nationals

Strasburg gives up early homer, settles in after that (Nats lose 3-1)

August 19, 2017, 5:52pm

SAN DIEGO - Stephen Strasburg is back on the mound pitching for the Nationals, and his arm appears to be healthy. That, quite frankly, matters more at the moment than results. Not that Strasburg has pitched poorly so far in his first start in four weeks. He battled some shaky command in the bottom of the first and served up a two-run homer to Yangervis Solarte but otherwise has looked sharp in his return from an elbow injury. Activated today following a four-week stint on the disabled list due...

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Murphy scratched from lineup, Madson still has finger pain

August 19, 2017, 3:59pm

Nationals

Murphy scratched from lineup, Madson still has finger pain

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals announced their starting lineup about 3 1/2 hours before tonight's game at Petco Park, standard procedure. A few minutes later, they had to announce a change to that lineup, which unfortunately also has become standard procedure for this injury-riddled ballclub. The latest: Daniel Murphy, who was scratched from tonight's lineup after the second baseman admitted to manager Dusty Baker he's been playing less than 100 percent in recent days. There was no formal...

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Game 121 lineups: Nats at Padres

August 19, 2017, 1:16pm

Nationals

SAN DIEGO - When Stephen Strasburg departed his July 23 start in Arizona after two innings with a nerve impingement in his elbow and subsequently was placed on the disabled list, the Nationals said they expected the right-hander to miss only one start before returning to the mound in what was deemed a precautionary move. Tonight, 27 days removed from that start, Strasburg finally takes the mound again. Strasburg himself has suggested throughout the last four weeks that he could've returned...

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In a bind, Nationals get a pitching gem from six relievers

August 18, 2017, 10:38pm

Nationals

SAN DIEGO - The task - getting nine innings out of a menagerie of relievers after Max Scherzer had to be scratched from Friday night's start - was daunting enough. Dusty Baker simply hoped he could get through this game without burning up his entire pitching staff, let alone actually beat the Padres. But when emergency starter Matt Grace was able to go 4 1/3 innings without surrendering a run, a task that felt awfully daunting at the beginning of the night suddenly felt doable. And thanks to...

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Scherzer insists he'll be ready to start Friday vs. Mets

August 18, 2017, 10:05pm

Nationals

Scherzer insists he'll be ready to start Friday vs. Mets

SAN DIEGO - Max Scherzer has been through this before. Only two weeks ago, as a matter of fact. Which is why the right-hander was massively annoyed but also confident that his inability to start tonight at Petco Park due to inflammation in his neck isn't cause for major concern. "It's just frustrating," he said following the Nationals' 7-1 win over the Padres, made possible by nine innings from six relievers. "I can sit here and laugh at it, because I know what the cause of this is and I...

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Nationals activate Strasburg, place Scherzer on DL

August 19, 2017, 1:09pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Saturday. Prior to Friday night's game, the Nationals placed right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 15) with left neck inflammation. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Strasburg, 29, returns to the Nationals after missing 23 games with a right elbow nerve impingement....

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The Nats again tested as disabled list grows

August 18, 2017, 6:16pm

Nationals

The Nats again tested as disabled list grows

The first day of the road trip, it was Ryan Madson. The second day of the road trip, it is Max Scherzer. The disabled list has been the not-so-silent partner in the Nationals first place 2017 season. The 25-man roster has seen itself varied and the 40-man roster tested. The minor league system has shown it has quality depth. President of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo has also done a nice job of adding three new bullpen arms and a quality hitting infielder/outfielder in...

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Grace steps up in emergency start (Nats win 7-1)

August 18, 2017, 7:26pm

Nationals

Grace steps up in emergency start (Nats win 7-1)

SAN DIEGO - Thrust into a less-than-ideal situation tonight, Matt Grace wound up not only surviving but thriving and giving the Nationals everything they could have asked for after Max Scherzer was a late scratch. Forced into an emergency start when Scherzer couldn't go following a recurrence of the neck injury that knocked him out of a start earlier this month, Grace took the mound at Petco Park hoping to give whatever he had as the first in a carousel of Nats relievers who will be asked to...

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Scherzer scratched, placed on DL with recurring neck injury

August 18, 2017, 5:04pm

Nationals

Scherzer scratched, placed on DL with recurring neck injury

SAN DIEGO - Max Scherzer thought his neck troubles were behind him. Turns out they aren't. And because of it, the Nationals are going to need to ask their bullpen to pitch an entire game tonight. And then someone else to make a start next week. Scherzer was scratched from his scheduled start against the Padres after reporting the same problem that forced him out of his Aug. 1 start in Miami. This time, however, the issue was on the other side of his neck, prompting the Nationals to place...

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Game 120 lineups: Nats at Padres (Scherzer scratched)

August 18, 2017, 2:20pm

Nationals

Game 120 lineups: Nats at Padres (Scherzer scratched)

SAN DIEGO - The last time Max Scherzer faced the Padres, he allowed one run on three hits, struck out 13 and came within one out of a complete-game victory. That was May 26 at Nationals Park, and it was among the ace's most dominant outings of the season. Now Scherzer gets another crack at the majors' least productive lineup, taking the mound at Petco Park tonight in the second game of this weekend series. Anytime Scherzer takes the mound, there's reason to drop whatever you're doing and...

