PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals send tall righty Doug Fister to the mound tonight to try to stop a two-game losing streak. Fister is coming off a questionable spring training, where he allowed an uncharacteristic seven homers en route to a 5.96 ERA in 22 2/3 innings.
The Phillies will counter with three-time All-Star Cole Hamels. He took the loss on opening day allowing four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks against the Red Sox.
Nationals manager Matt Williams will give second...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are just four games into the season and already there are concerns about the team's inability to score runs. They've only managed to cross the plate seven times in the first four contests after scoring just nine runs in the 45 innings played in last October's National League Division Series.
Nationals manager Matt Williams has undoubtedly been forced to experiment with unfamiliar lineups as well as shifting infielders around. The question is whether those on the...
PHILADELPHIA - Nats starter Gio Gonzalez was cruising through six scoreless innings when he suddenly lost his command with one out in the seventh. Back-to-back walks and a hit batter loaded the bases and forced Nationals manager Matt Williams to the mound to end Gonzalez's night.
Williams seemed baffled after the game at how quickly the storyline changed for Gonzalez.
"I don't know," said Williams. "He lost the strike zone. He still hadn't given up a run. He walked two guys and hit a guy...
PHILADELPHIA - Center fielder Michael A. Taylor wasted no time putting the Nationals on the scoreboard with a leadoff homer against Phillies starter Jerome Williams. It's Taylor's first bomb of the year, coming off a spring where he led the Nats in home runs with four, two of which came to start games.
Taylor's homer lifts his early average to .357 with a double and three RBIs.
Right fielder Bryce Harper and catcher Wilson Ramos also singled in the first leaving the Nats with runners at the...
PHILADELPHIA - Left fielder Jayson Werth was 0-for-2 with a strikeout and a walk in his first minor league rehab assignment. He played seven innings for Single-A Potomac last night and is planning to ramp it up to nine tonight, weather permitting. Nationals manager Matt Williams said Potomac will play a doubleheader tomorrow if rain cancels tonight's contest and Werth would play the first game and potentially take a couple of at-bats in the second.
Werth is eligible to come off the disabled...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals send lefty Gio Gonzalez to the hill in tonight's series opener against the Phillies. Gonzalez was sharp throughout the spring, allowing just six runs in 19 1/3 innings, with 19 strikeouts. He appears to be fully recovered from the left shoulder soreness which bothered him for much of last year.
For the Nationals:
CF Michael A. Taylor 3B Yunel Escobar RF Bryce Harper 1B Ryan Zimmerman C Wilson Ramos SS Ian Desmond 2B Dan Uggla LF Tyler Moore LHP Gio Gonzalez
For...
Manager: Ryne Sandberg, third year Record: 1-2 Last 10 games: 1-2 Who to watch: C Carlos Ruiz (.375/.583/.375, 0 XBH, 0 RBIs); RF Jeff Francoeur (.222/.222/.556, 1 HR, 3 RBIs); LHP Cole Hamels (0-1, 7.20 ERA, 1.60 WHIP); RHP Jerome Williams (4-2, 2.83 ERA, 1.134 WHIP in 2014) Season series vs. Nats (2014): 10-9, 70 runs scored, 84 runs allowed
Pitching probables April 10: RHP Jerome Williams vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN2 April 11: LHP Cole Hamels vs. RHP Doug Fister, 7 p.m., MASN2 April...
As Mike Rizzo explained this winter, the decision to move Bryce Harper to right field and Jayson Werth to left field served two purposes. One, Werth could "save his legs" with less ground to cover in left, which Rizzo explained would lead to less wear in the short and long-term for the 35-year-old outfielder.
With Harper in right, the Nationals general manager said the team has younger legs capable of covering more ground, and a cannon of an arm that could seriously dissuade opposing teams...
Manager: John Gibbons, third year Record: 2-1 Last 10 games: 2-1 Who to watch: DH Edwin Encarnacion (.417/.417/.917, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 3 R); 3B Josh Donaldson (.182/.250/.182, 0 HR, 0 RBIs); LHP Mark Buehrle (13-10, 3.39 ERA, 1.356 WHIP in 2014); RHP Drew Hutchison (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.833 WHIP in 2014) Season series vs. O's (2014): 8-11, 70 runs scored, 74 runs allowed
Pitching probables April 10: LHP Mark Buehrle vs. RHP Bud Norris, 3 p.m., MASN April 11: RHP Aaron Sanchez vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 7...
