Forty-eight hours ago, the Nationals were feeling as good about themselves as they had in a while. Winners of five straight and 10 of 11, they had reached the .500 mark for the first time since May 2. What's happened since then? They've lost two in a row to the Marlins, fallen back into their offensive funk and have now seen their second-most reliable starting pitcher get hurt.
Erick Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning with an oblique strain, an unexpected development to...
At the end of the worst game they've played in weeks Friday night, the Nationals did get some good news: Josh Bell appears to be fine and should even be in today's lineup against the Marlins.
Bell, who had to be scratched from Thursday's lineup after complaining of tightness in his right side, underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon to see if he had strained his oblique muscle. But that test showed no strain, according to manager Davey Martinez, and the slugger was back taking swings later in...
When he stepped off the mound at the end of the sixth inning Saturday night at Nationals Park, Jon Lester felt as good as he has about himself in a long time. Ten starts into his first season in D.C., the veteran left-hander owned a 3.60 ERA. Anyone who reasonably expected anything more than that from the 37-year-old was being unreasonable.
By the time he walked off the mound in the third inning tonight at loanDepot Park in Miami, Lester could not have felt anything like he did six days prior....
As Davey Martinez sat down for his pregame Zoom session with reporters about 2 1/2 hours before first pitch in Miami, Josh Bell was in the process of getting an MRI on his right side. The results of that test will be on the Nationals manager's mind until he knows if his cleanup hitter can avoid a trip to the injured list.
"He said he feels about the same (as Thursday)," Martinez said. "It's not bad, it's not horrible, but it's there. We'll see what happens when we get this MRI result...
You already know the Nationals have won 10 of 11 games. But did you know they've actually won nine games in a row that were scheduled to be nine innings? That's right, their last two losses came in doubleheader games that were scheduled for only seven innings (one of which turned into an eight-inning loss to the Giants). Their last nine-inning loss was June 11, the opener of their last homestand, when they lost 1-0 to San Francisco.
So there's a chance tonight to make it 10 in a row in...
More news and observations after Thursday night's 7-3 win over the Marlins, the Nationals' 10th win in 11 games ...
* Josh Bell was a late scratch from the lineup after reporting soreness on his right side. The Nats don't seem to believe it's anything serious, but they want to make sure he didn't strain an oblique muscle before putting him back on the field.
"I didn't want to take any chances," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He's going to go...
You could only laugh at the first one, because it was yet another leadoff homer by Kyle Schwarber, his fifth in 13 games since taking over the top spot in the Nationals lineup on a full-time basis a couple weeks ago.
But the second one? A three-run blast one inning later? His 12th home run in 13 games? His eighth in five games?
What was the appropriate reaction to that? Surely, it included a jaw dropped all the way to the floor, a glazed look in your eyes and an immediate sprint to your...
Davey Martinez had to get creative with his bullpen in order to win Wednesday's wild, 13-12 game in Philadelphia, ultimately asking Austin Voth, Tanner Rainey and Paolo Espino to record the final six outs.
That's because closer Brad Hand was unavailable after pitching four of the previous five days, and because Daniel Hudson remains on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right elbow. And it's still going to be a little while before Hudson is back on the active roster pitching in...
The Nationals' two-game sweep in Philadelphia was both uplifting but also exhausting. Wednesday's 13-12 finale, in particular, used up every ounce of strength the Nats had, not to mention nearly every reliever on the staff. There's no rest for the weary, though, because after a flight south to Miami following the game, the Nationals are right back to work this evening in the opener of a four-game series with the Marlins.
These two division foes have met only three times so far this season,...
The call to the bullpen came after the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals at that point trailing the Phillies 12-11. Paolo Espino was told to warm up, and that he would be pitching the bottom of the ninth if his teammates managed to tie the game or take the lead.
And when that's exactly what they did, getting a two-run single from Starlin Castro to go up 13-12 in the craziest game of the season, Espino began to make his way to the mound, now tasked with recording the final three outs but not...
