Mark Zuckerman

Game 40 lineups: Nats at Pirates

May 18, 2017, 6:07am

PITTSBURGH - We've got an early getaway day here at PNC Park, with a 12:35 p.m. first pitch on what is going to be a very warm afternoon along the banks of the Allegheny River. The Nationals will be looking to win this series, taking two of three from the Pirates before heading down to Atlanta for a weekend series with the Braves. It's Tanner Roark on the mound, looking to bounce back from a bit of a ragged start against the Phillies. The biggest thing holding Roark back so far this season...

218 Hits

Comments

Tags:

Goodwin's mistakes overshadowing his positive contributions

May 17, 2017, 7:46pm

Nationals

Goodwin's mistakes overshadowing his positive contributions

PITTSBURGH - For a guy who has played in just eight games and received only 13 plate appearances, Brian Goodwin has sure found himself in the middle of a lot of significant moments for the Nationals. Some of those moments have been positive ones, including a pair during Wednesday night's game: an RBI double to account for the Nats' lone run off Pirates ace Gerrit Cole and a pinpoint throw to the plate from center field to nail Gift Ngoepe. And some of those moments have been negative ones,...

214 Hits

Comments

Tags:

brian goodwin dusty baker mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Jacob Turner runs out of gas but makes case to remain as fifth starter

May 17, 2017, 7:23pm

Nationals

Jacob Turner runs out of gas but makes case to remain as fifth starter

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals would like Jacob Turner to take over as their No. 5 starter for the immediate future. Circumstances and priorities have prevented that from happening, with the right-hander needed to help stabilize the least-stable bullpen in the majors. Tonight, though, Turner was back on the mound for the first inning, allowed to stay on the mound as long as his arm and results would allow it. And while the end result wasn't positive - the Nationals suffered a 6-1 loss to the...

208 Hits

Comments

Tags:

dusty baker jacob turner mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Pitching fades late as Nationals fall 6-1 to Pirates

May 17, 2017, 6:08pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals needed to keep tonight's game within striking distance, knowing they faced a stiff challenge against Pirates ace Gerrit Cole. For six innings, they were able to do that. Then it fell apart and any realistic hope of a comeback was dashed. A three-run homer off tiring starter Jacob Turner in the bottom of the sixth and then three more runs off relievers Oliver PÃ©rez and Matt Albers in the bottom of the seventh carried the Pirates to a 6-1 victory over the Nationals...

209 Hits

Comments

Tags:

brian goodwin jacob turner mark zuckerman matt albers nationals nationals pastime oliver perez pittsburgh pirates frontstory_nationals3

Why Fedde is moving to bullpen while Ross is not (Nats lose 6-1)

May 17, 2017, 3:37pm

Nationals

Why Fedde is moving to bullpen while Ross is not (Nats lose 6-1)

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals didn't make a spur-of-the-moment decision to try out Erick Fedde as a reliever. General manager Mike Rizzo said the move had been in the works for a while and was prompted by multiple factors involving both the organization's top pitching prospect and the current state of the big league bullpen. "It's a good way to get your feet wet in the big leagues," Rizzo said. "You start as a reliever, then we can gradually stretch you out and put you back as a starter at...

250 Hits

Comments

Tags:

erick fedde joe ross mark zuckerman mike rizzo nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Blanton goes on DL with shoulder inflammation, Grace recalled

May 17, 2017, 2:14pm

Nationals

Blanton goes on DL with shoulder inflammation, Grace recalled

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals hope a stint on the disabled list will do for Joe Blanton what pitching in big league games has not. Blanton was placed on the 10-day DL today with right shoulder inflammation, an ailment the veteran reliever mentioned to club officials Tuesday and may have played at least some role in his ragged start to the season. Blanton has a 9.49 ERA in 14 games, having surrendered 20 hits (six of those homers) in only 12 1/3 innings. He last appeared in a game Saturday but...

326 Hits

Comments

Tags:

injuries joe blanton mark zuckerman matt grace mike rizzo nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 39 lineups: Nats at Pirates

May 17, 2017, 11:37am

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals look to make it two in a row against the Pirates tonight, though they'll face a stiffer challenge than they did last night, with Jacob Turner on the mound facing Gerrit Cole. Turner makes his second start of the season, his eighth overall appearance. The right-hander has been mostly effective, but he hasn't been stretched out since his six-inning start at Coors Field on April 24, so it's unclear how far he can go tonight. And once he departs, we'll see who's...

