TORONTO - From the day he purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006, Ted Lerner made it clear this would - and always would - be a family-run operation.
Though the patriarch of one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Washington would have final say over any organizational decisions, he insisted none would be made without consultation of the seven other top members of the club's ownership group: his wife, Annette; his son, Mark; his daughters, Debra and Marla;...
NEW YORK - Juan Soto stole the show Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. But let's not ignore the job the Nationals bullpen did to ensure Soto's two homers made the difference in a 5-4 victory instead of being mere footnotes in another frustrating loss.
After starter Erick Fedde departed, having allowed four runs in five innings, the quartet of Justin Miller, Sammy SolÃs, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle combined to pitch four scoreless frames, the final three while protecting a one-run...
NEW YORK - Under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, a young left-handed slugger from Washington wowed a crowd of 45,030 (and the assembled New York media) with a prodigious display of power that surely left plenty around here dreaming he might someday wear the fabled pinstripes.
And we're not talking about Bryce Harper, folks.
No, the star slugger on this evening was Juan Soto, the 19-year-old who has taken the majors by storm since his arrival three weeks ago. And he took everything to new...
NEW YORK - The Nationals' scoreless streak has mercifully come to an end.
With a top-of-the-first rally tonight at Yankee Stadium, the Nats plated their first run since Saturday, snapping their streak at 19 consecutive scoreless innings.
Adam Eaton got things started with a leadoff double off Sonny Gray, then advanced to third on Trea Turner's infield single. Turner promptly stole second base, recording the 100th steal of his career in the process.
The Nationals, though, missed an opportunity...
NEW YORK - Davey Martinez met with Daniel Murphy earlier today to check on the veteran's health status coming out of his season debut Tuesday night. Murphy told him his surgically repaired knee felt fine, but the manager probably didn't need that confirmation. By simply watching Murphy's postgame routine, he knew he was good to go.
Fifteen minutes after the Nationals' 3-0 loss to the Yankees was completed, Murphy could be heard hacking at pitches in the batting tunnel outside the visitors'...
NEW YORK - The Nationals have been shut out in back-to-back games for the 12th time in club history. They've never been shut out in back-to-back-to-back games, so there's the minimum bar for success in tonight's series finale at Yankee Stadium.
After flailing away at C.C. Sabathia and three Yankees relievers Tuesday night, the Nats will get a shot tonight at right-hander Sonny Gray, who enters with a 4.81 ERA but has allowed only one run over his last 14 innings. Daniel Murphy, who was...
NEW YORK - Some more thoughts and reactions from Tuesday night's 3-0 loss to the Yankees, plus a look ahead to tonight's game in the Bronx ...
* A good number of fans wanted to know why the Nationals didn't immediately retaliate after Bryce Harper was twice hit by pitches late in the game. To which I'd reply: Harper wasn't upset by any of it. And also, did you actually watch what transpired?
Look, nobody was happy that Harper got drilled twice, in the right elbow by CC Sabathia and in the...
NEW YORK - The scene - Bryce Harper getting hit by a pitch on his left foot, taking a few steps toward first base and then retreating to the dugout before a Nationals trainer could even emerge to check on him - looked bad, not only to the casual observer watching the game but to the man who suddenly had to find a replacement for his star slugger.
"Yeah, I was really worried," manager Davey Martinez admitted.
Once the Nationals' 3-0 loss to the Yankees was complete, though, Harper - who also...
NEW YORK - Though their lineup is not yet at full strength, the return of Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy in recent days did give the Nationals batting order a more formidable look for the first time all season.
The results, though, were painfully familiar tonight, no matter who had been added to the mix.
The Nationals were shut out for the second straight game, dropping their interleague series opener to the Yankees 3-0 and losing Bryce Harper to a potential left foot injury in the...
NEW YORK - Though they weren't ready to announce anything this afternoon, the Nationals are preparing to recall Erick Fedde from Triple-A Syracuse and send the right-hander to the mound for Wednesday's series finale at Yankee Stadium.
