Morning-after notes on the bullpen, Blanton, Kelley and Murphy

Morning-after notes on the bullpen, Blanton, Kelley and Murphy
PHILADELPHIA - Some more notes, reactions and repercussions of last night's ugly 17-3 loss to the Phillies ... * The last thing the Nationals needed last night was a start of anything fewer than five innings. So when Jeremy Guthrie had to be yanked with only two outs in the bottom of the first, the rest of the pitching staff might as well have gone into crisis mode. All things considered, though, the bullpen came out of this one as reasonably well as it could, given the circumstances. Blake...
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Encouraging news on Turner softens sting of blowout loss

Encouraging news on Turner softens sting of blowout loss
PHILADELPHIA - At the end of a brutal night of baseball that saw the Nationals dig themselves into a 12-run hole in the first inning amid a barrage of hits against Jeremy Guthrie, then burn up what remained of their bullpen just to record the requisite number of outs required to make this 17-3 thumping at the hands of the Phillies official, there was at least some encouraging news. Shortstop Trea Turner does not appear to be seriously injured after pulling up lame in the top of the...
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Disastrous first inning sends Nationals on way to 17-3 loss

Disastrous first inning sends Nationals on way to 17-3 loss
PHILADELPHIA - In the annals of worst innings in club history, this had to rank at the top. The Nationals gave up 12 runs to the Phillies in the first, and that might not even have been the worst thing to happen to them in the frame. As disastrous as that 12-spot was, with Jeremy Guthrie taking the brunt of the pounding, and as ugly as the Nationals' eventual 17-3 loss was, the larger concern in the big picture was the sight of Trea Turner departing in the top of the first inning with an...
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Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)

Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals avoided significant injuries to prominent players throughout the spring and entered the season as healthy as any team in baseball, but that run of good fortune may have come to an abrupt end. Trea Turner had to come out of tonight's game against the Phillies in the top of the first inning after suffering an apparent hamstring injury running the bases, a potentially major blow to a club that intends to rely on its dynamic leadoff hitter and shortstop heavily this...
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Taylor optioned to Triple-A, Ross struggles in Syracuse debut

Taylor optioned to Triple-A, Ross struggles in Syracuse debut
PHILADELPHIA - Needing to clear a roster spot for Jeremy Guthrie before tonight's game, the Nationals optioned Michael A. Taylor to Triple-A Syracuse, electing to keep an extra infielder on their bench instead of an outfielder. The decision essentially boiled down to demoting either Taylor or Wilmer Difo, who both made the opening day roster when the Nationals decided to carry a six-man bench. Neither player, however, has appeared in any of the team's first four games. Manager Dusty Baker...
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Game 5 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 5 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - If you asked anybody on the first day of spring training to name the Nationals' No. 5 starter to open the season, I don't think you would have found many people who would have replied: Jeremy Guthrie. Yet when the Nats take the field this evening at Citizens Bank Park, the man on the mound will be none other than the right-hander celebrating his 38th birthday in most surprising fashion. The lack of need of a permanent fifth starter until later this month is what prompted this...
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Saturday morning notes and quotes

Saturday morning notes and quotes
PHILADELPHIA - Some more tidbits and reactions from yesterday's 7-6 win over the Phillies, and some other assorted thoughts to tide you over this Saturday morning until the Nationals arrive back at Citizens Bank Park for tonight's game... * Daniel Murphy isn't quite feeling right at the plate yet. We can say that because the Nationals second baseman is swinging and missing more than is typical (he already has three strikeouts in four games, this from a guy who struck out only 57 times in 142...
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The good, and the not-so-good, from a Nationals victory

The good, and the not-so-good, from a Nationals victory
PHILADELPHIA - Four games into his team's season, Dusty Baker hasn't had a whole lot of opportunity to relax and enjoy managing a first place club. His Nationals may be 3-1, but all four games have been tense, down-to-the-wire affairs, perhaps none more than today's contest at Citizens Bank Park. It didn't have to be that way. The Nats led by seven runs after five innings and were well on their way to giving Baker some well-deserved R&R. And then ... well, that seven-run lead somehow...
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Nats go deep early, hang on late for 7-6 win over Phillies

Nats go deep early, hang on late for 7-6 win over Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Jayson Werth all launched multi-run homers, and Max Scherzer dominated the Phillies once again at Citizens Bank Park. But what should've been an easy Nationals victory this afternoon instead turned into near-disaster before Blake Treinen hung on for dear life to wrap up a 7-6 victory. An announced crowd of 45,121 braved wind chills in the 30s for the Phillies' home opener, only to suffer through a shellacking for five innings at the hands of the...
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Harper and Murphy go deep, Scherzer cruising (Nats win 7-6)

Harper and Murphy go deep, Scherzer cruising (Nats win 7-6)
PHILADELPHIA - Earlier this afternoon, noting how five of his team's six home runs to start this season have come with nobody on base, Dusty Baker joked that "homers are fine, but multi-run homers are better." Members of the Nationals lineup must've been eavesdropping, because they're putting that practice to work in today's game against the Phillies. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy each have launched two-run homers early, giving the Nats a 4-0 lead on a frigid opening day at Citizens Bank...
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Nats early offense: lots of homers, not a lot of two-out hits

