Can Suero find consistency using more off-speed pitches?

Can Suero find consistency using more off-speed pitches?
Wander Suero has thrown 2,360 pitches in his major league career, and 1,762 of them have been cutters. That's just a shade under 75 percent. Yes, three out of every four pitches he throws are cutters. Ask him why so many, and the Nationals reliever smiles and responds in English for the first time in a long Zoom session with reporters earlier this week: "It's my best pitch." That it is. Suero has spent most of the last three seasons in the majors because his cutter - when thrown well and...
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Strasburg strong in return, Robles departs with tight back

Strasburg strong in return, Robles departs with tight back
Stephen Strasburg's return from a strained left calf didn't come in an official game, but that's about the only detail of today's outing that was less than ideal. Pitching in a simulated game against teammates prior to the Nationals' Grapefruit League contest versus the Astros, Strasburg went five innings and threw 74 pitches, according to information provided by the club. Both numbers represented a step up from what manager Davey Martinez said he was expecting going into the simulated...
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Harris seeing specialist after blood clot found in arm (updated)

Harris seeing specialist after blood clot found in arm (updated)
Will Harris is leaving camp to be examined by a specialist in St. Louis after a blood clot was discovered in his right arm, a potentially serious condition for the veteran right-hander and one that could test a Nationals bullpen that likely won't be as deep on opening night as projected only a few weeks ago. "It's hard, because medically I don't know the extent of what that is," manager Davey Martinez said in a Zoom session with reporters this afternoon. "But I know it's something that...
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Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
As they attempt to get every member of their projected rotation the work they need on the day they need it to stay on schedule, the Nationals left themselves with a hole for tonight's exhibition game against the Astros. It's Stephen Strasburg's day to pitch, but the veteran right-hander instead is throwing a simulated game this afternoon so club officials can keep him in a more controlled environment as he tests out his strained left calf. And with Jon Lester having started against the Mets...
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On Bell's power, Hernández's chance and Plan B at third base

On Bell's power, Hernández's chance and Plan B at third base
Ask almost anyone who watched Thursday's game what stood out about Josh Bell, and just about every answer would involve his seventh-inning homer. Ask Davey Martinez, and the answer is something completely different, something hardly anyone besides a manager would notice. "What I love about him, if you guys didn't notice, he hit a ground ball earlier and he ran really hard to first base," Martinez said during his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "That to me, I mean, you don't teach...
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Butterflies or not, Lester pleased with delayed spring debut

Butterflies or not, Lester pleased with delayed spring debut
Jon Lester has been doing this since 2006, taking the mound on a warm spring afternoon in either Florida or Arizona and beginning the process of preparing his arm and body for the upcoming season. Today represented the 58th spring training start of the left-hander's long career. Suffice it to say, he knows the routine by now. And yet listen to how Lester described his emotions before he took the mound this afternoon in Port St. Lucie to make his delayed Nationals debut against the Mets. "I'd...
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Strasburg will start on schedule, but in simulated game

Strasburg will start on schedule, but in simulated game
Stephen Strasburg won't miss any time with a left calf strain and will make his next start Friday on schedule. But the Nationals right-hander won't be doing it in a Grapefruit League game. Strasburg will throw four innings in a simulated game against teammates prior to the Nationals' official 6:05 p.m. exhibition against the Astros, manager Davey Martinez revealed this morning. "He says he feels fine," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "But we want to make sure...
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MASN to broadcast Nationals' final two spring games

MASN to broadcast Nationals' final two spring games
MASN will be broadcasting the Nationals' final two games of the spring later this month, the network announced today. The Nats' March 28 game against the Cardinals and March 29 Grapefruit League finale against the Astros will be televised from The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Both broadcasts begin at 1 p.m. EDT. MASN or MASN2 will again broadcast every Nationals regular-season game not picked up for national broadcast, beginning with the April 3 home game against the Mets. The April 1...
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Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie
It took a little longer than expected, but today Jon Lester finally makes his Nationals spring training debut. The veteran left-hander, a key acquisition this winter, has been slotted all along as the club's No. 4 starter. But when he needed surgery to remove one of the parathyroid glands in his neck earlier this month, that schedule was delayed. The good news is, Lester is healthy and doesn't appear to have any lingering effects from the surgery. He's already faced live hitters in a...
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García's confidence has never been in doubt

García's confidence has never been in doubt
There is a word Luis García keeps using when talking about himself: confidence. He uses it not as some means of bragging about his immense talent and reputation at the ripe age of 20, but rather to explain how he managed to hold up during his first season in the major leagues and, at times, even thrive. "At every level I've played at, I've always told myself: 'It's the same baseball,' " the Nationals infielder said last week via interpreter Octavio Martinez, during a Zoom session with...
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Corbin labors, Kieboom presses, Bell homers again

