After 75-pitch rehab start, Nats face decision on Strasburg

After 75-pitch rehab start, Nats face decision on Strasburg
Stephen Strasburg appears to have done what he needed to do in today's rehab start for Triple-A Rochester. Now, the Nationals have to decide if it's enough to activate the right-hander off the injured list. Strasburg threw 75 pitches over 4 1/3 scoreless innings this afternoon in Trenton, N.J., temporary home of the Buffalo Bisons while their ballpark is being prepped for the Blue Jays. Making his first official minor league rehab start after pitching in two simulated games at Nationals Park...
Continue reading

Game 36 lineups: Nats at D-backs

Game 36 lineups: Nats at D-backs
The Nationals' series finale in Arizona this afternoon is important, because they're trying to win the series and head to Chicago on a positive note. But there's another important event taking place this afternoon, across the country in Trenton, N.J., where Stephen Strasburg is making a rehab start for Triple-A Rochester. It's important, of course, for Strasburg to emerge from his start (planned for five innings and 75-80 innings) healthy, because if that happens, he may be deemed ready to...
Continue reading

Groundball-heavy Soto believes he's close to breaking out

Groundball-heavy Soto believes he's close to breaking out
Any discussion of Juan Soto being in a slump has to include the qualifier that a Soto slump isn't like any other hitter's slump. Other hitters go 1-for-30 with 17 strikeouts, and that's clearly a slump. Soto goes 6-for-30 with six strikeouts and we start worrying about him. Soto has set the bar for himself extraordinarily high. But having said that, it's not inappropriate to point out he's not hitting like himself right now. And hasn't been for a while. In his first 10 games since coming...
Continue reading

Ross roughed up as Nationals fall in Arizona (updated)

Ross roughed up as Nationals fall in Arizona (updated)
Davey Martinez knew what Joe Ross had been getting away with in recent starts before tonight's game in Arizona, and so the Nationals manager knew exactly what his right-hander needed to do to be successful in this outing. "The pitches are up," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "When he's down, he's really effective." As such, it wasn't hard to figure out why Ross wasn't effective tonight during an 11-4 trouncing at the hands of the Diamondbacks. Plain and...
Continue reading

Gomes producing at the plate despite heavy workload

Gomes producing at the plate despite heavy workload
Yan Gomes had come up to bat with a chance to hit for the cycle before. Four times, in fact, as a big leaguer. But never like this. On those four previous occasions (once with the Nationals, three times with the Indians), Gomes needed a triple to complete the cycle. And in each case, he had only one at-bat at the end of the game to try to do it. So imagine how surreal it felt for the 33-year-old catcher when he stepped up to bat in the top of the sixth Friday night in Arizona, having already...
Continue reading

Game 35 lineups: Nats at D-backs

Game 35 lineups: Nats at D-backs
The Nationals lineup had its best night of the season Friday in Arizona. Why not stick with it again tonight, right? That's Davey Martinez's thinking, and it's hard to fault the manager for that philosophy, especially after he spent the better part of the last month tinkering every single day with a new-look batting order. So tonight the Nats will again go with Trea Turner and Josh Harrison at the top, Josh Bell in the No. 6 spot and Victor Robles at the bottom, behind the pitcher. It's a...
Continue reading

Nats explode for 17 runs in desert rout of D-backs (updated)

Nats explode for 17 runs in desert rout of D-backs (updated)
After an unseasonably cool spring on the East Coast that more often than not left their bats ice-cold, the Nationals might well have stepped onto the tarmac at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix late Thursday night, breathed in the scorching hot, dry desert air and wondered if they could just head straight to Chase Field to begin their series against the Diamondbacks early. Nothing fixes an unproductive lineup like temperatures in the upper 90s and a relative humidity of 10 percent....
Continue reading

Still thriving, Hudson tries to enjoy every moment he's got left

Still thriving, Hudson tries to enjoy every moment he's got left
Daniel Hudson was sitting at home in Arizona last winter, contemplating his memorable 2019 run to a World Series title and the frustrating and surreal 2020 that followed, and made a vow to himself to enjoy the 2021 season no matter what. Why? Because he has no idea at this point if he'll even get a chance to be on a big league mound in 2022. "This is the last year on this contract, and I don't know what's going to happen next year. I really don't," the 34-year-old Nationals reliever said...
Continue reading

Strasburg to start Sunday for Rochester in Trenton

Strasburg to start Sunday for Rochester in Trenton
Stephen Strasburg will make a rehab start for Triple-A Rochester on Sunday, potentially the right-hander's final tune-up before he rejoins the Nationals rotation, this start coming on the road against Buffalo, even though the game will be played in Trenton, N.J. Confused enough yet? You're not alone. The most pertinent detail: Strasburg is going to face opposing hitters in an actual ballgame instead of teammates in a simulated game, the first time he will have done so since landing on the...
Continue reading

Game 34 lineups: Nats at D-backs (Corbin on paternity leave)

Game 34 lineups: Nats at D-backs (Corbin on paternity leave)
Max Scherzer appears to be on one of those dominant rolls we've seen from him before, the kind that turns every one of his starts into must-see TV. Over his last six outings, the three-time Cy Young Award winner owns a 1.79 ERA, 0.769 WHIP and 52 strikeouts against only seven walks. (And remember, that stretch includes a seven-run blowup start against the Blue Jays, so he's been unbelievably great in the five other appearances.) So even though it may require some extra caffeine, it might be...
Continue reading