Nats early offense: lots of homers, not a lot of two-out hits
PHILADELPHIA - The good news about the Nationals lineup so far this season: They've hit six home runs in three games, third-most in the majors. The bad news about the Nationals lineup so far this season: They've scored 13 total runs in those three games, tied for 12th in the majors. That's in only three games, of course, so be careful not to read too much into it. But manager Dusty Baker already is harping on the importance of hitting with runners in scoring position, a skill he believes is...
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Game 4 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 4 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where a couple of sleepy teams will take the field today for the home opener. The Nationals rolled into town around 1 a.m. following their twice-delayed 10-inning loss to the Marlins. The Phillies, meanwhile, flew in from Cincinnati last night following their loss to the Reds. So it'll be a quick turnaround for today's 3:05 p.m. first pitch. The Nationals will get a boost from the sight of Max Scherzer on the mound for the first time this season....
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Nationals relievers cope with first blown lead of 2017

Nationals relievers cope with first blown lead of 2017
During the first week of the season, when everything is magnified, it's easy to fall into the trap of drawing long-term conclusions on both positive and negative developments. Two games into their season, the Nationals bullpen looked like a strength, their new closer up to the challenge. Three games into their season, that same bullpen looks like a weakness, the new closer unable to deliver when he really needs to deliver. Truth be told, neither answer is fair at this ridiculously early...
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Bullpen struggles send Nats to first loss of season, 4-3 in 10

Bullpen struggles send Nats to first loss of season, 4-3 in 10
A marathon game that included more than two hours of rain delays, back-and-forth bullpen blow-ups and then extra innings ended with a first for the Nationals this season: a loss. Justin Bour's two-out double off Joe Blanton in the top of the 10th brought J.T. Realmuto all the way around from first to score the run that gave the Marlins a wild 4-3 victory at Nationals Park, a frustrating end to a frustratingly long day and night at the ballpark for the previously unbeaten home club. Despite...
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After adjusted spring prep, Scherzer ready for season debut

After adjusted spring prep, Scherzer ready for season debut
PHILADELPHIA - You wouldn't think there's anything special about Max Scherzer taking the mound later today at Citizens Bank Park, his first start of the season. That's no real accomplishment, right? "It's a major accomplishment," Scherzer insisted. Well, yes, considering what it took to ensure the Nationals ace would be ready to pitch a big league game in the first week of the season. "You've got to remember, the first time I picked up a baseball was the first day of spring," he said....
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Nats planning to start Guthrie on Saturday in Philadelphia

Nats planning to start Guthrie on Saturday in Philadelphia
Though the Nationals haven't announced anything yet, Jeremy Guthrie is lined up to start Saturday's game against the Phillies, completing a remarkable journey back to the big leagues as a member of one of baseball's best rotations. The club announced Max Scherzer as the starter for Friday afternoon's game at Citizens Bank Park, with Stephen Strasburg pitching Sunday's series finale (and thus getting an extra day of rest after his opening day start Monday). Saturday's starter is "TBA"...
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Game 3 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 3 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
I know what you're thinking: There's no way they can play baseball in D.C. today. Well, that may prove to be true, but I don't think we're going to get definitive word on that for a while. Because as hard as it is raining right now, and as much as it's expected to continue raining this afternoon, it is expected to stop at some point, perhaps sometime around or shortly after scheduled first pitch at 4:05 p.m. So in other words, stay tuned. If they do play, the Nationals will be going for...
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An eventful debut for Enny Romero out of Nats bullpen

An eventful debut for Enny Romero out of Nats bullpen
Enny Romero's first pitch as a National didn't go quite where he wanted it to go. Nor did it produce the kind of reaction he or anyone else in the park Wednesday night could have foreseen. Summoned by manager Dusty Baker to pitch the seventh inning with his team up four runs, Romero threw his very first pitch inside to Derek Dietrich, striking the Marlins third baseman in the elbow with a 98 mph fastball. Dietrich, who was one of two Miami batters hit by starter Tanner Roark earlier in the...
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Rusty Roark still finds a way to pitch Nationals to victory

Rusty Roark still finds a way to pitch Nationals to victory
Two innings into his season debut, Tanner Roark might well have been forced into changing his goals for the night. His pitch count at 46, his command unusually off, he could have gone into survival mode and hoped simply to reach the fifth inning without the game getting out of hand. Fast-forward an hour or so, and there was Roark walking off the mound to a hearty ovation from the crowd at Nationals Park, having retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced and having turned what could have been a...
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Nats bounce back from shaky start to beat Marlins 6-4

Nats bounce back from shaky start to beat Marlins 6-4
Tanner Roark looked awfully rusty early in his first start of the season, but the right-hander settled down nicely and then watched as his Nationals teammates went to work against the Marlins pitching staff en route to their second win of the season. Behind Roark's quality start and a four-run rally in the bottom of the fourth, the Nats beat Miami 6-4 tonight and improved to a perfect 2-0 on the young baseball campaign. Bryce Harper followed up his opening day heroics with a pair of RBI hits,...
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