Daniel Murphy flew from Milwaukee to Washington late Wednesday night, rode home and slept in his own bed for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. There was comfort in that routine, to be sure.
Then Murphy rode today to Nationals Park and instead of entering the home clubhouse kept walking around the concourse to the visitors' side behind third base, where his No. 3 Cubs jersey was hanging in his locker and his name was listed in the No. 1 lineup slot for tonight's series opener.
Yeah, these are...
They just took the official 2018 team photo here at Nationals Park, with players, coaches and club executives all standing out in direct sunlight in the middle of the diamond on a brutally hot day to smile for a few seconds and capture a shot of the team in its entirety. That is, the team in its entirety as it currently exists on September 6. Several players who will have played a key role on this team this season aren't included, because they're no longer part of the team.
That includes...
It is becoming something of a running joke, that no matter how bad they play, no matter the deficit they face, the Nationals always seem to find a way to bring the tying run to the plate late in ballgames. Even though that doesn't always result in victory, it has legitimately become a defining quality of a team that certainly has been a major disappointment this season but rarely has rolled over and conceded defeat.
So it shouldn't have surprised anyone when it happened again tonight, when...
That the question was asked at all is evidence of the disappointment that has been the Nationals' 2018 season. But given the events of the last five months, not to mention the organization's history of changing managers, Mike Rizzo couldn't have been surprised today when he was asked during a wide-ranging scrum on the field at Nationals Park whether Davey Martinez will return in 2019.
Rizzo's reply: "I haven't considered any other scenario."
Skeptics will immediately dig up Rizzo's...
Can the Nationals play well enough tonight to take a three-game series from the Cardinals? Can Tanner Roark continue his second-half surge? Can the lineup continue to produce, right down to the bottom of the ninth? Shoot, can they simply play a nine-inning game in fewer than 3 1/2 hours?
We'll find all of that out when the Nats wrap up their series with St. Louis with Roark on the mound. The right-hander took a bit of a step back in his last start, allowing three homers to the Brewers. But...
The Nationals had 12 pitchers sitting in their bullpen Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean Davey Martinez had an abundance of appealing options when he needed to call down there for an arm.
Of those 12 relievers, only two were on the club's opening day roster: Matt Grace and Sammy SolÃs. Only four of them have pitched in 30 or more games for the Nats this season: Grace and Solis, Justin Miller and Wander Suero.
Tim Collins has made 27 appearances over two stints in Washington. Greg...
In this summer of extremes for the Nationals, tonight's 11-8 loss to the Cardinals somehow felt appropriate.
The Nats pitching staff posted zeros in six different innings during this game, often in impressive fashion. The lineup posted a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth with an impressive rally, then scored three times in the bottom of the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate.
Unfortunately, the top of the second, sixth and ninth also counted in this contest, so the 11 combined...
When Victor Robles arrived in Washington one year ago, he was touted as the Nationals' future star outfielder, the man who would perhaps make Bryce Harper's potential departure less difficult to swallow.
When Robles arrived in Washington today, he found himself with a locker right next to Juan Soto, who over the last 3 1/2 months has taken over the title of Harper's potential replacement and already a star for the Nationals at 19.
Not that Robles has suddenly turned into chump change. His...
It's a disgustingly hot and muggy day here in Miami - wait, this is Washington? Could've fooled me. Step outside, close your eyes and you won't be able to tell the difference. Promise. So much for a September cool down.
Anyway, the Nationals and Cardinals return to action tonight after Monday's 10-inning thriller, the Nats looking to win two straight and get over the .500 mark. They'll do so with Erick Fedde on the mound for the first time in two months. Fedde, who last pitched July 4...
The Nationals added six players to their September roster today, promoting outfielder Victor Robles, infielder Adrian Sanchez, and right-handers Austin Voth and Kyle McGowin from Triple-A Syracuse, while also activating Erick Fedde and Joe Ross off the 60-day disabled list.
With the minor league regular season wrapping up Monday, the Nationals had no more reason to wait to expand their roster. They now have 32 active players, including catcher Pedro Severino and reliever Austen Williams, who...
