Nats bounce back with comfortable win over Jays (updated)

Nats bounce back with comfortable win over Jays (updated)
If there has been a consistent theme to a mostly disappointing April for the Nationals, it has been the all-or-nothing nature of most ballgames. There have been very few run-of-the-mill, back-and-forth contests. Most have either been comfortable wins or blowout losses. The lineup either explodes for a big night or is completely shut down. The starting pitcher either looks fantastic or gets blasted. In the long run, that formula isn't going to take the Nats to the place they desire. But in the...
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Lester still waiting for decision, Soto still waiting to throw

Lester still waiting for decision, Soto still waiting to throw
The Nationals haven't yet figured out their pitching plans for the weekend. And it doesn't appear they will until they've decided if Jon Lester truly is ready to make his long-awaited season debut. Lester, who opened the season on the COVID-19 injured list, has made three rehab starts at the club's alternate training site in Fredericksburg. On Sunday, he threw 90 pitches over six innings, which would typically be as much as a pitcher needed before he was activated. And the Nats may indeed...
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Game 21 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays in Dunedin

Game 21 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays in Dunedin
The Nationals need to generate offense any way they can right now. How do they do that, given the resources currently available to them? They have to stick with some of their struggling regulars and sprinkle in some backups who create more favorable matchups. Tonight, with left-hander Steven Matz on the mound for the Blue Jays, that means an emphasis on right-handed hitters. Manager Davey Martinez decided the best way to do that was to stack four right-handed bats atop his lineup (Trea Turner,...
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Slumping at the plate, Schwarber is still performing in the field

Slumping at the plate, Schwarber is still performing in the field
Kyle Schwarber has not lived up to the standard expected of him through his first two weeks on the Nationals' active roster, and he'd be the first to admit that. The 28-year-old outfielder is batting an ice-cold .192 (10-for-52) with one homer, three RBIs, 18 strikeouts and only two walks in 13 games since coming off the COVID-19 injured list. There have been some hard-hit balls recently, including a 409-foot shot to the base of the wall in center field Sunday in New York that was snagged by...
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How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?

How do Nats find ways to score runs while Soto's out?
You can talk about the reasons the Nationals are currently 8-11 and point out that Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg are currently on the injured list, that nobody in their rotation outside of Max Scherzer owns an ERA under 4.64 or that nine members of the opening day roster were in quarantine on opening day. And all of those are indeed among the reasons the Nats are 8-11 as they spend this off-day on the Florida Gulf Coast in advance of a two-game interleague series versus the Blue Jays at their...
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Corbin's struggles, Nats' mistakes lead to another loss (updated)

Corbin's struggles, Nats' mistakes lead to another loss (updated)
The final tally - Mets 4, Nationals 0 - suggested a one-sided game. It suggested yet another rough start for Patrick Corbin and yet another lifeless afternoon at the plate for a Nats lineup that has been shut out five times in 19 games to begin the season. In reality, this had a chance to be a far more competitive ballgame, perhaps even a victory for the visitors. It proved not to be because the Nationals did just about everything in their power to spoil the countless opportunities they had to...
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Nats hope healthy Zimmerman doesn't go cold after week off

Nats hope healthy Zimmerman doesn't go cold after week off
It's not uncommon for Ryan Zimmerman to go an entire week without appearing in a major league game. This is a player, after all, who has dealt with every manner of injury throughout his 16-year career, and has required time off both in the short and long term to get his body right. But never before has Zimmerman missed an entire week while on the Nationals' active roster and, by all accounts, healthy enough to play. Until this week. It's been seven days since the face of the franchise showed...
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Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 19 lineups: Nats at Mets
Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...
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Hernandez makes most of rare start, makes case for more

Hernandez makes most of rare start, makes case for more
Yadiel Hernandez has two stints on the Nationals roster already this season, once because of the club's end-of-spring COVID-19 outbreak and once because of Juan Soto's shoulder strain. He entered Saturday having taken 11 plate appearances in eight games, starting only one of them. So what did the 33-year-old rookie outfielder think when he learned he not only was in Saturday's lineup against the Mets, but would be batting second? "In reality, I wasn't expecting it," he said during a Zoom...
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Early offense, Ross' return to form produce blowout win (updated)

Early offense, Ross' return to form produce blowout win (updated)
Davey Martinez sat in a portion of the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field designated for Zoom press conferences around 1:30 p.m. today and expressed a profound desire for his Nationals to do something in particular in their upcoming game against the Mets. "I think we need to start scoring earlier in the game," the Nats manager said. "We've been scoring runs late. We need to start scoring runs early to take a little bit of pressure off our starting pitching, and see where that takes...
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Seeking offensive spark, Martinez trying out new look at top

