Marty Niland: Old-school approach could have served Nats well

Marty Niland: Old-school approach could have served Nats well
With two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday came the pitch felt round the Natosphere. Reds reliever Tony Cingrani drilled Nationals slugger Bryce Harper in the back - right between the numbers - with a 94 mph fastball. No matter whether it was intentional, Harper was not happy, and neither were fans posting on Nats message boards. They demanded payback. The most obvious target was Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who exchanged words with the bruised Harper after...
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Report leaves Bryce Harper sounding doubtful for Home Run Derby

Report leaves Bryce Harper sounding doubtful for Home Run Derby
Bryce Harper left Cincinnati without a homer in the Reds' three-game sweep. It may wind up being a theme. Harper's travel arrangements have most likely already been booked to return to Great American Ball Park in mid-July for the 86th Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The 22-year-old was announced last week as the frontrunner in the early release of the National League's fan vote. It was no surprise since Harper has been captivating audiences and terrorizing pitchers through the season's...
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Andrew Stetka: Questions aplenty surrounding Wieters' return

Andrew Stetka: Questions aplenty surrounding Wieters' return
The impending return of Matt Wieters to the Orioles is going to create more questions than answers for the short term and the long term. As many know, Wieters has been rehabbing in the minors following Tommy John surgery. He's set to come off the disabled list later this week, but following some comments from Buck Showalter yesterday, I immediately question his role. Wieters could join the club Thursday in Houston and serve as the designated hitter, or Friday in Cleveland to be the catcher....
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Scarce offense and bullpen woes leave Nats swept in Cincinnati

Scarce offense and bullpen woes leave Nats swept in Cincinnati
After sprinting through May with baseball's best record, the Nationals stumbled to the finish line, succumbing to a three-game sweep in today's 8-2 loss to the Reds. The normally explosive Nats offense managed just two hits against Reds rookie right-hander Michael Lorenzen - and one of them came from starter Tanner Roark. "A little blip," Nationals manager Matt Williams said to reporters after the loss. "We got two out of three in Chicago and came here and things didn't go our way, but we...
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Bullpen falters as Nats lose 8-2

Bullpen falters as Nats lose 8-2
Tanner Roark held the Reds scoreless through the first three innings, but third baseman Todd Frazier ended the streak in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Frazier belted a fastball deep down the left field line for a solo homer. It's the only hit that Roark has allowed through four innings to go along with two walks and one very important hit batter. When Reds first baseman Joey Votto stepped to the plate in the first, Roark promptly plunked him. The 92 mph fastball aimed at Votto's...
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Bryce Harper back in lineup for series finale

Bryce Harper back in lineup for series finale
Right fielder Bryce Harper returns to the Nationals lineup this afternoon for the series finale in Cincinnati, a day after missing his first game of the season. Harper was on yesterday's early lineup card until he was scratched with back soreness about an hour before game time. A 93 mph from Reds reliever Tony Cingrani drilled Harper squarely in the center of his back on the first pitch of his fourth at-bat on Friday night. Harper finished out that game, but told reporters in Cincinnati...
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Injuries force reliable Roark back in Nats rotation for now

Injuries force reliable Roark back in Nats rotation for now
The Nationals turn to Tanner Roark this afternoon to try to salvage the final game in Cincinnati. It's a fitting role for Roark, who after being relegated to the bullpen is now in a position to play a major part in the Nats' depleted starting rotation. The 28-year-old Roark was one of baseball's most effective and efficient starting pitchers last season, compiling a 15-10 record with a sparkling 2.85 ERA. He pitched 198 2/3 innings for the Nats in his 31 starts, striking out 138 while...
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Janssen, Nats can't hold on as series winning streak ends in 8-5 loss

Janssen, Nats can't hold on as series winning streak ends in 8-5 loss
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo signed right-hander Casey Janssen shortly after trading away reliable reliever Tyler Clippard this offseason. The idea was for Janssen to take over Clippard's high-pressure eighth-inning role. At least today, the experiment didn't work, as Janssen blew the Nats' lead and was thumped for four runs in an 8-5 loss. "The fact of the matter is we've got our eighth-inning guy in there with a one-run lead," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after...
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Bryce Harper's availability a question mark for series finale

Bryce Harper's availability a question mark for series finale
Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after today's 8-5 loss to the Reds that right fielder Bryce Harper was only available today in an "extreme emergency situation." Harper was originally on this afternoon's lineup card, but was scratched just over an hour before first pitch with back soreness. "I tried to get in here in this morning and tried to get loose, but when I got on the field, it didn't feel very good," Harper said to reporters after the game. The soreness was the...
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Janssen's nightmare eighth costs Nats in 8-5 loss

Janssen's nightmare eighth costs Nats in 8-5 loss
The Nationals wasted no time pressuring Reds rookie Raisel Iglesias on Saturday. Yunel Escobar ripped a two-out double to left off the right-hander in the first. Ryan Zimmerman followed with a sharp line drive single to center, scoring Escobar for the game's first run. The Reds tried to answer right back in the bottom of the inning. Nats starter Gio Gonzalez gave up back-to-back one-out singles to first baseman Joey Votto and third baseman Todd Frazier before walking right fielder Jay Bruce...
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Neck tightness lands Strasburg on the DL, Harper scratched with sore back

