Baker offers up defense of Papelbon as Nats closer

Baker offers up defense of Papelbon as Nats closer
If asked what the biggest area of concern facing the Nationals is at this stage of the season, the most common answer likely would involve the bullpen, more specifically the closer's role. It's not that Jonathan Papelbon's performance to date has been egregiously poor. He is 16-for-18 in save opportunities. He has a 3.28 ERA. But there have been more than a couple of shaky outings along the way, some of which still ended in a successful save conversion (loading the bases in Philadelphia with...
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Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Cubs

Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Cubs
So you may have heard there's a pretty big series taking place here in town this week. The Cubs and Nationals are as big as it gets in baseball at this moment, owners of the two best records in the sport and loaded with star power. So it's no surprise the sport is going to be focused on South Capitol Street over the next three nights. Let's be honest, though: The Nationals need these games more than the Cubs do. Not that any series in mid-June is that important, certainly one that's not...
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Live Nationals video Q&A

Live Nationals video Q&A
We've been having plenty of fun doing the weekly Q&A's right here, but now it's time to expand it into something new and exciting: A live video Q&A. Yes, at 2 p.m., I'll be hosting a live video Q&A on our Facebook page (facebook.com/masnNationals) straight from Nationals Park in advance of the series opener against the Cubs. You can submit your questions in advance here in the comments section, on Twitter or directly on the Facebook page. You can also submit your questions live...
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Werth's clutch hit caps dramatic ninth-inning rally by Nats

Werth's clutch hit caps dramatic ninth-inning rally by Nats
As Maikel Franco rounded the bases, Jonathan Papelbon watched from the mound and a crowd of 34,294 at Nationals Park booed, Dusty Baker had just one thought from the dugout. "OK, Pap," the manager said in his mind to his closer. "We gave up one. Let's not give up any more. Because we can come back. It's a lot easier to get one than it is to get two to tie." A big league manager has to have positive thoughts, has to see every situation as glass half-full, lest his players pick up on his...
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Espinosa's home run barrage continues (Werth walk-off wins it)

Espinosa's home run barrage continues (Werth walk-off wins it)
Danny Espinosa is on some kind of home run barrage right now. The oft-maligned, light-hitting shortstop has been making a case for himself over the last two weeks with an impressive power display, and he is up to it again this afternoon. Espinosa's leadoff homer in the bottom of the second gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead over the Phillies and kept his run alive. He has now homered eight times in his last 14 games. This latest blast, on Adam Morgan's first pitch of the bottom of the second,...
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Will Cubs refuse to pitch to Bryce Harper again this week?

Will Cubs refuse to pitch to Bryce Harper again this week?
The Cubs are coming to town Monday, and so the question on everybody's mind this week is a simple one: Will they pitch to Bryce Harper? They most certainly did not last month when the Nationals visited Wrigley Field. Though he stepped up to the plate 19 times in that four-game series, Harper wound up with only four official at-bats. He was walked 13 times, four of them intentional. He tied the major league record with six walks in the series finale, part of a stretch of 12 consecutive plate...
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Game 63 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 63 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
After an early afternoon Saturday win over the Phillies, the Nationals now go for the series sweep in a late afternoon Sunday ballgame, with first pitch not scheduled until 4:05 p.m. (Reminder: All of this was done to create as much space as possible around last night's annual team charity gala.) The Nationals, who are looking to improve to a season-best 15 games over .500, send Joe Ross to the mound. Like Tanner Roark yesterday, Ross is making his third start this year against Phillies, and...
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With 100 games to go, Nationals starting to build a cushion

With 100 games to go, Nationals starting to build a cushion
There are different ways to break up the baseball season into chunks - 10 separate 16-games stretches, nine separate 18-game stretches, quarters, thirds, halves, etc. - and the Nationals are at one of those junctures right now. They've played 62 games, which means there are exactly 100 to go. Mathematically, it doesn't really mean much. The season is now 38.2716 percent complete. That's not a nice, round number. But there's something philosophically about there being exactly 100 games left...
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Nats breathing easier after week of lopsided victories

Nats breathing easier after week of lopsided victories
The 162-game season can be a meat grinder much of the time, with tense contests, tough decisions and constant roster-tinkering required for a team to navigate its way through six months and emerge on top. So when a team can enjoy a week like the Nationals just did, five times holding a lead of five runs or more en route to victory, it offers a much-welcomed respite for all those involved. "I'll tell you, it's good for the manager," Dusty Baker chuckled following the Nationals' 8-0 win over...
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Small ball produces early lead in D.C. (Nats win 8-0)

Small ball produces early lead in D.C. (Nats win 8-0)
The Nationals have relied on the home run often during their recent offensive surge. So far today, they're scoring runs the old-fashioned way: with a string of quality at-bats and timely base hits. Thanks to four singles, a hit-batter and a perfectly executed squeeze bunt, the Nationals racked up four runs in the bottom of the second this afternoon, storming out to an early lead against the Phillies. There were no long bombs in this rally, only a bunch of solid hits off right-hander Aaron Nola...
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Game 62 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 62 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
Slowly but surely, the Nationals are building their resume, piling up wins at a rate faster than any other big league club than the Cubs. They've now won eight of their last 11, moving to a season-best 13 games over .500. They're getting contributions from up and down their lineup. Their pitching staff continues to be among the best in the majors. And their defensive play remains outstanding. So the Nats will try to keep the ball rolling today, with an early 12:05 p.m. start against the...
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On Gonzalez's rough first inning, dominant six after that