288 Hits

Comments

Tags:

jacob turner lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates frontstory_nationals3

Turner to start tonight vs. Pirates, Harper finally homers at PNC Park

May 16, 2017, 8:35pm

Nationals

Turner to start tonight vs. Pirates, Harper finally homers at PNC Park

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals have been trying to get Jacob Turner back into their rotation for a few weeks now, only to be forced to keep him in a relief role that has been more of an immediate need for the club. Tonight, they'll finally be afforded the opportunity to put Turner on the mound in the first inning. Turner will start the second game of the Nationals' series against the Pirates, named late last night by manager Dusty Baker after some careful consideration. It will be Turner's...

275 Hits

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper jacob turner mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates erick fedde featured_sidebar joe ross frontstory_nationals1

Treinen, Romero, Glover combination works for Nats this time

May 16, 2017, 8:05pm

Nationals

Treinen, Romero, Glover combination works for Nats this time

PITTSBURGH - It's only one game, and lord knows we've been teased a few times already this season by one strong performance from the Nationals bullpen into thinking it's a sign of better things to come. So don't put too much stock in what took place over the final three innings of tonight's 8-4 victory over the Pirates. But don't ignore it altogether, either, because it did include some notable developments that could possibly portend more good things to come. Start with Blake Treinen,...

225 Hits

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen dusty baker enny romero koda glover mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates bryce harper featured_sidebar stephen strasburg frontstory_nationals1

After brief hiccup, Nationals seize 8-4 victory from Pirates

May 16, 2017, 6:36pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - Just when it looked like the Nationals would be asking yet another unproven reliever to notch a save in a tight situation, a Bryce Harper blast provided some much-appreciated cushion. Harper's two-run homer that nearly left PNC Park in the top of the ninth turned a two-run lead into a four-run lead and allowed Koda Glover to pitch the bottom of the inning in a non-save situation. The rookie reliever removed any more drama from the proceedings, finishing off an 8-4 victory for the...

239 Hits

Comments

Tags:

blake treinen bryce harper enny romero koda glover mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pittsburgh pirates stephen strasburg wilmer difo frontstory_nationals1

Fedde will get look in Harrisburg bullpen (Nats win 8-4)

May 16, 2017, 3:46pm

Nationals

Fedde will get look in Harrisburg bullpen (Nats win 8-4)

PITTSBURGH - How significant is the Nationals' need for reliable relief pitching? Significant enough that they're moving their top prospect to the bullpen and will consider promoting him to the big leagues at some point to help shore up the club's biggest problem area. Erick Fedde is due to pitch in relief for Double-A Harrisburg tonight and will continue to get a look in that role, according to organizational sources. The Nationals have no immediate plans to promote the 24-year-old to the...

232 Hits

Comments

Tags:

erick fedde harrisburg senators jacob turner mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar joe ross frontstory_nationals3

Nationals "very confident" Scherzer will make next start

May 16, 2017, 2:36pm

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - Take a glance at Max Scherzer's left knee, and you might not even notice it's anything less than 100 percent healthy right now. There's virtually no swelling, and the only outward evidence of the 100 mph line drive he took off the knee Sunday night is a small red mark with the faint sign of baseball stitching. "I'm feeling great," Scherzer said this afternoon. And so are the Nationals, who are breathing a huge sigh of relief that there do not appear to be any lasting concerns...

228 Hits

Comments

Tags:

daniel murphy dusty baker jacob turner mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime stephen drew featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 38 lineups: Nats at Pirates

May 16, 2017, 11:28am

Nationals

PITTSBURGH - Hello from beautiful PNC Park, where the sun is shining and it's going to be very toasty the next three days as the Nationals and Pirates square off. The stakes aren't quite as high for this series as that other series between teams from Washington and Pittsburgh the last couple weeks, but these are important games for the Nats, who are hoping to avoid the kind of late-inning fiascos that were an issue pretty much every single night last week. Stephen Strasburg is on the mound...

