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BALTIMORE - Yunel Escobar will see his first action since leaving Monday's loss to the Reds in the fifth inning with tightness in his left hamstring. With Denard Span (back spasms) on the 15-day disabled list, Escobar assumes the leadoff spot in the order. He is 11-for-35 (.314) with one homer and one double batting first. Escobar propelled the Nats to a 5-2 win over the Phillies on April 16 when he started the game with a home run off Cole Hamels.
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez has won his past...
BALTIMORE - The Nationals made a flurry of roster moves ahead of the final series of the first half, the first of two interleague series against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
Center fielder Denard Span, who has been troubled by back problems and previously said he expected to miss the weekend series, was placed on the 15-day disabled list, while right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was placed on the paternity list.
To take their places on the 25-man roster, the Nationals recalled infielder Wilmer Difo...
Steve Pearce is batting second and playing first base tonight as the Orioles begin their final series before the break.
Matt Wieters is catching and batting cleanup against Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Nolan Reimold is in left field and Chris Davis remains in right.
Miguel Gonzalez will start Saturday for the Orioles, followed by Wei-Yin Chen on Sunday. The Nationals haven't announced their other starters, though Max Scherzer is expected to pitch Sunday.
The Orioles no longer lead the...
The Washington Nationals recalled infielder Wilmer Difo from Double-A Harrisburg, and returned from rehab and reinstated right-handed pitcher Aaron Barrett from the 15-day disabled list on Friday. Center fielder Denard Span was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 7, with back tightness and right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann was placed on the paternity list. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
Difo, 23, joins the...
While he doesn't have a Twitter account of his own, Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon was an old pro when he took to the @masnNationals account to answer fans' questions.
MASN's Twitter followers submitted questions for Rendon using #AskRendon, and then the real fun began. Rendon wielded both baseball-related and off-the-field questions, with topics ranging from his favorite baseball player growing up to "the biggest bromance on the team." Naturally, some of his answers proved to be...
Would you be OK with a batter from a visiting team hitting the B&O Warehouse at Camden Yards? What if it were a member of the New York Yankees? The Boston Red Sox? How about the Washington Nationals? What if Bryce Harper were to do it this weekend?
Two years ago, then-Washington Examiner columnist Thom Loverro predicted that Harper would hit the warehouse, boasting, "They might as well order the plaque now. Sooner or later, he is going to hit that warehouse." Loverro argued it could well...
Bryce Harper enters this weekend's series at hitter-friendly Camden Yards batting only .194 (7-for-36) in 10 career games against the Orioles, his third lowest mark against any club in the majors.
But this year's version of Harper is much more polished at the plate, where he has added patience and discipline to his approach. His .471 on-base percentage, .709 slugging percentage and 1.181 OPS leads all big leaguers while his .343 batting average is just seven points behind Detroit's Miguel...
While plenty of digital ink has been spilled examining what's wrong with Stephen Strasburg, Nationals rotation mate Doug Fister has struggled as well, though a little more quietly. Before Washington's 31-year-old sinkerballing right-hander landed on the DL with forearm tightness in mid-May, the free agent-to-be put up a 4.31 ERA in seven starts and 39 2/3 innings over which opposing hitters had a .291/.331/.456 line.
In four starts since he's returned to the rotation, Fister has put up a...
Shortstop Wilmer Difo has now not played in two games in a row for Double-A Harrisburg. The team was in Richmond to play the Flying Squirrels for a series. Manager Matt Williams did say Wednesday that infielder Emmanuel Burriss has some experience in the outfield. Burriss has played two games in left field and two games in right field in his career.
As I have talked about in this space recently, if Denard Span (back spasms) is placed on the disabled list, the Nationals have some depth in the...
So another Orioles-Nationals series is here. It seems to me the rivalary is getting bigger and better in recent years with both teams contending for the playoffs. It's been a matchup of two good teams. The games have been well attended and a nice rivalry is developing.
The Nationals (46-38) are playing better with this three-game series set to begin. While they lost on Monday and Tuesday to Cincinnati before Wednesday's rainout, the Nats swept the Giants last weekend and are 12-5 over their...