On Gonzalez's rough first inning, dominant six after that
CHICAGO - If you didn't watch last night's game and merely glanced at Gio Gonzalez's pitching line - 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 116 pitches - after the fact, you most likely would emerge with positive emotions. The end result may have been fine, but the process that got Gonzalez there was a bit less satisfying, certainly for the left-hander, who gave up all three of his runs in the first inning before flipping a switch and dominating the rest of the way. "I've got to get on the ball...
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Nats bats go silent after explosive start to the week

Nats bats go silent after explosive start to the week
CHICAGO - No, they weren't going to score 10 runs every night the rest of the season. But after reaching double digits in three straight games, the notion of the Nationals being held to one run and five total baserunners (two of them coming with two outs in the ninth inning) sounded pretty implausible entering tonight's series finale against the White Sox. By the time they trudged off the field following a 3-1 loss that was completed in a scant 2 hours, 21 minutes, that's exactly what the...
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Nationals can't overcome early deficit, lose 3-1 to White Sox

Nationals can't overcome early deficit, lose 3-1 to White Sox
CHICAGO - A three-run first inning off Gio Gonzalez put the Nationals in an early hole. And even though the left-hander recovered nicely from that inauspicious first frame, his teammates couldn't duplicate their recent offensive exploits in their series finale against the White Sox, losing 3-1 to wrap up their longest road trip of the season. Miguel Gonzalez, the former Orioles right-hander now trying bounce back with the White Sox, carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and departed...
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Miguel Gonzalez outdueling Gio Gonzalez early (Nats lose 3-1)

Miguel Gonzalez outdueling Gio Gonzalez early (Nats lose 3-1)
CHICAGO - Gio Gonzalez has been perfect since struggling in the first inning. But Miguel Gonzalez has been perfect from the moment he took the mound tonight, leaving the Nationals in trouble early in their series finale against the White Sox. The Nationals don't have a baserunner in four innings against Miguel Gonzalez, the former Orioles right-hander given an opportunity to start for the White Sox tonight after left-hander Carlos Rodon was scratched with neck and shoulder stiffness. There...
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Five-day layoff doesn't slow down productive Zimmerman

Five-day layoff doesn't slow down productive Zimmerman
CHICAGO - From a personal standpoint, Ryan Zimmerman couldn't have timed his paternity leave much better. Zimmerman's wife, Heather, gave birth to the couple's second daughter Thursday (an off-day for the Nationals). Then Zimmerman missed his team's three-game series in Cincinnati while officially on the paternity leave list. Then he got to take advantage of another off-day for the Nationals before rejoining them here Tuesday night for the opener of their interleague series against the...
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Game 60 lineups: Nats at White Sox

Game 60 lineups: Nats at White Sox
CHICAGO - The good news: It's warmer today than it was either of the previous two days, when temperatures never got out of the 60s. The bad news: It's raining. And it's not supposed to stop all night. What that means for the series finale between the Nationals and White Sox: This could be dicey. The problem is that the Nats don't return to Chicago again this season. So a postponement would require a special trip back here at some point. Which nobody ever wants to do. But the Nats also...
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Thursday morning Q&A from Chicago

Thursday morning Q&A from Chicago
CHICAGO - Well, well, well ... look what team suddenly has one of the most potent lineups in baseball? Did you know the Nationals now lead the National League in home runs? It's true. They've hit 81 of them, one more than the Cardinals. Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon finally look like Zimmerman and Rendon. Bryce Harper is starting to look like Harper again. Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos, meanwhile, have looked like George Brett and Mike Piazza all season. Tonight, the Nationals will seek...
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Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory

Contributions come from entire lineup in blowout victory
CHICAGO - On nights like this, when he is handed a comfortable lead and can actually take a few moments to watch his own teammates hit, Max Scherzer can't help but be impressed by what he sees. Then again, what wasn't to like about the Nationals' 11-4 thumping of a shell-shocked James Shields and the rest of the White Sox? "Man, one through nine we did a great job against Shields tonight," Scherzer said. "All the guys were just fouling off pitches, and any time there was a mistake, they...
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Nats cruise to another lopsided win, 11-4 over White Sox

Nats cruise to another lopsided win, 11-4 over White Sox
CHICAGO - They played the full nine innings at U.S. Cellular Field tonight, but that was merely to preserve the integrity of the official major league ballgame. There is no mercy rule at this level, even if the Nationals and White Sox happily would have agreed to one, probably after three innings. With an onslaught of offense against a woefully ineffective James Shields in his Chicago debut, the Nationals jumped out to a seven-run lead and never looked back, cruising to a 11-4 victory that felt...
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