It's only June 21, so there's still the promise of far more important baseball games yet to be played. But in order for those future games to carry real importance, the Nationals know they needed to treat this June 21 game as though it was taking place on Aug. 21.
And so here was Davey Martinez pulling out all the stops in tonight's series opener against the Braves, trying out a different lineup combination, then turning to whatever available arms he had at his disposal in an attempt to...
Nationals manager Davey Martinez confirmed this afternoon that right-hander Joe Ross was on a flight today, heading to D.C. to presumably be the starting pitcher against the Braves on Sunday.
But the story was adjusted a bit an hour later when the club announced that Ross was officially recalled from Triple-A Fresno prior to Friday's series opener. Infielder Adrián Sanchez was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg.
Ross will be available out of a taxed bullpen tonight.
Sean Doolittle, Tanner...
The Braves got on the board early against Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg.
Josh Donaldson walked to lead off the second inning. With one out, Austin Riley belted a two-run homer over the left-center field to give Atlanta the lead. Riley connected on a 93.6 mph two-seam fastball for his 12th homer of the season.
Braves left-hander Dallas Keuchel, making his 2019 debut, allowed leadoff singles to Trea Turner and Brian Dozier in the first and second innings, respectively, but no...
Ryan Zimmerman is in a starting lineup and playing in a baseball game tonight - in Harrisburg, Pa. Which suggests the veteran first baseman could be back playing in a baseball game in Washington soon.
Zimmerman is beginning a long-awaited rehab assignment tonight, starting at first base and batting third for Double-A Harrisburg in his first game action in nearly two months.
On the injured list since April 28 with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, Zimmerman is scheduled to play five innings...
This week's series against the Phillies was big. This weekend's series against the Braves might be even bigger. The Nationals are feeling good about themselves after sweeping Philadelphia and winning 17 of 24. But now they face the hottest team in the majors, the one now comfortably in first place in the National League East.
The good news: The Nats are 2-0 against the Braves this season, having swept a quick series at SunTrust Park three weeks ago. But they're facing a bit of a different...
The Nationals starter Erick Fedde battled to stay in the game Thursday, but his command was so off that the right-hander was unable to get through the fourth inning.
His bullpen and the Nationals offense helped him along as the club topped the Phillies 7-4.
Fedde lasted only 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a season-high five walks and one strikeout. The 84 pitches thrown recorded only 11 outs.
The most eye-popping trend recently has been the 14 free passes allowed in his last...
The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Joe Ross from Triple-A Fresno and optioned infielder Adrián Sanchez to Double-A Harrisburg on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Ross, 26, returns to the Nationals after going 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA (5 ER/17.0 IP) in four starts for the Fresno Grizzlies. He struck out 10 batters, issued three walks and allowed just one home run across his four Triple-A starts. He tossed...
It would not be accurate to refer to the Nationals as a "good defensive team." They still rank close to the bottom of the majors in every defensive metric, both traditional and new-age.
But it would be accurate to say the Nationals are playing much better defense right now than they did through the season's first two months. Back then, it felt like they failed to make one or two plays every night that directly contributed to a loss.
Right now, it feels like they're making one or two plays...
They knew at the outset this was a big week, and they didn't shy away from admitting that. And though they had to wait through two rainouts and watch as one of the games was rescheduled for late September, once the Nationals finally took the field against the Phillies, they got down to business and played like their season depended on it.
Which, it's not unfair to say, it probably does.
In that regard, there's nothing bad you can say about what transpired at Nationals Park over the last 36...
Highlighted by a 1-2-3 inning from a big league veteran, the Nationals bullpen helped save the day again in a 7-4 win over the Phillies that completed a three-game sweep.
Starter Erick Fedde did not have the control he had hoped for with five walks in 3 2/3 innings. Matt Grace struggled a bit, allowing a run on a solo homer to Jean Segura, but did record four outs. In came Javy Guerra, who notched a shutout inning in the sixth to earn the victory.
Tanner Rainey gave up a Jay Bruce solo homer,...
Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who is on the injured list with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, went through full batting practice again Thursday. Between games of the Wednesday doubleheader against the Phillies, he ran the bases and simulated baserunning scenarios out of the box. He said his foot is making progress. Zimmerman has missed 46 games.
"It's getting better," Zimmerman said. "I'm starting to run. You just have to do it a few days in a row, get nothing (going wrong),...
Following a 30-minute rain delay, the Nationals did a nice job of making Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta work in the first two frames.
Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto doubled in the first to make it 1-0. Soto was tagged out at third base when the ball got away momentarily on the relay in from left fielder Jay Bruce. Pivetta threw to Maikel Franco at third to tag out Soto.
Following a Howie Kendrick single to lead off the bottom of the second inning, Kurt Suzuki lined a two-run shot over the...
The Nationals have swept a couple of two-game series this season, but they've yet to sweep a three-game series. This wouldn't be a bad time to break through that barrier, would it? After taking both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader, the Nats now have a chance with a win tonight over the Phillies to sweep the three-game set (condensed from the original four-game plan).
They're sending Erick Fedde to the mound instead of Stephen Strasburg, who initially was scheduled to start tonight but was...
The Nationals were at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago last week when a foul ball went screaming into the stands down the third base line and struck a woman, who then needed to be hospitalized. Players had long expressed concerns about dangerous moments like that and supported the idea of extending protective nets at ballparks farther down the lines, and that incident only bolstered their opinion.
So today's announcement by managing principal owner Mark Lerner that the club will extend the...
In a letter to fans from principal owner Mark D. Lerner, the Nationals today announced a plan to extend protective netting, which currently ends at each dugout, to just prior the left and right field foul poles at Nationals Park.
The new Ultra Cross Knotless Dyneema protective netting will offer a better viewing experience while also providing a higher degree of protection for fans from flying baseballs and bats that go into the stands.
The new netting is expected to be installed during the...
Slowly but surely, Davey Martinez has begun to entrust high-leverage situations to Tanner Rainey. But this was the highest-leverage situation to date, considering the score, the opponent and the overall stakes.
With the Nationals up 3-1 in the top of the eighth Wednesday afternoon, and the top of the Phillies lineup set to bat, Martinez handed the ball to Rainey and watched to see how the rookie reliever would handle the pressure.
The answer: He handled it quite well, pitching out of a...
Broken Nose.
Black Eye.
Swelling around the eye.
Seven Innings of shutout baseball?
No problem if you're Max Scherzer.
One of those ailments would have been enough of an excuse for lesser pitchers to ask for the day off or skip a start.
Not Scherzer. Ever.
The right-hander kept the Phillies at arm's length for 21 outs, allowing only four hits, as the Nationals completed the doubleheader sweep with a 2-0 win.
Brian Dozier smacked his second homer on the day to give the Nats the early lead in...
Left-hander Patrick Corbin bounced back from a run of rough starts with the help of a newly reunited former teammate, center fielder Gerardo Parra, in the Nationals' 6-2 win over the Phillies in game one of a Wednesday doubleheader at Nats Park.
Parra, who played his first game for the Nats May 10, went 2-for-4 with a double, homer, a run scored and two RBIs. He also made the defensive play of the game - a barehanded play on a single towards him in center field - that he picked up and nailed...
The Nationals waited 48 hours to take the field again, but Patrick Corbin had to wait a full eight days to take the mound again after a rocky start in Chicago that left the left-hander searching for an answer to his wayward command.
With an extra day of rest between starts, then back-to-back rainouts to sit through, Corbin had far too much time to contemplate his woes and try to formulate a plan to get himself back on track against a tough Phillies lineup.
"I thought I was going to have to...
When his pitching days are over and the countdown to Cooperstown begins, Max Scherzer will look back at a handful of starts that defined his career. He'll remember the two no-hitters. He'll remember the 20-strikeout game. He'll remember the time he became the first major leaguer in three decades to begin a season 13-0.
And he'll remember "The Black Eye Game," the game in which the right-hander took the mound with a huge shiner surrounding his right eye after he broke his nose during a...



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