The story line for the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks Wednesday centered around the four shutout innings from Jacob Turner.
Despite seven walks from left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez, the veteran did manage to keep his club in the game with a chance to win. Gonzalez ended up allowing only one run on three hits. But that is what Gonzalez wanted to talk about after the game: the victory.
Not his season-high seven walks.
"A win. Flat out, I don't know what to say," Gonzalez said. "He...
The Diamondbacks used the long ball to jump out ahead in the top of the first. With one out, Chris Owings took a 2-1 Gio Gonzalez offering and deposited it 15 rows up in the left field section. It was his fifth homer of the season.
Gonzalez wasn't out of the hot water just yet. Paul Goldschmidt singled and Jake Lamb walked. With two men on, only one out and a run in, Gonzalez bore down and struck out Yasmany Tomás and Brandon Drury.
Robbie Ray, a former Nats prospect, struck out the side in...
Center fielder Andrew Stevenson made his Triple-A debut Tuesday night in Syracuse's 3-1 loss to Pawtucket. The lefty hitter went 1-for-4. Stevenson was called up Tuesday and Isaac Ballou assigned to Double-A Harrisburg from extended spring training.
Syracuse needed a center fielder after Rafael Bautista was called up to the Nationals to replace the injured Adam Eaton.
Starter Austin Voth (1-3) went seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, including a solo homer. He gave up just one...
Right-hander Tanner Roark found a way to go six innings for the Nationals, something his manager Dusty Baker was hoping for his workhorse to do. But it was difficult for Roark, even though he wouldn't admit it.
Roark finished with a career-high 125 pitches. Baker needed his starter to go six innings because there were arms in his bullpen that needed rest.
Roark left with his club down 4-3 in a game they eventually would lose to the Diamondbacks 6-3.
"We had Ollie Pérez. He got up twice,"...
The first inning of the series opener between the Nationals and Diamondbacks took 36 minutes to complete as both starters labored to solve each batter.
Nats starter Tanner Roark went 3-2 on several counts, allowing a single to A.J. Pollock, who later stole second. Pollock went to third when Roark's attempt to catch him off second base got away and rolled into center field. Paul Goldschmidt's RBI single up the middle scored Pollock and the Diamondbacks led 1-0.
Diamondbacks starter Taijuan...
Manager Dusty Baker had some updates on the progress of a few players who are currently on the disabled list.
Right-hander Koda Glover (left hip impingement) has been on the disabled list since April 26. Baker had some good news for his young reliever.
"Koda said he's feeling better," Baker said. "Again, I don't ask them every day how they're feeling. But I can sometimes tell by the look on their face, or when they start smiling, or if they're still kind of down about it. But Koda's a...
The headlines have been dominated by the loss of Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton the last couple of days.
But another important part of this club's success has been on the sidelines for a few weeks now and manager Dusty Baker would love to get him back in the lineup.
Infielder Stephen Drew has been nursing a right hamstring strain since April 12. He has missed 17 games while on the disabled list. Without Drew, Baker has had to juggle his infield lineup and has not been able to give players...
With the unusual conditions in Denver, a start where your breaking ball doesn't break and your velocity is a tick off might be brushed aside.
But when you can't go six or seven innings for the second straight start, is that cause for concern?
Right-hander Joe Ross was held back at Triple-A Syracuse a couple of weeks before a fifth starter was needed in the Nationals rotation. Was that strategy simply meant to lessen Ross' work load? Or was it also a red flag concerning where his stamina is...
The Nationals rolled the Mets in the series finale, setting franchise and even some major league records in a 23-5 shellacking.
If the news that center fielder Adam Eaton is likely done for the season with a torn ACL seemed to affect the Nationals in Saturday's loss, there was no carryover into Sunday. Not by a long shot.
And with Eaton out, which player in the lineup was most likely to and had the best opportunity to step up and take over the offense that was missed without the quick center...
The Nationals brought the hammer down in the first inning against Mets starter Noah Syndergaard.
Batting around, the Nats scored five runs on five hits with RBI singles from Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, Michael A. Taylor and Joe Ross. Rendon's single scored two runs. Bryce Harper was walked and scored. The Mets intentionally walked Matt Wieters only to surrender a clean single to Ross into left field.
Zimmerman now has at least one RBI in six of his last eight at-bats.
