Mark Zuckerman
Mark Zuckerman

If Nats are going to make a run, stars must lead the way

If Nats are going to make a run, stars must lead the way
Seven major league clubs will have four or more players representing them tonight at Coors Field in the All-Star Game. Five of those clubs (the Dodgers, Padres, Brewers, Red Sox and Astros) entered the break in possession of a postseason berth, and a sixth (the Blue Jays) owns a winning record. The seventh? That would be the Nationals, who despite climbing two games over the .500 mark two weeks ago, limped into the break having lost nine of 11 and now own a disappointing 42-47 record. And that...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats go with high school shortstop House as No. 11 pick (updated)

Nats go with high school shortstop House as No. 11 pick (updated)
The Nationals veered off their typical course tonight and did not select a pitcher with their first pick of the First-Year Player Draft. But in making Brady House their choice at No. 11, they did go back to a familiar well they've tapped before when taking a position player. House, a high school shortstop from Georgia, is only the second position player the Nats have selected with their first draft pick since 2011. The other was Carter Kieboom, a high school shortstop from Georgia. The...
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Mark Zuckerman

Breaking down the breakdowns in shocking loss

Breaking down the breakdowns in shocking loss
There's still so much to process about Thursday night's 9-8 loss in San Diego, a Nationals loss that can't begin to be adequately explained merely through the final score. Let's try to delve into a few more aspects of this wackadoodle game at Petco Park, which at times defied explanation. ... * Max Scherzer's meltdown was as quick as it was shocking. It's not just that he gave up seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. It's that he gave up seven runs in the bottom of the fourth after...
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Mark Zuckerman

Scherzer, Nats turn eight-run lead into 9-8 loss (updated)

Scherzer, Nats turn eight-run lead into 9-8 loss (updated)
They led by eight runs after 3 1/2 innings, with Max Scherzer cruising and looking very much like he wanted to make a definitive statement about his exclusion from the All-Star Game roster for the first time since 2012. How that somehow turned into a one-run lead 10 batters into the worst nightmare of a fourth inning Scherzer or anyone else on the Nationals could ever have dreamed up, a nightmare that included the first grand slam by a relief pitcher in the major leagues since 1985, defied...
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Mark Zuckerman

Ross lands on IL but expected to return after break

Ross lands on IL but expected to return after break
The Nationals have been talking for months about the need to monitor Joe Ross' workload after the he opted out of the 2020 season. They weren't necessarily planning to give the right-hander time off right now in advance of the All-Star break, but when he reported tightness in his forearm following his between-starts bullpen session Wednesday, it was an easy decision for the club to take him off the active roster. Ross was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation before...
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Mark Zuckerman

Game 86 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 86 lineups: Nats at Padres
We talked about the daunting two-week stretch the Nationals were going to face heading into the All-Star break, with 14 games in 14 days against five contenders. Well, 10 games in they've managed to go 5-5 despite a swath of injuries and a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers last weekend. And tonight they have a chance to win three of four on the road from the Padres. That's not bad at all. It's a premier pitching matchup for the series finale at Petco Park, with All-Star Yu Darvish...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats bats stay hot during blowout win in San Diego (updated)

Nats bats stay hot during blowout win in San Diego (updated)
There was the tone-setter, the three-run homer by Juan Soto in the top of the first that seemed to leave Petco Park in 1.3 seconds. There were the back-to-back, two-run singles by Josh Bell and Starlin Castro in the top of the second that kept the pressure on Padres starter Chris Paddack. And then there were the three additional runs the Nationals scored soon thereafter to extend their lead to a whopping 10 runs by the top of the fourth and ensure this would be a very good (albeit very long)...
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Mark Zuckerman

Could Nats get both Bell and Zimmerman in lineup?

Could Nats get both Bell and Zimmerman in lineup?
For much of the season to date, Nationals manager Davey Martinez's plan at first base was fairly simple. Josh Bell almost always started against right-handers and Ryan Zimmerman almost always started against lefties. At this point, though, with Bell on a prolonged surge at the plate and Zimmerman now slumping after an electric April and May, Martinez's decision on playing time isn't quite as clear cut. Take Tuesday night's game in San Diego, for example. The Padres were starting Ryan...
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Mark Zuckerman

Hudson activated, bringing bullpen closer to full strength

Hudson activated, bringing bullpen closer to full strength
With only five days to go until the All-Star break and five more games to be played against a couple of National League West contenders, the Nationals are aggressively fortifying their pitching staff with some big names returning from injury. On Tuesday night, it was Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan coming off the injured list and pitching against the Padres. Tonight, it's Daniel Hudson activated off the 10-day IL, seemingly ahead of schedule. The Nationals announced the return of Hudson (and the...
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Mark Zuckerman

Game 85 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 85 lineups: Nats at Padres
The Nationals have done OK at the plate through the first two games of this weekend's series in San Diego, scoring 11 total runs. (Though they did strand a bunch of runners on base late during Tuesday night's 7-4 loss.) Of greater concern has been a pitching staff that has given up 12 runs in 17 innings. Or more specifically, a rotation that has given up 11 runs in 7 2/3 innings. That's not going to cut it, and it has put quite a strain on the bullpen. So the pressure's on Patrick Corbin...
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Mark Zuckerman

