MILWAUKEE - It's not enough to completely change the complexion of the lineup, but the Nationals do have to feel a little better about the state of things now because they've got Anthony Rendon back 17 days after he was hit by a pitch in the left elbow. Yes, the Nationals have officially activated Rendon off the 10-day injured list. He'll be at third base and should be batting third, a major boon to the club both at the plate and in the field.
The corresponding roster move: Carter Kieboom...
MILWAUKEE - For the first time in a long time, the Nationals expect to be adding significant players to their active roster today instead of subtracting them.
Anthony Rendon is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list. And unless something unforeseen happened late Monday night or happens over the next few hours, the star third baseman will be activated and be in the Nats' lineup for tonight's game against the Brewers.
It's a major boost to a team ravaged by injuries and sorely in need...
MILWAUKEE - The sleep-deprived Nationals landed in Milwaukee 16 hours later than scheduled, thanks to a travel nightmare late Sunday night and early this morning in Philadelphia. They had every reason to complain about their travails, and the fact they now had to open another tough road series while fielding an injury depleted lineup.
But they chose to try to look on the bright side. They shrugged off their charter flight mechanical problems and wondered if somehow the whole experience might...
MILWAUKEE - The first key injured member of the Nationals lineup is on the verge of returning to the active roster.
Anthony Rendon is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Tuesday, and manager Davey Martinez said the club is preparing for its star third baseman to be activated for the second game of this week's series against the Brewers.
"He's going to hit today in the cage," Martinez said. "And then hopefully barring no setbacks, he should be ready tomorrow."
Rendon, who hasn't...
MILWAUKEE - The Nationals successfully made it to Milwaukee, albeit 16 hours later than originally scheduled. After landing at the airport shortly after 11:30 a.m., they decided to push back their pregame routine and give guys more time to rest up at the hotel. So there's no formal batting practice today, and the clubhouse doesn't even open until two hours before first pitch. (It typically opens 3 1/2 hours before first pitch.)
So the team that takes the field for tonight's series opener...
MILWAUKEE - How banged up are the Nationals right now? Even the team's charter plane was physically unable to perform Sunday night.
A mechanical issue on the club's Delta charter left the entire team sitting on the tarmac in Philadelphia nearly eight hours late Sunday night and early Monday morning. After all that, the entire traveling party went back to its downtown hotel to get a little bit of sleep before returning to the airport this morning.
The Nationals finally took off from...
MILWAUKEE - The Nationals are in a real bind right now. That's not some kind of major revelation, but it's the truth.
When you lose the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitters from your opening day lineup, plus the guy who took over as cleanup hitter because of one of those injuries, plus the No. 4 outfielder who had been thrust into the daily lineup, you're going to struggle to score runs.
Few teams could overcome that many injuries to that many important hitters. (And before anyone asks about the...
PHILADELPHIA - They might not have ever admitted it publicly, but the Nationals knew the deck was stacked against them when they took the field for today's series finale against the Phillies.
On a gray, windy, rainy Sunday afternoon, the Nats fielded a lineup with only three regulars who started on opening day. Their usual leadoff hitter was batting third. Their backup catcher was batting cleanup. Their fourth-string first baseman had just flown in on a red eye from Las Vegas.
And yet for five...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals added yet another significant position player to the injured list today, with Matt Adams now off the active roster due to what for now is being called a left shoulder strain.
Michael A. Taylor, meanwhile, remains on the active roster even though he underwent an MRI this morning on his left wrist after jamming it into the turf trying to make a diving catch in center field Saturday night.
Not that the Nationals have any more players who could be summoned from the...
PHILADELPHIA - It's an absolute mess in South Philly today. In every possible way. The weather is terrible. The traffic is terrible because of the nearby Broad Street Run. There's a Sixers playoff game across the street at 3:30 p.m. And then there's the Nationals roster.
For now, the Phillies say they're going to try to get this game in, though it won't start on time at 2:05 p.m. The Nats, meanwhile, haven't put out a lineup yet because they're waiting for MRI results on Matt Adams'...
