nationals

Williams' scoreless debut a bright spot in loss

September 02, 2018, 7:48pm

The lasting image of Sunday's game for most will be of the two towering home runs surrendered by Jefry Rodriguez and Tim Collins during a seven-run fifth inning that turned the Nationals' series finale against the Brewers upside-down. For Austen Williams, the lasting image will be of the sixth and seventh innings. Yes, the game already flipped to the opponent's favor, with Milwaukee holding a 9-4 lead it would not relinquish. But the score doesn't matter so much when a young pitcher makes...

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Disastrous fifth dooms Nats during 9-4 loss to Brewers (updated)

September 02, 2018, 1:01pm

Nationals

Disastrous fifth dooms Nats during 9-4 loss to Brewers (updated)

There are any number of reasons, many of them having already been outlined over the last month, for the Nationals' hugely disappointing 2018 season. But if anyone was having trouble remembering, two of them were on full display today for all to see during a calamitous top of the fifth that proved the decisive frame of a 9-4 loss to the Brewers. The Nationals' pitching staff - most notably the back end of the rotation and the left-handed portion of the bullpen - have been flaws all along. So,...

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Opposite dugout: Red-hot Cardinals aim to continue playoff push

September 02, 2018, 12:04pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Red-hot Cardinals aim to continue playoff push

Manager: Mike Shildt (1st season) Record: 76-61 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: IF Matt Carpenter (.273 with 35 HR, 73 RBIs); 1B JosÃ© MartÃnez (.310 with 77 RBIs, 139 hits); C Yadier Molina (.271 with 108 hits); LF Marcell Ozuna (.273 with 133 hits); RHP Miles Mikolas (13-4, 2.96 ERA); RHP Jack Flaherty (8-6, 2.87 ERA); RHP Bud Norris (2.85 ERA, 28 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-1 Pitching probables: Sept. 3: RHP Jack Flaherty (8-6) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (16-6), 1:05 p.m.,...

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After another sim game, Doolittle on track to return this week

September 02, 2018, 8:46am

Nationals

After another sim game, Doolittle on track to return this week

It may come too late to help the Nationals make a last-ditch postseason push, but it does appear Sean Doolittle will be closing games for them for the bulk of the September schedule. Doolittle faced live hitters again this morning in a simulated game at Nationals Park, and barring any complications he's likely to be activated off the disabled list within the next few days. "He looks good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He'll get a day (off) tomorrow, we'll reevaluate him and hopefully...

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Fedde to start Tuesday, Ross coming soon (Nats down 9-4)

September 02, 2018, 9:52am

Nationals

Fedde to start Tuesday, Ross coming soon (Nats down 9-4)

The Nationals have several options to fill Gio Gonzalez's open rotation slot over the season's final month, and they may take a look at all of them over the course of September. First up, though, will be Erick Fedde. Fedde, who has been out since July 4 with shoulder inflammation, will start Tuesday against the Cardinals, the first time the Nationals need a replacement for Gonzalez after the veteran lefty was traded to Milwaukee this weekend.fed The right-hander, who is eligible to come off...

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Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

September 02, 2018, 7:03am

Nationals

The Nationals and Brewers didn't get much sleep last night, so these will be some weary teams that take the field this afternoon for the series finale. The good news: Though it's going to be hot and humid, the chance of rain appears to be minimal, some welcome relief after what happened Friday and Saturday nights. The Nats are going for a series victory, one that would not even be possible if not for their eighth-inning rally last night, with Juan Soto's bases-loaded single proving the...

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Breaking down the pennant races for the stretch drive

September 02, 2018, 10:01am

Nationals Orioles

Breaking down the pennant races for the stretch drive

September has arrived, but the drama hasn't - at least not with either of the local nines. The Orioles could wind up with the worst record in the majors and the No. 1 pick in next June's draft. The Nationals would need an unprecedented turn of events to make the postseason. The Nationals need an explosive September and a double collapse by Atlanta and Philadelphia to make the postseason and duplicate what the Phillies did to the Mets in 2007. That year, the Mets lost the National League East...

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Doolittle encouraged after pitching in simulated game

August 31, 2018, 8:07pm

Nationals

Doolittle encouraged after pitching in simulated game

Having now traded or lost to season-ending injury three different closers, the Nationals could desperately use Sean Doolittle pitching the ninth inning for them again. At long last, it appears as though the All-Star closer is close to making his return from the disabled list. Doolittle threw a 15-pitch simulated game to teammates Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Stevenson Friday afternoon and emerged feeling encouraged about how his injured left foot felt. "I was very happy with it," he said. "I...

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Soto delivers in comeback, Strasburg improves

September 01, 2018, 9:33pm

Nationals

Soto delivers in comeback, Strasburg improves

For weeks, as their season corkscrewed out of control, manager Davey Martinez has maintained that the Nationals have not quit. Most nights, it seemed like he was damning them with faint praise. Some wondered if he had gotten stuck on that clichÃ© because he repeated it so frequently. On Saturday night - well, early Sunday morning, if you want to be precise - the Nats were finally rewarded for their sticktuitiveness. Juan Soto's two-run bases-loaded single in the eighth inning highlighted a...

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Hellickson progresses to throwing curveballs (plus other notes)

September 01, 2018, 1:26pm

Nationals

Hellickson progresses to throwing curveballs (plus other notes)

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson threw another bullpen session Saturday afternoon, this time integrating his curveball for the first time since going on the disabled list with a right wrist sprain. "Felt good," he said. "Threw about 45, 60 (pitches). I threw some curveballs. It felt fine." Hellickson said after a 30-pitch bullpen Wednesday in Philadelphia that he has shied away from throwing curveballs off the mound because it still hurt to throw the pitch. But he's been throwing a few...