Seeking offensive spark, Martinez trying out new look at top
Few right now would envy Davey Martinez, whose challenge to fill out a nightly lineup card is about as daunting as it's been at any point in his four seasons as Nationals manager. Juan Soto is on the injured list. Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber are slumping. And Anthony Rendon is in Anaheim (albeit injured himself). So on the heels of a 6-0 loss to Jacob deGrom and the Mets - the Nats' fourth shutout loss in 17 games to begin the season - Martinez recognized he needed to try something different...
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Game 18 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 18 lineups: Nats at Mets
The Nationals had no chance last night against Jacob deGrom. They can only hope to have a better opportunity for success today against Marcus Stroman. Stroman doesn't have nearly deGrom's track record, but he's been no less effective to begin the season. The right-hander, who opted out of the 2020 campaign, is 3-0 with an 0.90 ERA, having shut down the Phillies twice and the Rockies once. Unlike deGrom, Stroman is a pitch-to-contact guy. He has only 11 strikeouts in 20 innings to date. But...
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With Soto out, Bell and Schwarber's slumps are magnified

With Soto out, Bell and Schwarber's slumps are magnified
Josh Bell has been late on fastballs since the slugger made his delayed season debut nearly two weeks ago. He's been trying to catch up ever since, and Friday night's game in New York did nothing to help that process along. Facing Jacob deGrom and his 100 mph fastball all night, Bell had no chance. He saw a total of 11 pitches in three at-bats, nine of which were fastballs, seven of which he swung at. He made contact twice, fouling off one pitch and lofting a lazy fly ball to center field on...
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Nationals helpless against brilliant deGrom (updated)

Nationals helpless against brilliant deGrom (updated)
The Nationals know a thing or two about brilliant pitching performances. This is the franchise, after all, that has seen Max Scherzer throw two no-hitters and strike out 20 batters in another game, Stephen Strasburg strike out 14 in his major league debut and Jordan Zimmermann hold the Marlins hitless on the final day of the regular season. It takes a lot to impress these guys, and rightfully so. Tonight, though, might have done the trick. The Nats have never been no-hit since arriving in town...
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Nats' four-man rotation creates crowded bullpen

Nats' four-man rotation creates crowded bullpen
The Nationals are proceeding for now with a four-man rotation, taking advantage of three scheduled off-days in the span of a week. But they're still keeping their current No. 5 starter, plus another starting prospect, on the pitching staff as relievers for this weekend's series against the Mets. With Erick Fedde, Joe Ross and Patrick Corbin scheduled to start the next three days at Citi Field, then an off-day Monday, there was no need to use a fifth starter. Max Scherzer will take the mound...
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Game 17 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 17 lineups: Nats at Mets
The 2021 season was supposed to begin with a three-game showdown between the Nationals and Mets, but of course that entire series in D.C. was postponed following the Nats' COVID-19 outbreak. So the first of 19 meetings between the division rivals takes place tonight at Citi Field in the opener of a three-game weekend series. Just as they would've on opening day, the Nationals will have to go up against Jacob deGrom tonight. It's never an easy challenge facing arguably the best pitcher in...
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Bullpen proving to be Nats' most reliable unit early in season

Bullpen proving to be Nats' most reliable unit early in season
It's been a while since the Nationals opened a season with a reliable bullpen. How long? Try five years. Way back in 2016, if anyone can remember ancient history, Dusty Baker's relief corps enjoyed a dominant April. That group ended the season's opening month with a 2.53 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, led by Jonathan Papelbon's eight saves, Shawn Kelley's 0.00 ERA and contributions from the likes of Blake Treinen, Matt Belisle, Oliver Pérez and Yusmeiro Petit. Yeah, things have changed just a bit...
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Under the circumstances, Nats' 7-9 start is worthy of praise

Under the circumstances, Nats' 7-9 start is worthy of praise
To suggest the Nationals' season to date has been anything but a disappointment would be inaccurate and a far too rosy view of the situation. Between injuries, pitching blowups, struggling regulars and some really ugly games, there have been a lot of negative developments already in the last 2 1/2 weeks. And yet, when you consider all that has befallen this team in such a short amount of time, and the stiff competition it has faced through the season's first 16 games, it's not unreasonable...
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Scherzer and bullpen combine for 1-0 shutout of Cards (updated)

Scherzer and bullpen combine for 1-0 shutout of Cards (updated)
Max Scherzer still has it, thank you very much. And the Nationals bullpen still has some intestinal fortitude, in case you were wondering. On a cold, windy late afternoon in which their offense asked them to make one early run hold up, Scherzer and three Nats relievers did just that, eking out a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals by the skin of their teeth to capture their second series in a week from St. Louis. "We'd like to win by more," Scherzer said on Zoom afterward. "But hey, sometimes...
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Soto stays positive, Strasburg is throwing, weekend rotation set

Soto stays positive, Strasburg is throwing, weekend rotation set
Juan Soto can't pinpoint any precise moment when he thinks he hurt his left shoulder. It just started bothering him in recent days, especially when throwing, so he let the Nationals training staff know and they had him undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning. Little could the 22-year-old slugger have imagined he'd wind up on the 10-day injured list several hours later with a diagnosed shoulder strain. Since that moment, Soto has tried not to stress over this development and instead think about the...
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