Game 56 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 56 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - The Nationals, as surely you know by now, have not swept a series yet this season. Shoot, they just finally completed their first three-game winning streak last weekend. But if they can beat the Braves again tonight, they will have crossed that off list at last. Yes, it's only a two-game series, but beggars can't be choosers. A win tonight would be no small task. The Nationals would have to win a game started by Aníbal Sánchez, something they've done only twice in nine...
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Doolittle ditches toe tap, returns to peak form

Doolittle ditches toe tap, returns to peak form
ATLANTA - The toe tap was gone. The results were back to normal. Sean Doolittle looked like his old self again Tuesday night during a scoreless bottom of the ninth that preserved the Nationals' 5-4 win over the Braves. He faced four batters, struck out three of them and emerged with his 10th save in a game his team desperately needed. And for the first time in 2019, he did it without his front foot touching dirt before taking his full stride toward the plate. That seemingly innocuous move...
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Strasburg dominates for seven, Doolittle closes out Braves (updated)

Strasburg dominates for seven, Doolittle closes out Braves (updated)
ATLANTA - They got the dominant start they needed from Stephen Strasburg. They got both the power and the patience they needed from their lineup to give them a late lead. They got a near-disaster in the eighth inning from one of the usual suspects out of the bullpen. But when they got an overdue clean ninth inning from Sean Doolittle, the Nationals escaped SunTrust Park with a 5-4 victory over the Braves that felt as needed as any victory they've had in a while. "Gosh darn it, that was a...
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Sánchez will return to start Wednesday's finale (Nats up 4-2)

Sánchez will return to start Wednesday's finale (Nats up 4-2)
ATLANTA - They waited to make a final decision until after tonight's game, but the Nationals did decide to start Aníbal Sánchez in Wednesday night's series finale against the Braves, believing the right-hander's hamstring is fully healed even if he hasn't built his arm all the way back up to a full workload yet. Sánchez, who strained his left hamstring May 16 against the Mets, was slated to go through a pregame workout this evening at SunTrust Park. If he got through this workout...
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Game 55 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 55 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - The Nationals have already faced the Mets 13 times this season. They've faced the Phillies eight times. They've faced the Marlins seven times. Tonight, they finally face the Braves for the first of 19 head-to-head matchups this season. And it's only a two-game series before they pack up and leave for Cincinnati. Weird schedule, to say the least. The Braves, seeking back-to-back division titles, got off to a ragged start themselves. And they've had their share of bullpen woes. But...
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More on Sunday's win over the Marlins

More on Sunday's win over the Marlins
More on Sunday's 9-6 victory over the Marlins, which gave the Nationals their first three-game winning streak of the season ... * Howie Kendrick's value to this team can't be overstated. The veteran utility man has come through so many times for the Nationals when they've needed him to, and has proven to be so much more than a nice bat off the bench. Kendrick, who got things started Sunday with a solo homer in the bottom of the second and then drove in two more runs in the third, now has 28...
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Nats finally get first three-game win streak of year (updated)

Nats finally get first three-game win streak of year (updated)
It took two months of agonizing starts and stops, encouraging moments followed by devastating meltdowns, series with contenders and series with also-rans. But this weekend it finally happened: The Nationals won three games in a row. It's a modest achievement, to be sure. But the Nationals were the only team in the majors that had yet to win back-to-back-to-back games in 2019. And though it happened against the worst-in-baseball Marlins, that matters not a bit to a ballclub that simply needs to...
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Rosenthal remains on rehab with Harrisburg (Nats up 9-0)

Rosenthal remains on rehab with Harrisburg (Nats up 9-0)
Trevor Rosenthal enjoyed a clean inning of relief in his latest rehab appearance. Now the Nationals need to see him do it again. Rosenthal retired the side on 18 pitches, throwing 10 strikes, in a scoreless inning Saturday night for Double-A Harrisburg. It was his sixth outing while rehabbing, officially from a viral infection but practically from his inability to throw strikes while pitching for the Nationals throughout April. Rosenthal's command woes have popped up more than once while...
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Robles sticking with bunt technique despite close shave

Robles sticking with bunt technique despite close shave
The bunt is a big part of Victor Robles' game. He has seven bunt singles already this season, three more than any other player in the major leagues. The hit-by-pitch, unfortunately, also is a big part of Robles' game. He has been plunked eight times already this season, third-most in the majors. And sometimes these two truths are connected, with potentially frightening results. As was the case during the bottom of the fourth Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park. With runners on first and...
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Game 53 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 53 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
We've wondered countless times this season if the Nationals might be able to build and then sustain some positive momentum. And inevitably the answer has been an emphatic no. So even though they've won two straight over the Marlins, it would be wholly irresponsible to start talking about any kind of positive momentum at this point. However, if the Nats can do today what they haven't been able to do all year - win three consecutive games - perhaps we can finally proclaim momentum to have been...
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Nationals sign veteran reliever Kontos to minor league deal

