Bryce Harper scratched, Clint Robinson starts (with lineups)

Bryce Harper scratched, Clint Robinson starts (with lineups)
The Nationals get their second crack at Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke tonight. The National League All-Star starter handcuffed the Nationals in D.C. on July 19, striking out a season-high 11 while yielding just three hits over eight scoreless innings in the Dodgers' 5-0 shutout win. Greinke's 1.71 ERA is still the best in the majors, but he was tagged for six runs in six innings in his last outing in Philadelphia on Thursday. Nationals right-hander Joe Ross is set to make his eighth start...
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Best of the Decade: Jayson Werth's epic Game 4 walk-off homer

Best of the Decade: Jayson Werth's epic Game 4 walk-off homer
As the Nationals celebrate 10 seasons in Washington, D.C., we reflect on some of the best moments since the franchise moved to the nation's capital. Each Wednesday through mid-August, check out Nationals Pastime for a remembrance of one of the watershed moments in Nationals history. Jayson Werth's arrival in D.C. late in 2010 was not unanimously approved. Many debated the seven-year, $126 million contract given to a 31-year-old who had only once been in an All-Star. Almost two years later, in...
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Matt of Matt's Bats: A closer look at Anthony Rendon's collision at home plate

Matt of Matt's Bats: A closer look at Anthony Rendon's collision at home plate
During Sunday's Rockies-Nationals game, a lot of people questioned the ruling on the field in the 7th inning when the umpires called Anthony Rendon out at home plate. With Rendon on second and the score tied at 4-4, Ryan Zimmerman hit a single to right field. Rendon tried to score, testing the arm of Carlos Gonzalez. CarGo nailed a perfect throw to catcher Michael McKenry, who applied the tag to Rendon. Home plate umpire Alan Porter called Rendon out. Almost immediately, Nationals manager Matt...
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Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond trigger offense to start road trip

Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond trigger offense to start road trip
The Nationals offense showed no jet lag after flying cross-country to face the Dodgers in the opener of a lengthy 10-game road trip. Washington rapped 13 hits and poured in eight runs as the lineup continues to show signs of gelling. The scorching bat of Ryan Zimmerman started the Nationals' attack in the second with a leadoff double ripped into the right-center field gap. Two batters later, Ian Desmond jumped on a hanging curveball from Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson and deposited it over...
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Matt Kremnitzer: O's likely forced to hold steady during Miguel Gonzalez's rough stretch

Matt Kremnitzer: O's likely forced to hold steady during Miguel Gonzalez's rough stretch
How bad does a starting pitcher have to perform before he gets removed from the rotation? For the last couple of months, Miguel Gonzalez seems to be pushing those boundaries. He was up to his usual tricks the first couple months of the season, but he's been off his game since late June. In the middle of that month, Gonzalez was placed on the disabled list with a right groin injury. Since his return outing on June 25, things have not gone well. In nine starts (46 1/3 innings), he has posted an...
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Gio Gonzalez dominates in Nationals' 8-3 win

Gio Gonzalez dominates in Nationals' 8-3 win
Gio Gonzalez has pitched at a high level for the past two months. The left-hander raised it another notch Monday night, throwing eight scoreless innings in an 8-3 Nationals win. "I just thought he was in command the whole night," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters. "The key for him is pitch count early and keeping it down. That allowed him to get through eight (innings). He pitched really well." Despite not losing since June 15, Gonzalez had labored through his last three...
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Nats start road trip with impressive 8-3 win

Nats start road trip with impressive 8-3 win
Ryan Zimmerman continued swinging his red-hot bat, ripping a double to right-center in the second. It was Zimmerman's 10th extra-base hit in his last 13 games since returning from the disabled list. Two batters later, Ian Desmond launched left-hander Brett Anderson's hanging curveball over the wall in left for a two-run homer. Desmond leads the Nationals with six home runs and 15 RBIs since the All-Star break. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez has thrown two scoreless innings, yielding two...
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Orioles recall right-hander Mychal Givens from Double-A Bowie, place right-hander Chaz Roe on 15-day disabled list

Orioles recall right-hander Mychal Givens from Double-A Bowie, place right-hander Chaz Roe on 15-day disabled list
The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-hander Mychal Givens from Double-A Bowie and placed right-hander Chaz Roe on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. Givens, 25, has gone 1-0 and worked 4.0 scoreless innings in three appearances with the Orioles this season. In 35 games with Double-A Bowie this season, Givens went 4-2 with a 1.73 ERA (57 1/3 IP, 11 ER) and 15 saves. He struck out two over 2.0 scoreless innings and earned the save on August 8 vs. New...
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Nationals game blog: Important road trip begins in L.A.

Nationals game blog: Important road trip begins in L.A.
The Nationals are set to begin an 11-game, 10-day road trip, which is likely to prove crucial for playoff positioning. "Look, it is what it is," pirtcher Max Scherzer said. "You have to win all these games. You have to find a way to dig deep and win these series. I know we're playing some great teams. We're going to face the Dodgers, Giants and (the Rockies) again. It's going to be an absolute grind. "That's what August is about. You have to grind through the schedule and keep going at...
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Jayson Werth looking to build momentum (with lineups)

Jayson Werth looking to build momentum (with lineups)
The Nationals hope yesterday's performance from Jayson Werth is a sign of what's to come from the veteran outfielder for the remainder of the season. The 36-year-old had his first multi-hit game since returning from the disabled list on July 28 after missing 61 games with a fractured left wrist. Werth connected on a fastball in the second inning, drilling it over the wall in the right-center alley for a solo homer. He added a single in the third and turned his leadoff walk in the sixth into...
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Marty Niland: Ryan Zimmerman's big weekend and memories of Frank Howard

