Bad weekend for Nationals at least ends on positive notes

Bad weekend for Nationals at least ends on positive notes
Let's not try to sugarcoat this: The Nationals had a bad weekend in Atlanta. They lost three winnable games, fell at one point a full 10 games back in a division race that's all but over now and saw their once comfortable cushion in the wild card race shrink. They lost Kurt Suzuki and Roenis Elías to injuries. They couldn't do squat against the Braves rotation for three nights. All of that makes for a bad weekend. That doesn't mean it was a lost weekend. Sunday's events at SunTrust Park...
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"Super emotional" Barrett completes journey back to majors

"Super emotional" Barrett completes journey back to majors
By the time Aaron Barrett walked into the Nationals clubhouse Wednesday morning, his story had already gone viral. While he was calling family members and friends the previous afternoon with the news and making travel arrangements for them to get to D.C. in the next 24 hours, the video clip posted by the Harrisburg Senators of manager Matt LeCroy telling Barrett he was being called up to the big leagues was being shared and liked and viewed 1.2 million times. Nationals fans already knew...
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No late heroics this time from Nats, who fall to Mets

No late heroics this time from Nats, who fall to Mets
Recent history - in other words, history that occurred within the previous 18 hours - suggested the Nationals had the Mets right where they wanted them late this afternoon. Yes, the Nats trailed the entire way, by as many as six runs in the sixth inning. But given what happened Tuesday night on South Capitol Street, that hardly felt like an insurmountable deficit. Thing is, seven-run rallies really don't happen all that often. Shoot, Tuesday's epic comeback in the bottom of the ninth was a...
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Soto getting X-rays, Cabrera getting starts over Dozier (down 7-4)

Soto getting X-rays, Cabrera getting starts over Dozier (down 7-4)
Lost in the shuffle of Tuesday night's record-breaking comeback win was the fact Juan Soto took a fastball off his right elbow in the sixth inning and was in serious pain. Not serious enough to prevent Soto from playing a big role in the Nationals' late comeback, but serious enough to necessitate an X-ray this morning. The club is awaiting word of that test, but Soto is in the lineup for today's series finale against the Mets. And even if he is hurt, it didn't prevent him from delivering...
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Game 138 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 138 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
So, who's ready for another ballgame? Last night sure was fun, but the Nationals don't have any time to revel in their record-setting comeback win, because they've got a series finale with the Mets to play this afternoon. It's now the rubber game of the series, and it's an important one for the Nats, who can't afford to lose any ground to the Braves before heading down to Atlanta for this weekend's four-game series that could represent their last best chance at making the National League...
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Suzuki's walk-off homer caps stunning comeback (updated)

Suzuki's walk-off homer caps stunning comeback (updated)
Davey Martinez has been imploring his Nationals to "stay in the fight" all summer long, no matter how many games back they've been in the standings, no matter how many runs they've trailed by in any particular game, no matter how big a hole their bullpen puts them in late. "Think positive, that's all I can tell you," the second-year manager said. "If you let this game go like this (motioning up and down) it's not going to be good. Just stay right here (motioning a straight line) and...
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MRI reveals bone bruise on side of Eaton's right knee

MRI reveals bone bruise on side of Eaton's right knee
Adam Eaton has a "bad bone bruise" on the side of his right knee, according to manager Davey Martinez, an injury that will continue to keep the Nationals right fielder out of the lineup for an indeterminate amount of time. Martinez described Eaton's status as "day-to-day" but acknowledged the best he could offer right now is to serve as an emergency pinch-hitter, his knee still preventing him from running the bases or playing the field. "It's the running that gets him," Martinez said....
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Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Taylor, Difo recalled)

Game 137 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Taylor, Difo recalled)
The Nationals promised more September call-ups, and they have delivered with two more additions today: Michael A. Taylor and Wilmer Difo. Taylor's promotion from Double-A Harrisburg isn't surprising, given Adam Eaton's lingering knee injury (we will hopefully know more about that soon). Taylor hit only .248 with a .324 on-base percentage and 69 strikeouts in 57 minor league games, but he did get hot down the stretch, hitting .383 with six doubles, four homers and 14 RBIs in his last 12 games...
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Is the real Scherzer ready for showdown with deGrom?

Is the real Scherzer ready for showdown with deGrom?
The Nationals have made no secret about it all along. They know if they are ultimately going to achieve what they want to achieve this season, Max Scherzer is going to have to help lead the way. Not the diminished version of Scherzer we've seen so far in his two starts since returning from the injured list. The full version of Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young Award winning version. The obsessed competitor version. The "I'm much better than you are" version. But they also acknowledge they...
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In rare clunker, Nationals trail big early in loss to Mets

In rare clunker, Nationals trail big early in loss to Mets
The Nationals hadn't been in this position in a while, trailing by a significant margin and unable to mount any kind of effective counterattack. They hadn't trailed any game by three or more runs since Aug. 17 (in which they actually rallied from five runs down to take the lead against the Brewers before losing in extra innings). They hadn't trailed by three or more runs and not come back to at least tie things up since Aug. 3, when the Diamondbacks torched Stephen Strasburg (and Gerardo...
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Doolittle better in return, but still has room to grow