In order to pull off their ninth win in 10 games, the Nationals needed another Kyle Schwarber three-run homer to highlight a five-run top of the fifth, a Josh Bell grand slam to cap a six-run top of the sixth, a two-run single by Starlin Castro in the top of the ninth to re-take a lead that had just been lost and then the first save conversion of Paolo Espino's career (with some help from a bleeding Jordy Mercer at second base).
And it all worked out. Somehow. Some way. Adding another...
As the baseball world was still up in arms over the theatrics of Joe Girardi asking umpires to check Max Scherzer for foreign substances for a third time Tuesday night, the Nationals were dealing with several injury scares late during their 3-2 victory over the Phillies.
Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Josh Harrison all were less than 100 percent healthy by the time Brad Hand escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth. And though all three are back in the lineup for this afternoon's...
Well, guess what? There's another ballgame to be played in Philadelphia. This afternoon. The buzz from Tuesday night's histrionics hasn't dissipated yet, but the Nationals and Phillies can't wait for that to happen before taking the field again for the finale of this quick, two-game series.
The Nats, by virtue of a dramatic 3-2 win that was overshadowed by Joe Girardi's attempt to get into Max Scherzer's head (or, at least, his sweaty hair), are now in position to sweep the mini-series...
So, what happens now? What happens when the Nationals and Phillies take the field again at 1:05 p.m. today for the finale of this quick, two-game series at Citizens Bank Park?
Will the mandatory, between-innings checks of both teams' pitchers by umpires looking for foreign substances continue without issue? Will either Joe Girardi or Davey Martinez try to one-up the other and request an extra examination of the opposing pitcher, as Girardi did Tuesday night with Max Scherzer, setting off a...
Let's get the most important point out of the way first: The Nationals beat the Phillies 3-2 tonight. They've now won eight of their last nine, moved into a three-way tie for second place in the National League East and continued a dramatic June surge that is making believers out of more skeptics with each passing day.
Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings in his first start back from a minor groin injury. The lineup scored three early runs off Zack Wheeler to take the lead. Austin...
Just as he was beginning to assert himself into a more prominent role in a bullpen that has needed more guys to step up, Kyle Finnegan has now landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring.
Finnegan, who was removed from the roster this afternoon as the counter-transaction to Max Scherzer's activation off the IL, hurt himself while throwing the final pitch of a quick (and very effective) relief appearance Sunday against the Mets.
Summoned out of the bullpen to replace a...
An 8-3 homestand, capped with a strong and often thrilling weekend against the Mets, was a great first step for the Nationals to get themselves back into the mix in the National League East. A good road trip this week against two more division opponents would go a long way toward making this surge truly legitimate.
It begins tonight in Philadelphia in the opener of a quick, two-game series against the Phillies. And it begins with the ace back on the mound. Yes, as he promised over the weekend,...
Erick Fedde's phone rang around midnight, a few hours following the Nationals' May 18 loss in Chicago. He was immediately asked where he was (his hotel room) and instructed not to leave.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" the right-hander finally asked.
At which point he was told the news: "You have COVID."
"I was like, it has to be a false positive," Fedde said Sunday during a one-on-one interview outside the dugout at Nationals Park. "Unfortunately, it wasn't. I guess shock is...
Is it any wonder the greatest power display in one homestand in Nationals history was good enough to be deemed the best performance of the week by anyone in the National League?
Kyle Schwarber, who turned Nationals Park into his own personal home run derby venue, was appropriately rewarded for his efforts by being named NL Player of the Week this afternoon. Not that anyone should be surprised by this announcement.
In seven total games against the Pirates and Mets, Schwarber hit .385 with six...
Kyle Schwarber first said it one week earlier, unprompted, at the end of a Zoom session with reporters in which he was trying to temper recent suggestions the 2021 Nationals were going nowhere fast.
"Remember, this is a good team," the outfielder said as he stood up from his chair. "You guys stay with us now, all right? Stay with us."
One week later, at the end of the most productive week of his playing career, Schwarber didn't feel the need to try to convince doubters of the Nationals'...