With an injury to Danny Espinosa and the bench depleted, the Nationals selected the contract of second baseman Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse Saturday, and he arrived in D.C. to see his locker adorned with home white jersey No. 26.
It had been a pretty exciting 24 hours already for Kobernus, especially the moment where he got to share the news with his parents, Jeff and Margie.
"Yeah, I called my dad first and then my mom," Kobernus said. "My dad, he was crying, which was kind of one...
Jordan Zimmermann wanted to keep it quiet.
On the day he was supposed to pitch, the right-hander woke up in some pain.
His neck wasn't feeling so good, but he didn't want to make a big deal about it with a big game against the Phillies just hours away.
Manager Davey Johnson knew something was up when he saw Zimmermann in the clubhouse.
"Zimm woke up with a stiff neck today," Johnson said. "He kind of hid it from me. I knew he had it. Nothing is ever hidden from the manager.
"After...
Right fielder Steven Souza Jr., returned to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators lineup Friday. It will be his first game since April 13. He has been recovering from a shoulder injury.
Souza was batting an impressive .370 in his first nine games, with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs. He has a 1.194 OPS and a .528 on-base percentage.
Third baseman Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup to have his wisdom teeth pulled, according to the tweet below from Geoff Morrow of The Patriot-News and...
Manager Davey Johnson said he will make a decision on the status of left-hander Ross Detwiler for Tuesday's start depending on how his bullpen session goes on Saturday.
Johnson said Detwiler, who missed his last start with a slight oblique strain, was a little tight but was all right following his most recent throwing session.
"I think the big time is how he does in his pen tomorrow," Johnson said. "Everything so far has gone according to plan. He threw yesterday and didn't have any...
It wasn't only Sammy Solis who was making his season debut Tuesday for high Single-A Potomac. Right-handers Cameron Selik and David Fischer also pitched for the P-Nats for the first time in 2013.
Selik had a good amount of experience with the P-Nats and has been out since a lat injury slowed his play. Selik had 40 games of experience with the P-Nats over the past two seasons, and got into one game with Double-A Harrisburg last season. He had eight saves with 2-1 record and a 3.68 ERA with the...
The Nationals have been looking to fortify their left-handed depth in the bullpen, and the hope in spring training was that veteran Bill Bray would fill that role.
Bray did not make the 25-man roster out of spring training, as he was left behind at extended spring training to work on a mechanical issue.
In early May, Bray was called up to Double-A Harrisburg. He appeared in four games and did not allow a run over 4 1/3 innings. He gave up just two hits, struck out six and walked one. His last...
FREDERICK, Md. - Left-hander Sammy Solis got his work in and did well. It had to feel pretty good after almost two seasons of waiting.
It was his first game since 2011, having recovered from March 2012 Tommy John surgery, and Solis pitched into the third inning of high Single-A Potomac's game at Frederick. He finished with two innings, three hits, two runs, one earned, one walk and one strikeout.
Solis, who did not factor in the decision, was able to exhale after the game and said it was...
For the first time since 2011, left-hander Sammy Solis, rated as the No. 8 prospect in the Nationals system by Baseball America, will start for high Single-A Potomac on Tuesday night, according to Nationals director of player development Doug Harris.
Solis, who has recovered from Tommy John surgery, has been throwing in games in extended spring training at the Nationals' training facility in Florida.
The Nationals have scheduled Solis for three innings with Potomac as the P-Nats begin a...
High Single-A Potomac Nationals shortstop Jason Martinson got off to a hot start in Woodbridge, earning a pair of Carolina League Player of the Week honors in April.
"I felt a lot more confident having been in this league already," he said. "Still a lot of work to get done but I'm doing everything I can to make that next jump.
Martinson has already hit seven homers and has 26 RBIs for Potomac. He has cooled off a little bit since his April run. His average stands at .253 through May 19....
Saturday's loss at San Diego was tough all around for the Nationals.
Any time a team falls 2-1, there are several moments in the game they would love to rewind and try again. But baseball can be a cruel game, and just like any sport, the opportunity was there.
Starter Jordan Zimmermann was blaming himself afterward. One for a home run ball early and the other for his bad throw to check a runner hanging off of first base.
