Game 129 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 129 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - Gio Gonzalez's season has, by every measure, been a colossal disappointment. If you want to compile a list of things that went wrong this year, the lefty's performance ranks high. One positive constant remains for Gonzalez, though: He still dominates the Mets. Gonzalez enters tonight's start at Citi Field the owner of a 15-5 record and 2.90 ERA in 25 career starts versus New York. And that includes a 1-0 record and 2.53 ERA in his two head-to-head matchups this season. Both of...
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Bullpen steps up to make late heroics possible

Bullpen steps up to make late heroics possible
For 8 2/3 innings Wednesday night, the most significant thing that happened at Nationals Park was Stephen Strasburg's worrisome return from the disabled list, a shaky four-inning start that raised questions about the right-hander's health and stamina. Then with one dramatic swing, Ryan Zimmerman stole the show and added to his already impressive legacy with the 11th walk-off homer of his career, propelling the roller coaster that is the 2018 Nationals to back-to-back wins over the Phillies...
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The kid and the veteran team up for one shining moment

The kid and the veteran team up for one shining moment
The first time he did it, way back on Father's Day 2006 off the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang, Ryan Zimmerman was a 21-year-old rookie third baseman, with a whole career still ahead of him and no clue how winding a path he would take despite spending all of it as a National. Juan Soto? He was a 7-year-old kid in Santo Domingo who perhaps already had dreams of one day playing in the major leagues but surely could not have envisioned playing alongside Zimmerman in a ballpark in Washington that had...
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Zimmerman to the rescue with 11th career walk-off homer

Zimmerman to the rescue with 11th career walk-off homer
There is plenty still for the Nationals to be concerned about, most notably Stephen Strasburg's health after a worrisome performance in his return from the disabled list tonight. But remarkably, there are still reasons for this team to have some optimism no matter how hopeless their situation appears, and tonight an old friend provided the moment that helped raise those hopes another notch. Trailing with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Zimmerman launched a game-ending, two-run homer...
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What's the state of Nats bullpen entering tonight's game?

What's the state of Nats bullpen entering tonight's game?
Tuesday night's 10-4 win over the Phillies took a lot out of the Nationals. They only got three innings out of Tanner Roark because of a 1-hour, 45-minute rain delay that prevented the starter from retaking the mound. That forced an already makeshift bullpen to churn out six innings, with no true long man available after Tommy Milone threw four innings in garbage time during Sunday's blowout loss to the Marlins and then landed on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. Davey...
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Game 127 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 127 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
It's been a strange, eventful summer for the Nationals, and it has only grown stranger and more eventful in recent days - and that's not going to change tonight. Because in the wake of everything else that has gone on around here lately, Stephen Strasburg is coming back from the disabled list to make only his second start in 2 1/2 months, looking to help the Nats gain another game on the Phillies. What can we expect from Strasburg? Hard to say. He didn't make a rehab start, only a 70-pitch...
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Young Nats who might get a closer look the rest of the season

Young Nats who might get a closer look the rest of the season
If the Nationals truly have waved the white flag on 2018 - whether they have depends on your interpretation of Tuesday's trades and subsequent statements made by Mark Lerner, Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez - then their focus for the remaining 5 1/2 weeks of the season is going to have to shift at least somewhat toward preparing for 2019. What, though, does that mean from a practical standpoint? What players might we see the rest of the way who might not otherwise have received this kind of...
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Replacements come through in win over Phillies (updated)

Replacements come through in win over Phillies (updated)
Hours after watching their front office trade away two popular veterans and their owner issue a statement that all but served as a concession speech for the 2018 season, the Nationals took the field tonight to face a Phillies team that is very much in a pennant race for the first time in seven years, then sat through a 1-hour, 42-minute rain delay in the third inning before re-taking the field in front of a crowd with a vibe not felt around here since maybe 2010. With Daniel Murphy on his way...
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Nats send Murphy to Cubs, Adams to Cards (updated)

Nats send Murphy to Cubs, Adams to Cards (updated)
The general manager and manager stopped short of calling it a concession on the remainder of a disappointing season. The owner's statement, though, was more forthright in its admission that today's dumping of Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams came about once Nationals officials decided it simply wasn't going to happen in 2018. "I believed in this team, and would have loved to see them all play healthy together this season," managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in that prepared statement...
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Previewing the Nats' last-ditch series vs. Philly

Previewing the Nats' last-ditch series vs. Philly
If the Nationals have any hope whatsoever of storming back to win their fifth National League East title in seven years - and yes, we fully acknowledge the odds of it are rather slim at this point - they're going to have to win a whole lot of their remaining games with the Phillies and Braves. Twelve of the Nats' final 37 games come against the two teams they've been chasing in the NL East all summer, nine of those against Philadelphia. They enter play tonight 7 1/2 games back of the Braves,...
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What happened to the Nationals?

