The Nationals are getting the night off. And then another shortened doubleheader Saturday. If the weather permits.
Tonight's series opener against the Brewers was officially postponed, with sustained rain forecast for the entire evening and into Saturday. The two clubs, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, made the call about 3 1/2 hours before scheduled first pitch, opting not to wait it out and risk another lengthy delay like the Nats and Reds experienced Wednesday night before the...
The Nationals produced a grand total of two extra-base hits during their just-completed three-game series with the Reds. One was Josh Bell's ninth-inning homer on Tuesday night, one that helped them avoid a shutout but still resulted in a 2-1 loss.
The other was Luis GarcÃa's triple Thursday afternoon, and though it had no significant bearing on account of the Nats' 5-3 win, it did offer a glimpse into the 21-year-old's ability and growth at the plate.
"A big at-bat in that moment right...
There's no mystery surrounding the Nationals right now. Nobody has to dig deep into the analytics trying to figure out why they're not winning enough games. The answer is right there for everyone to see, young and old, expert and novice, old school and new school.
They aren't hitting. At all.
Tonight's 3-0, seven-inning loss to the Reds in the nightcap of a pseudo-doubleheader necessitated by the suspension of Wednesday night's game due to rain would have been alarming if not for the fact...
After winning the completion of Wednesday night's suspended game, the Nationals now attempt to sweep this not-really-a-doubleheader against the Reds, hoping to get a big-time start from Stephen Strasburg and avoid using the relievers they needed to close out the earlier 5-3 win.
Strasburg was pretty good in his first start off the injured list, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Orioles, though he pretty clearly was running out of gas by the fifth. The Nats will hope the right-hander...
With five innings on tap this afternoon to complete the game that only lasted four innings Wednesday night before a storm barreled through town, then a seven-inning game still to come later tonight as part of this pseudo-doubleheader, Nationals manager Davey Martinez had to concoct a pitching plan that would give his club the best chance to win both games.
And when the Nats added to the three-run lead they already held when Wednesday's game was suspended, the path should've been simple for...
It's not often a team has the ability to change its roster mid-game, but the Nationals and Reds both were afforded the opportunity today for the completion of Wednesday night's suspended game.
The Nats have activated Tanner Rainey off the COVID-19 injured list and will have the reliever available to them for the final five innings of the resumed game, plus tonight's seven-inning series finale. They'll also have Kyle McGowin available for the nightcap even though the right-hander was...
The only real offensive highlight of Tuesday night's 2-1 loss at Nationals Park was Josh Bell's bottom-of-the-ninth homer. A homer that was a long time coming for the switch-hitting slugger, because it came from the right side of the plate.
Though he has been breaking out of his season-long funk as a left-handed batter over the last two weeks, Bell hadn't shown much as a right-handed batter yet. The switch-hitter entered Tuesday's game just 2-for-25 on the season when batting righty against...
These Nationals have teased us before. They've had moments over the last two months when they appear to have figured things out, especially at the plate, only to fail to sustain any sense of positive momentum.
So even though they looked much better over the weekend while sweeping the Orioles, the Nats were in no way guaranteed of showing up at the park tonight and picking up where they left off.
And they most certainly did not. Barely making a peep at the plate against a Reds pitching staff...
In deciding who would take Victor Robles' spot on their roster, the Nationals elected not to promote another outfielder from Triple-A Rochester, nor did they call up their top prospect who only two months ago was supposed to be their starting third baseman.
The Nats' decision to recall infielder Luis GarcÃa before tonight's series opener against the Reds instead of Carter Kieboom or an outfielder revealed a few things about the current state of things in the organization.
With no other...
The last time the Nationals swept a series, they proceeded to lose seven of their next eight games and dig themselves into a hole they're still trying to climb all the way out of. So this weekend's sweep of the Orioles, while encouraging, certainly doesn't guarantee this team has turned a corner. We won't know about that until we see how the Nats perform this week against the Reds and Brewers.
Tonight's series opener versus Cincinnati will see Max Scherzer on the mound, so that's always...