Nationals sign veteran reliever Kontos to minor league deal
In their neverending quest to improve the majors' worst bullpen, the Nationals have acquired another veteran with considerable experience. The Nationals signed right-hander George Kontos on Saturday to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Fresno's roster, where he'll attempt to earn his way into Washington's bullpen. Kontos, 33, owns a career 3.10 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in 350 big league games, the vast majority of those with the Giants. He bounced around three organizations...
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Corbin cruises, defense shines in shutout of Marlins (updated)

Corbin cruises, defense shines in shutout of Marlins (updated)
Davey Martinez wasn't pleased at all with the Nationals' play Friday night. Yes, they beat the Marlins, but they did so in spite of themselves, booting balls in the field and burning up their bullpen on a night when their lineup scored 12 runs. Martinez wanted better play from his team. And he got it this afternoon in one of its best all-around showings of the year. Behind a four-hit shutout from Patrick Corbin, a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth and - most importantly - some...
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Wednesday's starter up in the air (Nats lead 5-0)

Wednesday's starter up in the air (Nats lead 5-0)
The Nationals haven't decided yet who will start Wednesday's game in Atlanta, with Aníbal Sánchez still on the injured list and Kyle McGowin having struggled in his place Friday night. Sánchez, on the 10-day IL with a strained hamstring, threw a 41-pitch simulated game Friday and was encouraged by the way he felt. Manager Davey Martinez said he'll throw a side session in the bullpen Sunday, and that would normally line him up to start three days later. But Martinez said Friday he...
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Ross returns to Fresno to be stretched out, Bourque promoted

Ross returns to Fresno to be stretched out, Bourque promoted
The Nationals converted Joe Ross into a reliever earlier this season, hoping the career change might both reinvigorate the erratic right-hander and help address the big league club's biggest need. Two months later, the Nats are shipping Ross back to the minors and appear to be converting him back into a starter. Ross was optioned to Triple-A Fresno this morning, his ERA (9.22) and WHIP (1.829) too high to warrant continued opportunities out of the major league bullpen. The Nationals promoted...
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Game 52 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 52 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
Nobody would try to claim the Nationals solved all of their woes last night during a wild 12-10 victory over the Marlins. As Davey Martinez disgruntledly explained afterward, his team still played sloppy in the field and got plenty of shaky work out of its bullpen. So the season is hardly saved. But a win's a win, and the Nationals certainly need all they can get right now. Plus, there are some legitimately encouraging signs. Juan Soto is on a tear, going 15-for-30 with eight extra-base hits....
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History suggests turnaround for Nats is nearly impossible

History suggests turnaround for Nats is nearly impossible
The common refrain emanating from the Nationals clubhouse over the last several weeks has been one of optimism. As bad as things have gone, they to a man insist there's still time to salvage this season. Really, what else are they supposed to say? Nobody's going to publicly give up on Memorial Day weekend. And if you're a professional athlete, you have to believe anything is possible. It's the only way to be successful in that line of work. But we try to deal in facts here, and the simple...
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Nationals on the brink after embarrassing sweep (updated)

Nationals on the brink after embarrassing sweep (updated)
NEW YORK - The Nationals came to Flushing at the start of the week believing they had an opportunity to get their season back on track with a four-game series against a Mets club in complete disarray and with a manager in danger of being fired. They left town this afternoon having been swept in embarrassing fashion, having fallen to depths this franchise hasn't experienced in nine years and with serious questions about the status of their own embattled manager, who let all of his frustrations...
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With foot still sore, Zimmerman backs off running (Nats down 3-1)

With foot still sore, Zimmerman backs off running (Nats down 3-1)
NEW YORK - There's only one regular member of the Nationals lineup still on the injured list, but it looks like he might be there a while longer. Ryan Zimmerman, who had been progressing in his rehab from plantar fasciitis, has backed off after feeling pain in his right foot while attempting to run in recent days. Davey Martinez stopped short of referring to it as a setback. "No, just the normal soreness," the manager said. "We told him to back off. He's been getting extensive treatment on...
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Game 50 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 50 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - Quick turnarounds are always tough. Quick turnarounds after devastating losses during agonizing seasons are even tougher. But the Nationals have no choice but to come right back to Citi Field for today's 12:10 p.m. series finale, hoping the result will be different than it was last night. And the night before that. And the night before that. Stephen Strasburg gets the start, and he's been excellent. Over his last six starts, he's got a 2.13 ERA and 0.83 WHIP while averaging more...
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What else can Nats do to prevent ship from sinking?

What else can Nats do to prevent ship from sinking?
NEW YORK - On the heels of a crushing loss that saw their bullpen blow a late lead, the Nationals gathered everyone together inside the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field and held a team meeting. The message was simple: Even during these trying times, everyone needs to stick together. No finger-pointing. Get through this as a collective unit, not as individuals. All of this happened before Wednesday's crushing loss to the Mets. The Nationals were responding to Tuesday's crushing loss to the...
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