With homer barrage, Nats take down Mets again (updated)

With homer barrage, Nats take down Mets again (updated)
As the balls flew off the bats of Kyle Schwarber (twice), Trea Turner and Gerardo Parra, and as Paolo Espino was carving up the Mets for five scoreless innings, the mood inside of Nationals Park was ... well, how exactly to describe this? Was it ecstasy? Was it delirium? Was it some emotion that has yet to be defined, because nobody in attendance had ever witnessed anything quite like this on a baseball field in a long time? And then how to describe the vibe as the Nationals bullpen turned a...
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Robles out of lineup with sore knee, but able to take BP

Robles out of lineup with sore knee, but able to take BP
Victor Robles is out of the Nationals lineup, his right knee still bothering him enough to keep him from starting against the Mets one day after he was struck by a pitch in Miami. It was not bothering the 24-year-old center fielder enough, though, to keep him from participating in batting practice, suggesting he may not need to miss much time. Robles took a full round of BP with teammates, and though he wasn't moving around at full strength, he didn't appear to be significantly...
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Game 76 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 76 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
And so begins the closing stretch of the first half of the 2021 season, a stretch that will test the Nationals unlike any that have come before. Fourteen games in 14 days, all against contending teams. It begins tonight with a one-off against the Mets, another makeup from the season-opening series that was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The great mystery for the last 24 hours has been the identity of the Nats' starting pitcher tonight. This should've been Erick Fedde's game, but...
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After winning trip, Nats face daunting stretch to close first half

After winning trip, Nats face daunting stretch to close first half
Here's what the Nationals accomplished over the last two weeks: By winning 11 of 14 games, they climbed their way out of a significant hole, briefly reached the .500 mark and moved into sole possession of second place in the National League East, now within striking distance of the first-place Mets. It was the best two-week stretch this club has experienced since the end of the 2019 season, a true turnaround for a team that looked ready to collapse altogether and head into a long, hot summer...
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Nationals ride homers, Scherzer to victory in Miami (updated)

Nationals ride homers, Scherzer to victory in Miami (updated)
There are any number of reasons you can point to for why the Nationals have won or lost a ballgame this season, but here's a simple one to consider: When they hit a home run, they usually win. When they don't, they usually don't. And when they clear the fence twice in the same inning, as they did today during a 5-1 win over the Marlins? Well, that's about as good a piece of evidence as you'll get to foretell a Nats victory. Trea Turner and Josh Bell provided the big blows in this one, each...
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Fedde's strain believed mild, Strasburg throws off mound

Fedde's strain believed mild, Strasburg throws off mound
Erick Fedde felt nothing during his start Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. But when the Nationals right-hander woke up Thursday morning in Miami, his left side was bothering him. The club told him to take it easy, and he didn't attempt to throw his typical bullpen session between starts. And after an MRI revealed what manager Davey Martinez called "a minor strain of his left oblique," Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning. It's the latest blow to a Nationals rotation...
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Game 75 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to IL)

Game 75 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Fedde to IL)
Forty-eight hours ago, the Nationals were feeling as good about themselves as they had in a while. Winners of five straight and 10 of 11, they had reached the .500 mark for the first time since May 2. What's happened since then? They've lost two in a row to the Marlins, fallen back into their offensive funk and have now seen their second-most reliable starting pitcher get hurt. Erick Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning with an oblique strain, an unexpected development to...
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Bell expected back in lineup tonight after clean MRI

Bell expected back in lineup tonight after clean MRI
At the end of the worst game they've played in weeks Friday night, the Nationals did get some good news: Josh Bell appears to be fine and should even be in today's lineup against the Marlins. Bell, who had to be scratched from Thursday's lineup after complaining of tightness in his right side, underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon to see if he had strained his oblique muscle. But that test showed no strain, according to manager Davey Martinez, and the slugger was back taking swings later in...
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Lester's dud sends Nationals to rare loss (updated)

Lester's dud sends Nationals to rare loss (updated)
When he stepped off the mound at the end of the sixth inning Saturday night at Nationals Park, Jon Lester felt as good as he has about himself in a long time. Ten starts into his first season in D.C., the veteran left-hander owned a 3.60 ERA. Anyone who reasonably expected anything more than that from the 37-year-old was being unreasonable. By the time he walked off the mound in the third inning tonight at loanDepot Park in Miami, Lester could not have felt anything like he did six days prior....
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As they await Bell's MRI, Nats prepping others at first base

As they await Bell's MRI, Nats prepping others at first base
As Davey Martinez sat down for his pregame Zoom session with reporters about 2 1/2 hours before first pitch in Miami, Josh Bell was in the process of getting an MRI on his right side. The results of that test will be on the Nationals manager's mind until he knows if his cleanup hitter can avoid a trip to the injured list. "He said he feels about the same (as Thursday)," Martinez said. "It's not bad, it's not horrible, but it's there. We'll see what happens when we get this MRI result...
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Game 73 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 73 lineups: Nats at Marlins
You already know the Nationals have won 10 of 11 games. But did you know they've actually won nine games in a row that were scheduled to be nine innings? That's right, their last two losses came in doubleheader games that were scheduled for only seven innings (one of which turned into an eight-inning loss to the Giants). Their last nine-inning loss was June 11, the opener of their last homestand, when they lost 1-0 to San Francisco. So there's a chance tonight to make it 10 in a row in...
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On Bell's oblique, Soto's doubles and reaching .500 again

