nationals

Game 161 lineups: Nats at Rockies

September 29, 2018, 12:33pm

DENVER - This hasn't been Stephen Strasburg's most memorable season. He will have made only 22 starts, his lowest total since 2013 (when he was recovering from Tommy John surgery). Unless he tosses six scoreless innings (or nine innings of one-run ball) tonight, he'll finish with the highest ERA of his career. Strasburg, though, can wrap up a disappointing 2018 season on a legitimate high note. If he pitches well tonight at Coors Field - where he owns a 7.20 ERA, but the vast majority of the...

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Nats lose to playoff-bound Rockies, but clinch second place

September 28, 2018, 7:02pm

Nationals

Nats lose to playoff-bound Rockies, but clinch second place

DENVER - The Nationals emerged from the dugout at Coors Field this evening, the temperature already down to 51 degrees on its way to 42 degrees by the time the game ended. A sellout crowd of 48,089 packed into the ballpark for the opener of what could be a momentous weekend here to wrap up the regular season. Alas, the visitors who had to break out their red jackets and hoodies for the first time in a long time weren't the ones playing for something meaningful. Aside from clinching second...

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Zimmerman not taking chances with back injury (Nats down 4-2)

September 28, 2018, 4:51pm

Nationals

Zimmerman not taking chances with back injury (Nats down 4-2)

DENVER - Ryan Zimmerman celebrated his 34th birthday today by getting treatment on his ailing back and then bundling up to watch from the dugout as the Nationals faced the Rockies on a 51-degree late-September evening at Coors Field. Zimmerman was not in the Nats lineup two days after he tweaked his back on a swing in the team's home finale, an injury that forced him to come out of the game after two at-bats. He hoped to play tonight, but common sense told him it wasn't worth it. "It's...

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Kieboom, Braymer, Crowe and Noll honored with Nationals minor league awards

September 26, 2018, 7:44am

Nationals

The Nationals announced their minor league awards today. Infielder Carter Kieboom was named the Nats organization's 2018 Minor League Player of the Year. Left-handed pitcher Ben Braymer and right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe are the 2018 co-Minor League Pitchers of the Year. Infielder Jake Noll is the winner of the sixth-annual Bob Boone Award. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals said these players will be honored in a...

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Scherzer prepared to start Sunday if Rockies need to win

September 28, 2018, 3:22pm

Nationals

Scherzer prepared to start Sunday if Rockies need to win

DENVER - Max Scherzer doesn't really have any reason to pitch Sunday - "I've made 33 starts, thrown 220 innings," he said today. "So that's a full workload." - but Game 162 could mean everything for the Rockies, who enter the weekend trying to win either their first division title or fourth wild card berth. So Scherzer and the Nationals have made a decision how to proceed. If Sunday's game matters for Colorado's postseason chances, Scherzer will start. If it doesn't, he'll sit. "The...

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What's at stake this weekend in Colorado

September 27, 2018, 7:23pm

Nationals

What's at stake this weekend in Colorado

Mike Rizzo's primary goal at the outset of each season is for his team to be playing meaningful games in late September. (The ultimate goal, of course, is to then be playing meaningful games in late October, but that can't happen without meaningful games in late September.) Well, the good news is that the Nationals indeed will be participating in meaningful games during this final weekend of September. Alas, the games are meaningful only for the opposition: the Rockies, whose 2018 fate hangs...

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Game 160 lineups: Nats at Rockies

September 28, 2018, 12:31pm

Nationals

DENVER - Hello from Coors Field, where it's been in the 50s all afternoon and is expected to dip into the 40s tonight, with a sellout crowd expected for a must-win game for the home team seeking its first division title. In short, it's going to be a playoff-like atmosphere tonight. Maybe not the playoff atmosphere the Nationals wanted to experience, but it nonetheless will add some juice to their final series of a disappointing season. The Nats intend to play this out, at least as long as the...

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Ryan Sullivan: Nationals could face a painful choice this offseason

September 28, 2018, 5:21am

Nationals

The last few games of this past week's homestand put a spotlight on the main storyline of the Nationals' offseason and one of the biggest in all of baseball: Which team will upcoming free agent Bryce Harper sign with this winter? The almost 26-year-old Harper will have, for the first time in his professional career, the opportunity to choose which team he plays for and he can potentially decide this for the duration of his career. Critics knock his mediocre defensive skills, but by any...

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Opposite dugout: A lot on line for Rockies in final regular season series

September 27, 2018, 11:00am

Nationals

Opposite dugout: A lot on line for Rockies in final regular season series

Manager: Bud Black (2nd season) Record: 89-70 Last 10 games: 7-3 (update) Who to watch: 3B Nolan Arenado (.296/.374/.545 with 34 HR, 105 RBIs), SS Trevor Story (.291/.346/.562 with 35 HR, 105 RBIs, 26 SB), CF Charlie Blackmon (.287, 26 HR), 2B DJ LeMahieu (15 HR, 61 RBIs), 1B Ian Desmond (21 HR, 86 RBIs), RHP Kyle Freeland (16-7, 2.84 ERA), RHP Wade Davis (42 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-1 Pitching probables: Sept. 28: RHP Joe Ross (0-1) vs. LHP Kyle Freeland (16-7), 8:10 p.m., MASN2...

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On Robles, McGowin, Roark, Zimmerman and attendance

September 26, 2018, 9:32pm

Nationals

On Robles, McGowin, Roark, Zimmerman and attendance

The focus Wednesday obviously was on Bryce Harper, whose potential farewell to Nationals Park didn't quite go as hoped, both for performance and weather-related reasons. But there was plenty else going on during the course of the Nats' 9-3, seven-inning win over the Marlins. Let's run through some of the other notable developments ... * Victor Robles had the best game of his brief major league career. The rookie center fielder went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and five RBIs, and in the...

