Strasburg leaves with early injury, Nats fall to Giants in opener

Strasburg leaves with early injury, Nats fall to Giants in opener
A sellout crowd of 41,591, the vast majority wearing red and more boisterous than usual thanks to the good vibes still permeating through the city after Thursday night's Stanley Cup celebration, filed into Nationals Park this evening ready to celebrate the local baseball team. Two innings in, that crowd was murmuring and lamenting an all-too-familiar sight from this town's pre-championship days: the early departure of a star player due to injury. Stephen Strasburg lasted only two innings,...
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Eaton on verge of returning to Nationals lineup

Eaton on verge of returning to Nationals lineup
Adam Eaton was back at Nationals Park this afternoon. And all signs point to the outfielder being in the Nationals lineup Saturday afternoon. Eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list today, Eaton remained inactive as he went through a full pregame workout with his teammates before tonight's series opener against the Giants. But manager Davey Martinez strongly suggested the transaction will happen within the next 18 hours, provided Eaton emerged from the workout in good shape. "He is...
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Game 61 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

Game 61 lineups: Nats vs. Giants
So, there's a sporting event taking place tonight in Washington. It's not as big as some other sporting events that have been going on in town of late. But it's not bad, either, with the first-place Nationals hosting the Giants in the opener of a three-game weekend series, one that could feature a cameo appearance by Lord Stanley himself at some point. Stephen Strasburg gets the ball for tonight's game, and surprisingly it's his first start against the Giants in two years. He'll have the...
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As Caps finally proved, D.C. can be a championship town

As Caps finally proved, D.C. can be a championship town
I really didn't have much of an opinion of Washington as a sports town before I moved here in 2001. I knew the Redskins had won three Super Bowls and were the biggest deal in this city. I knew the Capitals made the playoffs most years and had been swept by the Red Wings in the 1998 Stanley Cup Final. To be honest, I didn't know much about the Bullets/Wizards. And I knew that with no baseball team in the District, a lot of people were fans of the Orioles, a model franchise for decades that was...
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With Eaton nearing return, how will Nats configure outfield?

With Eaton nearing return, how will Nats configure outfield?
When the Nationals promoted Juan Soto from Double-A Harrisburg 18 days ago, which came only 10 days after he had been promoted from high-Single-A Potomac, which came only 17 days after he had been promoted from low-Single-A Hagerstown, they did so out of desperation. Injuries to Adam Eaton, Howie Kendrick, Brian Goodwin, Victor Robles and Rafael Bautista had ravaged the Nationals outfield, so much so that a 19-year-old with remarkably limited professional experience represented their best...
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With better approach, Nats enjoy best offensive day in weeks

With better approach, Nats enjoy best offensive day in weeks
It wasn't simply that the Nationals scored 11 runs today, five of those in the first inning. It was the fact that they scored those 11 runs without a single ball reaching the bleachers. And that 10 of those runs were scored via hits that landed either in center or the opposite field. Davey Martinez couldn't have drawn up a better game plan for success from a lineup that too often this season has relied on pulling the ball and driving it over the fence instead of going the other way and...
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Nationals score early and often in 11-2 rout of Rays

Nationals score early and often in 11-2 rout of Rays
Davey Martinez wanted early offense via more walks and more quality at-bats. He got that and then some this afternoon as the Nationals cruised to a two-game sweep of the Rays. Behind a five-run first inning that included everything their manager asked for and more, the Nationals took a quick lead on Tampa Bay and then kept the pressure on all afternoon to earn an 11-2 victory. In discussing his club's recent offensive struggles prior to the game, Martinez noted the need for stars like Bryce...
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Martinez seeks more walks from Harper (Nats win 11-2)

Martinez seeks more walks from Harper (Nats win 11-2)
Bryce Harper leads all National League hitters with 18 home runs. That's a good thing. He's tied for 50th in hits. That's not such a good thing. Harper leads the NL in walks for the season, with 47. That's a good thing. Since May 1, he's tied for 60th with only nine walks. That's definitely not a good thing. Such is the odd nature of Harper's season to date. He continues to hit the ball out of the park as well as anybody. But he's not hitting singles or drawing walks the way he used to...
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Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Rays

Game 60 lineups: Nats vs. Rays
The Nationals are going to face something different today in their series finale against Tampa Bay. The Rays aren't sending a starter to the mound for the bottom of the first. They're sending an "opener." That would be Jonny Venters, a reliever who actually will start the game and pitch one or two innings before manager Kevin Cash then summons Ryan Yarbrough (a starter who will pitch five-plus innings of relief). This isn't exactly sweeping the nation, but the rest of the baseball world...
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Ramos enjoys emotional return to Nationals Park

Ramos enjoys emotional return to Nationals Park
The first cheer came when his name was announced as part of the Rays' starting lineup. The next one came after a video tribute on the scoreboard at Nationals Park, with the crowd ultimately serenading him with the familiar "Wil-son!" chant as he squatted in the visitors' bullpen warming up Nathan Eovaldi. By the time Wilson Ramos came up to bat in the top of the second Tuesday night, the crowd of 32,165 rose to give the former Nationals catcher a prolonged ovation, which he acknowledged...
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Scherzer carves up Rays in 4-2 victory for Nats (updated)