Corbin labors, Kieboom presses, Bell homers again
Patrick Corbin has made three starts this spring. And he has faced the Marlins three times this spring. That's not what anyone would consider an ideal scenario, but there's not much the Nationals can do about it in this modified Grapefruit League schedule that includes only four opponents who train close to West Palm Beach, Fla. Corbin's first start (two innings, one run allowed on March 6) went perfectly fine. His second (three scoreless innings on March 11) went much better. His third...
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Lester to debut Thursday, Strasburg still testing calf

Lester to debut Thursday, Strasburg still testing calf
Jon Lester is ready to make his Nationals debut. And that could help give Stephen Strasburg a couple extra days to let his strained calf heal without disrupting the team's rotation plans to begin the season. Lester has cleared all hurdles since rejoining camp following March 5 surgery to remove one of his parathyroid glands and is slated to start Thursday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla., according to manager Davey Martinez. It'll be the left-hander's long-awaited Nationals debut...
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Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach

Lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach
The Nationals have a date this evening with the Marlins, and Patrick Corbin is once again the main attraction. Corbin, who tossed three scoreless innings against this same club in Jupiter, Fla., five days ago, now faces Miami at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where he'll look to build up his pitch count to about 60 and attempt to complete four innings for the first time this spring. The Nationals have all regulars playing behind Corbin in the field tonight, with a few differences in the...
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Parra debuts, Zimmerman slugs, Suero dominates

Parra debuts, Zimmerman slugs, Suero dominates
It was a spring training game, three at-bats and five innings in left field in Jupiter, Fla. Gerardo Parra had done something along those lines hundreds of times in his career. And yet this one felt different. Some 17 months removed from the last game he played in a Nationals uniform, the veteran outfielder wasn't just going through the motions when he took the field Monday. "I feel emotional inside," he said during a Zoom session with reporters afterward. "Really, really...
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D.C. approves 5,000 fans at Nationals Park to begin season

D.C. approves 5,000 fans at Nationals Park to begin season
The District of Columbia has approved the Nationals' request to allow crowds of up to 5,000 at Nationals Park, ensuring they will join Major League Baseball's other 29 clubs in playing in front of at least some fans to begin the 2021 season. In a letter sent to the team Monday night, D.C. Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Christopher Rodriguez said the club's March 13 waiver application to operate Nationals Park with fans has been approved. The team then made a public...
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Scherzer remains dialed in, dominates Cards again

Scherzer remains dialed in, dominates Cards again
It's only spring training, so all the usual caveats must apply. These games don't count. Different players take different approaches when they're on the field. Objectives aren't the same on March 15 as they will be on April 1. Now, having gotten all that out of the way, this needs to be said: Max Scherzer looks absolutely dialed in right now. With a dominant, four-inning performance today during a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., Scherzer built off his two previous exhibition...
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Rotation plans hinge on Strasburg and Lester's progress

Rotation plans hinge on Strasburg and Lester's progress
The Nationals remain hopeful Stephen Strasburg will be able to make his next start after straining his left calf Sunday but are preparing contingency plans in case he needs more time to heal. Strasburg is scheduled to receive treatment at the club's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., today, after which he and the Nationals medical staff will decide whether he can attempt to play catch and test his leg. If everything appears fine, he would then likely progress to throwing off a mound, where the...
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Lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

Lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter
Sure, there are some big-name Nationals starting today against the Cardinals in Jupiter. Max Scherzer is on the mound. Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman are in the lineup. But let's talk about the guy who is making his 2021 Grapefruit League debut, because I have a hunch some fans are more excited to watch him than anyone else: Gerardo Parra. Yes, the Baby Shark is back at last. After needing some extra time to get himself into shape following knee surgery last fall, Parra is ready to...
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With walk-off single, Tomás throws his hat in the ring

With walk-off single, Tomás throws his hat in the ring
The Nationals have one open spot on their bench they need to fill, and the sense entering camp was that it was likely to go either to a utility infielder like Hernán Pérez or Jordy Mercer or an experienced backup outfielder like Gerardo Parra or Yadiel Hernández. There is another possible candidate for the job, though, especially if general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez decide to prioritize offensive potential over defensive ability and versatility. His name is Yasmany...
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Ross continues to make his case for final spot in rotation

Ross continues to make his case for final spot in rotation
If the conventional wisdom entering the spring was that the No. 5 spot in the Nationals rotation was Joe Ross' to lose, the right-hander has done nothing to date to suggest he's in serious danger of coughing up the job to someone else. Ross hasn't necessarily dominated in his two starts, but he's been good enough. He's been healthy. And he's feeling quite comfortable sliding back into the five-day routine of a big league starter after sitting out the 2020 season. "It's just good to be...
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