The Nationals can't say they didn't keep giving themselves opportunities to beat the Mets tonight and avoid a disheartening, early-season, three-game sweep at the hands of their division rivals.
All the opportunities in the world, though, mean nothing if you can't deliver in those situations. Or, at the very least, not commit baserunning blunders every 15 minutes or so.
So it was that the Nats went down again tonight, this time in an agonizing, 6-5, 12-inning loss on a cold, dreary Sunday...
Daniel Murphy's advancement in daily workouts - running sprints in the outfield, taking full rounds of batting practice and grounders at second base - may suggest the rehabbing Nationals veteran is nearly ready to begin playing in games.
To anyone who is having that notion right now, manager Davey Martinez wants you to start pumping the brakes a bit.
Despite the significant progress he's made in the last week, Murphy still has some significant hurdles to cross before he suits up for a...
It's been a very pleasant, if just a bit chilly, afternoon here in the nation's capital. Would've been a great day for a ballgame. Unfortunately the Nationals and Mets don't play til 8:08 p.m., after the sun has gone down and the temperatures drop. It's going to be in the low 40s for most of tonight's game, maybe even dipping into the 30s before the end of the game. Don't worry, though, at least the Metro closes at 11 p.m. ...
OK, enough complaining for now. The Nationals kind of need to...
After a disastrous appearance Thursday that was capped by a grand slam, Brandon Kintzler vowed to get back to throwing his bread-and-butter pitch (sinker) instead of the off-speed pitch (slider) he inexplicably relied too much on that afternoon.
The good news about Kintzler's return to the mound Saturday: He threw only one slider among the 15 pitches he threw during the top of the seventh. The bad news: He still gave up two runs to the Mets, turning the Nationals' 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit...
Anthony Rendon didn't say a word - "I don't think my mouth even opened to chew gum," the mild-mannered Nationals third baseman said - but it was his actions and not his words in the third inning of today's 3-2 loss to the Mets that caught plate umpire Marty Foster's ire.
When Foster saw Rendon step out of the batter's box after Steven Matz's 2-1 curveball up in the zone was called a strike, he told Rendon "we gotta play, you gotta get back in there," according to crew chief Joe West,...
They kept their composure during three straight losses. By the fourth, the Nationals couldn't hold back their frustration any longer. Particularly with an umpire with a healthy strike zone on a cold afternoon in the District.
Today's 3-2 loss to the Mets, in which the tying and go-ahead runs were scored off reliever Brandon Kintzler in the top of the seventh, leaves the Nationals with an even .500 record through eight games. More concerning, it leaves them 2 1/2 games behind New York in the...
For all his mild-mannered appearances in interviews, Davey Martinez has insisted all along he can get riled up with the best of them when he gets upset. And he just proved it in the bottom of the third inning at Nationals Park.
Moments after Anthony Rendon was ejected following a borderline strike three call by plate umpire Marty Foster, Martinez came storming out of the dugout and earned the first ejection of his managerial career, tossing his cap and kicking dirt on the plate in a show that...
A.J. Cole will remain in the Nationals rotation for now. But he'll be pushed back a couple of days. With Jeremy Hellickson continuing to breathe down his neck.
Friday's off-day afforded the Nats the opportunity to adjust their rotation, and they've decided to have Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg remain on a five-day schedule and start Monday and Tuesday against the Braves.
Cole now will slot in behind Strasburg and start Wednesday's series finale against Atlanta, hoping for much better...
The combination of a short bench, better-than-expected weather and the pending birth of a player's child led the Nationals to make a flurry of roster moves before today's game against the Mets.
Already playing with a four-man bench to begin the season, the club was facing the possibility of even fewer options after Adam Eaton tweaked his ankle during Thursday's home opener. Though the dynamic leadoff man says he feels "great" and is expected back in the lineup Sunday, the Nationals decided...
It's cold. It's gray. It's windy. But it's dry at Nationals Park, and it appears it's going to stay that way the rest of the day. So there will indeed be baseball this afternoon, the second game of this weekend series against the Mets, who are off to a 5-1 start and the (extremely early) top spot in the National League East division.