Though the Nationals are still seeking a new Triple-A affiliate for the 2019 season, they already know their Double-A and both Single-A affiliates are going to stay exactly as they have more than a decade.
The Nats announced new two-year extensions with both high-Single-A Potomac and low-Single-A Hagerstown on Monday, continuing their longstanding affiliations with both clubs through 2020.
Neither announcement was a surprise; the Nationals have enjoyed a strong relationship with each club for...
Whether the remaining month in the Nationals' 2018 season carries significance from the team's standpoint or not, there are individual performances aplenty to care about. Such is life when your roster includes a Cy Young Award candidate, a Rookie of the Year candidate and perhaps the final weeks of Bryce Harper's tenure in Washington.
So while today's 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Cardinals probably won't make much difference in a National League playoff race the Nats have unofficially...
The Nationals' already-crowded outfield is going to get more crowded Tuesday when Victor Robles is promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make his first big league appearance of the season.
And with Joe Ross also making his return from Tommy John surgery, the Nats will have some pitching decisions to make.
Though the club hasn't formally announced its full complement of September call-ups, manager Davey Martinez did acknowledge today that Robles will be among the players promoted following the...
The Nationals' long-term pitching plans took another hit last week when prospect Seth Romero had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow.
Romero, the Nationals' first-round pick in the 2017 draft and fifth-rated prospect entering the season according to Baseball America, is expected to miss the entire 2019 season while recovering from surgery.
The procedure was performed Thursday in Los Angeles by orthopedist Neal ElAttrache, according to a Nats spokesman.
It's a...
Homecoming Week at Nationals Park continues. First, it was Gio Gonzalez and the Brewers. Coming up Thursday it'll be Daniel Murphy, Brandon Kintzler and the Cubs. But today it's Matt Adams and the Cardinals in town.
Adams is batting third and starting at first base this afternoon, but it's been a slow start for Big City in his return to St. Louis. He's 3-for-21 with zero extra-base hits since the trade two weeks ago. Adams and his cohorts will be taking their hacks against Max Scherzer, who...
The lasting image of Sunday's game for most will be of the two towering home runs surrendered by Jefry Rodriguez and Tim Collins during a seven-run fifth inning that turned the Nationals' series finale against the Brewers upside-down.
For Austen Williams, the lasting image will be of the sixth and seventh innings. Yes, the game already flipped to the opponent's favor, with Milwaukee holding a 9-4 lead it would not relinquish. But the score doesn't matter so much when a young pitcher makes...
There are any number of reasons, many of them having already been outlined over the last month, for the Nationals' hugely disappointing 2018 season. But if anyone was having trouble remembering, two of them were on full display today for all to see during a calamitous top of the fifth that proved the decisive frame of a 9-4 loss to the Brewers.
The Nationals' pitching staff - most notably the back end of the rotation and the left-handed portion of the bullpen - have been flaws all along. So,...
The Nationals have several options to fill Gio Gonzalez's open rotation slot over the season's final month, and they may take a look at all of them over the course of September. First up, though, will be Erick Fedde.
Fedde, who has been out since July 4 with shoulder inflammation, will start Tuesday against the Cardinals, the first time the Nationals need a replacement for Gonzalez after the veteran lefty was traded to Milwaukee this weekend.fed
The right-hander, who is eligible to come off...
It may come too late to help the Nationals make a last-ditch postseason push, but it does appear Sean Doolittle will be closing games for them for the bulk of the September schedule.
Doolittle faced live hitters again this morning in a simulated game at Nationals Park, and barring any complications he's likely to be activated off the disabled list within the next few days.
"He looks good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He'll get a day (off) tomorrow, we'll reevaluate him and hopefully...
The Nationals and Brewers didn't get much sleep last night, so these will be some weary teams that take the field this afternoon for the series finale. The good news: Though it's going to be hot and humid, the chance of rain appears to be minimal, some welcome relief after what happened Friday and Saturday nights.
The Nats are going for a series victory, one that would not even be possible if not for their eighth-inning rally last night, with Juan Soto's bases-loaded single proving the...