It was a tough matinee for right fielder Bryce Harper in the series finale yesterday. A day after being praised for his patience at the plate, Harper fanned three straight times with wild cuts at Mets starter Matt Harvey's high heat.
"He swung at some balls out of the strike zone," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "The strikeouts were balls up in the zone. With Matt, that ball comes in there pretty quickly. One of the keys against him is to make sure we swing at strikes. He got Harp a...
The Orioles welcome a familiar opponent to Camden Yards for opening day. This will be the first of 19 games the O's play against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to break the longest playoff drought in the majors at 21 seasons.
Whether it's the Dan Duquette saga from this past offseason, the "Cito Sucks" memories from the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore, or the pain of the 1989 season when Toronto provided the unfortunate answer to the question, "Why Not?," O's fans...
The Nationals were overwhelmed by Mets starter Matt Harvey in today's 6-3 loss. Pitching for the first time in a regular season game since Tommy John surgery in October 2013, Harvey struck out half the batters he faced. Nats right fielder Bryce Harper was a victim three times while violently hacking at 97 mph fastballs high and away in each at-bat for third strikes.
"He's tough out there," said Harper. "I keep saying it, I've said it a million times, he's gonna be Cy Young (winner) one...
For the third time in this series, an error by Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has led to runs for the Mets. With one out in the third and Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson on first base, third baseman David Wright hit a tailor-made double play grounder right at Desmond. He misplayed the hop and by the time he was able to gather and throw to first, it was too late and both runners were safe.
Then the wheels fell off.
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg missed on a curveball inside that struck...
Buckle up for the marquee pitching matchup today at Nationals Park between two power pitchers that can pump it in there in the mid-to-high 90s. Nationals manager Matt Williams sends right-hander Stephen Strasburg to the mound, while Mets manager Terry Collins trots fireballer Matt Harvey to the hill for his first start regular season start since Tommy John surgery.
"High-powered arms that have come back successfully from a really serious surgery," said Williams. "It's good. Matt's one of...
I'm certain that you've heard the saying that baseball is a simple game a number of times in your life as a sports fan. But a startling number of people don't seem to understand how simple it is. Broadcasters and hot-take journalists are always talking about players knowing or not knowing how to win. The highest level of baseball I played was t-ball, and even as a wee lad, I knew how to win. Baseball is not complicated in this regard and it is, in fact, one of the things that make it the...
The 1972 Dolphins can breathe easy. The Orioles aren't going 162-0. A 161-1 record still is a possibility, however.
In case you are curious, that would be a .994 winning percentage. After three games, the O's are on pace to finish 108-54 and, as you'd expect, that would win the American League East. Travis Snider is on pace for 216 hits, while Steve Pearce will lead the club (and likely the majors) with 108 home runs.
Aren't small sample sizes fun?
Our beloved Birds wrapped up the first...
It's been an active beginning to the early season for Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper. The 22-year-old added two more hits last night, and is now 4-for-7 with a home run and an RBI through two games.
"I feel good up there," said Harper. "I just want to stay in that same zone. Just in that same feeling, not get too quick, try to have good at-bats and see where it gets me."
Harper has worked on a patient approach at the plate. On Monday, he admitted to being too amped up when he struck...
A two-run homer from first baseman Ryan Zimmerman in the first turned out to be all the offense Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann would get and need in a 2-1 victory over the Mets in the second game of the season-opening three-game series.
Zimmermann ran into some trouble in the second when the Mets strung together three consecutive singles, leading to their only run. He altered his approach a bit and retired 11 straight batters before Mets first baseman Lucas Duda singled in the sixth.
"I...
After a 56-minute rain delay, Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann took the mound and promptly struck out Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson to start the game. Zimmermann would make quick work of the Mets in the first on a cold, dreary night at Nats Park.
For the second straight game, the Nats put a runner on base in the first inning against the Mets. This time it was second baseman Yunel Escobar coming up with a single through the hole for his first hit as a Nat. After right fielder...
Hello, Nationals fans! Aren't you happy baseball is back?
My name is Matt, a 10-year-old kid from the D.C. suburbs. I am a huge Nats fan, so I am so excited to be writing for MASNsports.com this season. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the readers who may not know me.
In July 2012, I started a blog called Matt's Bats, which you can find here. I started writing Matt's Bats because I became a huge fan of baseball after going to my first Nationals game in 2009. When I...