Given the conditions, this should be a good day to be a pitcher, especially a left-handed pitcher since the wind is blowing in from left field. And wouldn't...
The vast majority of Brandon Kintzler's appearances this season should come with the Nationals leading, or perhaps tied, late in games. But the right-hander hadn't pitched in a week, and with the club off Friday, manager Davey Martinez wanted to make sure he and fellow bullpen stalwarts Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle got some work in Thursday regardless of the score.
So it was that Kintzler found himself on the mound for the top of the seventh, the Nationals trailing the Mets 4-2, the...
So I sense a little bit of angst out there among the Nationals faithful. Is that a fair reading of public opinion following three straight losses, including Thursday's 8-2 dud against the Mets in the home opener?
The Nationals looked great for four games; they've looked far-from-great in three games since. The top of the order is hitting, the rest of the lineup, not so much. The two aces got battered around a bit the last two days. And the bullpen remains a work in progress.
And now we've...
It was both a wonderful sight to behold while simultaneously leaving 42,477 people inside Nationals Park holding their collective breaths. Adam Eaton being waved around third base on a double into the left field corner? How long has everyone been waiting for that moment since that fateful night nearly one year ago when the Nationals outfielder tore his left ACL tripping over first base against this same Mets ballclub?
The good news: Eaton was safe, thanks to José Reyes' wide relay throw to...
There's a long way to go, a really long way, and nobody should give more than a cursory look at the standings on April 5, when the temperatures are in the low 40s and there's snow in the weekend forecast.
But if you do happen to glance at the National League East tally right now, you might notice the team sitting atop the division doesn't wear red and isn't seeking its third consecutive title. No, it's the Mets currently residing in first place, now leading the Nationals by 1 1/2 games...
Though he might not have been worried about his contract status, Mike Rizzo sensed it was starting to become a topic of conversation within the Nationals clubhouse. So when the opportunity arose this week to get a two-year extension finalized, the longtime general manager felt the time was right.
"I thought it was important for the team not to have this as a distraction," Rizzo said this morning as his team took batting practice before its home opener. "And I thought going forward it was...
Hello from South Capitol Street, at long last. Yes, after a six-game road trip to begin the season - and then quite a disastrous commute into the city this morning - the Nationals are here and ready for their 2018 home opener. They come home having won four straight in Cincinnati and Atlanta before then dropping the final two games of the series against the Braves. And they now face the Mets, who perhaps will be their toughest challenge in the division this season, owners of a 4-1 record to...
On the heels of a quick start to the season and just hours before they host their home opener on South Capitol Street, the Nationals have locked up the architect of their franchise and resolved one of their most pressing questions that loomed over the club all winter and spring.
The Nats announced this morning they have signed Mike Rizzo to a two-year contract extension, one that ensures their longtime general manager will remain in that role through at least the 2020 season.
Rizzo, who has...
CINCINNATI - The plan was to give both Brandon Kintzler and Ryan Madson the day off. Both had pitched in Friday's season opener. Both had warmed up in the bullpen during Saturday's nailbiter, even though neither was needed in the game.
But when Sammy SolÃs failed to retire the first four Reds batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth Sunday evening, and with the bases loaded and nobody out in what had become a three-run game, Nationals manager Davey Martinez thought back to the...
CINCINNATI - There were home runs, four of them during today's 6-5 victory over the Reds, and four more during Saturday's blowout win. The Nationals are going to hit a lot of home runs this season, given the thunder they have up and down their lineup.
But everything they did offensively this weekend during a season-opening sweep at Great American Ball Park began with one simple act from the first batter they sent to the plate. Adam Eaton led off Friday's game with a single to right, then...
CINCINNATI - At some point this season, a Nationals pitcher will take the mound with his team trailing. Or even tied. That point, though, did not come during the club's three-game weekend series against the Reds.
No, thanks to top-of-the-first runs in all three games at Great American Ball Park, Nationals starters never once stood on the mound with anything but a lead. And thanks to some sustained offense and effective pitching throughout the weekend, no Nats hurler ever threw a pitch with...