The Nationals may have Trea Turner back in their lineup Friday night. Turner, who broke his right index finger 6 1/2 weeks ago, emerged from back-to-back rehab games with Single-A Potomac feeling well. He was back at Nationals Park this morning, working out before the Nats’ series finale against the Mets. A final decision hasn’t been made yet, but club officials will consider activating their ... read more
The Nationals haven’t won back-to-back games since April 17-18. Today, of course, is May 16. That’s a long time to go without winning consecutive games. That’s also the last time the Nats won a series (against the Giants). That’s a long time to go without winning two of three. Suffice it to say, the Nationals would love to snap both of those streaks this afternoon. ... read more
There are nights, like this, when you are reminded the Nationals indeed are capable of playing good baseball. They can get a dominant outing from one of their elite starters, and they can reward him for the effort by stringing together big hits in multiple innings, making all the plays they need to make behind him and then closing things out sans bullpen drama. The ... read more
For weeks, Davey Martinez insisted he preferred to keep Victor Robles at the bottom of his daily lineup, believing the rookie outfielder was benefitting from the lower-pressure position in his batting order. Circumstances - injuries, plus Robles’ success - left Martinez with no choice but to move the 21-year-old up in the lineup. But three weeks later, it’s becoming clearer why Martinez felt the way ... read more
Patrick Corbin has already faced the Mets twice this season, and he pitched well enough both times to emerge with a win. The left-hander, alas, did not get credited with a win after either of those starts. So he’ll try to get over that hump tonight when he faces New York for the third time in 2019. The Nationals, in a recurring theme, haven’t taken ... read more
Here’s one thing that’s going well for the Nationals right now: Erick Fedde as a reliever. Long touted as the organization’s top starting prospect, Fedde has made a smooth transition to the bullpen over the last two weeks and is thriving in his new role. It’s only four total outings, but Fedde has yet to allow a run in eight innings of work, with only ... read more
It takes an awful lot for the Nationals to win a baseball game these days. It takes excellent starting pitching. It takes timely hitting from a lineup that seems to only score in one inning per contest. It takes effective work from the majors’ least effective bullpen. And it takes clean defense, an occurrence most clubs can assume will be on display most nights but ... read more
The Nationals opened a key homestand this evening needing to play clean baseball and get things off on the right foot. Three batters into their series opener against the Mets, they couldn’t turn a routine double play. And three batters after that, they gave up a grand slam to a former teammate and fan favorite. Yep, things are going swimmingly so far tonight on South ... read more
