More on Sunday's win and Saturday's rainout makeup

More on Sunday's win and Saturday's rainout makeup
More from Sunday's twice-delayed, 6-2 victory over the Braves ... * Davey Martinez managed this game like it was being played in September or October. Which, to be honest, is probably how he needs to manage just about every game the rest of the way, certainly those against the Braves and Phillies. The difference was most noticeable following the second rain delay, at which point the rookie manager had to try to piece together three innings from a bullpen that was without Sean Doolittle (on the...
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Nats battle through two rain delays to beat Braves 6-2 (updated)

Nats battle through two rain delays to beat Braves 6-2 (updated)
Whether it came via a Max Scherzer gem, an offensive explosion, a grind-it-out nailbiter or even a rain-shortened affair, the Nationals knew only one thing when they took the field today: They needed to win this game against the Braves, one way or another. They got their wish, but it didn't come easily to a team that sure could've used a relaxing day at the park. Instead, a combination of clutch hits, a gutsy performance from a less-than-perfect Scherzer, some outstanding defense, two rain...
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Nats trade Goodwin to Royals, bring Solís back (Nats up 5-2)

Nats trade Goodwin to Royals, bring Solís back (Nats up 5-2)
The Nationals knew they couldn't stick with a six-man bullpen for long. They just needed to figure out how to clear a roster spot to address that need. They found a way today, trading outfielder Brian Goodwin to the Royals for minor league pitcher Jacob Condra-Bogan, then recalling left-hander Sammy Solís from Triple-A Syracuse to give themselves a full relief corps again. Goodwin, a member of the Nationals since they used a first-round pick on him in 2011 and a key member of last season's...
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Stress reaction will sideline Doolittle several more weeks

Stress reaction will sideline Doolittle several more weeks
The Nationals are going to be without their All-Star closer a while longer than they initially expected. Sean Doolittle, who hoped the injury to his left foot that sidelined him for the first week before the All-Star break and then prevented him from pitching in the Midsummer Classic at Nationals Park, learned this weekend he'll be out several more weeks after a follow-up MRI revealed a "stress reaction" in the bridge of the foot. The injury, which is not as severe as a stress fracture, is...
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Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

Game 98 lineups: Nats vs. Braves
The sun is out on South Capitol Street. At least, it is at the moment I'm typing this. It's probably not going to stay that way through the afternoon, with more rain forecast to sweep through the region on the heels of Saturday's deluge. The Nationals aren't calling the series finale against the Braves off just yet, and my hunch is they'll be more willing to wait around a bit today to try to get this one in, given the fact they already have to squeeze one makeup game into Atlanta's next...
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Nats-Braves rained out, no makeup scheduled yet

Nats-Braves rained out, no makeup scheduled yet
The Nationals are going to have to wait a while longer to try to get over Friday night's loss to the Braves and everything else that accompanied it. Tonight's game at Nationals Park was postponed a full five hours before scheduled first pitch, with heavy rain dousing the area all morning and expected to continue straight through the evening. No makeup plans were immediately announced, but a Sunday doubleheader doesn't appear to be a viable option because the forecast remains lousy and the...
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On the first base platoon and the short bullpen

On the first base platoon and the short bullpen
More on Friday night's 8-5 loss to the Braves that was not related to the Stephen Strasburg-Max Scherzer dugout dustup ... * Davey Martinez's most delicate lineup decisions as the second half of the season opens is at first base, with Ryan Zimmerman back off the disabled list but Matt Adams remaining one of the team's most productive hitters. Martinez didn't hesitate to start Adams on Friday night, opting to go with the hot-hitting lefty slugger against Braves right-hander Anibal Sanchez....
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Emotions in the dugout, peacekeeping in the manager's office

Emotions in the dugout, peacekeeping in the manager's office
The Nationals' 8-5 loss to the Braves had ended only minutes earlier when Davey Martinez summoned Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer to his office and closed the door. It would be roughly 15 minutes before that door reopened, and though no one was revealing the precise details of what was said during that meeting, it was clear the session was necessary after what transpired in the dugout during the top of the fifth. Strasburg, who had just been removed by Martinez after allowing six runs in 4...
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Nats drop opener to Braves, Strasburg has words with Scherzer

Nats drop opener to Braves, Strasburg has words with Scherzer
They said and did all the right things before the game. They went through a spirited afternoon workout that included a focus on defense and baserunning. They all wore customized shirseys with their regular numbers on the back but the world "NATIONALS" replacing their last names. They spoke of the need to play as one and to treat every remaining series on the schedule as critical. Then the Nationals took the field and opened the second half of their season with an 8-5 loss to the Braves that...
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Doolittle not ready yet, but Nats believe he's close to returning

Doolittle not ready yet, but Nats believe he's close to returning
The Nationals got two of their key injured players - Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman - back from the disabled list today. They'll have to wait a bit longer for Sean Doolittle to join them on the active roster. Doolittle, eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list today, has made significant progress in his recovery from a pinched nerve in his left foot, but he said he's not quite ready yet. "Today was a good day," the Nats closer said. "I did some light jogging, and it was the...
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Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)