On Bell's oblique, Soto's doubles and reaching .500 again
More news and observations after Thursday night's 7-3 win over the Marlins, the Nationals' 10th win in 11 games ... * Josh Bell was a late scratch from the lineup after reporting soreness on his right side. The Nats don't seem to believe it's anything serious, but they want to make sure he didn't strain an oblique muscle before putting him back on the field. "I didn't want to take any chances," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He's going to go...
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Schwarber's historic surge keeps Nats red-hot (updated)

Schwarber's historic surge keeps Nats red-hot (updated)
You could only laugh at the first one, because it was yet another leadoff homer by Kyle Schwarber, his fifth in 13 games since taking over the top spot in the Nationals lineup on a full-time basis a couple weeks ago. But the second one? A three-run blast one inning later? His 12th home run in 13 games? His eighth in five games? What was the appropriate reaction to that? Surely, it included a jaw dropped all the way to the floor, a glazed look in your eyes and an immediate sprint to your...
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Hudson should be ready to throw off mound before Strasburg

Hudson should be ready to throw off mound before Strasburg
Davey Martinez had to get creative with his bullpen in order to win Wednesday's wild, 13-12 game in Philadelphia, ultimately asking Austin Voth, Tanner Rainey and Paolo Espino to record the final six outs. That's because closer Brad Hand was unavailable after pitching four of the previous five days, and because Daniel Hudson remains on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right elbow. And it's still going to be a little while before Hudson is back on the active roster pitching in...
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Game 72 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Bell scratched)

Game 72 lineups: Nats at Marlins (Bell scratched)
The Nationals' two-game sweep in Philadelphia was both uplifting but also exhausting. Wednesday's 13-12 finale, in particular, used up every ounce of strength the Nats had, not to mention nearly every reliever on the staff. There's no rest for the weary, though, because after a flight south to Miami following the game, the Nationals are right back to work this evening in the opener of a four-game series with the Marlins. These two division foes have met only three times so far this season,...
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Espino's memorable week now includes first career save

Espino's memorable week now includes first career save
The call to the bullpen came after the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals at that point trailing the Phillies 12-11. Paolo Espino was told to warm up, and that he would be pitching the bottom of the ninth if his teammates managed to tie the game or take the lead. And when that's exactly what they did, getting a two-run single from Starlin Castro to go up 13-12 in the craziest game of the season, Espino began to make his way to the mound, now tasked with recording the final three outs but not...
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Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)

Nats rally twice, pull out all stops to beat Phillies 13-12 (updated)
In order to pull off their ninth win in 10 games, the Nationals needed another Kyle Schwarber three-run homer to highlight a five-run top of the fifth, a Josh Bell grand slam to cap a six-run top of the sixth, a two-run single by Starlin Castro in the top of the ninth to re-take a lead that had just been lost and then the first save conversion of Paolo Espino's career (with some help from a bleeding Jordy Mercer at second base). And it all worked out. Somehow. Some way. Adding another...
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Schwarber, Turner, Harrison all banged up, but playing

Schwarber, Turner, Harrison all banged up, but playing
As the baseball world was still up in arms over the theatrics of Joe Girardi asking umpires to check Max Scherzer for foreign substances for a third time Tuesday night, the Nationals were dealing with several injury scares late during their 3-2 victory over the Phillies. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Josh Harrison all were less than 100 percent healthy by the time Brad Hand escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth. And though all three are back in the lineup for this afternoon's...
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Game 71 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 71 lineups: Nats at Phillies
Well, guess what? There's another ballgame to be played in Philadelphia. This afternoon. The buzz from Tuesday night's histrionics hasn't dissipated yet, but the Nationals and Phillies can't wait for that to happen before taking the field again for the finale of this quick, two-game series. The Nats, by virtue of a dramatic 3-2 win that was overshadowed by Joe Girardi's attempt to get into Max Scherzer's head (or, at least, his sweaty hair), are now in position to sweep the mini-series...
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Is there a better way to check pitchers for foreign substances?

Is there a better way to check pitchers for foreign substances?
So, what happens now? What happens when the Nationals and Phillies take the field again at 1:05 p.m. today for the finale of this quick, two-game series at Citizens Bank Park? Will the mandatory, between-innings checks of both teams' pitchers by umpires looking for foreign substances continue without issue? Will either Joe Girardi or Davey Martinez try to one-up the other and request an extra examination of the opposing pitcher, as Girardi did Tuesday night with Max Scherzer, setting off a...
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