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Game 159 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

September 26, 2018, 8:30am

Nationals

And so we have arrived at the final home game of the 2018 season. Which, of course, also means it could be the final home game of Bryce Harper's Nationals career. This isn't the manner anyone expected or wanted it to happen, on a late Wednesday afternoon against the Marlins, with nothing at stake and rain in the forecast. But this is the reality of the situation. We don't know for sure what today has in store, but there will be opportunities for fans to salute Harper, beginning at roughly...

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Martinez still focused on wins, supports coaching staff

September 26, 2018, 11:19am

Nationals

Martinez still focused on wins, supports coaching staff

For his team's final home game of the season, and then final road series of the season, Davey Martinez doesn't envision doing anything in a different manner than he's done it all year long. In other words, the games themselves will take precedence over individual moments the rookie manager might otherwise try to create for his most popular players. Bryce Harper is, of course, in the lineup batting third and playing right field. And though this could be his final game at Nationals Park as a...

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Harper left on deck in Nats' rain-shortened, home finale win

September 26, 2018, 3:44pm

Nationals

Harper left on deck in Nats' rain-shortened, home finale win

He was up at 5 a.m., dealing with movers set to transport his stuff from his Arlington apartment to his offseason home in Las Vegas. He was at Nationals Park several hours later, already in full uniform at 1 p.m. for a 4:05 p.m. game, prompting wisecracks from teammates. And once he took the field for the Nats' 2018 home finale, every move Bryce Harper made was greeted with an ovation, usually a sustained one. They cheered Harper when he received his Nationals Player of the Year Award. They...

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McGowin dealing, Zimmerman departing early (Nats up 9-3)

September 26, 2018, 1:12pm

Nationals

McGowin dealing, Zimmerman departing early (Nats up 9-3)

Bryce Harper is the center of attention today at Nationals Park, but Kyle McGowin is trying to get everyone to notice him as well. The rookie right-hander, making his first career start, has retired the first nine Marlins batters he has faced, four via strikeout to introduce himself to a crowd that has gathered on a warm Wednesday afternoon for what could be Harper's final home game in a Nats uniform. Given the starting assignment in place of Tanner Roark, who remains at home in Atlanta with...

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Rendon rolls again; joining Harper on milestone lists in 9-4 win

September 26, 2018, 3:09am

Nationals

Rendon rolls again; joining Harper on milestone lists in 9-4 win

The Nationals' offense got a chance to really open up the game in the seventh with six runs to roll past the Marlins 9-4 for a series victory Tuesday night at Nats Park. With the win, the Nationals (80-78) finally move back into second place in the NL East, ahead of the uber-slumping Phillies. Colorado defeated Philadelphia 10-3. Anthony Rendon led the hit parade again, going 3-for-3 with a single, double, homer and four RBIs. The third baseman now has an 11-game hitting streak and a current...

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Wieters glad to play a role in Nats pitchers' success

September 25, 2018, 8:06pm

Nationals

Wieters glad to play a role in Nats pitchers' success

It has been a frustrating two seasons for Matt Wieters, there's no denying that. A four-time All-Star in Baltimore, he hasn't come close to duplicating that kind of performance since coming to the Nationals. And he'll depart as a free agent this winter, unsure what the market will be for a 32-year-old catcher with diminishing numbers. Which isn't to say this has been a complete disappointment for Wieters, either. He may not have stats that turn any heads, but he has been front-and-center...

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Max Scherzer joins elite 300-strikeout club in Nats win (updated)

September 25, 2018, 6:17pm

Nationals

Max Scherzer joins elite 300-strikeout club in Nats win (updated)

Even in this record-setting era for strikeouts in baseball, the 300 mark remains a rarely achieved gold standard reserved only for the sport's very best pitchers. Only six major leaguers have reached the big number since 1990, and they need no qualifiers added before their names to be recognized as the best of the best: Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. And now, Max Scherzer. Scherzer, whose career accomplishments already have set him on a path in...

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Nationals announce 2018 minor league awards

September 26, 2018, 6:53am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals named infielder Carter Kieboom their 2018 Minor League Player of the Year, left-handed pitcher Ben Braymer and right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe their 2018 co-Minor League Pitchers of the Year and infielder Jake Noll the winner of the sixth-annual "Bob Boone Award." Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. These players will be honored in a ceremony during 2019 Spring Training. Kieboom, 21, hit .280 with 31 doubles,...

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Liz Barr: Anthony Rendon still has a lot to play for

September 26, 2018, 6:01am

Nationals

Liz Barr: Anthony Rendon still has a lot to play for

On a team with stars such as Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Juan Soto, sometimes it can be easy to forget about Anthony Rendon. And while it's probably what he wants, as the man famously will go to excessive lengths to avoid talking about himself and his accomplishments, we would be doing the world a great injustice if we let what he's done this season go away quietly without mention. Even as everyone has been ignoring him, Rendon has put together a stellar season. And even...

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Scherzer gets 300th strikeout in seventh (Nats win 9-4)

September 25, 2018, 4:06pm

Nationals

Scherzer gets 300th strikeout in seventh (Nats win 9-4)

Right-hander Max Scherzer began tonight's start needing 10 strikeouts to reach 300 for the season. His previous high was 284 strikeouts in 2016. He struck out one in the first, two in the second and caught JT Riddle looking in the third. After three innings, Scherzer is six away from 300. In the bottom of the first, Anthony Rendon crushed a three-run homer off Marlins starter Jeff Brigham. Rendon now has a 33-game on-base streak and an 11-game hitting streak. The home run is his 67th...