Mark Zuckerman

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Rays

June 06, 2018, 6:28am

The Nationals are going to face something different today in their series finale against Tampa Bay. The Rays aren't sending a starter to the mound for the bottom of the first. They're sending an "opener." That would be Jonny Venters, a reliever who actually will start the game and pitch one or two innings before manager Kevin Cash then summons Ryan Yarbrough (a starter who will pitch five-plus innings of relief). This isn't exactly sweeping the nation, but the rest of the baseball world...

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Ramos enjoys emotional return to Nationals Park

June 05, 2018, 7:19pm

Nationals

The first cheer came when his name was announced as part of the Rays' starting lineup. The next one came after a video tribute on the scoreboard at Nationals Park, with the crowd ultimately serenading him with the familiar "Wil-son!" chant as he squatted in the visitors' bullpen warming up Nathan Eovaldi. By the time Wilson Ramos came up to bat in the top of the second Tuesday night, the crowd of 32,165 rose to give the former Nationals catcher a prolonged ovation, which he acknowledged...

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Scherzer carves up Rays in 4-2 victory for Nats (updated)

June 05, 2018, 5:22pm

Nationals

Scherzer carves up Rays in 4-2 victory for Nats (updated)

He spent Saturday coming off the bench in the 14th inning in Atlanta to deliver a pinch-hit single and then score the game-winning run from first base. He spent Monday donning a Capitals jersey, helmet, gloves and stick along with Ryan Zimmerman and getting the crowd at Capital One Arena fired up for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. And Max Scherzer loved every minute of it. In case you haven't figured it out by now, he does everything full-tilt, giving nothing less than his full effort no...

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Hellickson goes on DL, Grace and Collins return to bullpen

June 05, 2018, 2:05pm

Nationals

Hellickson goes on DL, Grace and Collins return to bullpen

Jeremy Hellickson's hamstring strain was deemed to be "mild" by those looking at his MRI, but the veteran right-hander will need to miss at least a couple of starts and thus was placed on the 10-day disabled list today by the Nationals. The Nats also sent right-hander Jefry Rodriguez (who impressively threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in emergency relief of Hellickson on Sunday) back to Double-A Harrisburg and put relievers Tim Collins and Matt Grace back on the active roster for tonight's...

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Game 59 lineups: Nats vs. Rays

June 05, 2018, 11:12am

Nationals

The Nationals are back in town, albeit only for five games this week, beginning with a quick two-game interleague series against the Rays. Who, yes, are featuring cleanup-hitting catcher Wilson Ramos in The Buffalo's return to D.C. for the first time as a visiting player. Here's hoping he gets a nice ovation from the crowd. Matt Adams is back in the Nationals' lineup, batting cleanup, after missing one game from a bruised right foot. For everyone who has seen those things take much longer to...

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A lot to watch for before and during tonight's Nats game

June 04, 2018, 8:59pm

Nationals

A lot to watch for before and during tonight's Nats game

If your attention has been diverted from baseball to hockey in recent days, you are forgiven. Hey, this kind of thing hasn't happened in these parts for 26 years. It's OK to get swept up in it. But if you need something to keep you occupied for the next 48 hours until they carry the Stanley Cup into the building in Las Vegas, you should know this could be an eventful week for the Nationals. After a tough weekend in Atlanta to cap an otherwise excellent 7-3 road trip, the Nats are back home...

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Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers

June 03, 2018, 5:49pm

Nationals

Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers

ATLANTA - It's easy to look at Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Braves and place blame at the arms of Shawn Kelley and Tanner Roark, who surrendered the two late home runs that turned a one-run lead into a two-run defeat. Not that those two right-handers don't deserve some criticism for their failure to keep the ball in the park at the most critical points of the game, but all of this would be moot if the Nationals did something seemingly simple during the game: score another run. Let's be honest...

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Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves

June 03, 2018, 1:56pm

Nationals

Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves

ATLANTA - Davey Martinez and his staff prepare for every conceivable scenario before they take their positions in the dugout for any given ballgame. And so they had concocted a plan this morning for what truly amounted to a worst-case scenario in today's series finale against the Braves: an early departure by Jeremy Hellickson. That plan was going to include Jefry Rodriguez, summoned from Double-A Harrisburg this morning, providing maybe two or three innings of relief only three days after an...

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Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves

June 03, 2018, 12:27pm

Nationals

Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves

ATLANTA - After going 14 innings on Saturday, after watching Jeremy Hellickson depart with an apparent hamstring injury in the first inning today and then after watching the Braves rally to tie the game late, the Nationals reached a point late this afternoon where the need for their series finale to end was about to become more important than the need to win. That point didn't quite arrive, but it came close. The Nationals were forced to send Tanner Roark to the mound for the bottom of the...

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Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

June 03, 2018, 10:11am

Nationals

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

ATLANTA - After watching their bullpen throw seven perfect innings during Saturday's 14-inning win, the last thing the Nationals needed was to have to turn to their relief corps early today. Which is exactly what happened after starter Jeremy Hellickson departed only two batters into the bottom of the first with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hellickson hurt himself trying to make a leaping catch of Mark Reynolds' high toss on Ozzie Albies' grounder to first. The ball caromed off...