Resurgent rotation trying to lead the way again

Resurgent rotation trying to lead the way again
If you're looking for reasons to remain optimistic about the Nationals' chances of climbing out of last place and back into the thick of the National League East race, look no further than the club's longstanding biggest strength: the rotation. Despite some notable April blowups, Nats starters have found their way again and are now leading the way, as they were expected to all along. Overall, the Nationals rotation owns a 4.27 ERA, which ranks only 17th in the majors, and 1.215 WHIP, which...
Continue reading

Nats get big blasts early, big start from Corbin to win (updated)

Nats get big blasts early, big start from Corbin to win (updated)
The Nationals aren't going to amount to much this season if Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Patrick Corbin aren't consistently contributing to the process. They all know that, and it's why manager Davey Martinez isn't going to give up on any of them anytime soon. The roster general manager Mike Rizzo built this winter included Bell, Schwarber and Corbin in prominent positions, the first two in the heart of his lineup and the latter in the heart of his rotation. So the early-season struggles...
Continue reading

Nats want one more tune-up for Strasburg before his return

Nats want one more tune-up for Strasburg before his return
Stephen Strasburg is close to rejoining the Nationals rotation, but first the club needs their rehabbing right-hander to build up his innings and pitch count one more time. They just need to figure out where and when that final tune-up will take place. Strasburg, who has already pitched in two simulated games at Nationals Park, was scheduled to throw a bullpen session this morning before the team's series finale against the Phillies. His next turn to start would come Sunday, but it hasn't...
Continue reading

Game 33 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 33 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
To say the Nationals need to find a way to win today's series finale against the Phillies is a gross understatement. No, the season isn't over if they lose again, but if they get swept by Philadelphia after losing two of three to the Yankees after getting swept by the Braves ... well, that's not a position you want to be in. So the pressure's on this afternoon on South Capitol Street, which is probably the last thing Davey Martinez wants. He held a team meeting after Wednesday night's loss...
Continue reading

Cavalli's pro career off to a rousing start in Wilmington

Cavalli's pro career off to a rousing start in Wilmington
If you're in need of a little pick-me-up following Wednesday night's extra-inning loss to the Phillies, here's one that might do the trick: Cade Cavalli's professional career is off to a fantastic start. The Nationals' 2020 first-round pick authored another impressive outing Wednesday for high Single-A Wilmington, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out eight during an eventual 1-0 win over Jersey Shore. Cavalli surrendered only one hit, a third-inning single by Jonathan Guzman,...
Continue reading

Hand blows another save, Nats lose in 10th (updated)

Hand blows another save, Nats lose in 10th (updated)
They had played far from a perfect ballgame, and certainly they didn't tear the cover off the ball, but the Nationals nonetheless put themselves in position to beat the Phillies this evening, thanks to an effective start by Jon Lester, some timely hits in the sixth, a massive blunder in the outfield by Bryce Harper and strong setup work from Sam Clay and Daniel Hudson. Victory, however, could not be secured until Brad Hand pitched a scoreless ninth, something that only a week ago felt like as...
Continue reading

Suero activated, Espino optioned to Rochester

Suero activated, Espino optioned to Rochester
The Nationals have activated Wander Suero from the 10-day injured list and will have their workhorse reliever available for tonight's game against the Phillies. To clear space on their active roster for Suero, the Nats optioned veteran right-hander Paolo Espino to Triple-A Rochester. Suero, who had been out since April 18 with a left oblique strain, was cleared to return three days after a one-appearance rehab assignment for Rochester. Starting the game against Lehigh Valley, he gave up two...
Continue reading

Game 32 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 32 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
The Nationals need to score runs tonight. This does not qualify as some sort of huge revelation. It's simply the truth. Over their last eight games, the Nats have scored an average of 3.4 runs on 7.5 hits. Which isn't great, but it's even worse when you consider they exploded for 11 runs on 10 hits during Friday night's win at Yankee Stadium. Throw that outlier from the mix, and you get an average of 2.3 runs on 7.1 hits during this stretch. So the mission tonight is clear: Score, and score...
Continue reading

Emotional Zimmermann retires, recalls memories of time in D.C.

Emotional Zimmermann retires, recalls memories of time in D.C.
Jordan Zimmermann, as publicly stoic and unemotional a ballplayer as you'll ever meet, was already feeling his eyes begin to well up as he discussed his decision to retire Tuesday on a Zoom session with reporters who cover each of the three teams he pitched for during his career. "I just felt like after 15 years of playing ball, my mind was still in it, but my body wasn't," the right-hander said. And when, about 12 minutes into the call, Zimmermann was asked by a writer from Detroit about...
Continue reading

Nats squander chances at plate again, fall to Phillies (updated)

Nats squander chances at plate again, fall to Phillies (updated)
You can point to a number of reasons the Nationals find themselves in the basement of a tight National League East division in mid-May, but inevitably you come back to the same irrefutable conclusion: They just aren't scoring enough runs on a consistent basis to win games. Even when they get a less-than-stellar showing from their starter, or meltdown from their bullpen, the Nats still find themselves facing a key moment late in a game in which one big hit with runners on base could be the...
Continue reading