia in the '90s, Ali Krieger was an Orioles fan. Given the fact there was no major league team in Washington at the time - not to mention the quirky fact her aunt grew up with and actually dated Cal Ripken Jr. way back when - this was understandable. Once baseball returned to town in 2005, Krieger was all-in on the Nationals. And that still holds true today, even as the soccer star travels the world winning World Cups and returns home now to Orlando,...

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Voth shut down with shoulder tendinitis

July 25, 2019, 11:05am

Nationals

The Nationals' fifth-starter carousel is going to be without one of its members for a while. Austin Voth, who was beginning to establish himself as a viable back-of-the-rotation option for manager Davey Martinez before landing on the injured list earlier this week, has been diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis and has been shut down from throwing. Voth was tentatively scheduled to start last Sunday in Atlanta, taking over with Max Scherzer not yet ready to return from his own injury. But the...

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Corbin, bullpen find a way to complete twinbill sweep over Rockies

July 24, 2019, 9:09pm

Nationals

Corbin, bullpen find a way to complete twinbill sweep over Rockies

Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin provided another sterling example of how good a pitcher he can be Wednesday night, battling Colorado starter Kyle Freeland for six innings and hanging on for a 2-0 win and doubleheader sweep over the Rockies. Despite having to throw 27 pitches in the first inning, Corbin got out of a jam to begin the game. Charlie Blackmon singled to leadoff the game, followed by a Trevor Story walk. But Corbin managed to get Nolan Arenado to ground into a 5-4-3 double play....

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Nationals' 50-game turnaround has been historic

July 24, 2019, 2:58pm

Nationals

When the Nationals hit their low point back on May 24, more than a few publications wrote off their chances of winning in 2019. Why, a certain longtime beat writer declared it would be "nearly impossible to turn the entire season around." Ha ha ha. What a moron. Guess what the Nationals proceeded to do. They turned their entire season around. There's still a long way to go, and they haven't clinched anything yet. But what the Nats have done just to this point to get back into the thick of...

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Game 102 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

July 25, 2019, 9:01am

Nationals

The last time Max Scherzer was on the mound for the Nationals, he was wearing an Expos uniform. And he was on fire. With seven scoreless innings of 11-strikeout ball against the Royals, Scherzer had capped off a brilliant seven-start stretch that included a 7-0 record, 0.87 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 79-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Scherzer, of course, hasn't pitched since then because of a back injury, finally diagnosed as an inflamed bursa sac underneath his right shoulder blade. He's back at last...

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Rainey builds confidence by throwing slider for strikes

July 23, 2019, 5:37pm

Nationals

Rainey builds confidence by throwing slider for strikes

As Nationals manager Davey Martinez formulated a plan on how to employ his bullpen with the goal to get to closer Sean Doolittle, the skipper started to gain confidence in using right-hander Tanner Rainey in high-leverage situations. After Rainey was called up May 18, Martinez would put Rainey in games to start the seventh inning. Rainey would deliver a scoreless frame. The skipper said Rainey's ability to throw strikes early in counts has helped him build that confidence into a full-inning...

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Nationals do enough right to win opener (updated)

July 24, 2019, 12:08pm

Nationals

The stands were mostly empty, the prospect of a long day and night of baseball was looming and the Nationals and Rockies had to conjure up the energy to get through today's doubleheader opener on their own. That made for what at times was a sleepy afternoon of baseball on South Capitol Street. In the end, the Nationals managed to engage themselves just enough at the right moments to walk away with a 3-2 victory and give themselves an opportunity to sweep the doubleheader when Patrick Corbin...