Scherzer carves up Rays in 4-2 victory for Nats (updated)
He spent Saturday coming off the bench in the 14th inning in Atlanta to deliver a pinch-hit single and then score the game-winning run from first base. He spent Monday donning a Capitals jersey, helmet, gloves and stick along with Ryan Zimmerman and getting the crowd at Capital One Arena fired up for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. And Max Scherzer loved every minute of it. In case you haven't figured it out by now, he does everything full-tilt, giving nothing less than his full effort no...
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Hellickson goes on DL, Grace and Collins return to bullpen

Hellickson goes on DL, Grace and Collins return to bullpen
Jeremy Hellickson's hamstring strain was deemed to be "mild" by those looking at his MRI, but the veteran right-hander will need to miss at least a couple of starts and thus was placed on the 10-day disabled list today by the Nationals. The Nats also sent right-hander Jefry Rodriguez (who impressively threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in emergency relief of Hellickson on Sunday) back to Double-A Harrisburg and put relievers Tim Collins and Matt Grace back on the active roster for tonight's...
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Game 59 lineups: Nats vs. Rays

Game 59 lineups: Nats vs. Rays
The Nationals are back in town, albeit only for five games this week, beginning with a quick two-game interleague series against the Rays. Who, yes, are featuring cleanup-hitting catcher Wilson Ramos in The Buffalo's return to D.C. for the first time as a visiting player. Here's hoping he gets a nice ovation from the crowd. Matt Adams is back in the Nationals' lineup, batting cleanup, after missing one game from a bruised right foot. For everyone who has seen those things take much longer to...
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A lot to watch for before and during tonight's Nats game

A lot to watch for before and during tonight's Nats game
If your attention has been diverted from baseball to hockey in recent days, you are forgiven. Hey, this kind of thing hasn't happened in these parts for 26 years. It's OK to get swept up in it. But if you need something to keep you occupied for the next 48 hours until they carry the Stanley Cup into the building in Las Vegas, you should know this could be an eventful week for the Nationals. After a tough weekend in Atlanta to cap an otherwise excellent 7-3 road trip, the Nats are back home...
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Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers

Nats suffering from depleted lineup of free swingers
ATLANTA - It's easy to look at Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Braves and place blame at the arms of Shawn Kelley and Tanner Roark, who surrendered the two late home runs that turned a one-run lead into a two-run defeat. Not that those two right-handers don't deserve some criticism for their failure to keep the ball in the park at the most critical points of the game, but all of this would be moot if the Nationals did something seemingly simple during the game: score another run. Let's be honest...
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Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves

Worst-case scenario plays out for Nats bullpen in loss to Braves
ATLANTA - Davey Martinez and his staff prepare for every conceivable scenario before they take their positions in the dugout for any given ballgame. And so they had concocted a plan this morning for what truly amounted to a worst-case scenario in today's series finale against the Braves: an early departure by Jeremy Hellickson. That plan was going to include Jefry Rodriguez, summoned from Double-A Harrisburg this morning, providing maybe two or three innings of relief only three days after an...
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Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves

Overtaxed pitching staff suffers 4-2 walk-off loss to Braves
ATLANTA - After going 14 innings on Saturday, after watching Jeremy Hellickson depart with an apparent hamstring injury in the first inning today and then after watching the Braves rally to tie the game late, the Nationals reached a point late this afternoon where the need for their series finale to end was about to become more important than the need to win. That point didn't quite arrive, but it came close. The Nationals were forced to send Tanner Roark to the mound for the bottom of the...
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Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)

Hellickson out after two batters with hamstring injury (Nats lose 4-2)
ATLANTA - After watching their bullpen throw seven perfect innings during Saturday's 14-inning win, the last thing the Nationals needed was to have to turn to their relief corps early today. Which is exactly what happened after starter Jeremy Hellickson departed only two batters into the bottom of the first with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hellickson hurt himself trying to make a leaping catch of Mark Reynolds' high toss on Ozzie Albies' grounder to first. The ball caromed off...
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Murphy not ready for season debut yet

Murphy not ready for season debut yet
ATLANTA - The Nationals don't know yet when Daniel Murphy will make his season debut, but they seem to have conceded it won't come at the start of this week's homestand. Murphy, who has spent the last week playing six rehab games for Double-A Harrisburg, is scheduled to be back in Washington on Tuesday to be evaluated by doctors and meet with club officials. Despite some initial hope he might be ready to be activated by then, manager Davey Martinez suggested today that won't happen. "I...
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Game 58 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 58 lineups: Nats at Braves
ATLANTA - It's another scorching hot and humid day here at SunTrust Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their four-game series, the Nats trying to salvage a split after yesterday's dramatic 14-inning victory. To do so, they're probably going to need some effective work from their bullpen again today, though that group was taxed yesterday and has a new face in it today. Tim Collins, who did not appear in the game, has been placed on the paternity leave list and has left town to be...
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