Murphy, Harper healthy after Tuesday's game and back in lineup

Murphy, Harper healthy after Tuesday's game and back in lineup
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'...
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Game 65 lineups: Nats at Yankees

Game 65 lineups: Nats at Yankees
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...
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Why Nats didn't retaliate for Harper plunkings

Why Nats didn't retaliate for Harper plunkings
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...
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Harper OK after getting hit, Nats lineup not OK after latest shutout

Harper OK after getting hit, Nats lineup not OK after latest shutout
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...
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Fortified Nats lineup loses Harper to injury, gets shut out again

Fortified Nats lineup loses Harper to injury, gets shut out again
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...
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Fedde lined up to face Yankees on Wednesday (Nats lose 3-0)

Fedde lined up to face Yankees on Wednesday (Nats lose 3-0)
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...
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Pretty or not, Murphy ready to play in big league games

Pretty or not, Murphy ready to play in big league games
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...
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Game 64 lineups: Nats at Yankees

Game 64 lineups: Nats at Yankees
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...
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Murphy activated, will make season debut tonight

Murphy activated, will make season debut tonight
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,...
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How many Nats are likely to make the All-Star team?

How many Nats are likely to make the All-Star team?
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...
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Will returning vets help bring consistency to Nats lineup?

Will returning vets help bring consistency to Nats lineup?
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...
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Nats are silent at plate, lose 2-0 on homer allowed by Scherzer

Nats are silent at plate, lose 2-0 on homer allowed by Scherzer
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...
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Murphy making trip with Nats, could be activated Tuesday

Murphy making trip with Nats, could be activated Tuesday
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...
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Game 63 lineups: Nats vs. Giants

Game 63 lineups: Nats vs. Giants
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...
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The Caps and The Cup get their day at Nationals Park

The Caps and The Cup get their day at Nationals Park
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....
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Shoulder injury leaves Strasburg, Nats waiting for MRI results

Shoulder injury leaves Strasburg, Nats waiting for MRI results
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...
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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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