Upon signing with the Reds days before pitchers and catchers were due to report for spring training, Sean Doolittle took a look at Cincinnati's 2021 schedule. He scanned the entire 162-game slate, but he specifically noted when one particular road series would be taking place.
May 25-27: at Washington.
Doolittle has tried not to think about it too much since, because there were far more important matters to address. On the heels of an injury-plagued and ineffective 2020 season with the...
Ryan Zimmerman knows what you're thinking. He knows you want him to play more than he is. He knows you believe he should be in the Nationals lineup more than a couple of times a week. And he gets it.
But he also knows it would be a mistake in the long run.
"You hear everyone saying, and rightfully so: 'This guy's raking. How are you not finding him more playing time?' " the 36-year-old first baseman said Friday afternoon during an in-person interview near the backstop at Nationals Park....
During the course of one ballgame, a manager's toughest decision often boils down to the following question: Do everything in your power to win today's game or hold back in order to protect overused players for the long haul?
There's never one right answer to the dilemma, and a skipper can twist himself into knots trying to justify either approach. So when this very quandary arose this afternoon on South Capitol Street and Davey Martinez had to decide whether it was worth playing all of his...
The Nationals have placed both Will Harris and Victor Robles on the 10-day injured list, the struggling reliever still unable to get over the mysterious right hand ailment that has plagued him since spring training and the young outfielder still not ready to return from a right ankle sprain he suffered four days ago.
Kyle McGowin was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Harris' spot and provide manager Davey Martinez with a fresh arm out of the bullpen for today's series finale against...
The Nationals still have their issues in the big picture, but they still have a chance to sweep a series today. And that's nothing to scoff at. At this point, they've got to seize any opportunity they get, so a win today over the Orioles would be a welcome development. (It also would give them a 20-23 record, making another 19-31 start mathematically impossible this season. Oh, and if you didn't know, today is the two-year anniversary of the Nats falling to 19-31 after getting swept by the...
On a day when pitchers across the board were getting hit hard, often over the fence, the sight of Brad Hand trotting in from the bullpen for the top of the ninth couldn't have been especially comforting for Nationals fans.
Less than 24 hours removed from the latest in a concerning string of shaky outings, here was Hand again entrusted by manager Davey Martinez to close out a wild 12-9 victory over the Orioles. And it wasn't unfair to question if he was the right man for the job at this moment...
The Nationals, believe it or not, actually are capable of hitting with runners in scoring position. And scoring in bunches. Even hitting a grand slam. And, most significantly, coming back from a sizeable deficit to win a ballgame.
Yes, they do have the ability to do all of those things. Perhaps not as frequently as everyone would like, but that skill set is buried away deep inside the 26 men who wear curly W helmets when they step to the plate, ready to come out every once in a while.
And when...
Victor Robles is out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day with what has now officially been diagnosed as a sprained right ankle, and if his condition doesn't improve in the next 24 hours, the club may have no choice but to put its starting center fielder on the injured list.
Robles, who hurt himself in scary looking fashion rounding first base Wednesday night in Chicago, has shown some signs of improvement since, but not enough to allow him to play.
"As of right now, no,"...
It was an enjoyable Friday night at Nationals Park, where the home team saw Stephen Strasburg pitch 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his return from the injured list, Josh Bell go 3-for-5 and make a key play in the field, and a season-high crowd of 14,369 cheer the Nats on to victory over the Orioles. Whether they can actually use that as a springboard to a winning streak is up to them.
Jon Lester starts this afternoon's game on South Capitol Street, and after a rough outing in his return to Wrigley...
Josh Bell's first responsibility when Trey Mancini ripped a ball into the right field corner in the top of the sixth Friday night was to make sure the Orioles slugger actually touched first base as he attempted to stretch his hit into a double.
It's a small thing, and rarely does it come into play. But in just doing what he was supposed to do and staying back to keep an eye on Mancini rounding first, Bell actually was in perfect position to watch Juan Soto's throw from the right field corner...