Stephen Strasburg would have been scheduled to make the start, but he departed his last outing with shoulder inflammation and was subsequently placed on the disabled list. Fedde also last pitched Friday for Syracuse, so that makes him available for this...
NEW YORK - Daniel Murphy and the Nationals know there are going to be times when the veteran second baseman appears to be less than 100 percent comfortable running the bases or making plays in the field, even eight months removed from microfracture surgery on his right knee.
What both sides also know, though, is this: No matter how many styles points he loses, Murphy's potential contributions now that he's finally making his season debut will far outweigh them.
"It may not always look...
NEW YORK - Hello from Yankee Stadium, where the Nationals face the best team in baseball the next two nights and will take that team on with their best hitter in the lineup for the first time this season. Yes, Daniel Murphy has been activated off the disabled list and is making his 2018 debut at long last, nearly eight months removed from microfracture surgery on his right knee.
Murphy's return - not to mention Adam Eaton, as well - gives the Nationals lineup a whole new look, certainly a more...
NEW YORK - As they prepare to open a two-game series against the owners of the best record in the majors, the Nationals at long last have their best pure hitter in the lineup for the first time this season.
Daniel Murphy, finally recovered from October microfracture surgery on his right knee, has been activated off the disabled list and will play tonight when the Nationals open an interleague series against the Yankees.
Having completed a 10-game rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg,...
The Nationals have been well represented at the All-Star Game in recent years, sending four players to the 2012 game, two apiece in 2013, 2014 and 2015, then five each of the last two years.
And with the 2018 Midsummer Classic taking place right on South Capitol Street, this is a golden opportunity for the franchise to showcase its depth of talent on a national stage.
Now, if only a few more players could start making more a more serious case for themselves over the next month. Because right...
The Nationals rank in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories right now. They're sixth in the National League in runs scored per game (4.4), 10th in batting average (.237), eighth in on-base percentage (.316) and eighth in slugging percentage (.403), though tied for third in home runs (78).
What's more notable, though, may be the path they've taken to get to this point. The Nationals may have a middle-of-the-pack lineup in the big picture, but they seem to have either a great or...
Brilliant as he is usually is, Max Scherzer isn't perfect. He's allotted one or two mistakes per game. The hope is that the rest of the Nationals can simply do their part to make Scherzer's human moments inconsequential.
They were not able to do that today. And as a result, Scherzer's one mistake proved the difference in the game.
Brandon Crawford's two-run homer in the top of the fourth gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. That's all they needed to beat Scherzer and send the Nationals to a...
Daniel Murphy was back at Nationals Park this morning. He'll accompany the Nationals tonight on their train ride to New York. The only remaining question: Will he be on the active roster Tuesday night when they face the Yankees?
The Nationals haven't made that decision yet, but they appear to be preparing for the possibility, assuming Murphy's surgically repaired right knee feels fine over the next few days and he decides he's ready to test it out in a major league game for the first time...
The Nationals usually play Sunday home games at 1:35 p.m. Except for the day after their annual Dream Foundation Gala. Wanting to give everyone some extra time to, uh, recover from that evening event, they push back the following day's game until 4:05 p.m. It makes sense. Except on a day like today, when the skies are forecasted to be dry early in the afternoon before turning ominous late in the afternoon. Oh well, nothing they can do about that now but wait and see how the weather turns out...
The Cup first made its way into the bowels of Nationals Park shortly before 11 a.m., safely stored inside its personalized black trunk. By the time its full tour of the ballpark was complete, it had been unveiled, polished, stood in the Nats' clubhouse, the press conference room, been carried around the infield by Alex Ovechkin and then watched this afternoon's game against the Giants from a suite down the left field line.
Everywhere it went, it was followed. And photographed. Selfies....
At various points in his career, Stephen Strasburg has missed time with injuries to his elbow, back, neck, lat and oblique. Only once, though, has he missed any time due to a shoulder injury, and that one was as minor as they get.
You have to go all the way back to the night of July 28, 2010, the night a rookie Strasburg had trouble getting loose in the bullpen and had to be scratched minutes before scheduled first pitch against the Braves, replaced by journeyman Miguel Batista, who would...