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Strasburg strong in early going (Nats win 5-4)

September 01, 2018, 4:22pm

Nationals

Strasburg strong in early going (Nats win 5-4)

Stephen Strasburg has looked both dominant and like he was battling himself tonight. But through four innings, he's yet to allow a run. A seven-pitch first inning was followed by Strasburg striking out the side in the second in a 1-2-3 inning. He allowed a Jonathan Schoop single to lead off the third, but Manny PiÃ±a lined into a double play and Chase Anderson grounded to short. The fourth presented some issues for Strasburg, who had major control problems. He fanned Lorenzo Cain swinging,...

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Game 136 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

September 01, 2018, 9:19am

Nationals

The Nationals will send Stephen Strasburg to the hill this evening trying to even up their series with the Brewers and hoping the right-hander can continue to progress after being activated off the disabled list last month. Since returning a month on the DL with a cervical nerve impingement, Strasburg has twice faced the Phillies, working four innings in an 8-7 home win on Aug. 22 and six innings in a 5-3 triumph where he posted his seventh victory on Aug. 27 at Citizens Bank Park (his only win...

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As soon-to-be-traded Gonzalez watches, Nats fall to Brewers

August 31, 2018, 6:16pm

Nationals

As soon-to-be-traded Gonzalez watches, Nats fall to Brewers

They played a ballgame tonight at Nationals Park, the first of 28 remaining ballgames in a season that - it certainly seems safe to now say - will not extend into October. Gio Gonzalez spent the majority of it watching from the dugout, chatting and smiling with teammates like it was any other game, all the while knowing it would be the last time he would watch a game from that particular dugout wearing that particular uniform. Gonzalez officially will become a member of the Brewers later this...

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Fighting tears, Gonzalez recalls "emotional" final day with Nats

August 31, 2018, 8:03pm

Nationals

Fighting tears, Gonzalez recalls "emotional" final day with Nats

Gio Gonzalez walked into the press conference room at Nationals Park from the home side, strolling through the same door Nats managers past and present emerge from every day. On his head, though, was a navy cap with a gold letter "M" above a sprig of barley. Covering his torso was a hoodie with the script "Brewers" across the front. It was nearly 11 p.m., the end of a long and strange day that saw Gonzalez watch from the dugout as the Nationals (the team he made 213 starts for over the last...

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Nationals recall Pedro Severino and select Austen Williams

September 01, 2018, 10:53am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled catcher Pedro Severino and selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Austen Williams from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Severino, 25, returns to Washington after hitting .269 with five doubles, one triple, six homers, 13 RBI, five walks and 14 runs scored in 33 games with Triple-A Syracuse. He joins the Nationals riding a nine-game hitting streak with the...

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Source: Nats sending Gonzalez to Brewers

August 31, 2018, 3:40pm

Nationals

Source: Nats sending Gonzalez to Brewers

As the clock ticks toward 11:59 p.m., the Nationals aren't done trading away veterans to other clubs seeking some help for the stretch run. The Nats have a deal in place to send Gio Gonzalez to the Brewers, a source familiar with the transaction confirmed just minutes before those two teams opened a three-game series on South Capitol Street, bringing an abrupt end to the left-hander's seven-year tenure in Washington. The trade, which was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, isn't...

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As Madson heads to L.A., Nats cope with summer of trades

August 31, 2018, 2:04pm

Nationals

As Madson heads to L.A., Nats cope with summer of trades

Ryan Madson said he was surprised. So did Davey Martinez. Truth be told, neither should have been shocked that the Nationals traded Madson to the Dodgers today, not when considering the situation this team is now in on the final day players can be dealt and still be eligible for their new club's postseason roster. "No, I was surprised," Madson told reporters during a brief session as he prepared to leave Nationals Park and catch a flight to Los Angeles. "I've been working all day. Have to...

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Nationals acquire KJ Harrison, Gilbert Lara from Brewers in deal for Gio Gonzalez

August 31, 2018, 6:43pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals acquired catcher/first baseman KJ Harrison and infielder Gilbert Lara from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez and international slot value on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Harrison, 22, was a third round pick in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Oregon State University. In his first full professional season in 2018, he hit .228 with 29 doubles, 12 homers,...

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Nats send Madson to Dodgers for minor league pitcher

August 31, 2018, 11:11am

Nationals

Nats send Madson to Dodgers for minor league pitcher

The Nationals made the latest in a string of late-summer moves to deal away soon-to-be-free-agents this afternoon, sending reliever Ryan Madson to the Dodgers for minor league right-hander Andrew Istler just hours before Major League Baseball's pseudo-deadline to trade players who have been placed on revocable waivers. Madson heads to Los Angeles after an up-and-down season in Washington, one in which he was counted on to serve as the club's primary setup man but struggled to stay healthy and...

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Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

August 31, 2018, 11:26am

Nationals

An August to forget comes to a close tonight when the Nationals host the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series (weather permitting). And it will close with another big-name veteran no longer part of the roster after Ryan Madson was traded to the Dodgers for a minor league right-hander. Madson had made only one appearance since returning from his back injury, so the Nats bullpen has become used to functioning without him. But it's nonetheless striking to know neither he nor Kelvin...