Game 97 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Strasburg, Zimmerman active)
And away we go again. The second half of the season commences tonight, with the Nationals hosting the Braves for a big three-game series. Then again, every series is going to be big the rest of the way, with the Nats needing to make up a 5 1/2-game deficit and catch both the Braves and Phillies in the National League East. As expected, the Nationals will open the second half with two key figures returning from the disabled list: Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman. Strasburg makes the start...
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Five keys to the Nats turning their season around

Five keys to the Nats turning their season around
The challenge facing the Nationals over the final 66 games of the season is significant. They not only have to make up a 5 1/2-game deficit to win their third consecutive National League East title, they have to leapfrog over two division rivals to do it. Which means there's little margin for error, beginning with this weekend's three-game series against the second-place Braves. Thing is, Davey Martinez has been a part of something like this before. Only one year ago. The Cubs came out of the...
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Nationals' first-half report card

Nationals' first-half report card
Whew, have you recovered from All-Star Week in D.C. yet? Honestly, I haven't. That was both an exhilarating and an exhausting few days. Fortunately, we all still get a condensed All-Star break before the Nationals return to action Friday night for their second-half opener and the opener of a big series with the Braves. We'll look ahead to all that Friday morning, but today let's take one look back at the now-completed first half of the season. (Yeah, technically they've already played 60...
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AL beats NL 8-6 in extra-inning home run fest (updated)

AL beats NL 8-6 in extra-inning home run fest (updated)
They came to watch Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper compete on the big stage against baseball's best, to watch American League stars rarely seen in these parts like Aaron Judge and Mike Trout do their thing, to withstand brutal D.C. July humidity and dodge a few raindrops and to perhaps watch the National League actually win a 21st century All-Star Game for a change. What local baseball fans got in the first Midsummer Classic in the District of Columbia in 49 years was a reminder of what Major...
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Strasburg, Zimmerman on track to come off DL on Friday

Strasburg, Zimmerman on track to come off DL on Friday
Tonight's All-Star Game - in which he's serving as a member of Dave Roberts' National League coaching staff - is first and foremost on his mind, but Nationals manager Davey Martinez can't help but start thinking ahead to the resumption of the season Friday night. Especially the key players he expects to have back on his active roster for that series opener against the Braves. Stephen Strasburg has been cleared to come off the disabled list and will start Friday night, Martinez revealed this...
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Manfred, Clark offer widely different views of state of baseball

Manfred, Clark offer widely different views of state of baseball
Monday night's Home Run Derby, with Nationals slugger Bryce Harper front and center in his home ballpark, was a rousing success. On that point, Rob Manfred and Tony Clark are in complete agreement. "Bryce Harper put on one unbelievable show," Manfred said today in the Major League Baseball commissioner's annual Q&A session with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "Amazing how he engaged the fans here in his hometown." "Last night was phenomenal," Clark, head of...
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With epic show in Derby, Harper finally makes baseball fun again

With epic show in Derby, Harper finally makes baseball fun again
The first half of the 2018 season for Bryce Harper was, to put it mildly, a grind. A batting average stuck in the .210s. Strikeouts on pitches he used to crush. A Nationals club that can't seem to get on a consistent roll. And the underlying question of where he's going to be playing in 2019 and beyond. Harper's mood has reflected all of that. The joy and charisma that so defined him when he burst onto the scene as a teenager had all but disappeared, replaced by a gruff, brooding and...
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All-Star redemption for ex-Nats Treinen, Ramos and Vázquez

All-Star redemption for ex-Nats Treinen, Ramos and Vázquez
Blake Treinen sat at a table in the club level at Nationals Park, his name emblazoned beneath the All-Star Game logo behind him, his smile wide as he spoke to familiar faces about his first career selection for the Midsummer Classic. Only 20 feet to Treinen's left sat Wilson Ramos, also smiling widely as he discussed his second All-Star appearance, though disappointed a recent hamstring strain will prevent him from playing but nonetheless thrilled to be here. One hour earlier, Felipe...
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Scherzer gets third career All-Star Game start (updated)

Scherzer gets third career All-Star Game start (updated)
For the first All-Star Game in Washington in nearly a half-century, who better to start the game for the National League than a guy who is establishing himself as one of the best pitchers of the last half-century - oh, and who, by the way, also happens to be doing all this for the hometown club? Max Scherzer indeed will start Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Nationals Park, a fairly no-brainer decision for NL manager Dave Roberts, who may have had other worthy candidates for the assignment but...
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Martinez pushes right buttons as Nats win first-half finale

Martinez pushes right buttons as Nats win first-half finale
NEW YORK - If you're not going to take a few chances and push some buttons you don't normally push on the final day before the All-Star break, when are you going to do it? Davey Martinez, who on Thursday afternoon spoke of the urgency he and his Nationals needed to show in this weekend's series against the Mets, did just that in today's first-half finale. In the top of the seventh inning of a tie game, the bases loaded and nobody out, Michael A. Taylor at the plate, Martinez called upon...
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