The Nationals know what Josiah Gray looks like at his best, slinging up any of seven different pitches to keep hitters off-balance and induce a host of swings and misses while escaping the occasional jam. The Nationals also know what Gray looks like at his worst, unable to locate his fastball, unable to put away hitters, unable to extend outings du
Victor Robles’ encouraging start to the season came to an abrupt halt Wednesday night when the Nationals center fielder strained his left hamstring running the bases, leading to his official placement today on the 10-day injured list. Fellow outfielder Jacob Young was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Robles’ roster spot. There was no immedi
They managed to play Monday’s home opener as scheduled with no interruption. They managed to play Wednesday night as scheduled with no interruption. Can the Nationals and Pirates do the impossible and play today’s series finale as scheduled with no interruption? There’s once again rain in the forecast, so that may be too much to ask for. But perhap
The Orioles had two Gold Glove finalists, but no winners, last season and some fans may not remember that while Austin Hays was a finalist for left fielders, Baltimore’s other finalist was Ryan Mountcastle at first base. As manager Brandon Hyde said, “It's great to see him find a home defensively,” and Mountcastle has put in the time and work to ge
As he stepped to the plate in the top of the second Monday afternoon and heard the sustained applause from the sellout crowd at Nationals Park, Michael A. Taylor sheepishly tried to contemplate the appropriate way to respond. “It’s not something I’ve ever experienced before,” the Pirates center fielder said. “I honestly didn’t know what to do.” Aft
The Orioles are leaving the cold and rain of Baltimore and flying into the cold of Pittsburgh. But no rain. Daytime highs for the three games are 43, 48 and a balmy 56 degrees. But a new concession item at PNC Park is “The Renegade,” a foot-long hot dog draped in potato pierogis, pot roast, pickles and onions. Let me start by saying cheddar potato
Trevor Williams won the Nationals fifth starter’s job to begin the season not on merit so much as on track record, contract status and the fact his spring training competition (Zach Davies) did nothing to earn the job himself. The leash on Williams, who statistically ranked as one of the worst starters in baseball last year, is probably short. But
A game that starts five hours late because of rain, with Major League Baseball determined to squeeze it into a window that could slam shut again, is bound to contain some abnormalities. It was born that way. Corbin Burnes allows one hit over six innings on Opening Day and surrenders three tonight in the top of the first. An out is recorded at the p
As ballgames up and down the East Coast were being delayed or postponed altogether due to rain, Davey Martinez tried to remain optimistic about the Nationals’ chances of actually playing the Pirates as scheduled at 6:45 p.m. tonight. “We’re going to get ready to play until they tell us otherwise,” the manager said about 3 hours before scheduled fir
The first four games of the Nationals’ season all were played in daylight, three of them starting shortly after 4 p.m., the other shortly after 1:30 p.m. Now, at last in Game 5 of the season, we get our first night game. But don’t forget: Night games at Nationals Park now start at 6:45 p.m. Adjust your commuting and TV-watching plans accordingly. A