The Mets scored...
The Nationals dropped another game to the Mets after finishing their long road trip 9-1. Even with these two losses to the Mets, they are 3-2 against their division rivals in a span of two weekends.
In Saturday's5-3 loss to the Mets, Ryan Zimmerman ended up providing all the RBIs for the Nats. He was 3-for-4 with a solo homer. He has 11 home runs in April. That matches his career high for a month. He also hit 11 in September 2013.
He has now hit a home run in five of his last six games and...
The Mets' homers were the difference Saturday, as they beat the Nationals 5-3 to take the series.
Michael Conforto hit a pair of homers, Jose Reyes connected in the ninth inning, and the Mets used five relievers to keep the Nationals at bay for their second win in a row in the weekend series. It was the first series loss at home for the Nats against the Mets since last May.
Manager Dusty Baker said the critical round-trippers for the Mets, especially a two-run shot by Conforto off of starter...
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg allowed just one hit through two innings in his first start since April 20.
Michael Conforto led off the game with a single and later stole second base. But Strasburg got three outs in a row to keep the Mets off the scoreboard. The second inning was a 1-2-3 frame.
The Nationals got a one-out double from Michael A. Taylor to begin their half of the first. After a strikeout of Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman followed with a RBI single to left field and the Nationals...
Nationals manager Dusty Baker did not have a complete medical update during his pregame press conference on the extent of the injury suffered by center fielder Adam Eaton at the end of last night's 7-5 loss to the Mets.
"Nothing yet. Had to be driven home, naturally, last night," Baker said. "We're waiting from the MRI because it's not that easy, not that many people working on Saturdays. Hopefully, it's not as serious as it looks."
The injury was listed as a left knee strain. Does that...
The Nationals could use a refreshed and well-rested right-hander Stephen Strasburg after the disappointment of Friday's loss to the Mets and the news of Adam Eaton's injury.
The club has promoted center fielder Rafael Bautista to the active roster from Triple-A Syracuse to replace Eaton, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with what is being called a left knee strain for now.
Michael A. Taylor starts in center field in today's lineup and Jose Lobaton gives catcher Matt Wieters a day...
In the wake of the loss of center fielder Adam Eaton to a potential serious left leg injury, the Nationals will promote centerfielder Rafael Bautista to the major league club, a baseball source has confirmed.
Eaton was injured Friday night in the ninth inning on a play at first base in the Nationals' 7-5 loss to the Mets.
Bautista had a very good spring with the Nats, and is hitting .291 with Triple-A Syracuse. The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic has hit .326 in his last 10 games. He...
DENVER - Joe Blanton conducted a light throwing session on Wednesday in an attempt to figure out what is going wrong with his mechanics.
In Thursday's blowout victory over the Rockies, he was called into the game in the ninth with the Nationals comfortably ahead 16-2. He began the outing with a strikeout, but then the Rockies mounted a rally, scoring three runs on three hits. He managed to induce a pair of flyouts to end the game.
Blanton's ERA now sits at 11.00 over nine appearances to begin...
DENVER - Left-hander Gio Gonzalez started last season with by pitching at least six innings in five straight games.
To begin this season, he has done it again.
Gonzalez went 6 2/3 innings Thursday as the Nationals crushed the Rockies 16-5 to win the series and finish the road trip 9-1. They head home with the best record in baseball at 16-6, which also matches the 1970 Expos for the best start in franchise history.
Gonzalez allowed only two runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out...
DENVER - The Nationals scored 11 runs Wednesday to topple the Rockies. In Thursday's series finale, they scored that many runs in the seventh inning.
The Nationals pummeled the Rockies 16-5 to finish with their best record ever on a 10-plus game road trip (9-1, .900).
Gio Gonzalez pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing only two runs on seven hits to improve his record to 3-0.
But the headliner on this day was the unstoppable offense.
The Nationals scored a season-high 16 runs on 19 hits, including...
DENVER - The Rockies were able to score first in the series finale, facing left-hander Gio Gonzalez.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Nolan Arenado launched a solo homer over the left field wall on a 2-0 offering to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead. The homer was his seventh of the season and travelled an estimated 408 feet.
Bryce Harper walked in the first, but the Nationals were unable to score. He has reached base nine times in the three full games he has started this series.
In the...