What happened to the Nationals?
It's the most pervasive question in Washington this summer, at least in the realm of sports: What happened to the Nationals? The answer isn't nearly as simple as many would like. If only there was one concrete reason for the Nationals' slow descent from division favorites to a sub-.500 club trying to hang on for dear life. But the truth is, a combination of things had to come together this season to create this mess. Alter any one of them, and the story of the 2018 Nats might be totally...
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Nats lose series in dud vs. Marlins (updated)

Nats lose series in dud vs. Marlins (updated)
The Nationals desperately want their 12 remaining games with the Phillies and Braves to be meaningful. The way they've been playing against the Marlins suggests those games with the National League East's top two contenders aren't going to matter. In their latest - and most aggravating - performance vs. the division's cellar-dwellers, the Nationals were trounced by Miami 12-1 this afternoon, capping an ugly weekend with one of the ugliest losses of a season that is on the verge of being...
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Nats will start Roark, Strasburg, Scherzer vs. Phillies

Nats will start Roark, Strasburg, Scherzer vs. Phillies
The significance of the series, given the Nationals' current predicament in the standings, can be debated. But if nothing else, they can take some solace in knowing they'll finally be able to send their three best starting pitchers to the mound this week against the Phillies. Davey Martinez confirmed as much this morning when he announced that Stephen Strasburg will return from the disabled list and start Wednesday night's game at Nationals Park. The rehabbing right-hander will be surrounded...
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Rodriguez making strides, making case for long-term

Rodriguez making strides, making case for long-term
The Nationals made a late rotation change this weekend, electing not to start Tommy Milone as planned Saturday night against the Marlins and instead promote Jefry Rodriguez from Triple-A. The rationale? Rodriguez had been on a roll - he had an 0.83 ERA over his last four starts, split between Syracuse and Washington - and Milone could prove more valuable as a much-needed long reliever in the bullpen. A lot of things didn't go right for the Nats during their 7-5, 10-inning loss. But the...
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Nats lose another wild one, fall to Marlins in 10 (updated)

Nats lose another wild one, fall to Marlins in 10 (updated)
The Nationals know they can't win every game the rest of the way, that there are going to be nights they simply don't put themselves in position to win and have to shrug off a loss. But they also know there have been and will continue to be games that are right there for the taking, games they absolutely must win if they have any hope of a meaningful, late-season charge. Games like tonight's contest against the Marlins, in which opportunities were abundant and victory was so close they could...
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Strasburg, Herrera both could return for Phillies series

Strasburg, Herrera both could return for Phillies series
The Nationals could have both Stephen Strasburg and Kelvin Herrera back on their active pitching staff for next week's series against the Phillies, though a final determination on each injured right-hander won't be made until Sunday at the earliest. Strasburg and Herrera each threw this afternoon at Nationals Park, and each appeared to emerge from the session in good shape. Strasburg threw more than 40 pitches in a bullpen session, a typical activity for him between starts. This came three...
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Game 124 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 124 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals tonight are seeking their third straight win, and they'll be doing so with a different pitcher on the mound then they originally planned. Tommy Milone no longer is starting this game; instead it'll be Jefry Rodriguez getting the promotion from Triple-A Syracuse. We haven't heard any official reasoning for this, but the hunch is simply that they liked the Rodriguez matchup against the Marlins better than Milone (who will still be available out of the bullpen). We're awaiting...
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Nationals set to unveil bullpen cart tonight

Nationals set to unveil bullpen cart tonight
ST. LOUIS - OK, so it's not quite the addition to the Nationals bullpen everyone is looking for at this perilous moment in a season on the brink. But if the club's new bullpen cart can bring some smiles to people's faces and maybe even help relievers save some energy before they enter to pitch, this could prove to be an important late-summer acquisition after all. The Nats are set to unveil the "WGL Energy Bullpen Cart" later today and make it available for use by relievers from both teams...
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Miller, Glover close out 5-4 win to end road trip (updated)

Miller, Glover close out 5-4 win to end road trip (updated)
ST. LOUIS - It wasn't all that long ago that Davey Martinez had no shortage of established late-inning relievers at his disposal when he needed to try to close out a game. There was Sean Doolittle. There was Kelvin Herrera. There was Ryan Madson. There was Brandon Kintzler. When Martinez looked down to that bullpen this evening at Busch Stadium, though, none of those established guys were there. Or, at least not on the active roster. No, when he needed someone to protect a one-run lead against...
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After rehab start, Ross on track for September return (Nats up 5-4)

After rehab start, Ross on track for September return (Nats up 5-4)
ST. LOUIS - It may come too late to have much impact on their fortunes this season, but Joe Ross is on track to return from Tommy John surgery and pitch for the Nationals in September. Ross, who had elbow ligament replacement surgery on July 19, 2017, made a rehab start for Single-A Potomac this afternoon, throwing 63 pitches of scoreless ball over 3 2/3 innings. "He threw well," manager Davey Martinez said. "They said he had good action on his fastball, which is good, cause that's who he...
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