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With fewer pitches, Jackson is finding more success

August 17, 2017, 10:49pm

Nationals

With fewer pitches, Jackson is finding more success

SAN DIEGO - If it's not the first line of Edwin Jackson's baseball-playing obituary, it won't be much farther down from the lede. The most memorable game of Jackson's career, whenever it's finally over, almost certainly will be his June 25, 2010 no-hitter with the Diamondbacks. A no-hitter that included eight walks and a staggering 149 pitches. That game, more than any other, has come to encapsulate Jackson's long career. He's always had some of the best stuff in the sport, but even at...

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Zimmerman's late blast lifts Nationals to 2-1 win over Padres

August 17, 2017, 9:55pm

Nationals

SAN DIEGO - A jet-lagged Nationals lineup struggled all night at the plate against the Padres, not only to record hits in their series opener, but simply to make contact. Then one big blast from Ryan Zimmerman made up for all the swings and misses and lifted his team to a late-night victory. Zimmerman's opposite-field homer in the top of the eighth snapped a longstanding deadlock and gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead they managed to preserve thanks to more dominance from their new-look bullpen. It...

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David Huzzard: Commending the job Mike Rizzo has done

August 18, 2017, 6:08am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Commending the job Mike Rizzo has done

The Nationals can be viewed as either one of the luckiest teams in baseball or one of the unluckiest. But there is a third option and that is that general manager Mike Rizzo knows what he is doing. I would have said before this season that if the Nationals don't have a deep playoff run, Rizzo is as good as gone as GM. There are just some GMs, good enough to rebuild a team but not good at putting those final pieces in place to win it all. Rizzo has started to look like the latter, but this...

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Nats principal owner Mark Lerner reveals cancer, leg amputation

August 17, 2017, 7:05pm

Nationals

Nats principal owner Mark Lerner reveals cancer, leg amputation

SAN DIEGO - Nationals vice chairman and principal owner Mark Lerner, the most visible member of the franchise's family ownership group, revealed tonight why he has been absent from public view for much of the season: Lerner has been battling cancer in his left leg for months and recently needed to have the limb amputated above the knee. "Thanks very much for your concern and good wishes," Lerner wrote in a letter provided to MASNsports.com through a club spokeswoman. "I know you recognize...

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Jackson minimizing damage early (Nats win 2-1)

August 17, 2017, 7:40pm

Nationals

Jackson minimizing damage early (Nats win 2-1)

SAN DIEGO - Despite putting himself into several jams, Edwin Jackson has managed to minimize the damage so far in tonight's start at Petco Park. Jackson, on the mound for the Nationals in their series opener against the Padres, has surrendered five hits - including three doubles - through four innings, but has allowed only one run to cross the plate. Jackson pitched around a leadoff double to Wil Myers in the bottom of the second, and completed that inning having thrown only 17 total pitches...

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Game 119 lineups: Nats at Padres (Madson to DL, Kelley activated)

August 17, 2017, 2:33pm

Nationals

Game 119 lineups: Nats at Padres (Madson to DL, Kelley activated)

SAN DIEGO - Hello from Petco Park, where it's a spectacularly perfect day. Shocking, I know, considering we're in San Diego. The Nationals open a seven-game road trip with the first of four here against the Padres, the undercard I suppose for next week's series in Houston against an excellent Astros club. The Padres are not excellent; they rank last in the majors, scoring 3.88 runs per game, and 23rd in the majors, allowing 5.08 runs per game. The Nats, of course, have boasted the National...

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Eaton running and swinging a bat as knee rehab continues

August 16, 2017, 11:19am

Nationals

Eaton running and swinging a bat as knee rehab continues

Center fielder Adam Eaton updated his progress from ACL knee surgery. He has been out since late April. Eaton said he has started running and swinging a bat the last two weeks. "I've been hitting, been throwing," Eaton reported. "Literally all baseball activities in kind of slow motion. So it's been rather productive. Ahead of schedule still. Just continue to try to get better (with) slow motion running. I'm running, but (we're) not sprinting by any stretch of the imagination. Soft jog....

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Madson goes on DL with finger sprain, Kelley activated

August 17, 2017, 5:30pm

Nationals

Madson goes on DL with finger sprain, Kelley activated

SAN DIEGO - Just when the Nationals appeared to have to solved their bullpen woes, one of their recently acquired arms has gone down with an injury. Ryan Madson was placed on the 10-day disabled list today with a sprained right index finger, an injury that is not believed to be serious but will nonetheless sideline the club's new setup man for the time being. Shawn Kelley, who already had been close to returning from a long rehab assignment, was activated off the DL and is available out of the...

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Nationals activate Kelley, place Madson on 10-day DL

August 17, 2017, 3:34pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Shawn Kelley on Thursday and placed right-handed pitcher Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 14) with a right finger sprain. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Kelley, 33, returns to the Nationals after missing 51 games with a right trapezius strain. The veteran late-inning reliever made eight rehab appearances with...

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Even with banged-up eye, Taylor makes one of top catches of season

August 16, 2017, 1:53pm

Nationals

Even with banged-up eye, Taylor makes one of top catches of season

Michael A. Taylor got hit in face on a foul tip and then made one of the more amazing diving catches in the Nationals' 3-2 setback Wednesday to the Angels. All in a day's work for the center fielder, who is just returning from an oblique injury. In the sixth, Taylor got hit with a foul tip that bounced close to home plate and then back up near his right eye. After being dazed for a moment, he returned to the batter's box and completed the at-bat. "I really didn't see it coming," Taylor...