Neck tightness lands Strasburg on the DL, Harper scratched with sore back
The Nationals have placed Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with neck tightness. Strasburg was forced to leave last night's 5-2 loss to the Reds after throwing just 16 pitches. The right-hander finished the first inning and then began experiencing the discomfort while in the Nats dugout. "I kinda just sat down and for some reason it just locked up on me," Strasburg told reporters after the game. It was the second game this month that Strasburg left prematurely due to injury. On...
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Nats have rallied around Gio Gonzalez in May (with lineups)

Nats have rallied around Gio Gonzalez in May (with lineups)
The Nationals enter today's game in Cincinnati as winners in the last five games that Gio Gonzalez has started. However, May has been a bit of a roller coaster month for the left-hander. Gonzalez has received a decision in three of those five games, allowing just three runs over 20 1/3 innings. But Gonzalez's ERA is 9.90 in the other two starts, with the Nats offense bailing him out both times. Gonzalez has pitched exceptionally well against the Reds in his career. In four starts with the...
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Options for Williams if Strasburg can't go

Options for Williams if Strasburg can't go
Stephen Strasburg threw only 16 pitches in last night's 5-2 loss to the Reds before leaving the game with neck tightness. Nationals manager Matt Williams indicated to reporters that the discomfort was in Strasburg's left trapezius muscle. Strasburg isn't familiar with this type of pain in this particular area. "We don't know at this point," Williams told reporters after the game. "We have to see how he is (Saturday) and evaluate. I don't know. It's the other side, so we'll see what he...
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Neck tightness forces Stephen Strasburg out early in Nats' loss

Neck tightness forces Stephen Strasburg out early in Nats' loss
The Nationals have lost only seven games the entire month of May. Stephen Strasburg has started four of them. The right-hander lasted just five batters tonight before exiting with an injury in a 5-2 loss to the Reds. "He came out of the game with left trap tightness ... trapezius muscle, neck tightness," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the game. Strasburg quickly got ahead of Reds catcher Brayan Pena 0-2 to start the second inning before delivering four consecutive balls...
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Strasburg exits early with injury in Nats' 5-2 loss

Strasburg exits early with injury in Nats' 5-2 loss
Stephen Strasburg faced just five batters before leaving tonight's game with an undiclosed injury. With one out in the first, Reds first baseman Joey Votto belted a 97 mph fastball from Strasburg deep over the centerfield fence for a solo homer. Third baseman Todd Frazier followed with a single to left before Ryan Zimmerman ended the inning with an unassisted double play on a grounder from right fielder Jay Bruce. Strasburg immediately got ahead of catcher Brayan Pena 0-2 to start the second...
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Stephen Strasburg looks to rebound (with lineups)

Stephen Strasburg looks to rebound (with lineups)
The Nationals come plowing into Cincinnati as winners of nine consecutive series. During the blazing stretch, the Nats have won 12 of 16 games away from the nation's capital. All eyes will be on Stephen Strasburg when he takes the mound tonight. The right-hander has experienced a month he would rather forget. Strasburg is 1-3 with a 10.20 ERA during May. He has failed to pitch out of the fourth inning in all three losses. Meanwhile, Denard Span has been a road warrior. The 31-year-old has...
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Patrick Reddington: Is Werth's injury Taylor's opportunity?

Patrick Reddington: Is Werth's injury Taylor's opportunity?
Jayson Werth has been credited, in the years since he signed a sort of out-of-nowhere, seven-year, $126 million contract with the Nationals, with changing the culture in the nation's capital. When he was asked earlier this season about his reputation as a leader in the Nats clubhouse and what it meant to him, however, Werth was clear that in his mind it didn't mean anything. "Absolutely nothing," he said. "I'm just another guy," Werth explained. "We've got a bunch of guys in there that...
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Matthew Taylor: Measuring historical dominance by Orioles pitchers

Matthew Taylor: Measuring historical dominance by Orioles pitchers
Which Orioles pitchers have had the most dominant individual outings by modern statistical measures? That's one of the questions that came to mind for me as I read Joe Sheehan's article "The Case for ... The Pedro" in the May 25 edition of Sports Illustrated. Sheehan discusses Corey Kluber's May 13 outing for the Cleveland Indians, during which he struck out 18 batters and walked none, and makes the case that, "To strike out a lot of hitter, while walking few or none ... is the pinnacle...
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A chance for Strasburg to prove the doubters wrong

A chance for Strasburg to prove the doubters wrong
It's obvious that something is wrong with Stephen Strasburg. Among starters who have pitched at least 40 innings this season, Strasburg ranks 121st out of 123 with a horrid 6.50 ERA. Teams are feasting on Strasburg's pitches to the tune of a .321 batting average, also third-worst in all of baseball. Cover your eyes. In May, the numbers are more dreadful, with Strasburg's ERA sitting at an astronomical 10.20 after surrendering a 17 earned runs in just 15 innings pitched. In fact, in three out...
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Orioles return right-hander Tyler Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk after today's doubleheader

Orioles return right-hander Tyler Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk after today's doubleheader
The Orioles today announced that they have returned right-hander Tyler Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk after today's doubleheader. Wilson was recalled as the 26th player for today's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox and started Game 1. He tossed 6.0 innings and allowed two earned runs in the 3-2 loss.
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