299 Hits

Comments

Tags:

daniel murphy lineups mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime pirates stephen strasburg wilmer difo frontstory_nationals2

Tuesday morning Nats thoughts and observations

May 15, 2017, 7:50pm

Nationals

Tuesday morning Nats thoughts and observations

Some thoughts and observations on this Tuesday morning before hitting the road for Pittsburgh (with a mandatory rest stop in Breezewood, Pa., of course) ... * Trea Turner is proving to be a far better shortstop than most of us probably figured he'd be, at least in his first big league season there. Nearly one-quarter of the way through the season, Turner has been charged with only one error. He joins the Padres' Erick Aybar as the only big league shortstops with fewer than two errors to date....

284 Hits

Comments

Tags:

erick fedde felipe rivero jacob turner mark zuckerman nationals nationals pastime trea turner dusty baker featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Taylor finding way to deliver big hits between strikeouts

May 14, 2017, 8:43pm

Nationals

Taylor finding way to deliver big hits between strikeouts

Michael A. Taylor knows he's going to be the Nationals' everyday center fielder for the foreseeable future, with Adam Eaton out for the season after tearing his ACL and no other viable in-house options for the Nationals as currently constructed. That has helped Taylor take some pressure off himself, the kind he knows he succumbs to more than he'd like as he tries to prove he belongs in the big leagues. "Definitely, I feel like I've done that this year," he said. "In years past, things...

267 Hits

Comments

Tags:

adam eaton mark zuckerman michael a. taylor nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2

Scherzer OK after comebacker scare

May 14, 2017, 8:18pm

Nationals

There is much that could be said about the Nationals bullpen right now. And yet, what else can be said about that group except that it is a mess and requires nightly manipulating by Dusty Baker that occasionally works and frequently does not. The Nationals won tonight's doubleheader finale over the Phillies, 6-5, thanks to Michael A. Taylor's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth that made up for Matt Grace and Jacob Turner blowing a lead moments earlier. And they won because the last man...

263 Hits

Comments

Tags:

bryce harper dusty baker mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies trea turner featured_sidebar michael taylor frontstory_nationals1

Taylor's late homer bails out bullpen, Nats hold on for 6-5 win

May 14, 2017, 6:41pm

Nationals

Taylor's late homer bails out bullpen, Nats hold on for 6-5 win

They can get the gutsiest of performances from their ace. They can scratch out runs and take a lead into the late innings. It doesn't matter what happens up to that point, though, because every single Nationals game these days is decided in the eighth inning or later, good or bad. And you can now add tonight's doubleheader finale to the good column. Despite blowing a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, the Nationals stormed back in the bottom of the inning, getting a two-run homer from...

256 Hits

Comments

Tags:

max scherzer michael a. taylor nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Scherzer stays in after comebacker off knee (Nationals win 6-5)

May 14, 2017, 4:49pm

Nationals

Few images would cause the Nationals and their fans to clutch their hearts right now more than the sight of Max Scherzer writhing in the ground in pain. Thus, the reaction inside Nationals Park tonight in the top of the fourth when the ace right-hander went down in a heap after taking a comebacker off his left knee was one of shock and then panic. Scherzer stayed in the game and completed the inning, though not until after several tense minutes in which he convinced manager Dusty Baker and head...

260 Hits

Comments

Tags:

max scherzer nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3

Game 37 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

May 14, 2017, 2:00pm

Nationals

On the heels of another in a growing list of soul-crushing losses suffered so far this season, the Nationals are right back out on the field tonight for the second half of their doubleheader with the Phillies, hoping to salvage one game and win the weekend series. The good news: Max Scherzer is on the mound. To ask for a complete game would be to ask for too much. But to ask for at least seven innings, with the possibility of more if his pitch count isn't bad, is perfectly reasonable right...

269 Hits

Comments

Tags:

lineups mark zuckerman max scherzer nationals nationals pastime philadelphia phillies frontstory_nationals3

Bolstered by Glover and Kelley, bullpen puts up zeros in victory

May 13, 2017, 8:31pm

Nationals

Bolstered by Glover and Kelley, bullpen puts up zeros in victory

Lost among the excitement of Bryce Harper's walk-off homer last night was the fact it would not have been possible if not for some stellar work by the Nationals bullpen, which turned in its best collective effort in weeks. After Tanner Roark was pulled with two outs in the fifth and his pitch count at 110, a quintet of Nationals relievers combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings, keeping the game tied 4-4 to set the stage for Harper's game-winning blast in the bottom of the ninth. It's...