Soto will participate in Monday night's Home Run Derby

Soto will participate in Monday night's Home Run Derby
Maybe the cure for Juan Soto's struggles to elevate the ball is to hit a bunch of balls at high elevation in the Home Run Derby. Whether it helps him rediscover his power stroke or not, Soto is going to participate in Monday night's derby at Coors Field, the Nationals star outfielder announced today. It's Soto's first career appearance in the Home Run Derby, and it coincides with his first career All-Star selection. The timing may seem a bit off, given that Soto is currently struggling...
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Mark Zuckerman

Escobar is Nats' latest unconventional leadoff hitter

Escobar is Nats' latest unconventional leadoff hitter
If you were wondering what prompted manager Davey Martinez decide to make Alcides Escobar his leadoff hitter the last two nights in San Diego, why a 12-year veteran with a career .293 on-base percentage was the right choice to bat atop the Nationals lineup, go back and re-watch the first at-bat of Monday night's game. The result of that at-bat against Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove was a groundout to short, nothing special. But everything that led to that unfortunate result - nine pitches...
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Mark Zuckerman

Fedde rusty in return from IL, Nats fall to Padres (updated)

Fedde rusty in return from IL, Nats fall to Padres (updated)
The Nationals' resurgent June was built upon multiple developments, but high on the list was the resurgence of their rotation into an elite unit for the first time all season. Now as the calendar has shifted to July, they're finding out just how important that development was. It's hard to win games when your starter doesn't provide both quality and length. And the Nats haven't been getting either over the last week. They got away with Jon Lester's poor start Monday night in San Diego,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Rotation decision looms as Fedde returns, Strasburg gets closer

Rotation decision looms as Fedde returns, Strasburg gets closer
The Nationals get Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan back from the injured list tonight, surprisingly quicker than most expected in Fedde's case. And at some point in the not-too-distant future, they believe they'll get Stephen Strasburg back as well, the final and most significant return to a rotation that has needed some patching together through the season's first half. The Nats have been going without Strasburg and Fedde since June 24, when Fedde woke up with a strained oblique one day after...
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Mark Zuckerman

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)

Game 84 lineups: Nats at Padres (Fedde starting)
Davey Martinez promised roster moves (plural) after Monday night's win, and the Nationals manager meant what he said. The Nats added two healthy pitchers to their staff today, activating both Erick Fedde and Kyle Finnegan off the 10-day injured list. And Fedde (surprise, surprise) will start tonight in San Diego. That was not expected, because as far as we know, Fedde has not faced any live hitters since going on the IL with an oblique strain two weeks ago. We'll see if that means he's...
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Mark Zuckerman

Was Scherzer snubbed or is NL pitching class too deep?

Was Scherzer snubbed or is NL pitching class too deep?
Every National League All-Star team assembled since 2010 has included at least one member of the Nationals pitching staff. Every All-Star Game since 2013 has included a roster with Max Scherzer. So imagine the surprise on South Capitol Street on Sunday when manager Davey Martinez walked into the clubhouse and informed everyone three of his players had been selected to this year's Midsummer Classic: Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber. Not Scherzer. Some in the room didn't believe...
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Mark Zuckerman

Surging Bell powers Nats to late-night win in San Diego (updated)

Surging Bell powers Nats to late-night win in San Diego (updated)
Ask anyone who has watched him - shoot, ask Josh Bell himself - to evaluate his performance through the season's first half, and the answer almost certainly will be negative. And a quick glance at Bell's season totals - .247 batting average, 12 homers, 39 RBIs, .775 OPS - would give reason to believe that. Let's not forget, though, just how big a hole Bell dug for himself six weeks in. On the morning of May 13, the Nationals first baseman owned a horrific .133/.198/.289 slash line that...
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Mark Zuckerman

Turner and Gomes return to lineup, Tuesday's starter is TBA

Turner and Gomes return to lineup, Tuesday's starter is TBA
A Nationals club desperate for more healthy bodies is getting two of them back for tonight's series opener in San Diego, with more potentially coming in the next few days. Trea Turner and Yan Gomes are both in tonight's lineup, Turner returning after missing four games with a jammed left middle finger, Gomes back after taking a pitch off his right arm Saturday night. The impact on Davey Martinez's batting order is significant, with Turner able to bat second in front of Juan Soto and Gomes...
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Mark Zuckerman

Game 83 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 83 lineups: Nats at Padres
Who's ready for some late-night baseball? Yes, after their earliest start of the season Sunday morning, the Nationals now take the field tonight in San Diego for their latest start of the season. The caffeine intake has already begun here at the home office. A four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers made for a tough weekend, and the task doesn't get particularly easier over the next four nights against the talented Padres, who at the moment own a .581 winning percentage that would have...
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Mark Zuckerman

Was Dodgers series a blip or a sign of worse things to come?

Was Dodgers series a blip or a sign of worse things to come?
As he sat at a dais next to Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber, his fellow 2021 All-Stars, Trea Turner was asked about the Nationals' four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. Turner, of course, didn't appear in any of the four games, still dealing with a jammed left middle finger from sliding hard into third base while completing his third career cycle Wednesday afternoon. And he was far from the only Nats regular stuck watching from the dugout. Also out due to injury were Schwarber, Alex...
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