PHILADELPHIA - So, about the state of the Nationals roster ...
Everyone inside the visitors' clubhouse was aglow last night following a 10-8 win over the Phillies that defied logic, but the reality of the situation also had to set in at some point. This team is decimated by injuries right now, and two more players joined the club during this game.
Matt Adams and Michael A. Taylor each departed by the fourth inning with injuries. Adams jammed his left shoulder diving into first base to complete...
PHILADELPHIA - They are underachieving, there is no question of that. Their bullpen remains a mess, and their lineup is now in shambles, with regulars dropping like flies and even their backups falling victim to injury.
They have dug themselves into a hole in the highly competitive National League East, and they're going to face a devil of a time trying to climb their way out of it, given the state of the roster and the daunting schedule that awaits them.
But let's pause for just a moment and...
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are going to try Erick Fedde out as a reliever again.
After watching the right-hander dazzle during a four-inning relief appearance against the Padres earlier this week, the Nats decided not to move him back to the rotation at Double-A Harrisburg but instead to let him continue to work as a reliever. If things go well, they'll likely bring him back to the majors sometime in the near future and see if he can help resolve the club's biggest problem area.
"We're...
PHILADELPHIA - Juan Soto was hitting in the cage before Wednesday's game at Nationals Park when he first noticed a problem with his back.
"I was hitting in the cage, and I just did a deep breath and started feeling something, and I went right to the trainer's room," he said. "And then it was stuck, and I can't even move. And after that I started getting treatments, and now we're here."
"Here" is on the 10-day injured list, a place of residency Soto has never occupied in his brief...
PHILADELPHIA - And we're back for another evening at the ballpark. You know the drill by now. The Nationals, after dropping a series opener, will try to get back on track despite an injury-depleted lineup and a patched-together bullpen. They'll hope their starter gives them a bunch of quality innings, then hope they can cobble the rest together and emerge victorious.
That depleted lineup has been depleted even further. Juan Soto was placed on the 10-day injured list today with back spasms....
PHILADELPHIA - For all the agonizing over the pitching decisions made during Friday night's 4-2 loss to the Phillies, the continued lack of any sustained offense by the Nationals played just as much of a role in the club falling to 1-10 in series openers this season.
"We didn't hit," manager Davey Martinez said. "We've got to score more than two runs. (Jeremy Hellickson) kept us in the ballgame. We had a couple opportunities, but we couldn't get that big hit."
Given the injuries the...
PHILADELPHIA - It doesn't happen every single night, but on occasion a major league manager faces a critical pitching decision in the latter innings of a tight ballgame, one that is likely to impact the outcome of the contest.
Sometimes the pitchers involved get the job done and reward the manager for his decision-making process. Sometimes they fail and the manager is left to explain why he did what he did.
Tonight, in the aftermath of an agonizing, 4-2 loss to the Phillies, Davey Martinez had...
PHILADELPHIA - At a time when they can't afford to lose any more middle of the order hitters, the Nationals now find themselves without yet another middle of the order hitter.
Juan Soto, still dealing with back spasms, is not in the Nationals' lineup for the third straight night. And if this continues much longer, the club may have to consider putting the young outfielder on the injured list like it already did with Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman.
"I'm hoping that after...
PHILADELPHIA - Paul Menhart was walking his Australian Shepherd Husky Mix, Gracie, at home in Richmond Hill, Ga., three days ago when Nationals assistant general manager Doug Harris called.
Menhart and Harris have worked together for years as two key members of the organization's minor league operation, and they kid around with each other plenty. So when Harris explained why he was calling, Menhart at first thought this might be a joke.
Menhart was supposed to fly to West Palm Beach the next...
PHILADELPHIA - We're only five weeks into the season, but the Nationals already are making their second trip to Citizens Bank Park. In something of a scheduling quirk, they'll have faced the Phillies eight times before they ever see the Braves for the first time in 2019. This is also the start of an odd but difficult road trip that also features stops in Milwaukee and Los Angeles before the Nats come home. Suffice it to say, this is going to be a challenge.
As you know, the Nationals are...