Marty Niland: Ryan Zimmerman's big weekend and memories of Frank Howard
If there was a silver lining in last weekend's series loss to the Colorado Rockies, it's that Ryan Zimmerman appears to have fully recovered from the plantar fasciitis that has sidelined him for much of this season. The Nationals first baseman has hit safely in four straight games and seven of his last nine, and driven in runs in seven consecutive games. But in the past week, he's shown that his power is back, crushing three homers, including blasts to center field in back-to-back innings on...
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Andrew Stetka: Recent DFAs tell strange story for Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Recent DFAs tell strange story for Orioles
The Orioles have gone about constructing and molding their roster in quite a different way this season. For a team that's chasing the Blue Jays and Yankees for the American League East crown, it has looked especially strange. There are a total of eight players from the opening day roster no longer with the team. That number jumps to nine if you include Ryan Webb, who was designated for assignment just before the team's first game. That's over 35 percent of the roster cast off before...
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Ryan Zimmerman on Drew Storen: "He's the least of our worries"

Ryan Zimmerman on Drew Storen: "He's the least of our worries"
Drew Storen watched his ERA jump from 1.52 to 2.70 over the weekend after two innings of work. The right-hander blew a three-run lead in the blink of an eye on Friday, surrendering a grand slam to Rockies slugger Carlos Gonzalez. And then yesterday, Storen loaded the bases in the eighth before DJ LeMahieu bounced a ball through the hole to score the eventual game-winning two runs. "Drew's fine," Ryan Zimmerman said. "To go a whole year without having any sort of rough patch or a couple bad...
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Home not so sweet for Nationals after series loss to lowly Rockies

Home not so sweet for Nationals after series loss to lowly Rockies
The Nationals blew a prime opportunity to gain ground on the New York Mets by dropping two of three to the lowly Rockies with this afternoon's 6-4 loss. After being swept out of the Big Apple last weekend, the Nats looked to take advantage of seven games in D.C. against the sub .500 Diamondbacks and the Rockies, who live in the basement of the National League West. But the Nationals managed to take only three of the games during the disappointing homestand. The Rays had beaten the Mets earlier...
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Rockies score twice on Drew Storen, Nats lose 6-4

Rockies score twice on Drew Storen, Nats lose 6-4
Carlos Gonzalez ruined the Nationals' night on Friday with his eighth inning grand slam off Drew Storen. In the first inning today, Gonzalez belted a hanging curveball from Max Scherzer deep to right for a two-out solo homer to give the Rockies an early lead. Rockies All-Star Nolan Arenado followed with a base knock to center before Scherzer whiffed Ben Paulsen with a 95 mph heater to end the frame. Rockies left-hander Yohan Flande retired the Nats in order in the bottom of the...
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Max Scherzer continues Nats pitching attack; Aaron Barrett to DL (with lineups)

Max Scherzer continues Nats pitching attack; Aaron Barrett to DL (with lineups)
The Nationals send ace Max Scherzer to the mound looking to claim a series win in the finale this afternoon against the Rockies. Scherzer is aiming for his first win at Nationals Park since throwing his no-hitter against the Pirates on June 20. The right-hander didn't get a decision in the Nats' 5-4 win over Arizona on Tuesday night when he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts over six innings. Rockies left-hander Yohan Flande is making just his third start of...
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Still buzzing about Stephen Strasburg

Still buzzing about Stephen Strasburg
It's a shame that injuries made us wait until August 8 to see the best of Stephen Strasburg this season. The right-hander missed nearly two months, or approximately nine valuable starts, with two separate trips to the disabled list, not to mention a few other nagging discomforts he tried to but was never really able to pitch through. After last night's dazzling 12-strikeout, three-hit lockdown, Colorado had to be wishing Strasburg's rehab lasted just a bit longer. "It was top-shelf stuff,"...
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Stephen Strasburg blows away Rockies in Nats' 6-1 win

Stephen Strasburg blows away Rockies in Nats' 6-1 win
The Nationals may have found their secret weapon for the playoff run and he has a familiar face. Stephen Strasburg reintroduced himself to the season with his a 12-strikeout domination of the Rockies in the Nationals' 6-1 win. Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon welcomed Strasburg back with a leadoff double in the first, but then the tall right-hander went to work. He finished the frame by whiffing All-Star Nolan Arenado with one of his knee-buckling curveballs. Strasburg pounded the zone...
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MASNsports.com hosts live video chats with Anthony Rendon, Dan Kolko and Matt Williams

MASNsports.com hosts live video chats with Anthony Rendon, Dan Kolko and Matt Williams
We know you see interviews with Anthony Rendon, Dan Kolko and Matt Williams day-in and day-out, but we wanted to give you the chance to ask the questions and get a better look at their lives off the baseball diamond. Fans submitted their questions for the Nationals guys using #AskRendon, #AskKolko and #AskMatt on Twitter. Then, Chris Johnson hosted a live video chat broadcasted on MASNsports.com with the three of them on Friday afternoon. Watch all the fun in the videos below. Watch live...
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Stephen Strasburg strikes out 12, Nats win 6-1

Stephen Strasburg strikes out 12, Nats win 6-1
Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon welcomed Stephen Strasburg back from the disabled list with a leadoff double in the first. No worries though as Strasburg retired the next three Rockies in order, stranding Blackmon after whiffing National League RBI leader Nolan Arenado on a filthy curveball. Strasburg threw 12 pitches in the opening frame, reaching 98 mph with the heater. In the second, Strasburg added two more strikeouts in a perfect inning. Clint Robinson picked up the Nationals first...
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