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Murphy not ready for season debut yet

June 03, 2018, 9:04am

Nationals

ATLANTA - The Nationals don't know yet when Daniel Murphy will make his season debut, but they seem to have conceded it won't come at the start of this week's homestand. Murphy, who has spent the last week playing six rehab games for Double-A Harrisburg, is scheduled to be back in Washington on Tuesday to be evaluated by doctors and meet with club officials. Despite some initial hope he might be ready to be activated by then, manager Davey Martinez suggested today that won't happen. "I...

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Game 58 lineups: Nats at Braves

June 03, 2018, 6:57am

Nationals

ATLANTA - It's another scorching hot and humid day here at SunTrust Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their four-game series, the Nats trying to salvage a split after yesterday's dramatic 14-inning victory. To do so, they're probably going to need some effective work from their bullpen again today, though that group was taxed yesterday and has a new face in it today. Tim Collins, who did not appear in the game, has been placed on the paternity leave list and has left town to be...

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On the dominant pitching that made Saturday's win possible

June 02, 2018, 9:37pm

Nationals

On the dominant pitching that made Saturday's win possible

ATLANTA - A lot happened during Saturday's 5-3 14-inning victory for the Nationals. Obviously, Max Scherzer's pinch-hit single and scamper around the bases to score the go-ahead run drew much of the attention and rightfully so. But this game also would not have been won by the Nationals if not for a brilliant pitching performance against a Braves lineup that has been among the most productive in the majors this season. Gio Gonzalez authored another quality start, allowing three runs in seven...

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Scherzer ignites 14th-inning rally to propel Nats over Braves

June 02, 2018, 4:11pm

Nationals

Scherzer ignites 14th-inning rally to propel Nats over Braves

ATLANTA - All afternoon and into the evening they were searching for somebody, anybody, to deliver the hit that would break their moribund lineup out of its slumber. Who knew the answer wasn't any of the Nationals' position players, but rather their ace? Max Scherzer - yes, Max Scherzer - delivered the one-out single that got a 14th-inning rally jumpstarted, then raced all the way around the bases to score on Wilmer Difo's triple to the gap in right-center, the run that ultimately propelled...

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Gonzalez cruising, Adams departs early (Nats win 5-3 in 14)

June 02, 2018, 1:21pm

Nationals

Gonzalez cruising, Adams departs early (Nats win 5-3 in 14)

ATLANTA - Gio Gonzalez is authoring another gem. Juan Soto and Michael A. Taylor have supplied some early offense, but the Nationals will have to play the rest of today's game without cleanup hitter Matt Adams. Adams departed in the middle of the fourth inning with an apparent injury. He fouled a ball off his foot in the top of the frame before flying out to left field. The Nationals do not provide in-game injury updates, so Adams' abrupt exit will be something of a mystery for a few more...

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Scherzer wins another NL Pitcher of the Month award

June 02, 2018, 10:44am

Nationals

Scherzer wins another NL Pitcher of the Month award

ATLANTA - It doesn't rank with the back-to-back Cy Young Awards he owns, but the back-to-back National League Pitcher of the Month awards Max Scherzer now owns could help his cause to win a third straight Cy Young. Scherzer was named NL Pitcher of the Month for May this afternoon, this honor coming on the heels of his comparable award following an equally dominant April. The Nats ace went 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA and 63 strikeouts in six starts in May, numbers deemed by voters to be better than the...

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Game 57 lineups: Nats at Braves

June 02, 2018, 8:31am

Nationals

ATLANTA - The Nationals have scored two runs in this series and have been shut out on four total hits over the last 15 innings. That's not good. This is a lineup that, given the injuries and young players filling in on a regular basis, has been very hit-or-miss over the last month. It'll need to swing back into the hit category today if these guys want to avoid a third straight loss to the first-place Braves. On paper, the matchup against Brandon McCarthy looks like a better one for the...

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Saturday morning odds and ends

June 01, 2018, 9:33pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - Some odds and ends to get you going on this Saturday morning before the Nationals and Braves return for a 4:10 p.m. game at SunTrust Park ... * The bottom of the seventh last night, in which the Braves scored all four of their runs, obviously was the decisive inning of the game. How rare, though, was that outburst against Stephen Strasburg? Extremely. Though many longtime fans will recall how Strasburg used to struggle in Atlanta, the right-hander had completely reversed that...

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Strasburg's one mistake costs Nats on night Braves made none

June 01, 2018, 7:23pm

Nationals

Strasburg's one mistake costs Nats on night Braves made none

ATLANTA - Stephen Strasburg felt like he made only one mistake, a curveball down in the zone but over the plate to Dansby Swanson with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Then again, one mistake was all it took for the Nationals to drop tonight's game to the Braves, who rode a two-hit shutout from Mike Foltynewicz to a 4-0 victory and a second straight win to begin this weekend's National League East showdown. "We couldn't get nothing going," manager Davey Martinez said. "Our guy was...

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Four-run seventh dooms Nationals in 4-0 loss to Braves

June 01, 2018, 6:10pm

Nationals

ATLANTA - For six innings they dueled, Stephen Strasburg and Mike Foltynewicz posting up zero after zero, neither willing to give in on a muggy Friday night at SunTrust Park. Somebody, though, had to give in at some point. That somebody was Strasburg. And that point was the bottom of the seventh, the decisive frame that turned a brilliant pitchers' duel into a 4-0 Nationals loss to a young Braves team that can only feel emboldened after taking the first two games of this big weekend...