But the Nationals would not have been in a tie ball game in the...
It is just one game in 162.
That is what all the players say, right? Especially when things are not going well.
But that game Friday in San Diego was one to remember and one for the record books.
The Nationals beat the Padres 6-5 in 10 innings. It was the 10th inning that had a ton of twists and turns that Dan Brown would have been proud to pen.
In the top of that extra-inning frame, Padres reliever Huston Street got the first two outs with relative ease. In walks pinch-hitter Chad Tracy,...
Ever since Adam LaRoche swung the bat in two former familiar homes, he has been locked in. And more recently to start the Nationals' 10-game road trip, he has hit four homers in his past three games, including in back-to-back at-bats in Friday's 6-5, 10-inning thriller at San Diego.
The former Brave and Pirate got his groove back May 2 at Turner Field, continued it at PNC Park, and has not looked back well into the final weeks of May.
Manager Davey Johnson spoke last week about hoping that...
Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez got behind hitters early, and San Diego was able to get two runs in the first inning.
Gonzalez allowed two walks in the first and both came around and scored on a Kyle Blanks single and a two-base throwing error by right fielder Bryce Harper. San Diego led 2-0 after one inning.
San Diego fireballer Burch Smith was elusive early with a difficult to catch up with mid-90s fastball. Smith struck out the side in the second inning.
Gonzalez surrendered a hit and...
Outfielder Jayson Werth was expected to play in his second rehab game Thursday night in Potomac. Instead, the veteran right fielder has had a setback to his sore left hamstring. Werth will not be activated off of the 15-day disabled list Saturday, as was previously anticipated.
On Wednesday night, Werth went 1-for-2, ran the bases and made a few defensive plays, showing no ill effects from his ailing hamstring. Afterwards, he said the hamstring felt "pretty good."
But manager Davey Johnson...
The Nationals' offense came alive in the first game of their series in San Diego. Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper crushed home runs, while Steve Lombardozzi and Ryan Zimmerman offered clutch hits in a 6-2 victory over the Padres.
It was just the third time in the past seven games that the Nationals had scored at least six runs, all wins.
LaRoche now has a 13-game hit streak, the longest of his career. He has home runs in back-to-back games.
To see Harper return after Monday's scary collision...
Returning to his comfort zone, right-hander Stephen Strasburg was consistent in his first start in his hometown of San Diego. He notched the win with another first - the first time he finished eight innings in a major league start - as the Nationals snapped a modest two-game skid with a 6-2 win over the Padres.
Strasburg (2-5) allowed just two runs over those eight innings, only one of which was earned.
"I think the last time I did it was 2009 in college," Strasburg told MASN's Julie...
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg got behind a couple of hitters early on, but looks to be focused and is gradually locating his fastball very well in the series opener against the Padres.
Padres right-hander Edinson Volquez walked three of the first five batters he faced, but the Nationals could not score in first three innings.
The Nationals' best chance early was in the second inning when Volquez was wild again, walking Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche to begin the frame. But...
In the Men's Journal's latest weekly online newsletter, the magazine listed major league baseball's best stadium food.
Nationals Park's Ben's Chili Bowl stands were cited as not to be missed while at a game in D.C.
The quick capsule on Ben's chili mentions the eight-pound Strasburger, but prefers the gut-bombing chili dog as the specialty to grab.
Make sure to bring along some antacid to any Nationals game for the seventh-inning stretch...
Catcher Wilson Ramos has a left hamstring strain, so he has been placed on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season, according to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo in a team press release today.
Ramos had just returned from the disabled list April 29 after missing most of April with the same hamstring injury.
Jhonatan Solano has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Solano went 1-for-6 in his first stint with the Nationals this season and hit .167 (8-for-48) with two...
The Nationals begin a four-game set in San Diego against the Padres tonight with Stephen Strasburg (1-5, 3.10 ERA) making his hometown debut. The Padres counter with right-hander Edinson Volquez (3-3, 5.15).
Bryce Harper returns to Nationals lineup for first time since Monday. Carlos Quentin is not in the Padres lineup.
The Nationals are 1-2 on their 10-game West Coast road trip and have lost four of their last five. The Padres have won nine of their last 10 at home and have won 13 of their...