Doolittle better in return, but still has room to grow
Davey Martinez didn't want to throw Sean Doolittle to the wolves in his return from the injured list, but neither did the Nationals manager want to throw his rehabbing closer to the kittens. In the end, Martinez found a suitable middle ground for Doolittle to make his return Sunday afternoon: in the ninth inning, but with a six-run lead. Doolittle responded with a 1-2-3 frame, inducing three flyouts from the Marlins to wrap up the Nats' 9-3 victory and complete a series sweep. It was an...
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Game 136 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 136 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
The soft portion of the Nationals' schedule is now finished. They just went 4-1 against the Orioles and Marlins. Now, they've got 27 remaining games on the regular season schedule, 24 of which come against teams with winning records. It begins today with the opener of a three-game series against the Mets, who are kind of hanging on for dear life at this point, only two games over .500. Of course, we saw only a few weeks ago what they're capable of doing against the Nats, especially late in...
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Nationals in rare company with 200-strikeout pitchers

Nationals in rare company with 200-strikeout pitchers
In this age of record-breaking strikeout totals, this should be a more common occurrence. But when Patrick Corbin notched his seventh strikeout of Sunday's game, he lifted the Nationals rotation into some awfully elite territory. Corbin joined Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in surpassing the 200-strikeout mark for the season. That's three pitchers on the same staff with at least 200 strikeouts this year. And that hasn't happened very often in major league history. In fact, this is only...
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Celebrations aplenty as Nationals sweep Marlins (updated)

Celebrations aplenty as Nationals sweep Marlins (updated)
Ryan Zimmerman danced in the dugout for the first time, only a short while after Anthony Rendon broke his longstanding club record for RBIs in a single season. Rendon's record-breaking hit - his third homer in less than 24 hours - drew more chants of "MVP! MVP!" from the crowd at Nationals Park. And during a pitching change, as "Circle of Life" played over the speakers and adult fans held their children up in the air a la Simba in "The Lion King," the camera cut to the dugout, where...
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Eaton still sitting, could be ready Monday (Nats up 7-3)

Eaton still sitting, could be ready Monday (Nats up 7-3)
The Nationals remain cautious with Adam Eaton, who hurt his right knee Wednesday night and hasn't started a game since. But they remain optimistic the right fielder will be back in the lineup for Monday's series opener against the Mets. Eaton took a pitch off the area just below his right knee in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Orioles. He briefly remained in the game, but after struggling to advance from first to third base on Anthony Rendon's subsequent double, he was...
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Doolittle and Zimmerman return, but in lesser roles for now

Doolittle and Zimmerman return, but in lesser roles for now
The first wave of September call-ups for the Nationals includes four players returning from injury, three position players to provide some bench depth and zero traditional relievers. The Nats added seven players to the active roster before today's series finale against Marlins, activating Sean Doolittle, Ryan Zimmerman, Jeremy Hellickson and Austin Voth off the injured list and recalling infielder Adrián Sanchez and outfielder Andrew Stevenson from Double-A Harrisburg, plus catcher Raudy...
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Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 135 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
It's Sept. 1, and what a long strange trip it's been for the Nationals to get to this point. Who would've thought on May 1, or even July 1, that they would enter September with not only a 3 1/2-game lead for home field advantage in the wild card game but a seven-game lead for appearing in that wild card game at all? The Nats will look to continue their meteoric rise this afternoon with a series sweep of a Marlins team they've already beaten in 12 of 15 matchups this season. They'll have...
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Is Rendon building a legitimate MVP case?

Is Rendon building a legitimate MVP case?
Davey Martinez first mentioned it last weekend in Chicago, and only when straight-up asked by a reporter if he wanted to make a case for Anthony Rendon as National League MVP. "I'll make a case for him right now, yeah," the Nationals manager said. "MVP. Gold Glove. My man, Anthony!" Everyone laughed. Then Martinez brought it up again late Friday night, unprompted this time after Rendon delivered the walk-off single the Nats needed to beat the Marlins. "He's been phenomenal," Martinez...
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After Hudson blows lead, Rendon saves the day (updated)

After Hudson blows lead, Rendon saves the day (updated)
They danced with the devil all night, failing to capitalize against the National League's worst team despite countless opportunities. They were sloppy in the field. They got only five innings out of their starter, then watched their bullpen blow a late lead. Even when they retook the lead late, they still couldn't hold onto it. Until their best player - perhaps even a legitimate NL MVP candidate - saved the day just in time to avoid total disaster. After watching Daniel Hudson blow a save in...
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Bullpen gets two key arms back, drops Grace from roster

Bullpen gets two key arms back, drops Grace from roster
The Nationals made more changes to their ever-changing bullpen today, and there's still one more big change to come in a few days that could finally solidify that group for the season's final month. The Nats activated Roenis Elías off the injured list and Hunter Strickland off the paternity leave list this afternoon, bringing all three relievers acquired on July 31 together again after a long wait. Needing to clear roster spots, they designated struggling Matt Grace for assignment and...
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